🔬 A new level of ultrasound: Now you can see capillaries and cells!
Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have made a breakthrough: they have created ultrasound microscopy that sees what was previously invisible - capillaries and individual cells!
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How does it work and why will it change medicine?

🔍 What's wrong with conventional ultrasound?
🟠 Can't see the little things: Capillaries, cells, thin vessels are all blind spots for standard ultrasound.
🟠 Limited depth: Optical microscopy only penetrates 1 mm, and tissues deeper than that have remained a mystery.

🛠 How does the new technology (NSSM) work?
🟠 Microbubble spies: Scientists use gas vesicles (microbubbles) that “illuminate” cells on ultrasound.
🟠 3D mapping: The method scans tissue with a precision of 0.6 micrometers - that's 6 times thinner than a human hair!
🟠 Speed: Up to 94 volumetric scans per second - you can monitor processes in real time!

🎯 Where will it come in handy?
Cancer: The technology distinguishes healthy cells from tumor cells, shows necrotic nuclei (areas of die-off in the tumor).

Brain: For the first time, the capillary network of the rat brain can be visualized - key to studying strokes and dementia.

Immunology: It is possible to monitor how cells respond to drugs or infections live.

✔️ Experimental results
🟠 Breast cancer in mice: NSSM revealed necrotic areas on day 8 of therapy, which is not possible with conventional ultrasound.
🟠 Brain Vascular Map: The technology showed capillaries with blood flow less than 0.8 mm/s - this is the level of the smallest vessels!

❔ Why it matters
🟠 Accurate diagnosis: Early detection of metastases, evaluation of treatment efficacy.
🟠 Scientific discoveries: Study of cellular processes in 3D without harming the body.
🟠 Future: Maybe soon ultrasound will show allergies, autoimmune diseases at the cellular level!

💬 Have you ever wondered how technology will change medicine in 10 years?
Share your predictions in the comments!
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📝 Based on the blog of the company ua-hosting.company
#facts #animals #mammals #humans

🐛 Nematodes and soybeans: scientists have cracked the invasion code!
Scientists from the University of Iowa and Cambridge have found a weak link in the attack of soybean nematodes - microscopic worms that destroy up to 2.4 million tons of crop per year! The discovery could revolutionize approaches to pest control.

🔍 What's the secret of nematodes?
The parasites infiltrate soybean roots by releasing effectors - chemical signals that “zombie” the plant cells, turning them into “feeders.” It used to be useless to block plant cells: the worms have hundreds of backup effectors.

But now scientists have found the “main switch” - protein SUGR-1. It activates 58 genes responsible for the production of effectors. Without SUGR-1, infection is reduced by 40%!

🛠 How will this work in the field?
⚫️ Genetically modified soybeans: Plants will produce RNA that blocks SUGR-1 in nematodes.
⚫️ Chemical defense: Drugs that neutralize root signals that wake up the protein.
⚫️ Breeding: Soybean varieties resistant to the “tongue” of parasites.

❔ Why it's a breakthrough.
⚫️ Loss reduction: Even a partial blockage of SUGR-1 would save hundreds of thousands of tons of crop.
⚫️ Medicine: The method could also be useful against nematodes that affect animals and humans.
⚫️ Ecology: Less pesticides means healthier soil!

✔️ Interesting: Nematodes “hear” chemical signals from the roots (effectostimulins) and turn on SUGR-1 in response. It's like a dialog where the plant unwittingly helps the parasite!

➡️ What's next?
Scientists are looking for other effector-regulatory proteins. “SUGR-1 is just the beginning. The targets are multiplying!” - says Prof. Thomas Baum.
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📝 The paper was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415861122.
#appears #animals #nematodes #plants

🦅 Geometric crows: birds that are smarter than monkeys!
German scientists from the University of Tübingen have proved: crows not only count, but also distinguish geometric shapes! Two male test subjects easily found an “extra” parallelogram among squares, and their results were 3 times higher than random guessing!

🔬 How did the experiment work?
Training: Ravens were shown sets of shapes (e.g., 5 stars and 1 crescent moon). For correct choice (pecking the right one) - worm or feed + sound of approval.
Difficult level: Birds were given irregular quadrilaterals that differed in angles, parallelism of lines, and symmetry.
Results: 48.3% and 56.7% correct answers vs. 16.7% for random selection!

🐒 Why it's a scoop.
⚫️ Monkeys failed the test: Pavians took longer to train, but they failed.
⚫️ Evolutionary mystery: The ability to see geometry is not just a human trait! In crows, it helps navigate flight, find food, and recognize congeners.

🧠 And they used to... counting!
In a previous experiment, the same crows cawed 1-4 times when they saw the numbers on the screen. Scientists believe this is the “evolutionary ancestor” of human counting!

➡️ Why is this important?
⚫️ Animal Intelligence: Crows defy stereotypes about “bird brains.”
⚫️ Neurobiology: Studying their brains may unlock the mysteries of spatial reasoning.
⚫️ Evolution: Abilities thought to be exclusively human turn out to be older and broader!
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📝 The article was published in the journal Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adt3718.
#news #animals #birds