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The Independent
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Covid and flu can awaken ‘sleeping' cancer cells, scientists find
Respiratory illnesses such as Covid and the flu can awaken dormant cancer cells in the body and cause them to spread, scientists have warned. Researchers found when mice were exposed to Covid or influenza, dormant cancer cells woke up and spread rapidly. The inflammatory process, which happens when the body's immune system is activated in response to an infection, can awaken disseminated cancer cells (DCCs). These are cells that have broken away from a primary tumour that can spread to distant organs, often lying dormant for extended periods. Researchers found that a Covid or influenza infection in the mice sparked a massive expansion of metastatic cells in the lungs within days of infection and the appearance of metastatic lesions within two weeks. Their analysis, published in the journal Nature, revealed the dormant cells were awoken by interleukin-6 (IL-6) - a protein that immune cells release in response to infections or injuries. The results are 'really quite dramatic', said James DeGregori, a cancer biologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and an author of the study. 'Respiratory virus infections didn't just awaken the cells,' he added. These viruses also caused them to proliferate, or multiply 'to enormous numbers', he said. 'Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames'. However, two population studies also showed the risk of a virus waking up dormant cancer cells is not just a problem in mice. The study's authors suggested that respiratory infections in cancer patients in remission are linked to cancer metastasis - where cancer cells spread from the original tumour to other parts of the body. Researchers used data from patients who were diagnosed with cancer and other diseases prior to the pandemic from the UK Biobank, which holds data from more than 500,000 people. Researchers from Utrecht University and Imperial College London investigated whether a Covid infection increased the risk of cancer-related mortality among participants with cancer. They focused on cancer survivors who had been diagnosed at least five years before the pandemic, ensuring they were likely in remission. Among them, 487 individuals tested positive for Covid and these were compared to 4,350 matched controls who tested negative. After excluding those cancer patients who died from Covid, the researchers found that cancer patients who tested positive for Covid faced an almost doubling of risk of dying from cancer compared to those patients with cancer who had tested negative. The second population study used data from the US Flatiron Health database and focussed on data from female breast cancer patients seen at 280 US cancer clinics. They compared the incidence of metastases to the lung among those who did not have Covid (36,216) and patients that tested positive (532). Participants were followed up just over four years later and researchers found those who came down with Covid were almost 50 per cent more likely to experience metastatic progression to the lungs compared with patients with breast cancer without a diagnosis of Covid. 'Our findings suggest that cancer survivors may be at increased risk of metastatic relapse after common respiratory viral infections,' said Dr Roel Vermeulen of Utrecht University. 'It is important to note that our study focused on the period before Covid-19 vaccines were available.' 'Our findings indicate that individuals with a history of cancer may benefit from taking precautions against respiratory viruses, such as vaccination when available, and discussing any concerns with their healthcare providers,' said Dr Julio Aguirre-Ghiso of MECCC's Cancer Dormancy Institute, a co-leader of the study.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Chinese sub discovers deepest-ever creatures 10 km undersea
A Chinese submersible has discovered thousands of worms and molluscs nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the deepest colony of creatures ever observed, a study revealed on Wednesday. The discovery in Earth's deepest underwater valley suggests that there could be much more life thriving in the hostile conditions at the bottom of our planet's largely unexplored oceans than previously thought, the China-led team of scientists said. Almost all life on Earth is supported by light from the Sun. However in the total darkness at the bottom of the world, these creatures live off of chemicals such as methane seeping through cracks in the seafloor, a process called chemosynthesis. Last year, the Chinese submersible "Fendouzhe" -- or "Striver" -- dove 23 times into the depths of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean with researchers on board, according to the study in the journal Nature. They found colonies of thousands of marine tubeworms and molluscs called bivalves at depths ranging from 2,500 to 9,533 metres (8,200 to 31,000 feet) deep. Video released alongside the study showed fields of tubeworms, which grew up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) long, as well as piles of molluscs and clams. Spiky crustaceans, free-floating marine worms, sea cucumbers, feathery-armed sea lilies and other invertebrates were also recorded in the depths. The study marked "the discovery of the deepest and the most extensive chemosynthesis-based communities known to exist on Earth," its authors said. Given that other ocean trenches are similar, "such chemosynthesis-based communities might be more widespread than previously anticipated," they added. The researchers said they also found "compelling evidence" that methane was being produced by microbes, with the tubeworms tending to cluster around microbial mats that resemble snow. Previous studies have found thriving communities of single-cell organisms on the ocean floor, but few large animals. But a remotely operated vehicle discovered tubeworms and other marine invertebrates living in hydrothermal vents in the crust below the seafloor two kilometres deep in the Pacific, research said last year. - Pressure rising - The new study was published as nations wrangle over the contentious issue of deep-sea mining. China, the United States and others have expressed interest in mining the depths for valuable minerals. Ocean scientists warn that mining the little-explored seafloor, one of the last wild zones on the planet, could decimate fragile ecosystems that are not yet well understood. Despite recent talks, the International Seabed Authority -- which oversees deep-sea mining in international waters -- has yet to adopt long-awaited rules governing the industry. Chinese media has previously reported that the Fendouzhe submersible mission will conduct research on "deep-sea materials". Only a handful of people have ever visited the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is a crescent-shaped depression in the Earth's crust that is deeper than Mount Everest is high. The first explorers visited the trench in 1960 on a brief expedition. But after that, there were no missions until Hollywood director James Cameron made the first solo trip to the bottom in 2012, describing a "desolate" and "alien" environment. The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is a crushing eight tons per square inch, more than a thousand times the atmospheric pressure at sea level. dl/jj
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Science
- Al Arabiya
A submersible finds sea creatures thriving in the deepest parts of the ocean
An underwater voyage has revealed a network of creatures thriving at the bottom of deep-sea ocean trenches. In these extreme environments, the crushing pressure, scant food, and lack of sunlight can make it hard to survive. Scientists know that tiny microbes prosper there, but less is known about evidence of larger marine life. Researchers traveling along the Kuril–Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches in the northwest Pacific Ocean used a submersible to find tubeworms and mollusks flourishing at over 31,000 feet (9.5 kilometers) deep. The deepest part of the ocean goes down to about 36,000 feet (11 kilometers). Scientists had surveyed this area before and had hints that larger creatures might live at such depths. The new discovery confirms those suspicions and shows just how extensive the communities are, said Julie Huber, a deep sea microbiologist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 'Look how many there are, look how deep they are,' said Huber, who was not involved with the research. 'They don't all look the same, and they're in a place that we haven't had good access to before.' The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. In the absence of light to make their own food, many trench-dwellers, big and small, survive on key elements like carbon that trickle down from higher in the ocean. Scientists think microbes in this new network may instead be capitalizing on carbon that's accumulated in the trench over time, processing it to create chemicals that seep through cracks in the ocean floor. The tubeworms and mollusks may survive by eating those tiny creatures or living with them and snacking on the products of their labor, scientists said. With this discovery, future studies will focus on how these deep-sea creatures adapted to survive in such extreme conditions and how exactly they harness chemical reactions for food, study authors Mengran Du with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Vladimir Mordukhovich with the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement. 'Their existence challenges long-standing assumptions about life's potential at extreme depths,' the authors said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Underwater voyage reveals network of creatures thriving at the bottom of deep-sea trenches
A recent underwater expedition has revealed a thriving network of creatures at the bottom of deep-sea ocean trenches. These extreme environments, with crushing pressure, scant food, and no sunlight, pose immense survival challenges. While tiny microbes are known to prosper, evidence of larger marine life has been scarce. Using a submersible, researchers exploring the Kuril–Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches in the northwest Pacific found tubeworms and molluscs flourishing over 31,000 feet (9.5 kilometres) deep. The ocean's deepest point is approximately 36,000 feet (11 kilometres). Scientists had surveyed this area before and had hints that larger creatures might live at such depths. The new discovery confirms those suspicions and shows just how extensive the communities are, said Julie Huber, a deep sea microbiologist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 'Look how many there are, look how deep they are," said Huber, who was not involved with the research. 'They don't all look the same and they're in a place that we haven't had good access to before.' The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. In the absence of light to make their own food, many trench-dwellers big and small survive on key elements like carbon that trickle down from higher in the ocean. Scientists think microbes in this new network may instead be capitalizing on carbon that's accumulated in the trench over time, processing it to create chemicals that seep through cracks in the ocean floor. The tubeworms and mollusks may survive by eating those tiny creatures or living with them and snacking on the products of their labor, scientists said. With this discovery, future studies will focus on how these deep- sea creatures adapted to survive in such extreme conditions and how exactly they harness chemical reactions for food, study authors Mengran Du with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Vladimir Mordukhovich with the Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement. Their existence challenges 'long-standing assumptions about life's potential at extreme depths,' the authors said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Physicists still divided about quantum world, 100 years on
The theory of quantum mechanics has transformed daily life since being proposed a century ago, yet how it works remains a mystery -- and physicists are deeply divided about what is actually going on, a survey in the journal Nature said Wednesday. "Shut up and calculate!" is a famous quote in quantum physics that illustrates the frustration of scientists struggling to unravel one of the world's great paradoxes. For the last century, equations based on quantum mechanics have consistently and accurately described the behaviour of extremely small objects. However, no one knows what is happening in the physical reality behind the mathematics. The problem started at the turn of the 20th century, when scientists realised that the classical principles of physics did not apply to things on the level on atoms. Bafflingly, photons and electrons appear to behave like both particles and waves. They can also be in different positions simultaneously -- and have different speeds or levels of energy. In 1925, Austrian physicist Erwin Schroedinger and Germany's Werner Heisenberg developed a set of complex mathematical tools that describe quantum mechanics using probabilities. This "wave function" made it possible to predict the results of measurements of a particle. These equations led to the development of a huge amount of modern technology, including lasers, LED lights, MRI scanners and the transistors used in computers and phones. But the question remained: what exactly is happening in the world beyond the maths? - A confusing cat - To mark the 100th year of quantum mechanics, many of the world's leading physicists gathered last month on the German island of Heligoland, where Heisenberg wrote his famous equation. More than 1,100 of them responded to a survey conducted by the leading scientific journal Nature. The results showed there is a "striking lack of consensus among physicists about what quantum theory says about reality", Nature said in a statement. More than a third -- 36 percent -- of the respondents favoured the mostly widely accepted theory, known as the Copenhagen interpretation. In the classical world, everything has defined properties -- such as position or speed -- whether we observe them or not. But this is not the case in the quantum realm, according to the Copenhagen interpretation developed by Heisenberg and Danish physicist Niels Bohr in the 1920s. It is only when an observer measures a quantum object that it settles on a specific state from the possible options, goes the theory. This is described as its wave function "collapsing" into a single possibility. The most famous depiction of this idea is Schroedinger's cat, which remains simultaneously alive and dead in a box -- until someone peeks inside. The Copenhagen interpretation "is the simplest we have", Brazilian physics philosopher Decio Krause told Nature after responding to the survey. Despite the theory's problems -- such as not explaining why measurement has this effect -- the alternatives "present other problems which, to me, are worse," he said. - Enter the multiverse - But the majority of the physicists supported other ideas. Fifteen percent of the respondents opted for the "many worlds" interpretation, one of several theories in physics that propose we live in a multiverse. It asserts that the wave function does not collapse, but instead branches off into as many universes as there are possible outcomes. So when an observer measures a particle, they get the position for their world -- but it is in all other possible positions across many parallel universes. "It requires a dramatic readjustment of our intuitions about the world, but to me that's just what we should expect from a fundamental theory of reality," US theoretical physicist Sean Carroll said in the survey. The quantum experts were split on other big questions facing the field. Is there some kind of boundary between the quantum and classical worlds, where the laws of physics suddenly change? Forty-five percent of the physicists responded yes to this question -- and the exact same percentage responded no. Just 24 percent said they were confident the quantum interpretation they chose was correct. And three quarters believed that it will be replaced by a more comprehensive theory one day. ber/dl/jj Solve the daily Crossword
