This week in science

Coffee microbiome, nanobots, life on Mars, and more

Author

Neil Baugh
November 20, 2024

Found some good ones this week, hope you enjoy!

Coffee consumption is associated with intestinal Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus abundance and prevalence across multiple cohorts - Nature Microbiology

Coffee consumption is associated with the presence and abundance of a specific member of the human gut microbiome, Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, and changes to the plasma metabolome.

www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01858-9

I love coffee. I’m a 2-3 cups a day guy, so any study I see dealing with coffee I have to include.

This study looks at the link between coffee consumption and our microbiomes, specifically at which microbiome bacteria seem to benefit from coffee. The same scientists previously found that coffee is “the food showing the highest correlation with microbiome components.”

Comprehensive modeling of corkscrew motion in micro-/nano-robots with general helical structures - Nature Communications

Micro-/nano-robots (MNRs) hold potential for minimally invasive targeted therapies through blood vessels, but clinical use is hindered by challenges such as overcoming blood flow. This study proposes a dynamic model for general MNRs without structural limitations, validated through simulations and experiments, to facilitate their design, optimization, and control.

www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51518-z

Nanorobots move closer to clinical trials with new model that helps them navigate through the bloodstream

From repairing deadly brain bleeds to tackling tumors with precise chemotherapy, micro/nano-robots (MNRs) are a promising, up-and-coming tool that have the power to substantially advance health care. However, this tool still has difficulty navigating within the human body—a limitation that has prevented it from entering clinical trials.

phys.org/news/2024-11-nanorobots-closer-clinical-trials-bloodstream.html

Nanorobots are exactly what they sound like: nano-sized robots. Their small size gives them great potential in medical applications. Just imagine a nanobot being able to navigate through your veins to fight a tumor. This study takes a look how we can improve nanobot movement through the bloodstream.

Scientist Says NASA Lander May Have Accidentally Killed Life on Mars

Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch believes that humans may have unintentionally killed life on Mars in the 1970s.

futurism.com/scientist-nasa-lander-killed-life-mars

We’ve landed robots on Mars and had them look for signs of life using experiments that involved mixing water with martian soil. This article details a scientists new theory that using water was a bad choice and might have actually killed any life present in the samples. He theorizes that martian life might be more similar to desert microbes that rely on salts to stay alive, and can’t necessarily tolerate liquid water.

Magnetic North Pole moving in way never seen before by scientists

The latest modelling from the British Geological Survey shows how the magnetic pole is heading towards Russia, but at a slower rate than before

www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/magnetic-north-pole-earth-2024-qrlnl2zz9

Earth’s magnetic north pole isn’t stationary, in fact, it moves all the time. Currently, it’s moving roughly 15 miles per year from the coast of Canada towards Russia. It’s moved around in approximately the same area for the last few hundred years, but recently started to migrate across the Atlantic.

Ever want to learn the basics of mRNA therapies? Moderna, one of the major players in the mRNA space, is hosting a free online class on them. I haven’t checked it out, but sounds like a nice opportunity.

See you next week for more science,

Neil

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