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AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University scientists have made a significant breakthrough in scientists’ ability to identify specific proteins within individual plant cells.Professor Justin Walley and Christian Montes, a research scientist, in the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, led the work to develop a method for single-cell proteomics, or SCP. Their findings were reported recently in the New Phytologist, one of the leading journals in the world of plant sciences. They demonstrated the feasibility of using SCP to characterize the contents of two neighboring root cell types in Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant often used as a model for research. While this type of single-cell investigation has been in use for animal studies for several years, it has been more challenging with plants due largely to their cell wall structure. To overcome this challenge, Walley and Montes used an exacting approach that dissolved the plant cell walls with an enzyme so they could carefully extract the protoplast, or living material, within.Previously, research into the inner workings of plant cells has largely depended on bulk sampling, basically a ground-up mixture of cell types that averaged the contents across all the cells. According to the researchers, the results can be enlightening, but still may conceal important differences between individual cell types.In this case, the researchers were able to quantify more than 3,000 proteins in the two cell types. Of those, they identified almost 600 proteins that were more abundant in one or the other kind of cell. While both cell types were similar in the number of proteins they contained – the study found the types of proteins significantly differed between the two cell types. “Our study demonstrates that our SCP approach can identify distinct material within plant cell types, even between neighboring cells,” said Walley. “This is foundational research. It gives us a platform to locate genetic markers that can signal desirable (or not so desirable) traits, important knowledge for tomorrow’s precision breeding.”Researchers say the next steps include improving the number of cells that can be analyzed and expanding the approach to corn and other crops.”The beauty of this advance is to start having a better sense of what each cell is doing and even how cells work together,” Montes said. “Proteins can be mobile, but the SCP approach can help locate where the proteins originate and how cells cooperate to use them to manage the plant’s functions and respond to various biological stimuli.”The research team also included Jingyuan Zhang and Trevor Nolan, with the Department of Biology at Duke University at the time of this study.An associated commentary on their study published in the same journal acknowledges the researchers’ important role in initiating the era of single-cell proteomics “with many exciting discoveries waiting in this rapidly growing and developing field.” Funding for the project came from the Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State University and the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.
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JOHANNESBURG – In response to growing concerns over foundation phase learner performance in maths and science, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has announced a strategic reorientation plan. DBE Minister Siviwe Gwarube revealed the move on Monday during the announcement of the 2024 National Senior Certificate examination results in Johannesburg.
In a historic achievement, the matric class of 2024 recorded an 87.3% pass rate, the highest ever in South Africa.
While celebrating the results, Gwarube admitted that more work is needed to strengthen the foundation of the education system.
A 2023 international standardised benchmarking survey revealed that South Africa’s grade 5 learners ranked last out of 59 countries in maths and science.
In response, DBE plans to implement a strategic reorientation plan to address these challenges.
READ: Matric class of 2024 achieves SA’s highest-ever pass rate
Key interventions include improving access to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) and enhancing teaching and learning at the foundation phase.
“I believe that this strategic reorientation towards ECD and the foundation phase will improve the quality of the learning outcomes we are able to achieve throughout the system,” said Gwarube.
Gwarube said these measures will enable learners to move through the education system more confidently and achieve better outcomes.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the class of 2024’s historic pass rate as an indication of the strides that the government has made towards the country’s future.
Last year’s cohort achieved an overall pass rate of 87.3% – with provinces seeing an increase in the pass rate.
They also achieved the most bachelor passes and distinctions, standing at over 319,000.
The top performing provinces are Kwazulu-Natal, followed by the Western Cape and Gauteng.
“These results reinforce our resolute development of our nation’s most valuable resource, our young people. They also provide proof that we are undoing apartheid’s planned legacy of intergenerational indignity, disadvantage and poverty for the majority of South Africans,” said Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
Staff members provide consultation services to a passenger from New Zealand at a service center in Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan 8, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua)
On a four-day transit to Beijing, two siblings from Poland who visited several places said they were very impressed by China after experiencing the city’s advanced services for foreign tourists.
“We noticed we could pay with cash, card, or by scanning a QR code, and we were surprised to learn that facial recognition could also be used for payments,” said Dagmara Paszkowska, who was visiting China with her brother Norbert.
As soon as foreign visitors arrive at the city’s two major airports — Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport — they will see Beijing Service counters, which are part of a new mobile payment and travel and transportation initiative that was launched on Jan 1 to facilitate visitors from abroad.
The Chinese capital’s launch of the Beijing Service counters at the airports coincides with a surge in international arrivals propelled by China’s extended visa-free policies, which offer transit visa-free access to travelers from 54 countries and exempts passport holders from 38 countries from needing visas for short stays.
Wang Hongyan, deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism’s external exchange and cooperation department, said at a news conference on Monday that a daily average of 252 foreign nationals now enter Beijing with a temporary 240-hour entry permit. Before the policies were extended, the maximum stay with such a permit was 144 hours.
In 2024, Beijing recorded 3.94 million inbound visits, up 186.8 percent year-on-year. The city’s tourism foreign exchange income reached $4.91 billion, an increase of 151.7 percent year-on-year, according to the bureau.
“We have been making efforts to improve the foreign visitors’ overall experience in the city, including customer service, transportation, accommodations, sightseeing, shopping and payment,” Wang said. “More service improvements will be carried out in Beijing, and we expect a 5 percent increase in inbound tourists in 2025.”
At the international arrival zones at Beijing’s two international airports, Beijing Service counters provide foreigners with one-stop service for a range of financial, communication, transportation, culture, and tourism needs.
Some foreign visitors say they are amazed by China’s convenient digital payment system, though they are not familiar with it upon their arrival.
The counters also offer assistance with cash withdrawals using foreign bank cards and currency exchange, and staff members can help visitors download mobile payment apps.
In addition, foreigners at the airports can purchase a Beijing Pass, which is a versatile, rechargeable transportation card issued by the Beijing municipal government. Cardholders can not only use public transportation services in 300 cities, but can also use the pass in designated commercial, cultural and tourism areas.
According to the bureau, up to 39,000 Beijing Pass cards have been issued to foreign visitors since the program’s launch in July.
To better introduce Beijing’s traditional culture, the city now even offers free half-day trips to international transit passengers at Beijing Capital International Airport, according to the bureau.
Katia Houle, a representative for Trip.com, a travel platform, said that Beijing Express, a service that the company launched on Dec 27, enables visitors to register for free tours in the city.
“We offer free tours every single day. You sign up on the spot, and our tour guides are there,” she said.
The first tour, which runs from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm, offers a direct trip from the airport to the Bada-ling section of the Great Wall and then returns to the airport. The second tour, from 1:30 pm to 9:00 pm, takes visitors downtown, where they visit the Temple of Heaven and pass Tian’anmen Square before returning to the airport.
Recently, other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, have also attracted thousands of foreign visitors due to the visa-free policies. In recent months, for example, an increasing number of South Korean visitors have flocked to Shanghai because of the low flight ticket prices and the short flight distance.
“I love the Shanghai style, which is fancy and modern,” one South Korean who visited Shanghai last week posted on social media. “I went to several sightseeing spots in the city and tried delicious cuisine.”
(Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing)
PIONEERING research from the Ateneo de Manila University could turn bangus fish skin—a common byproduct of the Philippine fishing industry, often discarded as waste—into an invaluable medical resource.
Skin samples from tilapia (top) and bangus (bottom) immersed in silver nanoparticle (AgNP) solution for sterilization in the laboratory. CREDIT: Bianca Patrice Go
The Ateneo scientists found that milkfish (Chanos chanos, better known as “bangus” in the Philippines) could give doctors an economical way to treat patients with massive burns and other major injuries.
While not meant as a home remedy, wound dressings made from fish skin may become a cost-effective and vital tool for doctors in developing countries like the Philippines.
When a person’s skin is severely damaged—such as in a large third-degree burn, where all skin layers are affected—doctors may dress the wound with an artificial skin to protect exposed tissues and to promote the healthy growth of the patient’s own skin cells. This groundbreaking Ateneo study is the first time that bangus skin has been eyed for this purpose, whereas previous studies have used tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
As bangus is commonly raised and sold all across the Philippines, this research holds major implications for healthcare in the country: it offers the possibility of an affordable and sustainable wound care method that also potentially reduces reliance on imported medical materials. And since fish skin is often discarded as waste, this research also promotes environmental sustainability.
“Among the economically significant fish species in the Philippines, bangus is one of the most widely cultivated. However, limited research has been conducted on the suitability of milkfish skin for wound care,” the researchers said in their paper.
“Given its abundance and potential collagen content, milkfish skin presents a valuable opportunity to expand the donor pool for fish skin grafting,” they added.
The Ateneo scientists compared bangus and tilapia skins collected from a local market in Metro Manila, making sure that these were fresh and free from impurities. The skins were descaled, rinsed with salt water, and cut into uniform strips. Some of the fish skin samples were then sterilized in a solution of silver nanoparticles (AgNP); the untreated skins served as control samples.
AgNP-treated bangus samples consistently showed complete inhibition of bacterial and fungal growth, and close inspection under a microscope also revealed that bangus skin retained its collagen structural integrity just as well as tilapia skin.
“By demonstrating that milkfish skin can be effectively sterilized and used similarly to tilapia skin, this research provides innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable wound-healing solutions. This finding has the potential to transform wound care in underserved areas, improving patient outcomes in regions with limited access to advanced medical facilities,” the paper concluded.
The paper, “Determining the Applicability of Milkfish (Chanos chanos) for Skin Grafting through Microbiological and Histological Evaluations,” by Dr. Janice Ragaza and Bianca Patrice Go of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Science and Engineering Department of Biology’s Aquatic and Fisheries Resources Laboratory, was published in BIO Web of Conferences in November 2024.
SOURCE:
https://archium.ateneo.edu/aquatic-fisheries-resources/1/
Actor and social activist Prakash Raj interacting with Kerala Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer during the valedictory function of the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF) in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Actor Prakash Raj on Monday said it was “heart-warming and reassuring” to see a State Legislature and a State government organising a book festival when legislatures in the country are often associated with dethroning governments, fighting, and scams.Mr. Prakash Raj was inaugurating the valedictory session of the 2025 edition of the Kerala Legislature International Book Festival (KLIBF 2025) organised by the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Describing the KLIBF as “very, very unique,” he said: “especially in a country where we have a leader who has no degree, to have a book festival in a Legislative council means a great amount of dissent to me.” It was heartening to see a State Legislature understand the importance of literature, books, conversations, debates, resilience and dissent and provide a space for such a discourse. A State Assembly organising a book festival “means a lot in the context of the authoritarian government that we are facing,” he said. To open a society and the next generation to books was the right kind of education and exposure, Mr. Prakash Raj said. Speaker A.N. Shamseer said the Legislative Assembly had launched efforts to get Thiruvananthapuram included in UNESCO’s World Book Capital programme in the context of the KLIBF. Presiding over the valedictory function, he recalled that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while inaugurating KLIBF 2025 on January 7, had suggested that the Assembly take the initiative in this regard. Three lakh visitorsMr. Shamseer termed the third edition of KLIBF a grand success and an improvement on the previous two editions. Around three lakh people visited the book fest over the seven days. The fest featured 166 publishers and nearly 266 stalls. Talks, debates, meet-the-author events and book launches also were held as part of the event. The fourth edition of KLIBF will be held from January 7 to January 13 in 2026, he added.BridgesSri Lankan author V.V. Pathmaseeli, who was chief guest at the valedictory session, said the KLIBF celebrated the power of literature, ideas and human creativity. Books had always been more than just printed pages. They formed bridges between generations, cultures and ideas, she said. Ministers Ramachandran Kadannappally, V. Sivankutty and K.N. Balagopal; P.C. Vishnunadh MLA; Deputy Speaker Chittayam Gopakumar; district panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar; and Assembly secretary N. Krishnakumar were present. Published – January 13, 2025 10:41 pm IST
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin will try again to launch its massive new rocket as early as Tuesday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing. The 98-meter New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off before dawn Monday with a prototype satellite. But ice formed in a purge…
The Donate a Book campaign was an Arena collective initiative, with collections in Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Mbombela, Durban, Port Alfred, Mthatha, Komani and Cape Town, Daily Dispatch support services manager Nalita Nayo said. “The Arena Cares programme and its Donate a Book campaign are a part of the broader corporate social investment programme to do good, especially in communities where our operations are located.“This as a concerted joint effort which in total will see thousands of books find new homes.”“Once again we will be handing over relevant collections to Daily Dispatch Local Heroes winners, honoured last year for their unwavering dedication to community upliftment.“We have been overjoyed and deeply grateful to see such a positive response from the public. Our storeroom has been packed!“We are so thankful to have reached a point where we have more than enough for our Heroes, which is why we have decided to close donations earlier than January 22.”“It is one way we can show appreciation to the organisations which have been fully hands-on in trying to better lives, especially in communities where our operations are located and from which we draw talent, energy and profits.”DispatchLIVE
By CHARLIE SPIERING, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON, DC Published: 22:55 EST, 13 January 2025 | Updated: 03:18 EST, 14 January 2025 A former high energy Democratic fundraiser, failed congressional candidate and social media influencer is now raising money for President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee. Lindy Li made the shocking 180 after an extraordinary journey though a…