Physiology: The latest discoveries by scientists have revealed a new ion channel closely associated with the perception of touch—ELKIN1. Touch perception is typically achieved through mechanical stimulation that activates relevant ion channels and stimulates nerve endings. Previously, researchers had discovered only one necessary ion channel for touch, PIEZO2, which could not fully explain all mechanisms of tactile transmission. Recently, in a published study, scientists have shown through various experiments that the newly discovered ion channel ELKIN1 also plays an important role in the perception of touch. Studies indicate that when mice lack the Elkin1 gene, their response time to mechanical stimuli significantly decreases, while their response to other non-mechanical stimuli, such as temperature, remains unaffected. This finding provides a new perspective for understanding the complex mechanisms of touch.
Medicine: Snakebite is a global health problem that results in numerous deaths or disabilities each year. The ability to accurately judge whether a snakebite is venomous and to quickly administer the corresponding antivenom is key to reducing these numbers. A new study proposes an innovative method—using a specially designed test paper for quick and accurate detection of whether a snakebite contains specific types of venom. This test paper can be used to identify the venom produced by the most dangerous species of snakes in Brazil—Bothrops and Lachesis—through testing in plasma or urine samples. The advancement of this technology opens up new avenues for the rapid clinical diagnosis and treatment of snakebites.
In addition to using the test paper before treatment, it can also be utilized after treatment to ensure that the venom in the patient’s body has been completely neutralized. The research team hopes that this convenient diagnostic method can be applied in regions with a higher risk of venomous snake bites, helping patients to receive prompt diagnosis and treatment.
·Biology· The Golgi ribbon is not unique to vertebrates; it is a ribbon-like structure in eukaryotic cells formed by multiple Golgi stacks connected through molecular linkage. Previously, cell biologists believed that the Golgi ribbon was unique to vertebrates, while recent studies show that it also exists in other animal groups. Researchers investigated the Golgi structures of various animal taxa and closely related single-celled eukaryotic representatives to find that the Golgi ribbon is present in both vertebrates and invertebrates, including mollusks, annelids (like earthworms), and echinoderms (such as starfish and sea urchins), but does not exist in arthropods, nematodes, or more primitive animal taxa like sponges and ctenophores. Based on its patchy but wide distribution, researchers believe that the Golgi ribbon evolved only once, about 600 million years ago, in the common ancestor of all cnidarians and bilaterian animals (which includes all animals except sponges, ctenophores, and placoazoans) but subsequently disappeared in some bilaterian lineages, including nematodes and arthropods. The researchers say that the presence of the Golgi ribbon predates the evolution and diversification of the vertebrate lineage, which means that it did not evolve to serve specific roles for the cell physiology of vertebrates. Through further study, the researchers hypothesize that the formation of the Golgi ribbon happened before the gastrulation, a developmental stage where embryos decide to develop into different tissues and body structures. Based on this, the researchers suggest that the Golgi ribbon may play a role in embryonic development and differentiation, but this still requires further study for verification.
·Biology· Neurons help dispose of waste from the brain during sleep. Neural activity inevitably generates metabolic waste, and the accumulation of metabolic waste is a major cause of many nervous system diseases. A recent study suggests that the slow brain waves produced by neurons during sleep help drive cerebrospinal fluid through the dense brain tissue to clean the brain, flushing out the waste and toxins accumulated during wakefulness. While cleaning the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid meanders through the complex network of neuronal cells collecting toxic waste, which then enters the lymphatic-like system through the blood-brain barrier. Researchers carried out extracellular recordings of live mice in a sleep state through electrophysiological experiments, while monitoring their whole-brain state with electroencephalograms (EEG) and electromyograms (EMG). The experimental results indicate that neurons emit electrical signals in a coordinated manner to drive the cleaning process, producing rhythmic waves in the brain. This pattern of brain waves changes throughout the sleep cycle; for example, brain waves with larger amplitudes drive the fluid with greater force. The study shows that neurons are the main organizers of brain clearance, while also unraveling the mystery of fluid dynamics within the high-resistance parenchyma during the brain’s metabolic waste clearance process.
Recent scientific research has proposed an innovative theoretical framework, to explain the function of macroscopic brain waves and potentially open up new treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s disease and other nervous system disorders through this theory.
In the field of astronomy, researchers using the advanced James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) delved into an early-stage protoplanetary disk in the Orion Nebula, named d203-506, to uncover the formation process of planetary systems like our solar system. The team found that the massive stars play a decisive role in such a young star system. The research results were published in the authoritative journal Science.
The focus of this research is a star with a mass ten times that of the Sun and a luminosity one hundred thousand times that of the Sun. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the star affects the nearby planets, significantly influencing their formation process. This radiation could not only spur the formation of planets but could also hinder it by dispersing interstellar materials, and the ultimate effect depends on the specific mass of the central star.
In a particular case within the Orion Nebula, scientists observed that, due to the intense radiation from a massive star, the rate of mass loss from the d203-506 protoplanetary disk exceeded the rate at which it could form giant planets. This suggests that under such conditions, giant planets like Jupiter are unlikely to form. This important study confirms the key role that massive stars play in the development and evolution of planets, with a level of precision that is unprecedented.
