The algorithm of life: the cosmic explosion and the mystery of human speech

An international team of astronomers has found evidence of a cosmic explosion that represented the first X-ray burst ever detected in the Large Magellanic Cloud. And scientists from Rockefeller University in the US have discovered a protein variant unique to humans that may have played a key role in the development of speech. Read about this, as well as about a bracelet with micro-needles for insulin injection, superantennas at Lake Baikal and a new algorithm for selecting cancer drugs in the rating of science news of the week from Izvestia.

Superantennas will help study space weather

Scientists from the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a project of a new radiophysical complex ICAR-AI, which belongs to the class of heating stands. This is the name of scientific mega-installations designed to affect the ionosphere (upper layer of the atmosphere) by strong radio radiation. Heating stands help researchers understand the properties of this region of space, as well as how space weather affects it.

Photo: Global Look Press/NASA Earth

As the developers explained, the complex is a huge superantenna - an antenna field placed on 60 masts in an area of 700 by 700 meters. The facility will be built in Eastern Siberia near Irkutsk. It will be one of the megasciences-class research facilities of the National Heliogeophysical Complex of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Currently, the ICAR-AI project has been sent for state expertise. Experts expect the new stand to be put into operation in 2030.

- The effective capacity of the complex will be about 900 MW. It will generate radio waves in the range from 2.5 to 6.0 MHz. Such radiation effectively transfers energy to electrons of ionospheric plasma. In doing so, part of the waves are reflected and part of the energy is dissipated in the upper atmosphere. This process is called heating of the plasma, - told "Izvestia" deputy director for research work ISPP SB RAS Roman Vasiliev.

Algorithm for prescribing targeted drugs

Specialists of the Institute of Personalized Oncology of Sechenov University have begun to apply in practice a new algorithm that allows, based on the analysis of the results of RNA sequencing of cancer samples to prescribe the most appropriate targeting drug to the patient. The development was created with the participation of employees of MIPT and other Russian research organizations.

Photo: Vadim Torgaev

Until recently, drugs targeting individual targets were prescribed only to patients with diagnostic mutations in DNA. However, this is only 15-20% of patients with cancer, as in the rest these markers were simply not detected. The new approach will make targeted therapy available to virtually all cancer patients.

- Selecting therapies based on RNA profiles significantly increases the chance of finding a truly effective treatment for an individual patient. Routinely used today selection of treatment based on diagnostic DNA mutations is useful only for 15-20% of cancer patients, as in the rest such mutations are simply not found in the tumor. Determining treatment tactics based on RNA analysis will be useful for almost all patients. The introduction of this technology will help to increase the life expectancy of tens of thousands of patients with late-stage tumors," said Anton Buzdin, chief researcher at the Institute of Personalized Oncology of Sechenov University, professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

"Smart" bracelet for diabetic patients

A scientific group from St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI" (St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University) is developing devices for emergency injection of insulin into the human body in case of diabetes. The scientists were able to create a prototype of a wearable compact device.

Photo: Press service of LETI SPbGETU

It is a bracelet with a microelectronic device - an array of hollow micro-needles, which was obtained by 3D printing. The main principle of its operation is to destroy the skin with micro-needles, which creates micron-sized channels through which the drug goes directly to the upper layer of the skin for further penetration into the systemic bloodstream. Thus, the development allows for less invasiveness and duration of the procedure without the involvement of medical personnel.

In the future, scientists want to modernize the device, which will include not only an array of hollow micro-needles, but also a hydrodynamic system with channels, a reservoir for the drug and a glucometer.

- The small-sized insulin pump would attach to a wristband, and the fluid in it could be refreshed. Currently we are also considering the possibility of developing a design that will allow to administer insulin at a strictly defined time and in a given amount, - said the leading researcher of ISEF SPbGETU "LETI" Ivan Khmelnitsky.

Gene basis for the emergence of human speech

Scientists from Rockefeller University in the United States have discovered a variant of the NOVA1 protein, unique to humans, which may have played a key role in the development of speech.

Photo: Getty Images/Morsa Images

This protein, associated with brain development and motor control, differs from variants in Neanderthals and Denisovans by an amino acid substitution (I197V). Analysis of more than 650 thousand human genomes confirmed the dominance of this variant in Homo sapiens.

When the human variant of NOVA1 was introduced into the brains of mice, their vocalizations changed, indicating its possible involvement in the formation of speech abilities. In the future, researchers will investigate how NOVA1 regulates language function, with a focus on speech disorders and neurological diseases.

An explosion near the Milky Way

An international team of astronomers found evidence of a cosmic explosion while analyzing a massive data set from the Chandra space observatory. The latter could represent the first X-ray burst ever detected in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

The study is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. A team led by researchers from Stanford University made the discovery by looking at archival data from the past 20 years.

Photo: Global Look Press/Matthias Balk

A powerful cosmic explosion that occurred in our neighboring galaxy, several years went unnoticed. Finding it in the vast data set was like finding a needle in a haystack, scientists say.

Artificial intelligence helped to find evidence of a powerful X-ray flare. It was detected on May 15, 2020, when the Chandra Space X-ray Observatory observed the remnants of an exploded star in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It was an extremely bright and fast flare of unknown origin. The newly detected event was designated XRT 200515.