An essential amino acid that is mistakenly believed to cause drowsiness after eating turkey has been found in an asteroid for the first time, giving scientists clues to the origin of life on Earth.
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Hepatitis D Virus Classified as Carcinogenic: Implications
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization has classified hepatitis D virus (HDV) as carcinogenic, citing sufficient evidence and placing it alongside hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
WHO’s classification of hepatitis D virus as carcinogenic raises urgent questions for vaccination, screening, and treatment strategies worldwide.
Why important genes ‘go quiet’ as we get older
The human gut renews itself faster than any other tissue: every few days, new cells are created from specialized stem cells. However, as we get older, epigenetic changes build up in these stem cells. These are chemical markers on the DNA that act like switches, determining which genes remain active.
The study, recently published in Nature Aging, was conducted by an international team led by Prof. Francesco Neri from the University of Turin, Italy, and shows that changes in the gut do not occur randomly. Rather, a specific pattern develops over the course of aging, which the researchers refer to as ACCA (Aging-and Colon Cancer-Associated) drift. “We observe an epigenetic pattern that becomes increasingly apparent with age,” explains Prof. Neri, former group leader at the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute in Jena.
Genes that maintain the balance in healthy tissue are particularly affected, including those that control the renewal of the intestinal epithelium via the Wnt signaling pathway. The changes described as “drifting” can be detected not only in the aging gut, but also in almost all colon cancer samples examined. This suggests that the aging of stem cells creates an environment that promotes the development of cancer.
Italian mission adds to growing IRIDE space fleet
The Italian programme IRIDE, which provides public sector services based on data from its fleet of Earth observation constellations, has added eight satellites to its second constellation, Eaglet II.
The Eaglet II satellites lifted off on board a Falcon 9 rocket at 19:44 CET (10:44 local time), 28 November, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US. All satellites were placed into orbit about one hour after launch. Acquisition of signal for all satellites was confirmed several hours later by OHB’s Mission Control Centre in Rome.
The launch was a rideshare carrying numerous other satellites into orbit, including HydroGNSS (ESA’s first Scout mission under its FutureEO programme) and two ICEYE satellites for Greece.
Scientists Restore Aging Blood Stem Cells to a More Youthful State in Mice
Deep within your bone marrow, a specialized set of stem cells is busy pumping out new blood cells to sustain your body. As we age, these hematopoietic stem cells (or HSCs) become less productive, affecting our immune system and increasing our risk of conditions like anemia and cancer.
Now, scientists have found a way to rewind the clock in aging HSCs, which could potentially help to treat age-related blood and immune deficiencies.
Like most of our cells, HSCs contain tiny compartments known as lysosomes. These are the cells’ recycling centers, where complex molecules like proteins and lipids are sent to be broken down into smaller, reusable parts.
Scientists Claim to Detect Dark Matter for the First Time Ever
A team of astronomers say they may have detected dark matter, the invisible substance thought to make up over 85 percent of all matter in the universe, for the first time in history.
The claim is controversial, and the findings, published in a new study in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, will need to be borne out by further observations. But at least until it gets picked apart by other physicists, it’s one of the most exciting developments in the hunt for this omnipresent specter haunting the cosmos.
“This could be a crucial breakthrough in unraveling the nature of dark matter,” study author Tomonori Totani, an astronomer at the University of Tokyo, told The Guardian.
We May Be Moving Faster Through The Universe Than We Thought
Our Solar System orbits the galactic center at an estimated 792,000 kilometers per hour, taking 225 million Earth years to complete one galactic year. Meanwhile, the Milky Way as a whole is thought to be traveling about 2.1 million kilometers per hour.
While our star certainly isn’t lollygagging its way through the Universe, an analysis of radio galaxies by an international team of scientists suggests we may be moving even faster through the cosmos than anybody thought. A lot faster.
That would be noteworthy on its own, yet this contradiction also has “profound cosmological implications,” the researchers write, hinting at flaws in our current understanding of the Universe in a way that potentially challenges a longstanding principle that argues our position in space isn’t all that special.