Culture

Researchers have identified molecular signatures of the aging process in mice, publishing their results today in the open-access eLife journal.

Their analyses provide one of the most comprehensive characterisations of the molecular signatures of aging across diverse types of cells from different tissues in a mammal, and will aid future studies on aging and related topics.

Aging leads to the decline of major organs and is the main risk factor for many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. While previous studies have highlighted different hallmarks of the aging process, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unclear.

To gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, the Tabula Muris Consortium created the single-cell transcriptomic dataset, called Tabula Muris Senis (TMS). The TMS contains over 300,000 annotated cells from 23 tissues and organs of male and female mice. "These cells were collected from mice of diverse ages, making the data a tremendous opportunity to study the genetic basis of aging across different tissues and cell types," says first author Martin Jinye Zhang, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard University, Boston, US.

The original TMS study* mainly explored the cell-centric effects of aging, aiming to characterise changes in the composition of cell types within different tissues. In the current gene-centric study, Zhang and colleagues focused on changes in gene expression that occur during the aging process across different cell types.

Using the TMS data, they identified aging-dependent genes in 76 cell types from 23 tissues. They then characterised the aging behaviours of these genes that were both shared among all cell types ('globally') and specific to different tissue cells.

"We found that the cell-centric and gene-centric perspectives of the previous and current studies are complementary, as gene expression can change within the same cell type during aging, even if the composition of cells in the tissue does not vary over time," explains co-senior author Angela Oliveira Pisco, Associate Director of Bioinformatics at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, US. "The identification of many shared aging genes suggests that there is a coordinated global aging behaviour in mice."

The team then used this coordinated activity to develop a single-cell aging score based on the global aging genes. This new high-resolution aging score revealed that different tissue-cell types in the same animal can have a different aging status, shedding light on the diverse aging process across different types of cells.

"Taken together, our results provide a characterisation of aging genes across a wide range of tissue-cell types in the mouse," concludes senior author James Zou, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, Stanford, US, and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. "In addition to providing new biological insights on the aging process, this work serves as a comprehensive reference for researchers working in related fields."

A study carried out by the University of Granada indicates that smoking cannabis significantly alters key visual functions, such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity

Yet, more than 90% of users believe that using cannabis has no effect on their vision, or only a slight effect

A group of researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada (UGR) has studied the effects of smoking cannabis on various visual parameters compared to the effect that the users themselves perceive the drug to have on their vision.

This study, led by Carolina Ortiz Herrera and Rosario González Anera, has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Its main author, Sonia Ortiz Peregrina, explains that cannabis use is on the rise despite being an illegal drug. According to the national Survey on Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addictions in Spain 2019-2020, cannabis use nationally has increased since 2011, with 37% of Spanish adults having used this drug at some time. Approximately 10% consumed it in the last year.

In this study, which had the approval of the Human Research Ethics Committee of the UGR (ref. 921/CCEIH/2019), an exhaustive visual trial was conducted on 31 cannabis users, both when they had not consumed any substance in advance and also when they were under the effect of the drug. The researchers also studied the participants' perception of the visual effects of having consumed this drug.

The results showed that, following consumption, visual aspects such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity significantly worsened. Despite this, not all subjects reported a worsening of their vision after smoking cannabis. Indeed, 30% reported that their vision had not suffered at all, while 65% responded that it had worsened only slightly. The authors note that the visual parameter that could be most strongly linked to users' perception of the visual effect is contrast sensitivity.

The study found a negative effect on all of the visual parameters evaluated, with the effect of cannabis on some of the parameters being analysed for the first time in this research. These results, together with the lack of awareness that the participants presented about the visual impairment caused by smoking cannabis, indicate the need to carry out awareness-raising campaigns, as this visual deterioration can pose a danger when performing everyday tasks.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For young athletes, the new normal on soccer fields and basketball courts means temperature checks before practice, wearing masks through games and a sparse in-person fan base.

But that hasn't kept children and teens from playing. Close to a fourth of parents say their child has participated in school, travel, or community sports during the fall or winter months, according to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan.

And while the majority of parents give their child's sports organization high marks for communication about safety protocols, one in four rate their sports league as fair or poor for consistent enforcement of COVID-19 precautions.

"As kids return to playing sports, it's critical that teams and facilities enforce COVID guidelines to keep players, coaches and families as safe as possible and to reduce community spread," says poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.

"This is especially important as we have seen recent COVID-19 outbreaks among youth sports teams. While most families seem confident in their local organization's safety measures, our report suggests that ensuring compliance with COVID-19 protocols has also been challenging."

The nationally representative report comes just as health experts say team sports may be a big driver of youth COVID-19 cases. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, M.D., said this month that recent school cases have frequently been traced back to sports.

Local health departments in several states, including Florida and Minnesota, have also traced outbreaks back to youth sports. In Michigan, where COVID-19 cases have surged, experts attribute recent outbreaks among young people to extracurricular activities that involve kids spending long periods of time together, rather than classroom exposure. Socialization before and after sports events, including indoor, mask-less gatherings, may also be contributing to the spike in cases among young people.

The trends have led to many schools again putting a pause on sports seasons and returning to virtual learning.

Playing in a Pandemic

The Mott Poll report is based on responses from 1,630 parents of children ages 6-18 who were surveyed about youth sports participation between August 2020 and January 2021.

Sports participation was slightly higher for older children 12-18 years compared to younger children 6-11 years (25% vs 21%), the Mott Poll report finds. Among parents whose child did not participate in a sport, one in three parents said their child's sport was canceled, while one in four wouldn't allow their child to participate due to COVID-related safety concerns.

Overall, three in four parents felt their child's sports team mostly got it right when it came to resuming sports during COVID. Roughly equal numbers of parents felt officials were too strict versus too lenient (13% compared to 14%).

The majority of parents also gave excellent or good ratings to their child's school or sports league for clear communication, treating children fairly and listening to parent concerns about COVID-19.

Among parents whose child participated in one or more sports, more than 90 % say they received information from the school or sports league about masks and social distancing guidelines for players and spectators.

Four out of five parents also received information about when players should sit out of practice or games after being exposed to the virus and the same percent also felt informed on when a child could return to play after a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Rules on testing guidelines, however, were sometimes less clear, with only 59% of parents seeing communication regarding when players should get tested for COVID-19.

"Parents largely felt that sports officials successfully communicated about most of their new COVID-19 policies," Clark says.

"Communication was notably lower around COVID-19 testing. It's unclear if the lack of information was an oversight or if schools and leagues didn't have clear guidelines from public health officials."

"As more youth sports resume, our poll suggests that parents will need further direction on whether, when and where their child should get tested. This is particularly important as cases are rising among younger people."

When a child can return to sports activity after a case of COVID-19 is another key decision facing parents. When asked what they would likely do if their own child had COVID-19 during a sports season, 40% of parents would wait the number of days specified by team or league guidelines, while half would have their child cleared to play by a doctor. Five percent would base the decision on when the child felt well enough to play.

More parents of older than younger children would wait the specified number of days (46% vs 33%), and fewer parents of teens would have their child cleared by a doctor (44% vs 57%).

Experts say that return to play should be based on the severity of the infection, whether there's a pre-existing medical condition, and if the child is experiencing ongoing fatigue, fever, dizziness or chest pain.

"If parents rely solely on league guidelines to determine when it's safe for their child to return to sports activity, they may overlook signs that the child is not fully recovered. It's important that parents involve their child's doctor for specific guidance on resuming sports activity," Clark says.

In addition to school or league policies, parents should also reinforce common sense steps such as not sharing water bottles or food, and using hand sanitizer during breaks in activity, Clark says. They should also consider their own actions, such as maintaining social distance and wearing masks while attending games.

Players and families should also avoid indoor gatherings before and after sporting events, especially with unvaccinated groups.

"We know sports provide physical and social health benefits for children and teens and are a valuable part of many students' school experience," Clark says.

"Unlike many youth activities that have switched to a remote format to meet social distancing guidelines, sports can't go virtual. It's important that both sports officials and families closely adhere to guidelines that minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission during practices and competitions."

Scientists found six sex chromosomes in the Odorrana swinhoana frog species endemic in Taiwan, giving new insights into how complex XY systems evolve.

The discovery was a surprise to the international research team led by Associate Professor Ikuo Miura of Hiroshima University's Amphibian Research Center. In 1980, the first reported instance of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians was found in the Taiwanese brown frog Raina narina -- a synonym for O. swinhoana -- which had a male-specific translocation between two chromosomes. Its sex chromosomes could be described as ?X1Y1X2Y2-?X1X1X2X2.

The finding suggested that translocation -- a chromosomal abnormality that happens when a chromosome breaks and its fragment fuses to another -- occurred between two potential sex-determining chromosomes. At that time, however, the identification of the chromosomes involved in the translocation was uncertain.

So when the researchers set out to precisely identify the chromosomes involved, they were expecting only one translocation and not three. The three male-specific translocations created a system of six sex chromosomes, ?X1Y1X2Y2X3Y3-?X1X1X2X2X3X3. Their findings were published in the journal Cells last March 16, 2021.

A first among vertebrates

Cases of multiple chromosomes in amphibians are rare and their karyotypes, or collection of chromosomes, are generally highly conserved with little rearrangement among species. A majority are also homomorphic with undifferentiated sex chromosomes, unlike mammals and birds which have heteromorphic XY and ZW sex-determination systems. So far, there are only 10 known cases of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians.

What's more, the research team uncovered that the potential sex-chromosomes involved in the translocations contained orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes. Orthologs are genes that evolved from an ancestral gene found in the shared ancestor of those species.

The researchers found the Dmrt1, the male determining gene in birds, and Amh, the male determining gene in fish and platypus, on the Y1 chromosome; the Sox3, the ancestral gene of SRY in therian mammals and the male determining gene in medaka fish, on the Y3 chromosome; and an unidentified sex-determining gene on the Y2 chromosome.

This is the first time that sex chromosomes containing orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes are found together in a vertebrate species.

Chance vs choice

Sex chromosomes evolve from an ordinary autosomal pair after acquiring a sex-determining gene. But the team has yet to figure out which of the three pairs is the original sex chromosome and which is the major sex-determining gene of the three candidates: Dmrt1, Amh, and Sox3.

Miura explained that up to now sex chromosome-autosome fusion has been documented as a chance occurrence.

"In fact, it was like that in this frog, too. The break and fusion of the chromosomes may have occurred by chance," he said.

But the researchers believe that the chromosome members involved in the fusions were selected non-randomly or inevitably chosen as they probably share a common genomic region.

"To be so, the three may share a common DNA sequence on each of them, which makes them closely localized to each other, and this makes it possible to join the simultaneously occurring breakages and translocations."

"This rare case suggests sex-specific, nonrandom translocations and thus provides a new viewpoint for the evolutionary meaning of the multiple sex chromosome system."

Miura said identifying the genomic sequence common to the potential sex chromosomes would improve understanding of the mechanisms of its evolution and turnover.

Niigata, Japan- New insights into the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the human uterine endometrium could advance our understanding of the mechanisms of endometrial regeneration and fertilized egg implantation while clarifying the pathogenesis of menstrual disorders, infertility and endometrium-related diseases such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer.

The endometrial glands are comprised of complicated winding and branching structures, and conventional 2D imaging techniques have been unable to adequately assess their shape. This limitation has prevented elucidation of the mechanisms of endometrial regeneration during the menstrual cycle and the location of endometrial progenitor cells. Recent developments in 3D tissue-clearing imaging allowed researchers from Niigata University to explore the endometrial structure in greater depth.

The team, led by Prof. Takayuki Enomoto, Dr. Kosuke Yoshihara and Dr. Manako Yamaguchi of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, implemented an updated clear, unobstructed brain/body imaging cocktail and computational analysis (CUBIC) protocol with fluorescent microscopy to obtain 3D full thickness images of the human uterine endometrium. As expected, the 3D tissue analysis revealed unique morphologies that had not been previously detected by 2D histological observation. Human endometrial glands were discovered to form a complex plexus network in the stratum basalis referred to as the 'rhizome' structure. Named after the rhizomatous plant's stems, the rhizome describes the horizontally expanding plexus morphology of the basal glands. Furthermore, some glands share the rhizome and rise toward the luminal epithelium. Interestingly, these structural features were detected in all samples, regardless of age or menstrual cycle phase, which suggests they are basic components of the normal human endometrium.

After observing the normal structure of the uterine endometrium, the researchers expanded their analysis to clarify the 3D structure of adenomyotic lesions. Adenomyosis is a benign condition characterized by the atypical presence of endometrial glands and stroma within the myometrium, or the muscular walls of the uterus. Prior to this study, various hypotheses regarding the etiology of adenomyosis existed, including endometrial invasion, endometriotic invasion and de novo metaplasia. Reconstituted 3D images verified the endometrium breaches the myometrium, where these aberrant structures lengthen to form fine glands that intricately branch and extend along the large blood vessels of the uterus, analogous to an ant colony.

The human endometrium is a dynamic tissue that exerts morphological and functional changes on a monthly basis in response to ovarian hormones. This highly regenerative tissue is involved in menstruation and implantation of the fertilized egg, giving it a central role in women's reproductive health. Unfortunately, the regenerative nature of the endometrial glands can encourage the development and progression of 'endometrium-related diseases', such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer. The pathogenesis of endometrium-related conditions remains unclear, which has hindered the development of effective preventative measures and therapeutic strategies.

In their previous 2018 genomic study, the investigators sought to provide insight into the origins of endometriosis and elucidate associated molecular characteristics. They found that the genes most recurrently mutated in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers were also frequently mutated in endometriotic epithelium, and, surprisingly, in normal uterine endometrial glands. These novel findings led to the hypothesis that clonal genomic alternations may change the structure of endometrial glands and increase susceptibility to endometrium-related diseases. Establishing the 3D morphology of normal uterine endometrium was therefore essential to testing this model and ultimately sparked this investigation.

As pointed out by principal investigator Prof. Enomoto "Our 3D imaging established the baseline for the 3D structure of human endometrial glands and adenomyotic lesions. These findings dynamically change the concept of human uterine endometrium."

While extensive research in the field of obstetrics and gynecology is required to identify the mechanisms of normal endometrium function and related diseases, this study can provide novel insight into the 2D shape of the human endometrial glands for the first time in nearly one hundred years along with the contemporary 3D model of the tissue. The potential application of this work is not lost on Prof. Enomoto "The 3D representation of the human endometrium will lead to a better understanding of the human endometrium in various fields, including histology, pathology, pathophysiology, reproduction and oncology."

A Korean research team succeeded in developing a technology generating various vibration using LED light signals. The technology allows various tactile sensations by area and reduction in size by considerably lowering the cost of light source, and these are expected to be applied to many industries including automobile and electronics.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, or ETRI for short, announced that it succeeded in developing a technology to implement various vibrations using LED. This technology was widely recognized as published on the cover of the February 10 issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces1), a leading scientific journal.

* Glossary description 1) ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, a scientific journal ranking among the top 14%; impact factor at 8.758 / on the supplementary cover.

Haptic technology refers to an interface that can create an experience of touch to the user. As applications of touch-screen devices and remotely controlled tasks have increased via smartphone, home appliance, medical equipment, and virtual game, demand for technology requiring accuracy and safety is also on the rise.

Representative applications using haptic technology include vibrations made on the smartphone and tablet screen. The currently commercialized technology offers vibrations felt on the entire device like a mono speaker. The user feels the consistently same vibration regardless of where he or she touches.

The technology realized by ETRI allows the user to experience varying tactile sensations by area where his/her finger touches. The technology is expected to be optimized for the environment where the user's fingers can feel varying textures of different products while shopping online.

At present, the vibration made on the smartphone or game pad is created by the movement of a pendulum attached to the motor. Drawbacks includes the inability to deliver delicate tactile sensations by part, since the consistently same vibration effect spreads to an entire device.

Another technology was recently developed to create vibrations using shock waves per momentary temperature change using laser; due to the price2) of the laser used for the technology at tens of thousands of USD, however, it is known to be difficult to reduce in size and commercialize.

* Glossary description 2) Nanosecond Pulse Laser: Laser radiates amplified light in pulse in nanosecond (one billionth of a second).

The research team at ETRI succeeded in developing a technology that transformed light signals at low outcome into vibration. This technology can allow productions of display screens making independent vibrations by part using multiple LEDs in small size, whose price range is 1/10,000 of the extremely expensive laser light source.

This technology is based on the principle that absorbs light energy and turns it into thermal energy. When the film coated with special photothermal layer3) is applied with light energy, the film goes through bending and restoration depending on the thermal expandability of the material as it is heated and cooled, creating vibration.

* Glossary description 3) PEDOT-Tos (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-tosylate): A conductive polymer material efficiently absorbs near infrared light.

The research team utilized this technology to prove the possibility of making precise vibrations with a wide frequency bandwidth4) by creating a 3x3 LED sequence made of nine 1cm2 units. The team believes the size will be easily applied to a much larger area.

* Glossary description 4) "Frequency bandwidth" refers to the range that can control the vibration per second (Hz). Humans are known to react most sensitively to vibrations in the range of 100-200 Hz, gentle to high frequencies and rough to lower frequencies. The wider the range, the more varied the frequency can express vibration. Currently the new technology can express 125-300 Hz.

The latest trend in the automobile industry includes the use of one touch-screen integrated with various control functions including navigation, media, and mutual assistance systems in place of traditional operative devices, such as buttons or dials. Currently, feedback per touch input is simple; through this new technology, however, tactile sensations to turn a dial, press a button, slide and the like can be simultaneously added.

The technology offers durability in particular as it does not include an electric structure in the film for easy application to a thin and flexible display screen. As it can integrate well with the currently active field of flexible devices, it is expected to be applied to various researches.

The research team also expects to utilize the new technology as an alternative to supplement Braille by grafting it with information devices for the visually challenged. It plans to make an effort to commercialize the technology for automobiles, touch-screen devices, electronic displays, smartphones and more.

"The technology is expected to be used widely to support people who are vulnerable with information, such as the visually challenged, by practically applying the original technology designed to deliver information through tactile sensation," said Shin Hyung-cheol, head of the Human Enhancement & Assistive Technology Research Section at ETRI.

The research team is currently engaged in follow-up studies to create vibrations that are strong enough for users to feel the sensation by increasing the efficiency of light-to-vibration energy conversion and to reduce the consumption of electric energy.

This performance was part of the project titled "Research on the Original Technology of Human-centered Autonomous Intelligent Systems" supported by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). The research team at ETRI has published 10 academic theses and applied for 7 patents related to this technology.

People who trust television and Facebook to provide them with accurate news about the coronavirus pandemic are less knowledgeable about COVID-19, according to a new study, which assessed people's knowledge of the virus in the earliest stages of the pandemic.

The study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Current Medical Research & Opinion, surveyed 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania between March 25-31, 2020, and found that those who rely on social media and tv for news are less likely to get the facts right about the coronavirus.

In fact, adults that used Facebook as an additional source of news in any way were less likely to answer COVID-19 questions correctly than those who did not.

"The rise of social media has changed the way people around the world keep up with current events, with studies showing that up to 66% of Americans rely on social media for news," says Dr Robert P. Lennon, associate professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine, one of the authors of the paper.

"This is worrying, as misinformation and misunderstanding about COVID-19 and how it spreads is likely to have fuelled the pandemic, whose death toll now surpasses 2.5 million worldwide."

In early March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak had become alarming enough that Lennon and other Penn State University researchers rapidly developed a survey to explore public knowledge, perceptions, and preferred information sources regarding COVID-19. Within hours of been told that they had been awarded funding, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and two days later the President declared a National Emergency.

The survey was rapidly disseminated to 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania, offering insight into the public use of information in the midst of a national emergency. The respondents answered questions about where they got their news about coronavirus from, and which news sources they trusted most. They were then given 15 statements about COVID-19 and asked if they thought the statements were true or false, and how confident they were in their answer.

The questions covered knowledge across several domains - transmission, severity, treatment - and asked questions felt to be of easy, moderate and hard difficulty in each. As media coverage on COVID-19 escalated, developing knowledge questions became increasingly difficult - a nearly impossible question on Monday was by Thursday so easy it couldn't be used.

The results showed that the most trusted news sources were government websites (42.8%), followed by television (27.2%), and health system communications (9.3%).

There was a clear relationship between where people got their news from, and their knowledge of coronavirus. For example, participants who said that their most trusted source of information was government health websites were more likely to correctly answer COVID- 19 questions than other groups, while individuals whose most trusted source was television news were less likely to correctly answer COVID-19 questions than other groups. Respondents who selected "Facebook" as either their single most trusted source or as an additional information source were less likely to answer knowledge questions correctly.

The findings highlight the importance of considering where people get their news from when it comes to designing public health interventions. Guidance such as 'stay at home', 'wash your hands', 'wear a mask' and 'socially distance' are only effective if understood.

"Effective communication is a critical element of successfully managing a pandemic response, as for the disease spread to be contained, the public must comply with public health recommendations," says Lennon.

"The first step in compliance is an understanding of those recommendations, so it is vital that health communicators consider how the public get their information and monitor these venues to correct misinformation when it appears."

Researchers have found common foxgloves brought to the Americas have rapidly evolved to change flower length in the presence of a new pollinator group, hummingbirds. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Ecology.

Researchers from the University of Sussex, Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia) and Universidad de Costa Rica, studying the common foxglove Digitalis purpurea, a bumblebee pollinated species native to Europe, have shown for the first time how rapid physical changes can occur in flowers following a change in environment and the presence of a new pollinator.

The researchers compared foxgloves in the UK, which are pollinated by bumblebees, with foxgloves introduced in two independent events to Costa Rica and Colombia around 200 years ago, which are pollinated by different species of bumblebees and also hummingbirds. They found the base of the cone structure of the flowers, called the proximal corolla tube, was 13-26% larger in populations in the Americas.

Foxgloves have long, narrow proximal corolla tubes. This part of the flower holds the nectar and by being this shape, they restrict floral visitors to those with long mouthparts such as long-tongued bumblebees.

"We found foxglove populations in Costa Rica and Colombia now have flowers with longer tubes at the base, when compared to native populations. There is also substantial natural selection on this floral characteristic in the naturalised populations." said Dr Maria Clara Castellanos at the University of Sussex and one of the authors of the study.

"Long corollas are a common feature in many hummingbird-pollinated plants, likely because this improves the precision of pollen transfer during the pollination interaction. It is also possible that long corolla tubes exclude other pollinators that are less effective."

Because foxgloves are biennial (meaning each generation takes two years) these changes have occurred in around 85 generations, indicating a rapid evolutionary change.

In the study the researchers also confirmed that hummingbirds are effective foxglove pollinators. "We counted pollen grains deposited in flowers and found that after a single visit they can bring in more pollen than a bumblebee." said Dr Castellanos.

The study also confirms how invasions can be used to understand evolution of floral structures. The researchers say that scenarios like this are likely to happen often as humans influence the range of plants and pollinators.

Dr Castellanos said: "Our research shows how rapid evolutionary change in a new environment can be an important force behind the extraordinary diversity of flowers."

Foxgloves are now naturalised in many areas of the world. They were introduced to Colombia and Costa Rica in the 19th Century, most likely by English architects and engineers. In these new tropical environments, foxgloves grow at high altitudes above 2,200 meters where temperatures are broadly similar to those in their native European range. Because there are no seasons, populations flower at different times of the year.

In the study, the researchers looked at both native UK foxglove populations and populations in mountainous areas in Colombia and Costa Rica. They compared the shape of the flowers and the reproductive success of the plants. They also recorded the pollinators in each location and how effective each pollinator was at transferring pollen.

The authors caution that although the changes they observed are consistent with natural selection hummingbirds have imposed during the evolution of native plants they pollinate, the study doesn't prove the changes to foxgloves have been directly caused by hummingbirds.

To do this, the researchers are planning to experimentally exclude pollinators from foxgloves in the field and record the consequences for the plants. They are also studying the genetic basis of the traits both in the greenhouse and using genomic approaches.

The researchers emphasise the importance of studying other plant groups in this context. "Plants around the world are experiencing changes in their pollinators and it is important to understand the evolutionary implications of this" said Dr Castellanos.

Workplace communication often took a back seat this past year, as employees and employers rushed to work remotely, struggled with technology barriers and adjusted to physical distancing. But the pandemic has resulted in valuable lessons for communicating on the job, according to a Baylor University study.

During the onset of COVID-19 -- along with accompanying layoffs and a recession -- "there likely has never been a moment with such demand for ethical listening to employees," said lead author Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., associate professor of journalism, public relations and new media at Baylor.

"Ethical listening" was defined by one communication manager as "listening with an open mind and being able to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. Strategic listening is then taking the good and the bad and the ugly and knowing how to use the information."

For the study, published in the Journal of Communication Management, researchers interviewed 30 communication professionals in the District of Columbia and 13 states: Arkansas, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Interviewees represented technology, financial and legal services, food and beverage, hospitality, energy, health care, trade associations, transportation, higher education and consultants.

The professionals interviewed stressed the importance of protecting confidentiality so employees feel comfortable giving feedback and do not fear retribution.

When COVID-19 hit and workers often no longer shared physical quarters, the use of Zoom soared, whether for large group meetings or one-on-one sessions, researchers noted. And while senior managers valued communication, it became less of a priority as companies made such quick changes as mandated quarantines.

For communications professionals, remote work made it harder for them to build trusting new relationships. They, like others, felt isolated, missing critical conversations and small talk.

"We heard that the pandemic posed challenges in internal communication due to the alienation many employees experienced, and it prompted us to reevaluate the moral responsibility communications holds for keeping employees feeling connected to their teams," said co-researcher Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D., professor of journalism and mass communications at the University of South Carolina.

The study shed light on companies' challenges, how they strove to meet them and how they might use those strategies in the future.

For example, a communication manager for a trade association of the hospitality industry said that its members also are primary stakeholders in their companies.

"There were stakeholders who were saying, 'I'm going to have to close my doors. Please do something.' And there's only so much we can do. It called for a different type of empathetic listening. This is these people's livelihood. In hospitality, that's like any business owner, that's their baby. But it's not just their baby. It's a baby that generates income for the employees they deeply care about. It's not just that it impacts them; it impacts their employees, which is a double cut to the heart."

Meanwhile, a communication manager in health care encouraged senior leaders to schedule 30-minute "walk-around" sessions -- whether masked and in person or via technology.

"Trust has to be built with actions and follow-through, not just words," Bowen said.

For all the organizations studied, "the desire and follow-through to ethically listen to employees appeared to be a challenge," Neill said.

Most participants said the ratio of management messaging to employees compared to feedback was lopsided, with far more talking than listening.

"We cannot promise we are going to fix everything," said a communication manager in the financial services industry. "But we have the mantra if you are asking for feedback, it is critical that you close the loop and say that."

Communications managers often have limited staff to analyze feedback. They also contend with a lack of communication between departments, especially in larger organizations.

To solve those problems, some communications professionals suggested having a team member to sit in on department meetings and serve as a liaison. One professional in a law firm said she makes it a point to invite the less vocal members to share their thoughts, while another uses on-on-one meetings for them.

"They open up a lot more when it's just one on one," she said. "In groups, large groups, they do not speak as freely, because there's a hierarchy. If the older, more senior people are not saying anything, then the younger less seasoned attorneys more than likely will not say anything."

Some internal communicators also said that during the pandemic, they saw a need for shorter, more focused meetings, in part to cut down on stress. And one consultant said that more visual communications, such as videos and video conferencing, seemed to help employees feel that they are cared for.

"I'm making sure that I have my eyes trained on the screen on the facial expressions," said a communication manager for a trade association. "Part of active listening is also looking for visual cues of the reactions of your colleagues."

Neill said the researchers were encouraged by the heightened level of empathy for the impact of organizational decisions on employees' lives.

"We recommend that senior leadership and communication professionals seek ways to continue to improve moral sensitivity well after the global pandemic has receded, which can lead to more ethical decision-making," she said.

What started out as a second-year physics project is making its way into Amazon Web Service's (AWS) quantum computing program.

University of Sydney science undergraduate Pablo Bonilla Ataides has tweaked some computing code to effectively double its capacity to correct errors in the quantum machines being designed in the emerging technology sector.

The simple but ingenious change to quantum error correcting code has grabbed the attention of quantum researchers at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing in Pasadena, California, and the quantum technology programs at Yale University and Duke University in the United States.

"Quantum technology is in its infancy, partly because we haven't been able to overcome the inherent instability in the machines that produce so many errors," 21-year-old Mr Bonilla said.

"In second-year physics I was asked to look at some commonly used error correcting code to see if we could improve it. By flipping half of the quantum switches, or qubits, in our design, we found we could effectively double our ability to suppress errors."

The research is published today in Nature Communications.

The results of the study, co-authored by Dr Steve Flammia who has recently moved from the University of Sydney to AWS's quantum computing effort, are to feature in the tech company's arsenal of error correction techniques as it develops its quantum hardware.

Dr Earl Campbell is a senior quantum research scientist at AWS. He said: "We have considerable work ahead of us as an industry before anyone sees real, practical benefits from quantum computers.

"This research surprised me. I was amazed that such a slight change to a quantum error correction code could lead to such a big impact in predicted performance.

"The AWS Center for Quantum Computing team looks forward to collaborating further as we explore other promising alternatives to bring new, more powerful computing technologies one step closer to reality."

QUANTUM ERRORS

Errors are extremely rare in the digital transistors, or switches, that classical computers use to run our phones, laptops and even the fastest supercomputers.

However, the 'switches' in quantum computers, known as qubits, are particularly sensitive to interference, or 'noise', from the external environment.

In order to make quantum machines work, scientists need to produce a large number of high-quality qubits. This can be done by improving the machines so they are less noisy and by using some capacity of the machines to suppress qubit errors below a certain threshold in order for them to be useful.

That is where quantum error correction comes in.

Quantum errors can occur when the qubit flips on its axis. This is dubbed an X-error. Or errors can occur in its wave phase, known as a Z-error. A Y-error is a combination of flip (X) and phase (Z) errors.

An expert in quantum error correction from Duke University, who was not involved with the study, Professor Kenneth Brown, said: "Typically in quantum error correction, we assume that X, Y and Z errors are equally likely. However, this is not the case in real experiments where the errors are biased."

What Mr Bonilla has done is realign every second part of the error code. The code is designed to work across a two-dimensional network of connected qubits and is called a surface code.

QUANTUM CHESSBOARD

You can imagine the surface code like a chessboard. In its original design, the black squares were designated to detect Z-errors and the white squares designated to detect X-errors. But Z-errors are far more common, so much of the error correcting power was wasted looking for less common X-errors.

Rather than have the 'chess squares' alternate ZZZZ to XXXX, the new code flips half of the quantum switches so that each square looks for both types of errors. This new code is referred to as XZZX code, reflecting the redesign of the surface code.

Professor Brown from Duke said: "The XZZX code is remarkable because it performs optimally for any bias by making a simple local transformation on half the qubits that changes X for Z and Z for X."

Assistant Professor Shruti Puri from the quantum research program at Yale University said her team is interested in using the new code for its work.

"What amazes me about this new code is its sheer elegance. It's remarkable error-correcting properties are coming from a simple modification to a code that has been studied extensively for almost two decades," Assistant Professor Puri said.

"It is extremely relevant for a new generation of quantum technology being developed at Yale and elsewhere. With this new code, I believe, we have considerably shortened the timeline to achieve scalable quantum computation."

Co-author Dr David Tuckett from the School of Physics said: "It's a bit like playing battleships with a quantum opponent. Theoretically, they could place their ships anywhere on the board. But after playing millions of games, we know that certain moves are more likely.

"From experiment we know that Z-errors are much more common than X-errors. Pablo has redesigned the code to take this into account and produced a much more powerful result to suppress errors."

RETROFIT FOR INDUSTRY

Co-author and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science Professor Stephen Bartlett said: "What's great about this design is that we can effectively retrofit it to the surface codes being developed across the industry.

"Having the code work on a two-dimensional surface is ideal for application in an industry that has historically produced 2D chip designs. We are optimistic that this work will help the industry build better experimental devices."

Co-author Dr Ben Brown from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and School of Physics worked closely with Mr Bonilla on the project. He said: "Building a functional quantum computer is a bit like trying to build the Wright Brothers' plane, and we haven't even gotten off the ground yet.

"Experimentalists are producing the strong, light-weight materials to build the plane, and we've just come up with a more aerodynamic design for the wings that have more lift. We might have just come up with the design that will help large-scale quantum computing take off."

CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new study by Oregon State University researchers found that shade provided by solar panels increased the abundance of flowers under the panels and delayed the timing of their bloom, both findings that could aid the agricultural community.

The study, believed to be the first that looked at the impact of solar panels on flowering plants and insects, has important implications for solar developers who manage the land under solar panels, as well as agriculture and pollinator health advocates who are seeking land for pollinator habitat restoration.

The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, are being released at a time when some states, such as Minnesota, North Carolina, Maryland, Vermont and Virginia, have developed statewide guidelines and incentives to promote pollinator-focused solar installations.

"The understudy of solar panels is typically managed to limit the growth of plants," said Maggie Graham, a faculty research assistant at Oregon State and lead author of the paper. "My thought coming into this research was can we flip that? Why not plant under solar arrays with something beneficial to the surrounding ecosystem, like flowers that attract pollinators? Would insects even use it? This study demonstrates that the answer is yes."

Pollinating insects aid in the reproduction of 75% of flowering plant species and 35% of crop species globally. In the United States, pollination services to agriculture are valued at $14 billion annually.

Habitat for pollinating insects is declining globally as a result of urbanization, agricultural intensification and land development. Changes in global climate can also cause shifts in habitat availability.

Meanwhile, solar photovoltaic installation in the U.S. has increased by an average of 48% per year over the past decade, and current capacity is expected to double again over the next five years, the researchers say.

The increased demand for solar panels leads to an interest in the field of agrivoltaics, where solar energy production is combined with agricultural production, such as planting agricultural crops or grazing animals, on the same land.

Graham works with Chad Higgins, an associate professor in Oregon State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Higgins recently published a paper that found co-developing land for both solar photovoltaic power and agriculture could provide 20% of total electricity generation in the United States with an investment of less than 1% of the annual U.S. budget.

Furthermore, wide-scale installation of agrivoltaic systems could lead to an annual reduction of 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S - the equivalent of 75,000 cars off the road per year - and the creation of more than 100,000 jobs in rural communities, while minimally impacting crop yield, Higgins found.

The new study led by Graham, who came to Oregon State after working at a nonprofit that focused on installing solar panels for low-income families, was conducted at the 45-acre Eagle Point Solar Plant in Jackson County, Oregon.

The research team collected data on pollinator and plant populations during seven, two-day sampling events from June through September 2019. Those corresponded with post-peak bloom times for flowers. Extending bloom times is important for pollinating insects because it provides them food later in the season, the researchers said.

The researchers collected data from 48 species of plants and 65 different insect species.

The study sites were broken into three categories: full shade plots under solar panels, partial shade plots under solar panels and full sun plots not under panels. Findings included:

Floral abundance was greatest in partial shade plots, where 4% more blooms were found compared to full sun and full shade plots.

The amount of flower species and the diversity of flowers didn't differ among the different plots.

An average of 3% more pollinating insects in partial shade and full sun plots than in full shade plots.

The amount of insect species and the diversity of insects was higher in partial shade and full sun than in full shade.

The number of insects per flower didn't differ among the different plots.

"Unused or underutilized lands below solar panels represent an opportunity to augment the expected decline of pollinator habitat," Graham said. "Near agricultural lands, this also has the potential to benefit the surrounding agricultural community and presents an avenue for future study. Solar developers, policy makers, agricultural communities and pollinator health advocates looking to maximize land-use efficiency, biodiversity and pollination services might want to consider pollinator habitat at solar photovoltaic sites as an option."

What The Study Did: This study used data from a national database to compare clinical outcomes of surgical patients with and without COVID-19.

Authors: Max R. Haffner, M.D., of the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento, is the  corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5697)

Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Using an innovative protein-based approach, researchers at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center and nearby Emory University have found genes and corresponding proteins that could point the way to new depression treatments.

Using a proteome-wide association study (PWAS) that integrated genome-wide association study (GWAS) data with human brain proteomic and genetic data, researchers have identified 19 genes that may lead to depression by altering brain protein levels. They also pinpointed 25 such proteins that offer promise as potential targets for new depression treatments.

The researchers detail their approach and findings in April 2021 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Depression is a common condition, but current treatments are ineffective for many people with the mental illness. This research sets the stage for finding new drugs to treat the illness by identifying important gene-protein pairs that likely contribute to the cause of depression and could serve as promising targets for future studies, according to lead researcher Dr. Aliza Wingo, a psychiatrist at the Atlanta VA. She's also an associate professor at Emory University.

Wingo works with Dr. Thomas Wingo, the first author of the study, at their joint laboratory at the Atlanta VA and Emory. The lab focuses on understanding the genetic basis of brain illnesses. They collaborated on the study with investigators at Emory's Center of Neurodegenerative Disease.

In seeking new therapies, the research team, with support from VA and the National Institutes of Health, aimed to identify brain proteins that likely cause depression. The team hypothesized that genetic variants influence depression by altering levels of certain brain proteins.

Genome-wide association studies played a key role in the research but were not sufficient by themselves, explained Thomas Wingo. GWAS is an important tool for its ability to spot variations associated with medical conditions, including depression, but the genome scans do not shed light on how genetic variations translate into increased disease risk. So the study design combined GWAS and human brain proteomic data toward answering the question, how can variations in brain protein levels explain some of the inherited risk for depression?

By examining proteins--which are the final products of gene expression and the main functional components of cells--PWAS can help elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying depression. The approach can importantly supplement information from GWAS by finding changes in the way a protein is being expressed in a normal gene versus a variant. Despite proteins' promise as biological informants, and in spite of the fact that proteins make up the bulk of drug targets and biomarkers, this study was conspicuous among depression studies for its direct look at proteins.

It was this rare scientific method--using the "largest and deepest reference human brain proteomes and summary statistics from the latest GWAS of depression," according to the authors--that allowed the researchers to identify the total of 25 proteins of interest, 20 of which prior GWAS studies did not peg as implicated in depression.

As for the 19 genes they homed in on, the researchers determined they "contribute to depression pathogenesis through modulating their brain protein abundance." The brain protein fluctuations detected by uniting GWAS and human brain proteomic data are likely among the earlier biological changes in depression and may predispose a person to the illness, said Aliza Wingo, making the findings particularly compelling in terms of therapeutic potential.

Follow-up research, including tests in model systems, is crucial to further examine the identified genes' possible roles in depression and to seek additional implicated genes and proteins, the study authors said. The provocative suggestion that the implicated proteins appear to contribute to the inherited risk of depression has spurred ongoing work at the Wingos' lab.

"We are very excited to continue to work on these promising targets in our lab but caution that the road leading to new drugs is long and difficult," said Thomas Wingo, noting another clinical hope based on this area of study: "We take heart that these findings could also prove useful as biomarkers for depressive symptoms. An effective biomarker--like hemoglobin A1C for diabetes--could help with diagnosis and management of depression."

An international team today reports the findings of an independent assessment of five commercially-available assays for tumour DNA sequencing - a fast, cheap and less invasive method to diagnose and monitor cancer.

The researchers revealed that all assays could reliably detect so-called circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) when it made up 0.5% of the total DNA in blood, a level of sensitivity that allows detection, genetic analysis and monitoring of late-stage and metastatic tumours.

Published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the study is a major milestone for the use of ctDNA assays as cancer diagnostics, outlining best-practice guidelines and uncovering key areas of future development.

The research was led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It forms part of the FDA-led Sequencing Quality Control Phase 2 project, which aims to develop standard protocols and quality control metrics for the use of next-generation sequencing in precision medicine, to make it a reality for patients.

"In order for ctDNA assays to be of benefit to patients in the clinic, they need to accurately and consistently detect cancer mutations across different labs and samples. Our study is the most comprehensive evaluation of analytical performance among ctDNA assays to date and represents a significant step forward in the field," says first author Dr Ira Deveson from the Garvan Institute.

Next-generation sequencing to monitor cancer DNA

When cancer cells develop, they accumulate mutations in their DNA, fragments of which enter the bloodstream when cancer cells break down. Thanks to assays employing next-generation sequencing, these ctDNA fragments can now be detected in a patient's blood samples, which could be used to identify and monitor cancer as an alternative to more invasive tissue biopsies.

However, while ctDNA assays are already being adopted in precision oncology clinical trials, researchers and clinicians still lack a thorough understanding of how accurate current assays are, and which aspects of the technology still need to be improved. This knowledge helps define what applications ctDNA sequencing is suitable for and is needed before ctDNA sequencing can be implemented widely in clinical practice.

In their study, researchers from 12 participating laboratories in Europe, Asia and the United States evaluated the performance of current industry-leading ctDNA assays, from companies Roche Sequencing Solutions, Illumina, Integrated DNA Technologies and Burning Rock Dx and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

They tested the assays using synthetic experiments and mock-ctDNA reference samples. Their analysis revealed that all laboratories detected ctDNA mutations above 0.5% relative frequency (consistent with late-stage and metastatic tumours) with high sensitivity, precision and reproducibility using all participating assays. However, the assays detected lower levels of ctDNA (consistent with early-stage cancer or early signs of disease relapse) unreliably and inconsistently between different tests.

In their published paper, the researchers outline priorities for the future development of ctDNA assays, which they say will help advance the technology for clinical applications in monitoring tumour progression, response to therapy and cancer relapse.

"Our findings indicate that the participating ctDNA assays may be suitable for molecular stratification and profiling tumour evolution in advanced cancer patients. This should help clear a path for more advanced clinical trials of ctDNA assays," says Associate Professor Donald Johann Jr., M.D., from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine departments of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine.

"Understanding the current assays' detection limits was a crucial step towards a future where blood tests can be routinely used as a cancer screening tool. This critical study is a thorough analytical evaluation of ctDNA assays, which defined diagnostic limits, assessed reproducibility and identified key experimental variables that impact performance, and which has been called for by government, regulatory and clinical organisations," says Dr Joshua Xu from the U.S. FDA National Center for Toxicological Research.

"Our independent performance analysis is a crucial mechanism to drive advances in next-generation sequencing approaches for their use in cancer detection and management. We expect it will help improve the tests' sensitivity and reliability for diagnosing tumours at early stages," says co-senior author Associate Professor Tim Mercer from the Garvan Institute and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland.

An amber fossil of a Cretaceous beetle has shed some light on the diet of one of the earliest pollinators of flowering plants.

The animal's remains were unearthed by researchers at the University of Bristol and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) who were able to study its fossil faecal matter, which was composed solely of pollen.

Besides being a visitor of angiosperms - flowering plants - researchers now have conclusive evidence that the new fossil named Pelretes vivificus also fed on their pollen. Details of this discovery have been published today in Nature Plants.

"The beetle is associated with clusters of pollen grains, suggesting that short-winged flower beetles visited angiosperms in the Cretaceous. Some aspects of the beetle's anatomy, such as its hairy abdomen, are also adaptations associated with pollination," said Professor Chenyang Cai, palaeontologist from the School of Earth Sciences and NIGPAS.

Erik Tihelka, entomologist and palaeontologist at the School of Earth Sciences, added: "The fossil is associated with beetle coprolites - fossil faecal pellets - that provide a very unusual but important insight into the diet of short-winged flower beetles in the Cretaceous. The fossil faecal pellets are completely composed of pollen, the same type that is found in clusters surrounding the beetle and attached to its body. We thus know that Pelretes visited angiosperms to feed on their pollen. This finding provides a direct link between early flowering plants in the Cretaceous and their insect visitors; it shows that these insect fossils were not just incidentally co-preserved with pollen, but that there was a genuine biological association between the two."

While pollinators such as bees and butterflies provide crucial ecosystem services today, little is known about the origin of the intimate association between flowering plants and insects.

Cretaceous amber fossils provide an important source of evidence for understanding the biology of early angiosperms, before they became the dominant group of plants on Earth. Amber is the fossil resin of ancient trees that often fortuitously trapped insects and other small organisms, preserving them with life-like fidelity.

"Farmers who want to protect their orchards can set up sticky traps on trees to monitor insects. Now imagine if your only insight into an ancient ecosystem were such sticky traps and you were to reconstruct all its ecological interactions based solely on this source of evidence. That is the challenge faced by palaeontologists studying amber," explains Tihelka. "Luckily, the amber trap from northern Myanmar is one of the riches fossiliferous amber deposits known. Besides the unparalleled abundance of fossil insects, the amber dates back to the mid-Cretaceous, right when angiosperms were taking off," said Mr Tihelka.

Two hundred million years ago the world was as green as today, overgrown with dense vegetation. But it was not as colourful - there were no flowers. Flowering plants that make up over 80% of all plant species today, only begun to diversify in the Cretaceous, about 125 million years ago. Some scientists have attributed the huge evolutionary success of angiosperms to their mutualistic relationships with insect pollinators, but fossil evidence of Cretaceous pollinators has so far been scarce.

The flower beetle Pelretes vivificus lived in the Burmese amber rainforest some 98 million years ago. Its closest relatives are short-winged flower beetles (Kateretidae) that today occur in Australia, visiting a diverse range of flowers and feeding on their pollen.

"The pollen associated with the beetle can be assigned to the fossil genus Tricolpopollenites. This group is attributed to the eudicots, a living group of angiosperms, that includes the orders Malpighiales and Ericales," explains Dr. Liqin Li, fossil pollen specialist from NIGPAS who contributed to the study.

This shows that pollinators took advantage of early angiosperms soon after their initial diversification and by the mid-Cretaceous visited a diverse range of groups.