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- Following the breakthrough: pig organ transplantation to humans and an ancient asteroid as a factor in the origin of life
Following the breakthrough: pig organ transplantation to humans and an ancient asteroid as a factor in the origin of life
Russian researchers have found out how space debris can affect the Earth's climate in 100 years, and have also increased the effect of antifungal drugs tenfold. At the same time, AI technologies will receive a new impetus thanks to a mathematical breakthrough, Chinese doctors have transplanted pig kidneys and livers to humans for the first time, and studying the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs has revealed the secret of the origin of life. Read more about the interesting science news of the week in the Izvestia collection.
The danger of space debris
Microfragments of space debris can have an impact on the Earth's climate. This conclusion was reached by the staff of the Research and Testing Center of the Central Research Institute of the Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense and the Institute of Geospheric Dynamics named after Academician M.A. Sadovsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
For the first time in the world, they have quantified how small man-made debris in orbit weakens solar radiation that is directed towards our planet. According to calculations, this factor does not play a role now, but if the current rate of garbage accumulation continues, the scale of the blackout may increase thousands of times in 80-100 years.
— Currently, debris in space creates problems for orbital stations and ground-based telescopes. However, in the future, this factor may lead to negative environmental consequences," Stanislav Kozlov, Doctor of Physico—Mathematical Sciences, a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Electrodynamic Processes in Geophysics at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
This can affect climate processes and living ecosystems, so the rules for the operation of satellite groupings need to be reviewed today.
Solving a mathematical problem will speed up the work of chatbots
Researchers at the AI Institute of Artificial Intelligence have proposed a way to optimize neural networks without loss of quality. The method is based on solving a mathematical problem that involves restoring large data tables (matrices) by key rows and columns.
This hypothesis was formulated by academician Evgeny Tyrtyshnikov about 30 years ago. Previously, it was proved only for 2x4 matrices. The new achievement expands the scope of the approach, extending it to tables with an unlimited number of rows.
— At first glance, this is a purely abstract task. However, the modern world is experiencing explosive growth in data processing volumes. The result shows that for a wide range of tasks, it is possible to select data more reliably and cheaper than previously thought," Mikhail Pautov, a senior researcher at the AIRI Institute, told Izvestia.
The application of the found principle will make it possible to increase the efficiency of machine learning systems, including chatbots, recommendation services and search engines. Also, thanks to the new approach, it is possible to create compact neural networks (translators, AI assistants, etc.) that will work independently - without access to remote cloud services.
Medicines for deadly fungi have been made more effective
Scientists from the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) and the Gause Research Institute for the Development of New Antibiotics (Moscow) have found a way to significantly enhance the effect of antifungal drugs against candidiasis and aspergillosis, and other pathogens.
Researchers have improved a group of drugs called echinocandins: they were placed in microscopic membrane vesicles (liposomes) that deliver the active substance directly to the membranes of fungal cells. Due to this, the drugs destroy the shells of pathogens and work in lower concentrations.
During the experiments, it was possible to increase the effectiveness of drugs by 4-64 times, depending on the strain of the fungus. This approach will reduce dosages without loss of effectiveness and reduce the risk of developing resistance in pathogens.
— Computer modeling has shown that echinocandin molecules can create waterways through the membrane, and electrophysiological studies have confirmed that in groups of three or four molecules they form stable channels that lead to the death of the fungal cell. To enhance this effect, we placed the drugs in microscopic liposome bubbles that fuse with the natural membranes of fungi and release the drug right in the place where it should act," explained Svetlana Efimova, PhD, a leading researcher at the Laboratory of Ion Channels of Cell Membranes at the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Scientists have performed human kidney and liver transplantation for the first time
For the first time in the world, Chinese scientists have performed simultaneous transplantation of pig kidneys and liver to humans.
— They transplanted pig kidneys and liver to a patient who had brain death. This could be the first step towards transplanting multiple organs from an animal to a human," the publication says.
After the transplantation, the organs functioned for almost five days, after which the study was discontinued at the request of the man's family. According to researchers from the Second Clinical Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, the data obtained will help to better study the immune and metabolic processes in such transplants.
Scientists have reported that the development of xenotransplantation — organ transplantation between different biological species — can help solve the problem of the shortage of donor organs.
Scientists have assessed the role of the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs
The asteroid whose fall led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago could simultaneously create an underground environment suitable for life for millions of years. Researchers at the SUERC Isotope Research Center studied rock samples from the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which was formed after the impact of an asteroid with a diameter of about 10 km. The analysis showed that the hydrothermal system that appeared under the crater existed for at least 8 million years — four times longer than previously assumed.
According to scientists, after the impact, the molten rocks mixed with seawater, forming a network of cracks and cavities with hot water. Such conditions are allegedly considered favorable for the existence of microorganisms, since they can be protected from radiation and extreme temperatures in it. Researchers believe that this is exactly what happened on Earth billions of years ago.
To confirm the results, the researchers used computer simulations. It showed that the combination of high rock permeability, residual heat from the impact, and natural geothermal processes allowed the system to remain active for millions of years. The authors of the work believe that the results will help to better understand the origin of life on the early Earth. In addition, the discovery may be useful in the search for traces of life on Mars and other planets, where numerous collisions with asteroids have occurred in the past.
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