In BulletsResearchers in a report state that the Earth's vital signs have reached "code red" and that "humanity is unequivocally facing a climate emergency." World Scientists, in a special report, warned that out of 35 planetary vital signs used in tracking climate change, 16 of them are at record extremes. The authors share a data-driven illustration that notes the increasing frequency of extreme heat events, increasing global tree cover loss due to fires, and a greater prevalence of viral diseases.
More information: Ripple et al. (2022). World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency 2022. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac083
Journal information: BioScience
Research labs and biotech firms are attempting cellular-reprogramming procedures to turn back the aging process and make them appear younger. These procedures are based on the work of Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery in 2006, transforming adult cells into stem cells that mimic embryonic cells. They gave just four proteins to a skin cell, and after about two weeks, some of the cells unexpectedly transformed into younger cells. The method allows researchers to take 101-year-shriveled old's skin cells and turn them back in time, as if they had never aged at all, at least in a petri dish. Scientists claim that there is evidence that the procedure can regenerate animals and their organs and can even stop the aging process in some cases. Although many of these claims have not been widely replicated by other labs, investors are spending billions of dollars to explore further.
More information: Antonio Regalado (2022). How scientists want to make you young again. MIT Technology Review.
Journal information: MIT Technology Review
The ability to retain and retrieve memory in an individual's brain weakens with time. The function of the hippocampus, a region in the brain, is critical in memory. Researchers at the University of Bordeaux, France, have recently demonstrated improved memory retrieval and retention through chromogenic stimulation of hippocampal adult-born neurons in rat models. To accomplish this, rats were injected with a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-tagged retrovirus (RV) with a DREADD-(Designer Receptors exclusively Activated by Designer Drug) Gs construct. The team also found that adult-born cells can participate in memory retention and they don't have to be young to participate.
More information: Lods et al. (2022). Chemogenetic stimulation of adult neurogenesis, and not neonatal neurogenesis, is sufficient to improve long-term memory accuracy. Progress in Neurobiology. DOI:10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102364
Journal information: Progress in Neurobiology