Knowledge Update

​Toronto, July 23 (IANS) In a first, Canadian veterinary researchers have successfully produced three wood bison calves using in vitro fertilisation.

Indigenous to Canada, the wood bison are threatened both by disease and loss of habitat.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 wood bison remain in the wild -- less than five per cent of their original numbers. 

Scientists hope that this reproductive breakthrough by researchers from the University of Saskatchewan will help retain genetic diversity and eventually rebuild the depleted wild herds.

"The babies look great," said Gregg Adams, Professor at Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), University of Saskatchewan.

"They're keeping up with mom, and I'm really happy about it," Adams said in a university statement.

Researchers produced them in a laboratory, then transferred the embryos into surrogate mothers more than nine months ago. The bison cows gave birth to the calves earlier this month, the statement added.

A fourth calf was produced from a frozen embryo that was taken from a bison cow in 2012 and transferred to a surrogate mother in 2015 -- another reproductive first for the bison species, the researchers said.

"The whole objective of our programme is to conserve the species. I think what we're doing with advanced reproductive technologies is really designed to preserve the genetic diversity (of the animals)," Adams said. 

"If we can preserve the genetic diversity, I'll feel like I've done my job. That will benefit both the wild populations as well as any livestock producers," Adams noted.​

​Tokyo, July 25 (IANS) Researchers have discovered a very unusual zoantharian species on the east coast of Okinawa Island in Japan.

Generally, most known zoantharians are colonial (hence their common name of 'colonial anemones'), and many dwell in shallow waters of subtropical and tropical regions, where their large colonies can be found on coral reefs.

But the new species, named Sphenopus exilis, were leading solitary lives, the researchers reported in the journal ZooKeys.

"This report demonstrates how much more research is needed on these understudied ecosystems," said lead author Takuma Fujii from Kagoshima University in Japan.

"The only reason this species was discovered was that the right person was in the right place at the right time," said study co-author James Davis Reimer from the University of Ryukyus in Nishihara, Japan.

Solitary zoantharian species, such as this one, are known from a scant few reports, and only three species are described, all reported more than 100 years ago from the Indo-Pacific region.

The new species is much smaller than the other three Sphenopus species, with its polyps measuring approximately three cm in length, the study said.​

London, July 25 (IANS) To better treat a variety of diseases, researchers have developed soft, flexible and motor-less microrobots that can be remotely controlled with electromagnetic fields.

Made up of a biocompatible hydrogel and magnetic nanoparticles, these microbots can move and swim inside the patient's body when an electromagnetic field is applied, accoding to the researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Switzerland who developed bio-inspired robots that looks and moves like a bacterium. 

To build one of these microrobots, the nanoparticles were first placed inside layers of a biocompatible hydrogel. 

Then, an electromagnetic field was applied to orientate the nanoparticles at different parts of the robot, followed by a polymerisation step to "solidify" the hydrogel. 

After this, the robot was placed in water where it folded in specific ways depending on the orientation of the nanoparticles inside the gel, to form the final overall 3D architecture of the microrobot.

Once the final shape was achieved, an electromagnetic field was used to make the robot swim. Then, when heated, the robot changed shape and unfolded. 

This fabrication approach allowed the researchers to build microrobots that mimic the bacterium that causes African trypanosomiasis, otherwise known as sleeping sickness. 

This particular bacterium uses a flagellum for propulsion, but hides it away once inside a person's bloodstream as a survival mechanism.

The researchers tested different microrobot designs to come up with one that imitated this behaviour. The prototype robot has a bacterium-like flagellum that enables it to swim. When heated with a laser, the flagellum wraps around the robot's body and is "hidden".

Scientists around the world have been studying ways to use miniature robots to better treat a variety of diseases. 

The robots are designed to enter the human body, where they can deliver drugs at specific locations or perform precise operations like clearing clogged-up arteries.

The work was published in the journal Nature Communications.​

​New York, July 26 (IANS) A non-invasive and inexpensive hearing test may help physicians identify infants with autism risk as researches have discovered that an inner ear deficiency may impact speech recognition ability of children with the disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impairments in social-communication skills and restricted and repetitive behaviours. 

Some of the earliest and consistent signs of ASD involve auditory communication, however, most tests rely on speech, and are often ineffective in children who are very young or who have communication delays.

The new findings, published in the journal Autism Research, could ultimately be used as a way to identify children at risk for the disorder at an early age.

"This study identifies a simple, safe, and non-invasive method to screen young children for hearing deficits that are associated with Autism," said co-author of the study Anne Luebke, associate professor at University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York.

"This technique may provide clinicians a new window into the disorder and enable us to intervene earlier and help achieve optimal outcomes," Luebke noted.

In the new study, researchers used a technique that measures what are called otoacoustic emissions. 

Using miniature speaker/microphone earplugs, the researchers were able to measure hearing deficiencies by listening for signs that the ear is having difficulty processing sounds.

Specifically, the device's highly sensitive microphone can detect minute sound emission made by inner ear outer hair cells in response to certain tones or clicking sounds. 

If these cells are not functioning properly, the device fails to detect an emission which indicates that inner ear -- or cochlear -- function is impaired.

The researchers tested the hearing of children between the ages of six and 17, roughly half of whom have been diagnosed with ASD. 

They found that the children with ASD had hearing difficultly in a specific frequency (1-2 kHz) that is important for processing speech. 

They also found a correlation between the degree of cochlear impairment and the severity of ASD symptoms.

"Auditory impairment has long been associated with developmental delay and other problems, such as language deficits," said co-author of the study Loisa Bennetto, associate professor University of Rochester in New York.

"Difficulty in processing speech may contribute to some of the core symptoms of the disease," Bennetto noted.

New York, July 26 (IANS) The fountain of youth may reside in an embryonic stem cell gene named Nanog, suggests new research that may lead to treatments for conditions due to reduced bone strength, Alzheimer's and other age-related disorders.

In a series of experiments at the University at Buffalo in New York, the gene kicked into action dormant cellular processes that are key to preventing weak bones, clogged arteries and other telltale signs of growing old.

"Our research into Nanog is helping us to better understand the process of ageing and ultimately how to reverse it," said the study's lead author Stelios Andreadis, Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The findings, published in the journal Stem Cells, also showed promise in counteracting premature ageing disorders such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

To battle ageing, the human body holds a reservoir of non-specialised cells that can regenerate organs. 

These cells are called adult stem cells, and they are located in every tissue of the body and respond rapidly when there is a need.

But as people age, fewer adult stem cells perform their job well, a scenario which leads to age-related disorders. 

Reversing the effects of ageing on adult stem cells, essentially rebooting them, can help overcome this problem.

In the new study, Panagiotis Mistriotis, a graduate student in Andreadis' lab and first author of the study, introduced Nanog into aged stem cells. 

He found that Nanog opens two key cellular pathways that jumpstarts dormant proteins into building cytoskeletons that adult stem cells need to form muscle cells that contract. 

Force generated by these cells ultimately helps restore the regenerative properties that adult stem cells lose due to ageing.

"Not only does Nanog have the capacity to delay aging, it has the potential in some cases to reverse it," Andreadis said.

The researchers are now focusing on identifying drugs that can replace or mimic the effects of Nanog. This will allow them to study whether aspects of aging inside the body can also be reversed. 

Washington, July 26 (IANS) US space agency NASA will launch a spacecraft in September to a near-Earth asteroid known as Bennu to harvest a sample of surface material and return it to the Earth to scan for signs of life.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will measure the spectral signatures of Bennu's mineralogical and molecular components. Ideally, the sample will come from a region in which the building blocks of life may be found.

Known as OVIRS (OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer), the instrument on board will measure visible and near-infrared light reflected and emitted from the asteroid and split the light into its component wavelengths, much like a prism that splits sunlight into a rainbow.

"OVIRS is key to our search for organics on Bennu. In particular, we will rely on it to find the areas of Bennu rich in organic molecules to identify possible sample sites of high science value, as well as the asteroid's general composition," explained Lauretta, principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission at University of Arizona in Tucson.

OVIRS will work in tandem with another OSIRIS-REx instrument -- the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES).

While OVIRS maps the asteroid in the visible and near infrared, OTES picks up in the thermal infrared.

This will allow the science team to map the entire asteroid over a range of wavelengths that are most interesting to scientists searching for organics and water.

In the visible and infrared spectrum, minerals and other materials have unique signatures like fingerprints.

These fingerprints allow scientists to identify various organic materials, as well as carbonates, silicates and absorbed water, on the surface of the asteroid.

The data will actually allow scientists to make a map of the relative abundance of various materials across Bennu's surface.

"I can't think of a spectral payload that has been quite this comprehensive before," said Dennis Reuter, OVIRS instrument scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

As the spacecraft approaches Bennu, OVIRS will view one entire hemisphere at a time to measure how the spectrum changes as the asteroid rotates, allowing scientists to compare ground-based observations to those from the spacecraft.

Once at the asteroid, OVIRS will gather spectral data and create detailed maps of the surface and help in the selection of a sample site.

Despite its capabilities to perform complex science, OVIRS is surprisingly inexpensive and compact in its design.

The entire spectrometer operates at 10 watts, requiring less power than a standard household light bulb.

Unlike most spectrometers, OVIRS has no moving parts, reducing the risk of a malfunction.

"We designed OVIRS to be robust and capable of lasting a long time in space," Reuter said in a NASA statement.

The team also had to plan for another major threat: water.

Immediately after launch, the team will turn on heaters on the instrument to bake off any water.

The heat will not be intense enough to cause any damage to OVIRS, and the team will turn the heaters off once all of the water has evaporated​

​Washington, July 26 (IANS) When it comes to facing a job interview, better go in-person instead of a video-based or other technology-mediated interviews, if you have the options, new research suggests.

"We live in a world where we increasingly rely on technology, but this study reminds us that personal interactions should never be underestimated," said study author Nikki Blacksmith, a doctoral candidate at George Washington University.

The study found that in-person interviews yielded better impressions for both the company and the candidate. 

"Many times, the candidate does not have a choice in the format of the interview. However, the organization does have a choice and if they are not consistent with the type of interview they use across candidates, it could result in fairness issues and even possibly a lawsuit," Blacksmith noted.

To compare the effectiveness of in-person and technology-mediated interviews, Ms. Blacksmith and her co-authors examined 12 articles published from 2000-2007 that included interviewer and interviewee ratings, that is, assessment of how the company and the candidate performed during the interview. 

The study found that, overall, technology-mediated interviews resulted in lower ratings for both the company and the candidate. 

Within that category, video interviews received the most negative rankings, followed by telephone and computer interviews. 

Face-to-face interviews received more favourable rankings.

Additionally, the study looked at the effect of time on the ratings, assuming that as people became more accustomed to the technology and it improved or advanced, they would rate it higher. 

In fact, the opposite occurred, and ratings became more negative for more recent studies, showed the findings published in the journal Personnel Assessment and Decisions.​

London, July 26 (IANS) Using a novel technique, scientists have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to selectively sequence fragments of DNA in real time, thus greatly reducing the period needed to analyse biological samples.

"This is the first time that direct selection of specific DNA molecules has been shown on any device. We hope that it will enable many future novel applications, especially for portable sequencing," said Matt Loose from University of Nottingham.

Called MinION, the new device was used with real-time nanopore sequencing to enable the user analyse only DNA strands that contain pre-determined signatures of interest. 

"This makes sequencing as efficient as possible and will provide a viable, informatics based alternative to traditional wet lab enrichment techniques. The application of this approach to a wide number of problems from pathogen detection to sequencing targeted regions of the human genome is now within reach," Loose added in a paper described in the journal Nature Methods.

The pocket-sized device -- the same technology which NASA recently sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in an effort to investigate whether DNA sequencing is possible in microgravity - employs tiny molecular pores in a membrane that 'sense' the sequence of DNA fragments passing through these nanopores, producing minute fluctuations in a current trace. 

These current traces, termed "squiggles" then need to be converted to DNA bases using base caller software, often located in the cloud. The team used signal processing techniques to map these squiggles to reference sequences, by passing this step.

The researchers showed that this "real-time selective sequencing", or as some have called it "DNA testing", can reduce the time needed to sequence key DNA fragments or enable the analysis of pathogen samples where there is host and other DNA present in the sample.​

​Beijing, July 25 (IANS) The Chinese city of Sansha has decided to allocate five million yuan (about $748,000) annually for maritime environmental conservation for the next three years.

New York, July 23 (IANS) A US-based startup has launched a smart laptop shell that turns your Android smartphone into a complete laptop -- making it more convenient and affordable for people in developing countries like India and South Africa to carry their office in their pocket, literally.