Gene found in monkeys and mice could work as a new type of antiviral to block HIV, Ebola, and other deadly viruses in humans

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALT

A nationwide team of researchers, led by scientists at University of Utah Health and The Rockefeller University, has determined how a genetic mutation found in mice and monkeys interferes with viruses such as HIV and Ebola. They say the finding could eventually lead to the development of medical interventions in humans.

The gene, called retroCHMP3, encodes an altered protein that disrupts the ability of certain viruses to exit an infected cell and prevents it from going on to infect other cells.

Normally, some viruses encase themselves in cell membranes and then make an exit by budding off from the host cell. RetroCHMP3 delays that process long enough that the virus can no longer escape.

“This was an unexpected discovery,” says Nels Elde, Ph.D., senior author of the study and an evolutionary geneticist in the Department of Human Genetics at U of U Health. “We were surprised that slowing down our cell biology just a little bit throws virus replication off its game.”

The study appears online Sept. 30 in advance of the Oct. 14 issue of Cell.

RetroCHMP3 originated as a duplicated copy of a gene called charged multivesicular body protein 3, or CHMP3. While some monkeys, mice, and other animals have retroCHMP3 or other variants, humans only have the original CHMP3.

In humans and other creatures, CHMP3 is well known for playing a key part of a role in cellular processes that are vital for maintaining cellular membrane integrity, intercellular signaling, and cell division.

HIV and certain other viruses hijack this pathway to bud off from the cellular membrane and infect other cells. Based on their research, Elde and his colleagues suspected that the duplications of CHMP3 they discovered in primates and mice blocked this from happening as protection against viruses like HIV and other viral diseases.

Building on this notion, Elde and other scientists began exploring whether variants of retroCHMP3 might work as an antiviral. In laboratory experiments conducted elsewhere, a shorter, altered version of human CHMP3 successfully prevented HIV from budding off cells. But there was a glitch: the modified protein also disrupted important cellular functions, causing the cells to die.

Unlike the other researchers, Elde and his colleagues at U of U Health had naturally occurring variants of CHMP3 from other animals in hand. So, working in collaboration with researchers Sanford Simon at The Rockefeller University, along with Phuong Tieu Schmitt and Anthony Schmitt at Pennsylvania State University, they tried a different approach.

Using genetic tools, they coaxed human cells to produce the version of retroCHMP3 found in squirrel monkeys. Then, they infected the cells with HIV and found that the virus had difficulty budding off from the cells, essentially stopping them in their tracks. And this occurred without disrupting metabolic signaling or related cellular functions that can cause cell death. 

“We’re excited about the work because we showed some time ago that many different enveloped viruses use this pathway, called the ESCRT pathway, to escape cells,” says Wes Sundquist, Ph.D., a co-corresponding author of the study and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. “We always thought that this might be a point at which cells could defend themselves against such viruses, but we didn’t see how that could happen without interfering with other very important cellular functions.”

From an evolutionary perspective, Elde believes this represents a new type of immunity that can arise quickly to protect against short-lived threats.

“We thought the ESCRT pathway was an Achilles heel that viruses like HIV and Ebola could always exploit as they bud off and infect new cells,” Elde says. “RetroCHMP3 flipped the script, making the viruses vulnerable. Moving forward, we hope to learn from this lesson and use it to counter viral diseases.”

More specifically, that lesson “raises the possibility that an intervention that slows down the process may be inconsequential for the host, but provide us with a new anti-retroviral,” says Sanford Simon, Ph.D, a study co-author and  a professor of Cellular Biophysics at The Rockefeller University.

                                                ###

In addition to Drs. Elde and Sundquist, University of Utah and University of Utah Health scientists Lara Rheinemann, Diane Miller Downhour, Gaelle Mercenne, Kristen Davenport, Christina Necessary, and John McCullough contributed to this study.

 

The study, “RetroCHMP3 Blocks Budding of Enveloped Viruses Without Blocking Cytokinesis,” appears in the October 14, 2021 issue of Cell. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Pew Charitable Trusts Innovation Fund Award.

A nationwide team of researchers, led by scientists at University of Utah Health and The Rockefeller University, has determined how a genetic mutation found in mice and monkeys interferes with viruses such as HIV and Ebola. They say the finding could eventually lead to the development of medical interventions in humans.

The gene, called retroCHMP3, encodes an altered protein that disrupts the ability of certain viruses to exit an infected cell and prevents it from going on to infect other cells.

Normally, some viruses encase themselves in cell membranes and then make an exit by budding off from the host cell. RetroCHMP3 delays that process long enough that the virus can no longer escape.

“This was an unexpected discovery,” says Nels Elde, Ph.D., senior author of the study and an evolutionary geneticist in the Department of Human Genetics at U of U Health. “We were surprised that slowing down our cell biology just a little bit throws virus replication off its game.”

The study appears online Sept. 30 in advance of the Oct. 14 issue of Cell.

RetroCHMP3 originated as a duplicated copy of a gene called charged multivesicular body protein 3, or CHMP3. While some monkeys, mice, and other animals have retroCHMP3 or other variants, humans only have the original CHMP3.

In humans and other creatures, CHMP3 is well known for playing a key part of a role in cellular processes that are vital for maintaining cellular membrane integrity, intercellular signaling, and cell division.

HIV and certain other viruses hijack this pathway to bud off from the cellular membrane and infect other cells. Based on their research, Elde and his colleagues suspected that the duplications of CHMP3 they discovered in primates and mice blocked this from happening as protection against viruses like HIV and other viral diseases.

Building on this notion, Elde and other scientists began exploring whether variants of retroCHMP3 might work as an antiviral. In laboratory experiments conducted elsewhere, a shorter, altered version of human CHMP3 successfully prevented HIV from budding off cells. But there was a glitch: the modified protein also disrupted important cellular functions, causing the cells to die.

Unlike the other researchers, Elde and his colleagues at U of U Health had naturally occurring variants of CHMP3 from other animals in hand. So, working in collaboration with researchers Sanford Simon at The Rockefeller University, along with Phuong Tieu Schmitt and Anthony Schmitt at Pennsylvania State University, they tried a different approach.

Using genetic tools, they coaxed human cells to produce the version of retroCHMP3 found in squirrel monkeys. Then, they infected the cells with HIV and found that the virus had difficulty budding off from the cells, essentially stopping them in their tracks. And this occurred without disrupting metabolic signaling or related cellular functions that can cause cell death. 

“We’re excited about the work because we showed some time ago that many different enveloped viruses use this pathway, called the ESCRT pathway, to escape cells,” says Wes Sundquist, Ph.D., a co-corresponding author of the study and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. “We always thought that this might be a point at which cells could defend themselves against such viruses, but we didn’t see how that could happen without interfering with other very important cellular functions.”

From an evolutionary perspective, Elde believes this represents a new type of immunity that can arise quickly to protect against short-lived threats.

“We thought the ESCRT pathway was an Achilles heel that viruses like HIV and Ebola could always exploit as they bud off and infect new cells,” Elde says. “RetroCHMP3 flipped the script, making the viruses vulnerable. Moving forward, we hope to learn from this lesson and use it to counter viral diseases.”

More specifically, that lesson “raises the possibility that an intervention that slows down the process may be inconsequential for the host, but provide us with a new anti-retroviral,” says Sanford Simon, Ph.D, a study co-author and  a professor of Cellular Biophysics at The Rockefeller University.

### 

In addition to Drs. Elde and Sundquist, University of Utah and University of Utah Health scientists Lara Rheinemann, Diane Miller Downhour, Gaelle Mercenne, Kristen Davenport, Christina Necessary, and John McCullough contributed to this study.

The study, “RetroCHMP3 Blocks Budding of Enveloped Viruses Without Blocking Cytokinesis,” appears in the October 14, 2021 issue of Cell. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Pew Charitable Trusts Innovation Fund Award.

---

JOURNAL

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2021.09.008 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

RetroCHMP3 blocks budding of enveloped viruses without blocking cytokinesis

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Sep-2021

COI STATEMENT

None

 

Sexual minority identity impacts career trajectory among medical students

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MEDICAL SCHOOL

The conversation surrounding equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community has recently been in the political spotlight in the U.S. But, despite advances in civil rights, this population continues to suffer from unique disparities among both patients and healthcare providers.

A study co-authored by Matthew Mansh, MD, corresponding author and a dermatologist with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview, published today on the JAMA Network aimed to assess the distribution of sexual minorities by intended specialty among graduating medical students. The researchers’ results show that not only are sexual minority people underrepresented within undergraduate medical training, but that there are disparities in which fields they intend to pursue after graduating. 

“Sexual minorities face numerous health disparities, including poor access to knowledgeable providers and culturally-sensitive care,” Mansh said. “Workforce diversity is essential to ensure a pipeline of physicians equipped through personal experiences and diverse learning environments to improve care for sexual minority people, but little is known about sexual orientation diversity in medical training.”

The study analyzed de-identified, self-reported data between 2016 and 2019 from the Association of American Medical Colleges Graduate Questionnaire. They compiled the following key statistics:

• Only 5.7% of female medical students identified as sexual minority, compared to an estimated 9.4% of young females in the general population who identify as sexual minority.. 
• Sexual minority female medical students were less likely to intend to practice in primary care specialties and more likely to want to practice in surgical specialties as compared to their heterosexual female peers.
• Sexual minority male medical students were less likely to intend to practice in surgical specialties and more likely in primary care specialties as compared to their heterosexual male peers. 

The researchers concluded that sexual minority people — specifically sexual minority females — are underrepresented in undergraduate medical training and also in the workforce pipeline towards certain specialties. But, overall, sexual minority diversity varied significantly between specialties.

Further research is needed to better understand the causes of these disparities, including the impact of specialty-specific training environments, such as perceived inclusivity and/or trainee  mistreatment.

“Sexual orientation data collection should be standardized in all physician workforce surveys and sexual minority diversity should be considered in undergraduate and graduate medical training recruitment to promote a diverse physician workforce across all specialties,” Mansh said.

Co-authors of this study are Westly S. Mori, MD, and Yi Gao, MD, of the U of M Medical School; Eleni Linos, MD, MPH, DrPH; Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS; Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS, of the Stanford University School of Medicine; and Howa Yeung, MD, MSC, of the Emory University School of Medicine. 

###

About the University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School, both the Twin Cities campus and Duluth campus, is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visit med.umn.edu. 

---

JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.26983 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Sexual Orientation Diversity and Specialty Choice Among Graduating Allopathic Medical Students in the United States

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Sep-2021

Satirical essay critiques power imbalances in global health research

Reports and Proceedings

PLOS

 

IMAGE: INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS CAN HELP OR HINDER BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FOR GLOBAL HEALTH view more 

CREDIT: OKEKE, I. N., MEDICINE ANTHROPOLOGY THEORY, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)

When establishing partnerships with research counterparts in under-resourced countries, global health researchers often deploy discourse that claims to focus on sustainability and capacity building. But how is this viewed from the other side of the partnership? A satirical opinion article publishing September 30th in PLOS Biology by Iruka Okeke of University of Ibadan, Nigeria, highlights the extractive and exploitive aspects of health research partnerships between biomedical researchers in high-income countries and their counterparts in low-income, disease-endemic countries.

The actual short- and long-termed benefits of these collaborations may be one-sided. In her essay entitled “Twenty steps to ingrain power asymmetry in global health biomedical research,” the author uses the global health lexicon as a rhetorical aid to offer a counter-perspective on research collaborations in low-income countries initiated and implemented by scientists from high-income countries. The twenty steps spotlight twenty problematic practices of global health researchers that may maintain and exacerbate inequities in health research.

According to the author, “Are you a laboratory scientist par excellence with international research ambitions? As my tip list draws on common stereotypes, I’ll presume that you are a high-income country scientist with low-income country research aspirations.” Among her twenty hot tips for success, Dr Okeke has this handy advice: “Pick a Partner Country. Avoid locations where good research in the area has previously been conducted. Instead prioritize countries with pristine beaches, a game reserve or some other ‘must see’. Holiday brochures could be helpful at this stage.”

Okeke adds, “This satire chronicles unfortunate but common intentional and unintentional collaboration missteps that can compromise the sustainability and impact of global health laboratory projects.”

###

In your coverage please use these URLs to provide access to the freely available articles in PLOS Biology:  http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001411

Citation: Okeke IN (2021) Twenty steps to ingrain power asymmetry in global health biomedical research. PLoS Biol 19(9): e3001411. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001411

Funding: The author received no specific funding for this work.

---

JOURNAL

PLoS Biology

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Sep-2021

COI STATEMENT

Competing interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist.

 

Toxic algae blooms are getting worse, but oversight is lacking

by University of Connecticut

This satellite image shows the deep green of an algae bloom on Lake Erie on

 30 July 2019. Credit: Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA

Poisonous algae blooms are becoming more common in the US, threatening water supplies and public health. But so far, there are few state or federal guidelines, and local water managers could use some help, a UConn-led team of researchers reports in the September 30 issue of Nature Sustainability.

A massive bloom of green-blue algae in Lake Erie in 2014 forced Toledo, Ohio to warn over half a million residents not to drink or even touch their tap water. It was one of the first times that algae blooms made national news, but it wouldn't be the last. Since then, Salem, Oregon; Lake Hodges in California; and Lake Oneida in New York have had massive blooms. The toxins produced by such blooms can cause numbness, dizziness, convulsions, liver damage and even death.

"They're nasty," says Christine Kirchhoff, Associate Professor and Castleman Professor of Engineering Innovation in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Some of these toxins, such as liver-damaging microcystins and cylindrospermopsin, can be managed with combinations of chlorine and activated carbon. Other algae toxins like anatoxins and saxitoxins, which target the nervous system, are not easily removed by conventional water treatments. And you can't boil them out of the water. So when a big algae bloom occurs in a reservoir, water managers can struggle to make sure the water is safe.

Kirchhoff and other researchers from UConn and the University of Michigan surveyed public water managers across the United States who manage systems that draw from inland lakes. Such lakes, even extremely large ones such as Lake Erie, are warming and may become more prone to algae blooms due to climate change.

More than half the water managers surveyed said their system had experienced a bloom of harmful algae at least once. Almost a third of the managers said they experienced them at least once a year, and 60% of those who'd had a bloom said they believed the problem was getting worse. Most water managers said they relied on their state agencies and professional associations for advice on how to handle harmful algae blooms in the water supply.

Unfortunately, a lot of state agencies don't have that much to offer on the problem. States take their cues from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and currently EPA doesn't regulate algae toxins under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program, EPA did collect data from the treated water of a random sample of water systems across the US a few years ago, and the results showed limited occurrence of toxins in public water supplies.

Kirchhoff says the EPA survey aims to be nationally representative and so cannot rule out the potential for greater risk of toxic blooms at a state or regional level. The Connecticut Department of Public Health had a voluntary algae toxin testing program after the Toledo bloom raised concerns in the state. Systems that submitted voluntary samples for testing did not detect any toxins, and the testing program was discontinued.

Because cyanobacteria behavior is complex, monitoring for algal toxins is also complicated. Sometimes there is no visible bloom, but there are toxins present or there may be toxins in one part of a lake or at one depth and not elsewhere. For these reasons, "I would like to see a longer term, broader monitoring program that uses what we know now," to determine areas at risk here in Connecticut and across the country, to better protect the public, Kirchhoff says.

Toxic algae reported in Yosemite Valley creek

More information: Treuer, G. et al. Challenges of managing harmful algal blooms in US drinking water systems. Nat Sustain (2021). doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00770-y

Journal information: Nature Sustainability 

Provided by University of Connecticut 

 

Racial/ethnic disparities in childhood

 cancer survival in the United States

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

ATLANTA – SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 – A new study finds racial/ethnic disparities in survival among newly diagnosed patients with childhood cancers in the United States and that area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and health insurance contribute to these disparities. The study, appearing in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention Survival, found that compared to non-Hispanic (NH) White childhood cancer patients, NH Black and Hispanic patients had worse survival for all cancers combined, leukemias and lymphomas, brain tumors, and solid tumors. The study was based on data from children (aged <18 years) newly diagnosed with cancer during 2004 to 2015 in a nationwide hospital-based cancer registry.

To learn more about these disparities, investigators led by Jingxuan Zhao, MPH, American Cancer Society, evaluated modifiable factors that contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival. They found that survival disparities were reduced after adjusting for health insurance and area-level SES separately, and further reduced after adjusting for both together.

Since the 1970s, 5-year survival of childhood cancer has improved dramatically to 80%, largely driven by the widespread participation in clinical trials (nearly 60%), improved supportive care, and development of new therapies. However, improvements in survival have not been experienced equally in all race/ethnicity groups. For example, clinical trial participation rates have been low for minority children with cancer, which could be possibly explained by barriers resulting from lower SES and being uninsured.

Historically, non-white childhood cancer patients were overrepresented in the lower SES stratum, which is associated with problems with health care access and affordability potentially due to a complex interplay of their parents’ financial status, employment, and health literacy. In this study, NH Black and Hispanic childhood cancer patients were more likely to be uninsured or be covered by Medicaid than NH White patients. Being uninsured has been linked to delays in receiving timely care and completing care, and as a result, may lead to worse survival.

“This study suggests that improving health insurance coverage and access to care for children, especially those with low SES, may reduce racial/ethnic survival disparities,” write the authors. “This continued inequity in health outcomes among children warrants concerted, multifaceted approaches to address and minimize these disparities in the future.”

Article: Zhao J, Han X, Zheng Z, Nogueira L, Lu AD, Nathan PC, Yabroff KR. Racial/ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival in the United States. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention Survival. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0117.

URL upon embargo: https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2021/09/16/1055-9965.EPI-21-0117.

---

DOI

10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0117 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Racial/ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival in the United States

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Sep-2021

Study shows ethnicity plays role in NHS staff decisions to speak up

30 SEPTEMBER, 2021 BY EMMA BAINES
NURSING TIMES



NHS staff from Black and minority ethnic groups continue to face barriers speaking up about workplace issues, according to research reported by the National Guardian’s Office (NGO) today.

Research commissioned by the NGO found that minority ethnic staff were less likely than White staff members to voice concerns to a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian of a different ethnicity from themselves, because they feared their concern would not be understood or taken seriously.


“All staff should feel confident that their workplace processes are fair and should not fear reprisals"
Habib Naqvi

This presents a barrier to minority ethnic staff flagging discrimination or other workplace issues through the Guardian network at all, because Freedom to Speak Up Guardians are predominantly White.

The research report, Difference Matters, includes data from an online survey of 1,074 workers from eight NHS trusts, 69% of whom were White and 31% Black or minority ethnic.

Over 55% of the survey respondents reported experiencing an issue within the previous four years that they felt could have been raised with a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. Of these, more minority ethnic (62%) than White (57%) people chose not to raise their concern with a Guardian.

A large difference between the groups was that a much higher proportion of minority ethnic respondents reported that their issues were relating to discrimination (55%) compared to White respondents (8%).

Because of this, 41% of minority ethnic staff reported that they would like to be able to speak to a Guardian of the same ethnicity as themselves. They feared someone else would not understand their concern, or take it seriously. In comparison, only 7% of White respondents said they wanted a Guardian of the same ethnicity.

However, the network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians is disproportionately White compared to the NHS workforce, with only 10% of Guardians having a minority ethnic background in 2020, down by a third from 2019, according to the most recent NGO’s Freedom to Speak Up Survey.

The research found that Black and minority ethnic workers who did speak up had comparable experiences to White workers.

The report stated: “Based on the responses to the survey and feedback from Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, we conclude that the ethnicity of a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian can impact on a person’s decision to speak up. Specifically, BME workers are more likely to raise a concern with a BME Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.”

“It is clear that more work needs to be done to explore the many factors that can influence whether, when, and to whom a worker will speak up"
Russell Parkinson

Dr Habib Naqvi, director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said: “It is important that Black and minority ethnic health and care staff feel confident about speaking up and disclosing information that can prevent avoidable incidents, and lead to better care and outcomes for patients.

“All staff should feel confident that their workplace processes are fair and should not fear reprisals, or the prospect of being discriminated against, for voicing concerns through official channels.

“The healthcare system needs to take targeted action, ensuring opportunities to learn important lessons regarding patient care are not missed.”

Russell Parkinson, head of office and strategy at the NGO, said the research was a “starting place for further discussion”.

“It is clear that more work needs to be done to explore the many factors that can influence whether, when, and to whom a worker will speak up,” he added.

The Freedom to Speak Up Guardians were established so that NHS staff would have an alternative route for raising concerns if they feel unable to do so through the usual channels, such as telling a line manager.

There are now more than 700 Guardians supporting workers in primary and secondary care as well as other NHS organisations.

The NHS People Plan includes commitments to recruit more staff from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds to Guardian roles and to improve training for Guardians on workplace race equality.

 

Non-toxic technology extracts more gold from ore

Study shows new chloride-based process recovers 84% of gold compared to the 64% recovered with traditional methods

1-Oct-2021 8:25 AM EDT, by Aalto University

Robert von Bonsdorff/Aalto University

Gold

Newswise — Gold is one of the world’s most popular metals. Malleable, conductive and non-corrosive, it’s used in jewelry, electronics, and even space exploration. But traditional gold production typically involves a famous toxin, cyanide, which has been banned for industrial use in several countries.  

The wait for a scalable non-toxic alternative may now be over as a research team from Aalto University in Finland has successfully replaced cyanide in a key part of gold extraction from ore. The results are published in Chemical Engineering.  

Traditionally, once gold ore is mined from the ground, it’s crushed to a powder and passed through a series of tanks in a process called leaching. Cyanide is then used to separate the gold from the ore into the leached solution.  

With the new process, the leaching and recovery process is done with chloride, one of two elements in table salt.    

‘Until now, no one has developed a good method for recovering small amounts of gold from industrial chloride solutions,’ says Ivan Korolev, a researcher on the project and doctoral candidate.  

‘With our process, the amount of gold we’ve been able to recover using chloride is as high as 84%. In comparison, using the standard cyanide process with the same ore yielded only 64% in our control experiment,’ he explains.  

Called electrodeposition-redox replacement (EDRR), the new process combines the best of two common methods for extracting leached gold: electrolysis, which uses electric currents to reduce gold or other metals present in the leaching solution, and cementation, which adds particles of other metals to the solution to react with the gold. Professor Mari Lundström and University Lecturer Kirsi Yliniemi, from Aalto University’s School of Chemical Engineering, are behind its development.    

‘With EDRR, we apply short pulses of electricity to create thin layers of metal – in our case copper – on the electrode and cause a reaction that encourages gold to replace the copper layer by layer,’ says Korolev. ‘The method has low energy consumption and doesn’t require the addition of any other elements.’   

The research was conducted as part of a broader EU sustainability project called SOCRATES, and the work was done in collaboration with Finnish mining-technology giant Metso Outotec. Most of the experiments were performed at the company’s research centre in western Finland.  

‘Collaborating with Metso Outotec allowed us to develop the method in a way that’s much closer to real-world implementation,’ says Korolev. ‘We started with about 9% recovery, but it then grew to 25%, and soon we were hitting 70% -- sometimes we even achieved close to 95%.’  

‘It’s one thing to do an experiment like this on a small scale, but nobody had ever done it at the scale that we have done. We showed that even though our method is still really new, there is a lot of potential for making it a successful alternative to the traditional industrial process,’ he says.  

‘The extraction methods of the past have always left some valuable metals behind. Now, as demand for metals grows all the time, even these small amounts are important,’ he says. ‘I think we can still increase the yield with our EDRR technology. Perhaps we cannot reach 100%, but I believe we can hit the 90% mark or more.’   

‘It would be great to see a mining company interested in this technology and willing to test with their ore on site.’ 

SEE ORIGINAL STUDY

Primordial ‘hyper-eye’

discovered

30-Sep-2021 6:25 PM EDT, by University of Cologne

Dr Brigitte Schoenemann

Phacops geesops, a trilobite from the Devonian age. The animal's eyes consist of 200 single lenses each, 

spanning six small facets, which again form one eye each.

Newswise — An international research team has found an eye system in trilobites of the suborder Phacopina from the Devonian (390 million years B.P.) that is unique in the animal kingdom: each of the about 200 lenses of a hyper-facet eye spans a group of six normal compound-eye-facets, forming a compound eye itself. In addition to the hyper-facetted eyes, the researchers, led by zoologist Dr. Brigitte Schoenemann at the University of Cologne’s Institute for Didactics of Biology, identified a structure that they believe to be a local neural network which directly processed the information from this special eye, and an optic nerve that carried information from the eye to the brain. The article, ‘A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites,’ has been published in Scientific Reports.

Trilobites are arthropods that once inhabited the world’s oceans and became extinct about 251 million years ago. The discovery was made when Schoenemann and her colleagues examined X-ray images taken by radiologist and amateur paleontologist Wilhelm Stürmer in the 1970s. Stürmer had already believed the filaments under the trilobite eyes to be nerves, or a light guiding system. Schoenemann also found markings by Stürmer on the images designating the six subfacets. However, scientists at the time did not believe his interpretations. Now, however, the re-examination of the images and verification with modern computed tomography succeeded in confirming his conjectures.
Most trilobites had compound eyes similar to those that are still found in insects today: a large number of hexagonal facets form the eye. There are usually eight photoreceptors under each facet. Comparable to the image of a computer screen, which is built up from individual pixels, an image is built up from the individual facets. In dragonflies, there are up to ten thousand individual facets. In order to produce a coherent image, the facets must be very close together and connected by neurons.

However, in the trilobite suborder Phacopinae, the externally visible lenses of the compound eyes are much larger, up to 1 mm in diameter and more. In addition, they are set farther apart. Until now, scientists had not been able to explain this because space is wasted where light could be captured. Since a small cup sits under the lens, they assumed that at the bottom of the capsule was a small retina comparable to that of humans. 

Dr Schoenemann’s analysis of Wilhelm Stürmer's 40-year-old X-ray archive now suggests a different interpretation: a hyper-compound eye. Each phacopid had two eyes, one on the left and one on the right. ‘Each of these eyes consisted of about 200 lenses up to 1 mm in size,’ said Schoenemann. ‘Under each of these lenses, in turn, at least 6 facets are set up, each of which together again makes up a small compound eye. So we have about 200 compound eyes (one under each lens) in one eye.’ These sub-facets are arranged in either one ring or two rings. ‘Underneath sat a foam-like nest that was probably a small neural network to process the signals,’ the zoologist added. The filaments Stürmer found in fact did turn out to be nerves leading from the eyes to the trilobite’s brain. Further examination with modern computer tomography confirmed these structures.

Wilhelm Stürmer was the head of the X-ray department at Siemens and an avid paleontologist. With a VW bus equipped as an X-ray station, he drove from quarry to quarry to X-ray fossils. Among other things, he discovered structures called filaments under the animals’ eyes, which he thought were fossils of soft tissues, especially optic nerves. ‘At that time, the consensus was that only bones and teeth, the hard parts of living things, could be seen in the fossils, but not the soft parts, such as intestines or nerves,’ Schoenemann explained. Stürmer’s heir gave the zoologist his archive. But the hobby-paleontologist had not only correctly identified the optic nerve, she notes: ‘On an X-ray negative, there was an arrow in red pen pointing to the structure of the six lower facets under a main lens. This probably indicated that Stürmer had already recognized the hyper-compound eye.’ At the time, however, scientists assumed that nerves did not fossilize, nor that light guides existed in natural optical system. Optical fibres were not discovered until the 1980s in the compound eyes of a deep-sea crab.

The trilobite’s ‘hyper-eye’ may have been an evolutionary adaptation to life in low light conditions, Schoenemann believes. With its highly complex visual apparatus, it may have have been much more sensitive to light than a normal trilobite eye. ‘It is also possible that the individual components of the eye performed different functions, enabling, for example, contrast enhancement or the perception of different colours,’ the biologist said. So far, such an eye has only been found in the trilobite suborder Phacopinae: ‘This is unique in the animal kingdom,’ she concluded. In the course of evolution, this eye system was not continued, since the trilobites of the suborder Phacopinae died out at the end of the Devonian period 360 million years ago.

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NASA wraps up preparations for Lucy mission to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids

Brittany A. Roston - Sep 30, 2021

NASA is wrapping up the final tasks that must be completed ahead of the Lucy mission launch scheduled for October, the space agency has announced. The Lucy mission has been a work-in-progress for some time now, but the rewards for this effort are nearer than ever. NASA plans to launch the Lucy spacecraft on October 16, sending it off on a mission to study eight never-before-seen Trojan asteroids around Jupiter.

With all the other prep work out of the way, NASA says the team is preparing to put Lucy in its capsule for launch. This will be the first spacecraft to visit the Trojan asteroids, which both lead and follow Jupiter as it moves around the Sun. It has taken the last eight weeks to prep Lucy for its launch next month, including testing its various electrical, mechanical, and thermal systems, as well as practicing the launch sequence we’ll see on October 16.

The mission is a promising one that will, hopefully, help shed light not only on the origins of the Trojan asteroids but also how the planets in our solar system formed long ago. The spacecraft is equipped with massive solar arrays to power its instruments, while recently added fuel — about 1,600lbs of it — will propel Lucy to its destination.

Once fully encapsulated, Lucy will be shuttled to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 401 rocket will send Lucy to space, something that will — assuming there aren’t any delays — happen around 5:34 AM ET. As with other launches, it is possible weather issues could bump the event to the next day.

Lucy was built by Lockheed Martin as the 13th spacecraft under NASA’s Discovery Program. Among other things, Lucy will be notable as the first spacecraft to make multiple circles back near Earth as part of its mission, something intended to give it “gravity assists.”

Story Timeline
NASA Lucy mission integrates its second scientific instrument
NASA's Lucy spacecraft gets two very special cameras to go asteroid hunting
NASA Lucy spacecraft solar panel deployment test goes off without a hitch

  

NASA's Lucy mission toward Jupiter will explore eight never-before-seen worlds

The upcoming momentous mission to the Trojan belt could rewrite our knowledge about the origins of planets. Here's everything you need to know.

Monisha Ravisetti
Sept. 30, 2021 


An artist's concept of Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. Recent results suggest the rocks are uniformly dark with a hint of burgundy. NASA

Far out in Jupiter's orbit lie the Trojan asteroids -- fossils from the rock collection that spawned the giant planets over 4 billion years ago. These hovering time capsules could hold keys that unlock the origins of Earth, Saturn and Mars.

And in a couple of weeks, NASA's Lucy mission is sending a spacecraft toward the ancient raw materials in an ambitious and daring attempt to access our solar system's well-preserved history.

Perfectly named for the fossil that taught us about humanity's genesis, Lucy's 12-year-long trek promises to reveal a cosmic evolutionary record. The spacecraft will catch close-up views of a diverse selection of Trojan asteroids to help scientists decipher how and why our solar system's planets came to be.

Right now, we know close to nothing about these primitive rocks' properties. But we've rounded up everything we can to help you prepare for the momentous launch.

Cue "Lucy in the sky with diamonds."

How to watch NASA launch the Lucy mission

You can watch the take-off scheduled for Oct. 16 at 2:34 a.m. PT (5:34 a.m. ET) online on NASA TV.

Make sure to check back closer to the big day for a livestream on CNET Highlights, but first, let's dive into why this mission could be life-changing for the astronomy field.
What are the Trojan asteroids?

Long before planets came into existence, the solar system overflowed with trillions of rocky and icy bodies orbiting a dim sun. Some of these fragments slowly fused together to form larger planets, such as the Earth and Mars. But along the way, a bunch of floating rocks were left over.

Many were swept into the endless depths of the universe -- taking their secrets with them -- but a smattering still live in the outer reaches of our solar system.

Caught between the gravitational pull of the sun and Jupiter are these primitive pieces of rock that have been around for billions of years. They're known as Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. NASA aptly refers to them as "time capsules from the birth of our solar system" and they form two clusters that share an orbit with the gas giant. Over 7,000 have been detected, so far.

"The stuff that went into growing Jupiter and Saturn are now trapped in these locations," NASA planetary scientist and principal investigator of the Lucy mission, Hal Levison, said in the mission's overview.
Where does Lucy come in?

Lucy will be the first spacecraft to asteroid-hop among seven of the Trojan asteroids, but before heading to both the leading and trailing swarms, it'll visit a main belt asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter.

In green, you see the leading and trailing swarms of Jupiter Trojans. That's where Lucy is headed.NASA

"We're going to eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft," Tom Statler, Lucy project scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington said in a statement. "This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery as we probe into our solar system's distant past."


NASA notes that "no other space mission in history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around our sun" and that "Lucy will show us, for the first time, the diversity of the primordial bodies that built the planets."

The spacecraft will use traditional chemical propulsion technology that'll help with maneuvering, but to save fuel, it'll fly past points of interest instead of treading slowly. That doesn't pose much of a hindrance, though, because Lucy can still snap pics and collect spectroscopic information while whizzing by.
Mission objectives

Armed with a high-gain antenna for communication with Earth; high-tech cameras (color, as well as black and white); an infrared spectrometer and thermometer, the spacecraft will check out several key features of these asteroids by capturing their physical properties:

Surface geology: This includes things like shape, crater size, crustal structure and layering.

Surface color and composition: Tones and colors of the rocks, mineral makeup and regolith properties, such as loose soil composition, are some of these features.

Interiors and bulk properties: Masses, densities, powder blankets around craters and other nitty gritty details comprise this section.

Satellites and rings: A few of the asteroids might have mini-asteroids orbiting them, as though they're the center of their own solar system. Some might even have Saturn-like rings consisting of super small rocks or icy bodies.

NASA's Lucy will explore eight asteroids over a dozen years.NASA
Prepping for take-off

It isn't easy being a NASA probe.

Because Lucy will rely on solar power for the mission, its arrays -- large enough to cover a five story building -- had to undergo intense testing to ensure they won't malfunction during spaceflight. They're so huge because of how far the probe will be traveling from the sun.

A researcher working on Lucy's solar panels.NASA

According to NASA, it will take a total of 20 minutes for these crucial solar panels to extend after launch. "These 20 minutes will determine if the rest of the 12 year mission will be a success," Levison said in a statement.

Mars rovers, such as Perseverance, have shorter spans of anxiety-inducing moments during their EDL phase, or entry, descent and landing sequence.

"Mars landers have their seven minutes of terror, we have this," Levison remarked.

After several iterations of testing, Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Lucy project manager from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement that the execution on the ground was "flawless."

Although space is a very different arena.

On Oct. 16, Lucy will be transported to the Vehicle Integration Facility at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and "mated" with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. That rocket will help Lucy exit Earth's atmosphere.

Then, Lucy will propel away from our home planet to begin the 12-year voyage, swinging around the solar system, using Earth's gravity as leverage three times during the journey.


"Launching a spacecraft is almost like sending a child off to college -- you've done what can for them to get them ready for that next big step on their own," Levison said.

Lucy stands 13 feet (4 meters), nearly fully assembled in this photo.NASA
What will happen after the mission is complete?

After a dozen years, Lucy will stabilize near Earth, then crusade once again to the Trojan asteroid belt. It'll be the first ever spacecraft to travel all the way to Jupiter and back home.

Future humans will face two options: collect Lucy as an artifact and bring it down to Earth, or allow Jupiter to eventually fling it into the sun or out of the solar system.

Not to fear. Lucy's job will be complete by then. And perhaps our astronomy textbooks will be amended with the unprecedented information it delivers home.

NASA Lucy mission will carry words of Einstein, Carl Sagan and Beatles into space

Lucy in the darkness of space with John, Paul, George and Ringo.


Amanda Kooser
Sept. 29, 2021 

NASA's Lucy spacecraft will visit asteroids while carrying this plaque full of words of wisdom meant for future humans.

NASA

NASA's first mission to the Trojan asteroids associated with the planet Jupiter will be carrying words of wisdom meant to inspire humanity in the distant future. The Lucy spacecraft is scheduled to launch in October, and it was recently kitted out with a plaque that will act as a time capsule.

While Lucy was named for the fossil skeleton of a human ancestor, the moniker was also inspired by The Beatles' 1967 classic song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The spacecraft's plaque is inscribed with quotes from band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.

These are the words it will carry:

"And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." - Paul McCartney

"We all shine on . . . like the moon and the stars and the sun." - John Lennon

"Peace and love." - Ringo Starr

This is what the Lucy spacecraft looked like in late 2020 when it was nearly fully assembled.

Lockheed Martin

"When you've seen beyond yourself then you may find peace of mind is waiting there." - George Harrison

The Beatles are joined by other famous people. The plaque includes quotes from Albert Einstein, poet Joy Harjo, author Kazuo Ishiguro, Martin Luther King Jr., Brian May of Queen, Yoko Ono, Carl Sagan and others.

Amanda Gorman, known for her poem for President Joe Biden's inauguration, also contributed a poem to the plaque.

You can read all the quotes on the Lucy mission website and hear some of them read by their creators in a NASA video. Starr even makes an appearance, saying, "Lucy is going back in the sky with diamonds."

Lucy's adventures will take it to a series of fascinating asteroids that travel along in Jupiter's path. NASA said the asteroids "are thought to be remnants of the primordial material that formed the outer planets." The spacecraft will study these objects so we can learn more about the history of our solar system and the origins of planets.

NASA is thinking way ahead into the future for the plaque to when our descendants many millennia from now might find the Lucy spacecraft still moving through space.

"After Lucy finishes visiting a record number of asteroids for a single mission in 2033 (eight asteroids on six independent orbits around the sun) the Lucy spacecraft will continue to travel between the Trojan asteroids and the orbit of the Earth for at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years," the space agency said in a statement on Monday.

NASA unveils 30 dazzling new Hubble space images for an epic anniversary See all photos

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The plaque is also inscribed with an image depicting our solar system as of the expected launch date of Oct. 16, 2021. Lucy's messages are a human-focused version of the Golden Record meant for aliens that is part of NASA's 1970s Voyager missions. The twin Voyagers are still on the move in interstellar space, but Lucy will be sticking around within our solar system.

Perhaps one day Lucy will be retrieved, brought back home and shared with the people of Earth, its messages of hope, unity, exploration, peace and love still as relevant to our future as it is to us now.

Follow CNET's 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.

First published on July 12, 2021