science news 12.11.2020

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.

evolution

Scientists release genomes of birds representing nearly all avian families

Rice has many fathers but only two mothers
University of Queensland scientists studied more than 3000 rice genotypes and found diversity was inherited through two maternal genomes identified in all rice varieties.

ecology

Rare deep sea Bigfin Squid sighted in Australian waters for first time

Noise and light alter bird nesting habits and success

The northern cardinal has a relatively low frequency song and delayed breeding in response to noise pollution.
Credit: David Keeling

conservation

Largest set of mammalian genomes reveals species at risk of extinction
An international team of researchers with the Zoonomia Project has released the whole genomes of more than 80 percent of all mammalian families, spanning almost 110 million years of evolution. The dataset, published in Nature, includes genomes from more than 120 species that were not previously sequenced, capturing mammalian diversity at an unprecedented scale. Zoonomia data have already helped researchers in another recent study to assess the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 across many species.

nanoworld

How molecular chaperones dissolve protein aggregates linked to Parkinson's disease

biomedical

COVID leads to measurable life expectancy drop in Spain, study finds

humans

The mental state of flow might protect against harmful effects of quarantine < >
In which "flow" refers to being so absorbed in an activity that you froget about your surroundings.

dystopian futures

Robotic AI learns to be spontaneous
Now I'm worried - if only about the endless philosophical discussions about the free will and independent mind of robots and people.

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From the news media:

crispr crowned

Open Archive Day

Slightly belated echo to this year's Nobel prize in chemistry for Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier. When the prize was announced, I checked and found that I had already recycled my most recent feature on crispr (applications in agriculture, here), but I didn't think of the previous one, from the early days after the discovery of Crispr, and the nascent discussions on implications for bioethics.

In all of this, I had the advantage that I already knew Jennifer Doudna was brilliant. Nobel laureate Tom Cech told us so back in 1994(ish), when he gave a seminar at Oxford and implored us to remember his postdoc's name because she will go on and do great things. I've often remembered his words and reflected on his remarkable foresight.

Anyhow, my 2015 feature on Crispr, complete with a lovely photo of this year's laureates, is here:

Bacterial scissors to edit human embryos?

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier identified the nuclease Cas9 as a key part of the bacterial immune response to phages and adapted it for use as a universally applicable genome editing tool. (Photo: Justin Bishop/Breakthrough Prize http://www.breakthroughprize.org.)

Streichquartett Elberfeld 1927- Suchanzeige

NB The English version of this blog entry is here.

Ich suche immer noch nach den Geigern und dem Bratschenspieler in dem Streichquartett, das in den 1920er und 30er Jahren in Elberfeld / Wuppertal aktiv war.

Es löste sich auf, nachdem die Nazi-Behörden erfuhren dass einer der Musiker jüdischer Abstammung war und begannen, unseren Cellisten unter Druck zu setzen, er solle seine Freizeit nicht mit Juden verbringen. Eine kurze Fassung der Geschichte auf Englisch ist hier, eine längere auf Deutsch hier.

Ich habe eine Liste von mehr als 50 Freunden (und wenigen Freundinnen) deren Geburtstage unser Cellist jedes Jahr in seinen neuen Taschenkalender übertrug. Obwohl die erhaltenen Kalender aus einer späteren Zeit stammen, wäre es möglich, dass sich in der Liste auch überlebende Mitglieder des Streichquartetts finden könnten. Deshalb veröffentliche ich hier die Namen mit dem Geburtsjahr und der Straße, in der Hoffnung, dass jemand der nach diesen Namen sucht, vielleicht einen der Musiker wiedererkennt.

Personen die aus dem einen oder anderen Grund nicht in Frage kamen, habe ich ausgelassen, so bleiben uns immerhin 34 Namen. Die Straße mit dem Sternchen heißt heute Friedrich-Engels-Allee und ist der nach Pariser Vorbild angelegte große Boulevard, der Barmen und Elberfeld verband, die heute die größten Stadtteile von Wuppertal sind.

Baak Fritz 1897 Am Brögel

Blasberg Werner 1902 Martin Fauststr.

Brill Robert 1893 Ad. H*tlerstr.

de Bruyer Albert 1897 Farbmühle

Dietrich Wilfried 1898 Emma Str.

Freimuth Paul 1885 E. Teutonenstr. 19

Friedewald Emil 1883 Von Behringstr.

Graus Heiner E. Hauentrief

Haase Kurt 1894 Ad. H*tlerstr

Hackenberg Emil 1879 Farbmühle

Herbst Ludwig 1902 Oberdenkmalstr.

Herhäuser Erich 1885 Hohenstein

Heuerz Josef 1891 Wartburgstr.

Hilger Gustav 1888

Homberg Helmut 1884 Wartburgstr.

Hühl Karl 1900 Schloßstr.

Kautz Hugo 1872 Haspeler Schulstr.

Klein Eduard 1896 Werlestr.

Kluge Hermann 1885 Unterdörnen

Knauer Dr. Karl 1883 Hünefeldstr.

Kobusch Walter 1887 Sudhoffstr.

Köster Erwin 1888 Wartburgerstr.

Luckhaus Hermann 1883 Wartburgstr.

Michael Karl 1887 Hohenstein

Möllmann Dr Hans 1902

Nippel Hans 1898 Sudhoffstr.

Reinsdorf Paul 1890 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Schäfer Karl 1889 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Scheffel Walter 1876 Am Brögel

Schlemmer Paul 1889 Heuberrstr.

Schulze Erich 1896 Ostlerstr.

Tiefenbach Heinrich 1899 Gewerbeschulstr.

Voß August 1893 Unionstr

Weierstall Walter 1891 Paracelsusstr.

Wir wissen, dass Robert Brill der Besitzer der gleichnamigen Rasenmäher-Fabrik war, und ich vermute, dass Hermann Kluge mit dem gleichnamigen Gründer der Klaviaturen-Fabrik verwandt ist, die heute noch die Klaviaturen für Steinway-Pianos herstellt. Das ist allerdings auch die einzige musikalische Verbindung, die ich bisher finden konnte.

Der Masterpost über das ganze Cello-familiengeschichtliche Projekt ist hier.

on the origins of numbers

When I saw the news story about the fraction signs of Linear A, the cuneiform writing system of ancient Minoans, I felt inspired to go looking for the origins of mathematics. I.e., I was asksing myself: where was the transition when natural abilities that you might also find in other animals led to calculating, book keeping, and the whole culture of mathematics that we have today.? I didn't really find that magic spark moment, but I still learned lots of interesting things about different cultures deal with numbers, and how scientists are debating the numerical (or just quantical) skills found in some animals.

The feature is out now:

Are numbers in our nature?

Current Biology Volume 30, Issue 21, 2 November 2020, Pages R1283-R1285

FREE access to full text and PDF download

Animals from insects to primates can distinguish quantities, but their processing is different from the arithmetic we learn in school. (Photo: Luca Ambrosi/Unsplash.)

second lockdown

Now a second lockdown is coming our way, so there will be plenty of quiet time to learn a second sarabande. The Bach project (36 movements in as many months) doesn't look quite as crazy now as it did in March. Although I also got to play tunes outdoors and with other people every once in a while, a couple of times under the remarkably reflective roof of the band stand in Florence Park.

I enjoyed the Gigue in C, which was my movement for October, and managed to memorise almost half of it, might get the other half into my head at some point, as it repeats many of the patterns I already know from the first half. I have now managed to memorise what was missing of the minuets from the first suite, so I can sort of play from memory the movements 4-6 of the first suite, along with most of the Courante, one of the Bourrees and bits of the others.

So onwards (or backwards, rather, as I did with the first suite) to the Sarabande in C. I'm starting with Inbal Segev's musings, as always, and I found recordings from:
Ophélie Gaillard
Alisa Weilerstein
I'm also adding these videos to my youtube playlist "cello repertoire".

Heinrich the cello enjoying the winter sun.

Revision list (newest addition first)

3.6. Gigue
1.1. Prelude
1.2 Allemande
1.3 Courante
1.4 Sarabande
1.6 Gigue
1.5 Minuet I&II
3.5 Bourree I&II

string quartet Wuppertal Elberfeld 1927

(For a German version of this entry click here.)

I’m still looking for the violin players and viola player in this string quartet which was active in Elberfeld / Wuppertal, Germany in the 1920s and 30s:

It dissolved when authorities got wind that one of the members was Jewish and leaned on our cellist, Heinrich Groß not to spend his time with Jews. A short version of the story in English is here, and a longer one in German here (PDF).

I have a list of more than 50 friends whose birthdays our cellist used to copy over into each year’s pocket diary. While the two diaries I have are both from the war years, after the string quartet stopped playing, there is a chance that survivors of the quartet are hiding in this list, so I’m putting the names, year of birth, and street name here in the hope that any relatives looking for these individuals might find them here and recognise one of the musicians. (Although any other info on their connection to Heinrich the cellist would be welome too.)

I’ve left out people who for one reason or other were unlikely to be relevant, leaving 34 names. The street with the asterisk is now called Friedrich Engels Allee, it is the main boulevard linking the former cities of Barmen and Elberfeld, now the major districts of Wuppertal.

Baak Fritz 1897 Am Brögel

Blasberg Werner 1902 Martin Fauststr.

Brill Robert 1893 Ad. H*tlerstr.

de Bruyer Albert 1897 Farbmühle

Dietrich Wilfried 1898 Emma Str.

Freimuth Paul 1885 E. Teutonenstr. 19

Friedewald Emil 1883 Von Behringstr.

Graus Heiner E. Hauentrief

Haase Kurt 1894 Ad. H*tlerstr

Hackenberg Emil 1879 Farbmühle

Herbst Ludwig 1902 Oberdenkmalstr.

Herhäuser Erich 1885 Hohenstein

Heuerz Josef 1891 Wartburgstr.

Hilger Gustav 1888

Homberg Helmut 1884 Wartburgstr.

Hühl Karl 1900 Schloßstr.

Kautz Hugo 1872 Haspeler Schulstr.

Klein Eduard 1896 Werlestr.

Kluge Hermann 1885 Unterdörnen

Knauer Dr. Karl 1883 Hünefeldstr.

Kobusch Walter 1887 Sudhoffstr.

Köster Erwin 1888 Wartburgerstr.

Luckhaus Hermann 1883 Wartburgstr.

Michael Karl 1887 Hohenstein

Möllmann Dr Hans 1902

Nippel Hans 1898 Sudhoffstr.

Reinsdorf Paul 1890 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Schäfer Karl 1889 Ad. H*tlerstr.

Scheffel Walter 1876 Am Brögel

Schlemmer Paul 1889 Heuberrstr.

Schulze Erich 1896 Ostlerstr.

Tiefenbach Heinrich 1899 Gewerbeschulstr.

Voß August 1893 Unionstr

Weierstall Walter 1891 Paracelsusstr.

We know that Robert Brill was the owner of the eponymous company making lawnmowers (only the brand name survived a recent takeover), and I suspect Hermann Kluge was related to the eponymous founder of Kluge Klaviaturen, the company that makes keyboards for Steinway pianos (now at Remscheid, but it used to be at Elberfeld / Wuppertal). Which is the only musical connection I’ve been able to find.

PS: Masterpost on the whole cello / family history book project I'm pursuing is here.
All three known photos of the quartet are here (including a better scan of the photo above)

New tag: Every picture tells a story.

science news 30.10.2020

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.

astrobiology

An Earth-sized rogue planet discovered in the Milky Way

evolution

Shining a (UV) light on the glow-in-the-dark platypus
Turns out platypus fur is biofluorescent - astonishing that this hasn't been noticed before.

The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is one of the oddities of nature: a mammal that lays eggs, and is like a mix of several other animals being duck-billed, beaver-tailed, and otter-footed.
Credit: Goddard Photography

Boo! How do mexican cavefish escape predators?

Study of ancient dog DNA traces canine diversity to the Ice Age

ecology

Touch and taste? It's all in the tentacles
Scientists identified a novel family of sensors in the first layer of cells inside the suction cups that have adapted to react and detect molecules that don't dissolve well in water. The research suggests these sensors, called chemotactile receptors, use these molecules to help the animal figure out what it's touching and whether that object is prey.

Male fin whales surprise scientists by swapping songs

conservation

Losing ground in biodiversity hotspots worldwide
Agriculture is eating into areas that are important in protecting some of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. Most of this new agricultural land is being used to grow cattle feed.

nanoworld

Smart bottle brushes
They look like microscopic bottle brushes: Polymers with a backbone and tufts of side arms. This molecular design gives them unusual abilities: For example, they can bind active agents and release them again when the temperature changes. With the help of neutrons, a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded to unveil the changes in the internal structure in course of the process.

sustainability

Advanced facade material for urban heat island mitigation

humans

Two studies expand insights into Denisovan ancestry and population history in East Asia
Lots of PRs from institutes involved have been promoting one study or the other, which got me confused, so I'm using the PR from science magazine which discusses both.

Bison engravings in Spanish caves reveal a common art culture across ancient Europe

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From the news media:

New sensor offers a window into the secret lives of Britain's rarest bats
reports the Guardian

open cities

More than half of humankind is now living in cities, and urbanisation continues to grow. So in my contribution to last year's special issue on the anthropocene, I gazed into my crystal ball to work out how cities can be more sustainable in the future.

The resulting feature is now in the open archives:

The future is urbanised

Making cities resilient to climate interactions requires tailored solutions. Heat build-up is a problem for many cities, and the traditional approach of painting surfaces in reflective colours can help to keep the environment cool. (Photo: SofiaPapageorge/Pixabay.)

science news 23.10.2020

Today's selection of science news. Links are normally to press releases on EurekAlert (at the bottom end I may also add a couple of newspaper stories). I include quotes from the summary in italics in cases where the title alone doesn't reveal what the story is about. My own thoughts appear without italics if I have any.

astrobiology

OSIRIS-REx TAGs surface of asteroid Bennu

evolution

African crocodiles lived in Spain six million years ago
The crocodiles that inhabited the coasts of North Africa during the late Miocene period embarked on a journey to Europe across what is now the Mediterranean basin. This is confirmed by the analysis of the first fossils of the Crocodylus genus in the Iberian Peninsula, found in the Valencian site of Venta del Moro between 1995 and 2006, and which are now being described for the first time.

Bat-winged dinosaurs that could glide

This illustration shows a reconstruction of Ambopteryx in a glide. Credit: Gabriel Ugueto

conservation

The next generation of biodiversity conservation targets must aim higher than ever
Writing this week in Science, 40 researchers argue for a set of holistic actions for new biodiversity goals that are unambiguously clear, sufficiently ambitious, and based on the best knowledge available. Most importantly, the goals need to aim higher if they are to be successful in the face of worsening trends for the climate and life on Earth.

light and life

Researchers identify how night-shift work causes internal clock confusion

biomedical

Lab-grown mini-lungs mimic the real thing - right down to covid infection

dystopian futures

Comparing the promise and reality of e-scooters

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From the news media:

it's all in the chemistry

Sexual chemistry keeps species alive but what if it fails? What if a mutation means that suddenly a chemical signal fails to find a receptor? There are a few examples where a change in chemistry visibly drives the separation of species, including a recent discovery where it is happening right now. I've discussed a few cases in my latest feature in C&I:

Chemical evolution

Chemistry & Industry Volume 84, Issue10 October 2020 Pages 22-26

access via:

Wiley Online Library (paywalled)

SCI (members)

Here's the first page with a picture of some yeasts whose sexual reproduction is also discussed in the feature:

closing in on the RNA world

As a former ribosome researcher, I tend to obsess about the tail end of the RNA world (the early phase of evolution when life used only RNA, no proteins or DNA) sometimes, namely the point when a ribozyme started making peptide bonds, and cleared the way for the division of labour between proteins, DNA and RNA that dominates life today. Now, however it is time to get really excited about the beginning of the RNA world, the point when the very first ribozyme started making more of its own kind. Experiments using in-vitro evolution to find such a ribozyme and they are tantalisingly close to success. Which would be amazing because from that point, we could rerun the evolution of the RNA world in the lab ...

So, while we're waiting for this breakthrough, here's my feature explaining just how brilliant that will be.

Towards the birth of evolution

Current Biology Volume 30, Issue 20, 19 October 2020, Pages R1233-R1235

FREE access to full text and PDF download

The images thrown in were even more symbolic this time than normally:

Some sort of membrane or other enclosure was necessary for the early precursors of life to keep their molecules together and protect them from harm. (Photo: Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay.)

wandering about Wuppertal

I recently visited Wuppertal to look at the places where our family cello Heinrich (and its eponymous owner) lived a century ago, in what was then Elberfeld and Barmen. The conglomerate of Wuppertal isn't generally known as a tourist destination, although I tend to think it should be, as the suspension railway (Schwebebahn) gliding through the airspace above the river Wupper makes it unique. On previous visits I have also seen art exhibitions in the Von der Heydt Museum and as a child I must have visited the zoo there.

Walking from the main station Wuppertal Hbf (which was Elberfeld Hbf a century ago - see this slideshow of old postcards) to the first address where Heinrich lived, I came past this neogothic marvel and took a photo just for touristy interest.

Only after I arrived back home and read up a few things about old Elberfeld did it dawn on me that this building, known as the new townhall (Neues Rathaus), must have been where Heinrich the cellist went to work - he came to Elberfeld because he found a job in the city administration there. Which fits nicely as it is only ten minutes walk away from the flat where he lived in the 1920s, in Schleswiger Str.:

From the 1930s till the end of his life he lived in Gronaustr, which is technically in Barmen but still very close to Elberfeld, and a very nice location too. Behind the buildings you have the botanic garden going up on a hillside, and to the front you look out over the valley of the river Wupper and towards the green hills on the other side.

There are more photos of my visit in the relevant Flickr album now, the ones specifically relating to Heinrich are tagged with his name. I've also thrown in a photo of his string quartet - I'm still trying to find out who the other three musicians were.

Amateur string quartet in Elberfeld, 1927 - can anybody identify the other musicians?

Amateur-Streichquartett Elberfeld 1927 - kann jemand die anderen Musiker identifizieren?

Background story is here.