Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Today in Science: Slime mold and the formation of the universe

Today In Science

August 6, 2024: A new rapid-test for disease, how congestion pricing helps the baby boomer generation, and slime molds are showing astronomers how the universe formed.
Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor
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TommyIX/Getty Images

As Below, So Above

Astrophysicists built an algorithm based on the movement of slime molds to model how the structure of the universe affects galaxy formation. Yes, you read that right, slime mold. The organisms are experts at expanding into new territories, pushing their membranes outward in a synchronized wave in every direction. When they find a food source, nearby membranes relax, and the molds push more material into that region. The scientists hypothesized that this natural behavior might serve as a good mapping model for the movement of galaxies in the early universe. 

What they found: Using their slime mold movement algorithm to model the universe's formation, the researchers found that as the universe aged, it pulled cosmic material (dust, stars and even dark matter) into filaments, which in turn affected how stars formed in galaxies that ended up too close to each other.

What the experts say: It's been difficult to measure how the cosmic web, with its filaments, tendrils and empty voids, affects galaxy formation, says New York City College of Technology astrophysicist Ari Maller. "The use of the slime-mold algorithm seems to have accomplished that goal."

CRISPR Testing

Scientists have developed a new disease rapid-test that uses the gene editing tool CRISPR. Researchers created "nanocircles" of DNA with a short, single-stranded sequence that attaches to both ends of a sequence from a target pathogen. Once CRISPR cuts out the pathogen sequence, the nanocircles uncurl and are easily detectable. It's a million times more sensitive than traditional tests. Traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests make millions of copies of a pathogen's signal and can take hours to process. The new test runs in 15 minutes.

Why this matters: The new approach could allow for cheap test-kit components, which would look a lot like current rapid COVID tests—each costing a few dollars to make. Such CRISPR-based tests could detect viruses, bacteria or even tumor cells.

What the experts say: "We believe we've created a technology that has a realistic chance to supersede PCR," says Ewa M. Goldys, a biomedical engineer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and the study's lead author.
TODAY'S NEWS
• Scientists have identified more than 30 different pathogens (including dengue, mpox and influenza A virus) that they fear could cause the next big pandemic in humans. | 4 min read
• Sharks protect sea grasses, move nutrients around the ocean and maintain the health of the oceans. Their protection has never been more crucial.  | 4 min read
• Climate change was expected to open Arctic sea lanes for easier shipping. But because local ice is melting, global warming enables thicker ice to flow into shipping lanes, making the North American Arctic routes more hazardous. | 3 min read
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Large cargo ship filled with containers navigating through ice. Jean Landry/Getty Images
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EXPERT PERSPECTIVES
• When New York Governor Kathy Hochul indefinitely paused the congestion pricing program in New York City in June, she subsequently canned a list of mass transit infrastructure improvements that would have been funded by the expected $15 billion in revenue generated from congestion pricing. The plans included elevators and ramps at 346 subway stations, new wheelchair securements on buses, and haptic technologies for deaf people and people who are hard of hearing, writes Sarah M. Kaufman, executive director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. The aging baby boomer generation living in NYC will absolutely depend on such improvements to mass transit in the coming decade, she says. "To avert a mobility crisis down the line, now is the time to get the U.S.'s senior-focused policies back on track." | 6 min read
More Opinion
I learned in a freshman year college astronomy course that matter in the cosmos is strung together in roughly the shape of honeycomb. That the cosmic web could take on the same shape as a tiny insect's home resoundingly blew my mind. Our universe seems to love harmony. 
When did science last blow your mind? Tell me all about it: newsletters@sciam.com. See you tomorrow.
—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor
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