Can ultrasound be used to stimulate nerve tissue?

Background  

The stimulation of nerve or cortical tissue by magnetic induction is a relatively new tool for the non-invasive study of the brain and nervous system. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), for example, has been used for the functional mapping of the motor cortex and may have potential for treating a variety of brain disorders.     

Can supernaturals really heal? A view of science that shows how they might

This article does not have an abstract     

Do dolphins know their own minds?

Knowledge of one's own states of mind is one of the varieties of self-knowledge. Do any nonhuman animals have the capacity for this variety of self-knowledge? The question is open to empirical inquiry, which is most often conducted with primate subjects. Research with a bottlenose dolphin gives some evidence for the capacity in a nonprimate taxon. I describe the research and evaluate the metacognitive interpretation of the dolphin's behaviour. The research exhibits some of the difficulties attached to the task of eliciting behaviour that both attracts a higher-order interpretation while also resisting deflationary, lower-order interpretations. Lloyd Morgan's Canon, which prohibits inflationary interpretations of animal behaviour, has influenced many animal psychologists. There is one defensible version of the Canon, the version that warns specifically against unnecessary intentional ascent. The Canon on this interpretation seems at first to tell against a metacognitive interpretation of the data collected in the dolphin study. However, the model of metacognition that is in play in the dolphin studies is a functional model, one that does not implicate intentional ascent. I explore some interpretations of the dolphin's behaviour as metacognitive, in this sense. While this species of metacognitive interpretation breaks the connection with the more familiar theory of mind research using animal subjects, the interpretation also points in an interesting way towards issues concerning consciousness in dolphins.     

Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions?

The house mouse, Mus musculus, is one of the most widespread and well-studied invasive mammals on islands. It was thought to pose little risk to seabirds, but video evidence from Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean shows house mice killing chicks of two IUCN-listed seabird species. Mouse-induced mortality in 2004 was a significant cause of extremely poor breeding success for Tristan albatrosses, Diomedea dabbenena (0.27 fledglings/pair), and Atlantic petrels, Pterodroma incerta (0.33). Population models show that these levels of predation are sufficient to cause population decreases. Unlike many other islands, mice are the only introduced mammals on Gough Island. However, restoration programmes to eradicate rats and other introduced mammals from islands are increasing the number of islands where mice are the sole alien mammals. If these mouse populations are released from the ecological effects of predators and competitors, they too may become predatory on seabird chicks.     

Can influenza epidemics be prevented by voluntary vaccination?

Previous modeling studies have identified the vaccination coverage level necessary for preventing influenza epidemics, but have not shown whether this critical coverage can be reached. Here we use computational modeling to determine, for the first time, whether the critical coverage for influenza can be achieved by voluntary vaccination. We construct a novel individual-level model of human cognition and behavior; individuals are characterized by two biological attributes (memory and adaptability) that they use when making vaccination decisions. We couple this model with a population-level model of influenza that includes vaccination dynamics. The coupled models allow individual-level decisions to influence influenza epidemiology and, conversely, influenza epidemiology to influence individual-level decisions. By including the effects of adaptive decision-making within an epidemic model, we can reproduce two essential characteristics of influenza epidemiology: annual variation in epidemic severity and sporadic occurrence of severe epidemics. We suggest that individual-level adaptive decision-making may be an important (previously overlooked) causal factor in driving influenza epidemiology. We find that severe epidemics cannot be prevented unless vaccination programs offer incentives. Frequency of severe epidemics could be reduced if programs provide, as an incentive to be vaccinated, several years of free vaccines to individuals who pay for one year of vaccination. Magnitude of epidemic amelioration will be determined by the number of years of free vaccination, an individuals' adaptability in decision-making, and their memory. This type of incentive program could control epidemics if individuals are very adaptable and have long-term memories. However, incentive-based programs that provide free vaccination for families could increase the frequency of severe epidemics. We conclude that incentive-based vaccination programs are necessary to control influenza, but some may be detrimental. Surprisingly, we find that individuals' memories and flexibility in adaptive decision-making can be extremely important factors in determining the success of influenza vaccination programs. Finally, we discuss the implication of our results for controlling pandemics.     

Can Designer Indels Be Tailored by Gene Editing?

Genome editing with engineered nucleases (GEENs) introduce site‐specific DNA double‐strand breaks (DSBs) and repairs DSBs via nonhomologous end‐joining (NHEJ) pathways that eventually create indels (insertions/deletions) in a genome. Whether the features of indels resulting from gene editing could be customized is asked. A review of the literature reveals how gene editing technologies via NHEJ pathways impact gene editing. The survey consolidates a body of literature that suggests that the type (insertion, deletion, and complex) and the approximate length of indel edits can be somewhat customized with different GEENs and by manipulating the expression of key NHEJ genes. Structural data suggest that binding of GEENs to DNA may interfere with binding of key components of DNA repair complexes, favoring either classical‐ or alternative‐NHEJ. The hypotheses have some limitations, but if validated, will enable scientists to better control indel makeup, holding promise for basic science and clinical applications of gene editing. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/vTkJtUsLi3w     

Does tiger shark predation risk influence foraging habitat use by bottlenose dolphins at multiple spatial scales?

Prey availability and predation risk are important determinants of habitat use, but their importance may vary across spatial scales. In many marine systems, predator and prey distributions covary at large spatial scales, but do no coincide at small spatial scales. We investigated the influences of prey abundance and tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier ) predation risk on Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops aduncus ) habitat use across multiple spatial scales, in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Dolphins were distributed between deep and shallow habitats and across microhabitats within patches approximately proportional to prey density when shark abundance was low. When shark abundance was high, foraging dolphins greatly reduced their use of dangerous, but productive, shallow patches relative to safer deep ones. Also, dolphins reduced their use of interior portions of shallow patches relative to their edges, which have higher predator density but lower intrinsic risk (i.e. a higher probability of escape in an encounter situation). These results suggest that predation risk and prey availability influence dolphin habitat use at multiple spatial scales, but intrinsic habitat risk, and not just predator encounter rate, is important in shaping dolphin space use decisions. Therefore, studies of habitat use at multiple spatial scales can benefit from integrating data on prey availability and the subcomponents of predation risk.     

Can the excretion of metabolites by bacteria be manipulated?

Bacteria can release metabolites into the environment by various mechanisms. Excretion may occur by passive diffusion or by the reversal of the uptake process when the internal concentration of the metabolite exceeds the thermodynamic equilibrium level. In other cases, solutes are excreted against the concentration gradient by special extrusion systems. Their mode of energy coupling is different to that of the well-studied group of uptake systems. A thorough understanding of the transport processes will help to improve the excretion of metabolites of commercial interest, allow a more efficient production of metabolites in bulk quantities, and permit their exploitation to establish new markets.