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- To the extent of animals: petrified dinosaur intestines and the effect of immunity on deer antlers
To the extent of animals: petrified dinosaur intestines and the effect of immunity on deer antlers
Russian scientists, during the study of an archaeological monument in the Voronezh region, which is several tens of thousands of years old, came to the conclusion that ancient people settled in certain places on the banks of rivers in order to more conveniently observe the herds of animals they hunted. American experts experimentally grew horns of a female deer with the help of macrophages. And in Australia, they discovered the fossilized intestines of a herbivorous dinosaur and learned its diet. Read about these and other most interesting scientific events in the weekly Izvestia collection.
Data on the "communication" of bacteria will help in the fight against infections
Researchers from the Federal Scientific Center for Biological Systems and Agrotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Orenburg) analyzed the genome, that is, the sequences of all genes, and the transcriptome, the sequences of all RNAs, of a certain strain of bacteria Chromobacterium subtsugae. These microorganisms are of particular interest to researchers. Despite the genetic similarity, some species of this genus, in particular Chromobacterium subtsugae, infect insects, while others, such as Chromobacterium violaceum, infect mammals, including humans. Therefore, they can be used to study the mechanisms underlying virulence in relation to completely different hosts, experts told Izvestia.
As the scientists explained, many pathogenic bacteria coordinate their behavior using a special communication system — the so-called sense of quorum. This mechanism allows microbes to assess population density and synchronously activate genes responsible for virulence, that is, the ability to cause disease in the host body and the formation of biofilms (communities that bacteria create to increase resistance to adverse conditions and more effectively infect hosts).
"The data obtained not only reveal the mechanisms of bacterial communication, but also provide new targets for potential effects on pathogenic microorganisms. For example, regulatory proteins can become targets: by suppressing them, it will be possible to block communication between bacteria and thereby prevent the development of infection," explained Galimzhan Duskaev, project leader, Doctor of Biological Sciences, First Deputy Director of the Federal Scientific Center for Biological Systems and Agrotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Quantum calculations will accelerate the creation of medicines and batteries
Researchers at NUST MISIS and Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University have improved quantum algorithms to study molecules for the pharmaceutical, chemical and other industries ten times faster. The Ministry of Education and Science told Izvestia about this. The method has already been adapted to the capabilities of modern devices and brings quantum computing closer to solving real industrial problems. Optimization of the variational algorithm for searching for eigenvalues has significantly reduced the number of quantum operations for modeling molecules.
According to scientists, chemistry and materials science are increasingly facing challenges that require accurate calculations of the behavior of electrons in molecules. Such calculations help to create new materials, but conventional computers are not able to simulate complex molecules with the required degree of accuracy — even supercomputers cannot always cope with the amount of calculations.
The researchers have proposed ways to optimize the variational quantum algorithm, which can significantly reduce the resources needed to simulate real organic molecules, while maintaining high accuracy.
"The research has not only reduced the complexity of quantum calculations, but has also made it possible to simulate organic molecules under conditions that match the potential of modern quantum computers. In the future, such calculations will become a working tool for solving real—world problems in science and industry: the search for promising drug molecules, the design of new catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions, the development of efficient materials for batteries and fuel cells, and so on," Alexey Fedorov, PhD, director of the Institute of Physics and Quantum Engineering, told Izvestia.
The place of settlement helped the ancient people to hunt
Experts from the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences answered the question of how ancient people chose a place to settle. They analyzed data from the archaeological site of Kostenki, located in the Voronezh region, which dates back to the Upper Paleolithic era (40 thousand – 10 thousand years ago).
Scientists came to the conclusion that ancient people chose the slopes of river valleys for temporary camps because this location helped to observe the animals migrating through the valley, which served them as food.
At that time, the way of life of people changed dramatically due to the change in climatic conditions at the beginning of the new ice age. He forced our ancestors to hunt more often and use fire, as well as choose a landscape with natural shelters from precipitation and winds, the scientists explained.
Macrophages help deer grow attractive antlers
American scientists have found out that macrophages play an important role in the formation of deer horns. During the experiments, they transplanted these immune cells onto the forehead of a female deer, resulting in horns. In addition to the fundamental importance, the data obtained will help in the development of new methods for repairing damaged bones.
The unusual discovery occurred after the authors of the study analyzed the scalp tissue of male adolescents and found that it was teeming with macrophages. The researchers then showed that they could restrain the growth of horns on one side of a male deer's head by injecting a phage-killing chemical into that area. And when the macrophages were injected into the females, horns began to grow there. Male hormones stimulate the growth of horns, and scientists believe that their molecules attract macrophages, which then stimulate stem cells to start building new horns.
Fossilized intestines helped to learn the diet of dinosaurs
Plant fossils have been discovered in Australia, preserved inside a sauropod dinosaur. For the first time, they give a definite idea of what these giant creatures actually ate. The contents of the intestines show that sauropods were huge, indiscriminate herbivores that swallowed leaves, shoots of coniferous trees and even flowering plants without chewing, relying on their intestinal microbes, which digested it all.
— The authentic contents of the intestine of a sauropod have never been discovered before. Although these dinosaurs are known from fossils found on every continent. It is known that these creatures have lived on Earth for at least 130 million years," said Stephen Poropat, a scientist at Curtin University.
The discovery confirms several hypotheses about the diet of sauropods, which were made based on the study of their anatomy and comparison with modern animals, the specialist emphasized.
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