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Neuroscience

The neural mechanism that drives social behavior

For social animals, loneliness and social isolation can lead to stress, while social isolation increases the risk of depression, substance abuse, obesity and premature death. However, the neural mechanism of coordinating perception and seeking social activities is not clear. Scientists have found that islet amylin produced by neurons in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the brain of female mammals drives their parenting behavior. Recently, a study published in the journal Nature Communications found that the islet amylin-calcitonin receptor signal pathway in MPOA mediates social behavior in mice.

When the adult female mice were isolated and raised alone, it was found that there was almost no expression of islet amylin gene in the MPOA neurons of the isolated mice, and successively appeared the behavior of seeking reunion with their peers by gnawing on the fence and similar symptoms of depression. after being reunited with their peers, the neurons expressing islet amylin and calcitonin receptors were activated and the expression of islet amylin was restored. In addition, activating islet amylin neurons promoted mice to seek social contact, while knockout of islet amylin or calcitonin receptor genes inhibited these behaviors. The study also supports the common molecular and evolutionary basis of social behavior and child-rearing behavior.

Surroundings

The groundwater level in the receiving area of the South-to-North Water transfer Project has stopped falling and rebounded.

According to the latest evaluation results of the Ministry of Water Resources and other departments, by the end of 2020, the pressure production of groundwater in the urban area of the east-middle route of the South-to-North Water transfer Project has exceeded 3 billion cubic meters, the groundwater level has stopped falling and rebounded, and the shallow groundwater has generally reached the balance of exploitation and compensation. The water receiving area of the first phase of the east middle line of the South-to-North Water transfer Project involves six provinces and cities in the Haihe River Basin, the Huaihe River Basin and the Yellow River Basin, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shandong and Henan, with an area of 230000 square kilometers and a prominent contradiction between supply and demand of water resources.

Long-term over-exploitation of groundwater in the receiving area before the south-to-north water transfer project led to the continuous decline of the regional groundwater level, resulting in ecological environment and geological problems such as ecosystem degradation, geological disasters, seawater intrusion and so on. The evaluation results show that from the first phase of the east middle line of the South-to-North Water transfer Project to the end of 2020, the total amount of groundwater exploitation in the receiving area has been reduced by 3.017 billion cubic meters. From 2018 to 2020, the water level of shallow groundwater in six provinces and cities in the receiving area remained basically stable. Since 2018, through the implementation of ecological water replenishment and other measures, the length of water rivers and the surface area along the rivers and lakes in the receiving area of the east-middle line of the South-to-North Water transfer Project have increased by 967 km and 348 square kilometers respectively compared with those before replenishment. The water level of shallow groundwater within 10 kilometers around the replenishment channel has increased by 0.42 meters compared with the same period last year, and groundwater reserves have been effectively replenished. (Xinhua News Agency)

Astronomy

International Astronomical Association sets up a regulatory body for artificial constellations

Low-orbit man-made satellite constellations represented by Starlink will leave a large number of bright tracks in astronomical observation images, which will greatly interfere with astronomical research. In this regard, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the establishment of a center to protect the night sky from satellite constellations (Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference) on February 3, local time, with the aim of protecting the astronomical observation environment from excessive interference from satellites.

The center is co-hosted by the National Light and Infrared Astronomical Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) and the Square kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO). Its task is to coordinate the global astronomical community to protect dark and quiet skies from satellite constellations and to unify the views of all parties. Piero Benvenuti, director of the center and former president of IAU, said that they will work on studying and evaluating the impact of satellite clusters on astronomical observations, calling on social forces such as astronomy, aerospace industry, and amateur astronomers to negotiate with satellite operators, and promote the introduction of new regulations to protect clean night sky field of view. The centre is expected to start operation in April this year.

New technology

The efficiency of electrolytic oxygen production in low gravity environments such as the moon will be reduced.

The research team achieved a lower gravity environment through the parabolic flight of the aircraft, while simulating higher gravity on the ground. The authors observed that oxygen production was 11% lower than on Earth under gravity conditions similar to those of the Moon and Mars. The authors also found that they can infer low-gravity flight data from high-gravity data, which they believe is the first time to use a low-cost, high-gravity setting to simulate low-gravity results. The authors believe that their experiments show that the future study of low-gravity electrochemistry may be easier if cheaper settings are used rather than costly flight simulations.

Chemistry

Chemical building blocks capable of spelling out complex molecules

The synthesis of molecules with complex three-dimensional structures often requires chemists to have a wealth of experience and put in a lot of work. However, a recent study published in the journal Nature has designed a way to assemble molecules like building blocks, opening the door to the simple synthesis of molecules with three-dimensional structures.

The predecessor of this technique is the iterative coupling of methyl boric acid methyl iminodiacetate (MIDA borate). The reactive boric acid group on the small molecular module is protected by the MIDA group, and the protection is removed during the reaction to couple with the reaction group on another molecule to connect the two molecules together. However, MIDA is mostly used to generate sp2 hybrid carbon (double bond) with planar structure, while the ability to generate sp3 hybrid carbon (single bond) with three-dimensional structure is limited. The newly developed tetramethylboric acid methyl iminodiacetate (TIDA borate) can react efficiently to form sp3 hybrid carbon bond, and its stability is 1000 times higher than that of MIDA. Scientists have also designed automata that select small molecular modules according to the target structure and synthesize them. This technology has great application potential.

Health

Long-term use of paracetamol in hypertensive patients will lead to an increase in blood pressure.

Paracetamol (chemically known as acetaminophen) is a commonly used painkiller and is considered safer than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, which causes blood pressure to rise, while the former has little effect on blood pressure. However, a study published recently in the journal Circulation shows that people with high blood pressure who take paracetamol for a long time can increase their blood pressure and thus increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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