Bee

Experiments in tiny freshwater animals suggest that certain tumors manipulate their host’s body to increase the likelihood of being transmitted to the next generation.

Using social robots is a promising approach for supporting senior citizens in the context of super-aging societies. The essential design factors for achieving socially acceptable robots include effective emotional expressions and cuteness. Past studies have reported the effectiveness of robot-initiated touching behaviors toward interacting partners on these two factors in the context of interaction with adults, although the effects of such touch behaviors on them are unknown in seniors. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of robot-initiated touch behaviors on perceived emotions (valence and arousal) and the feeling of kawaii, a common Japanese adjective for expressing cute, lovely, or adorable. In experiments with Japanese participants (adults: 21–49, seniors: 65–79) using a baby-type robot, our results showed that the robot’s touch significantly increased the perceived valence regardless of the expressed emotions and the ages of the participants. Our results also showed that the robot’s touch was effective in adults in the context of arousal and the feeling of kawaii, but not in seniors. We discussed the differential effects of robot-initiated touch between adults and seniors by focusing on emotional processing in the latter. The findings of this study have implications for designing social robots that have the capability of physical interaction with seniors.

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and smoking of tobacco products are two of the most important threats to global human health. Both are associated with millions of deaths every year. Surprisingly, the immediate interactions between these two threats are yet poorly understood.

Objectives: Here we aimed to elucidate the effect of toxic compounds from cigarette smoke, ashes, and filters on the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in human lung and environmental microbiomes.

Methods: Conjugation experiments using donor and recipient strain pairs of either Pseudomonas putida or Escherichia coli and AMR-encoding plasmids were conducted under exposure to different concentrations of cigarette smoke condensate in lung sputum medium, and cigarette ash and filter leachate in environmental media. We further measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) production of the donor strain under exposure to the cigarette-derived compounds to explore if stress experienced by the bacteria could be one of the underlying mechanism of changes in plasmid transfer frequencies. Furthermore, used cigarette filters were submerged in a wastewater stream for several weeks, and the colonizing communities were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing and high-throughput qPCR, and compared to unused control filters.

Results: Exposure to cigarette smoke condensate at relevant concentrations resulted in more than 2-fold higher transfer rates of a multi-drug-resistance encoding plasmid in artificial lung sputum medium. This was associated with higher reactive oxygen species production as part of the bacterial stress response when exposed to cigarette-derived toxicants. Similar results were obtained for cigarette ash leachate in environmental medium. Further, used cigarette filters were colonized by different microbial communities compared to unused filters. These communities were significantly enriched with potential human pathogens and AMR.

Discussion: The results of this study suggest that cigarette-derived compounds can indeed promote the spread of AMR within simulated human lung and environmental conditions. This study highlights that the consumption of cigarettes has not only direct but may also have indirect adverse effects on human health by promoting AMR.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a devastating pathogen of tomato crops, is vectored by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, yet the mechanisms underlying TYLVC epidemics are poorly understood. We found that TYLCV triggers the up-regulation of two β-myrcene biosynthesis genes in tomato, leading to the attraction of nonviruliferous B. tabaci. We also identified BtMEDOR6 as a key whitefly olfactory receptor of β-myrcene involved in the distinct preference of B. tabaci MED for TYLCV-infected plants. TYLCV inhibits the expression of BtMEDOR6, canceling this preference and thereby facilitating TYLCV transmission to uninfected plants. Greenhouse experiments corroborated the role of β-myrcene in whitefly attraction. These findings reveal a sophisticated viral strategy whereby TYLCV modulates both host plant attractiveness and vector olfactory perception to enhance its spread.

What measures can protect communities from measles outbreaks?

Vaccination is the best way to protect individuals and communities from measles. It’s also the most effective way to curb an ongoing outbreak.

High rates of vaccination are important because of a phenomenon called herd immunity. When people who are vaccinated do not get infected, it essentially stops the spread of the virus, thereby protecting those who are most susceptible to getting sick. When herd immunity wanes, the risk of infection rises for everyone – and especially for the most vulnerable, such as young children and people who are immunocompromised.

Because measles is so contagious, estimates suggest that 95% of the population must be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Once vaccine coverage falls below that percentage, outbreaks are possible.

Having robust public health systems also provides protection from outbreaks and limits their spread. Public health workers can detect cases before an outbreak occurs and take preventive steps. During a measles outbreak, they provide updates and information, administer vaccines, track cases and oversee quarantine for people who have been exposed and isolation for people who are contagious.

The discovery of a biological "third state" between life and death suggests that our cells may possess a form of consciousness. Science is divided.

An experimental treatment for an aggressive and lethal brain cancer has today been published in Nature Medicine, paving the way for a clinical trial to be conducted by researchers at The Brain Cancer Centre.

Would you let a scientist implant a parasite in your brain to treat an illness? The idea of using a parasite as a medical tool might seem outlandish, but it also offers hope for conditions like Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s. Researchers have speculated that if a parasite could deliver drugs directly to the brain, it might help doctors treat these conditions.

An international team of scientists is doing just that. They are using a single-celled parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii, which causes an infection called toxoplasmosis. The parasite naturally travels from the human gut to the central nervous system and delivers proteins to host cells. In the experiment, bioengineers hacked systems within the T. gondii’s cells that produce and release proteins outside the cell, called secretion systems.