70,000 new Virus Species Discovered, Angry Black Holes and Treating Migraines

October 17

This week we discover 70,000 new Viruses Species which is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg when it comes to viruses. We investigate an angry black hole that is shooting out a massive plasma stream which obliterates everything in its’ way and explodes nearby stars. We examine a new more accurate way to simply measure our body fat and finally we look into a new method for treating migraines.

70,000 new Viruses Discovered

That is a great clickbait headline however we need to remember that the world is teaming with viruses. Viruses are likely the most abundant biological entity on Earth. A team of researchers from the University of Sydney and Sun Yet Sen University in Shenzhen, China have recently discovered 70,000 novel species of viruses.

The team used a process known as metagenomics where all the genomes present in an environment are sampled without having to culture individual viruses. A machine learning model called LucaProt was developed using the transformer architecture that underpins ChatGPT and other LLMs. A protein folding prediction model called ESMFold (developed by Meta or Facebook) was used to train the model to recognize viral RdRp (a key protein used in RNA replication). Using this model the team identified 160,000 potential new RNA viruses, 70,000 of which have never been previously identified as novel species.

Some of these newly discovered viruses live in hostile environments such as hydrothermal vents. Categorizing these viruses which could cause diseases in people may help in explaining mysterious illnesses. The majority of RNA viruses don’t infect humans however there are some famous ones (e.g. SARS-Cov2, influenza and Ebola). RNA viruses are all around us, in our homes, in the soil in our backyards, everywhere.

The team is now developing models to predict the hosts of these newly identified RNA viruses. This may help researchers understand the roles that viruses have in their environmental niches.

Angry Black Holes

Using the Hubble Telescope, NASA have discovered a blow torch like, jet of plasma being shot out by a supermassive black hole at the core of the giant elliptical galaxy M87. Astronomers have found that stars explode much more often when they are anywhere near the 3,000 light year long plasma jet. Researchers are stumped trying to explain this phenomenon. There is so much that we still don’t know about black holes and the jets of plasma that they eject.

There are over 1 trillion stars in M87 and the black hole is equivalent to 6.5 billion solar masses. The 3,000 light year long beam of plasma travels through space at the speed of light. Anything in its’ wake is destroyed. Stars nearby suffer the fate of a novae explosion.

NASA artist impression

Twice as many novae explosions were discovered going off near the jet of plasma compared to elsewhere in the galaxy during a similar time period. A nova erupts in a double star system where an aging, swelled up, normal star spills hydrogen onto a burned out companion white dwarf star. When the white dwarf has enough hydrogen it explodes like a massive nuclear bomb. The white dwarf is not destroyed by this explosion but it returns to siphoning hydrogen from its’ neighbor and the process repeats.

As far as we can tell, one novae explosion happens in M87 every day. Given that there are over 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe, around 1 million novae erupt every second somewhere out there.

Measuring Body Fat

This is not a pleasant conversation with the doctor to have however they will insist that it is important. Being overweight is not great for your health however just weighing yourself will not tell you everything that you need to know.

Doctors typically use body mass index (BMI) to determine if we are overweight or not. BMI is calculate by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. It is a rough and easy measure of the correct weight for your height however it is also flawed. Not all weight is equal.

Fat is stored in our adipose tissue. Fat stores energy, keeps us warm and provides protective cushioning for our organs. Fat produces a host of important substances ranging from hormones that control our appetite to chemicals that influence our immune systems.

Not all fat is considered equal though. Our bodies contain white, brown and beige fat. White fat stores energy, brown fat helps burn calories. Beige fat is a mixture of the two. White fat is further broken down into fat under your skin and fat that covers your internal organs. The fat covering your internal organs is known as visceral fat. Excess visceral fat is thought to be more harmful to your health. Risks include diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Some researchers are now recommending sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as a better measure of unwanted fat than BMI. SAD is the size of your belly from front to back. Lie on the floor, bend your knees at 90 degrees and make sure your back is not arching. Exhale and measure how much your belly protrudes from the ground.

In this position fat under the skin will slide to the sides of your body while the visceral fat will be held in place. This will give you an idea of how much dangerous fat you have. You then need to trim this fat down through diet and exercise (there is no free lunch, you have to do the work). This measure was first proposed in the 1980’s however it has never taken off. SAD is simple and easy to measure and becoming more popular as a measure of fat. You may find that your doctor one day asks you for your SAD rather than your BMI.

Relieving Migraines

In 1892 Jean Martin Charcot, a neurologist observed that his Parkinson’s patients showed improvements in their tremors after a carriage ride. He attributed the improvements to the rhythmic vibrations. He developed a shaking chair to replicate the movement. One of his students extended the technique by developing a vibrating helmet to relieve migraines. For some reason these inventions fell out of favor.

Recent studies have revisited the techniques and are starting to reveal why vibration may be the remedy that migraine sufferers are seeking. Migraines affect about 1 million people globally. We know very little about what causes them or how to treat them. Recent studies have focused on the role of the hypothalamus, a brain structure associated with pain messages and inflammation of the meninges (the layers of tissue that protect the spinal cord).

The current drugs for migraines don’t work for everyone and cause side effects. Online forums seeking alternative remedies are full of stories of people that have tried vibration therapy. A simple massage of the neck with a vibrator and the migraine pain disappeared for some posters.

Some evidence points to vibration simply distracting from the pain however a recent trial at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden targeted vibration in the nostril as a cure. A catheter with a vibrating balloon was inserted into the nostril of migraine sufferers at the start of an attack. Migraine pain was recorded before, during and after the 15 minute treatment. 17 out of 18 patients recored a minimum of 50% drop in pain levels. Only 3 of 17 who received a placebo treatment felt a similar drop (the migraine may have just gone away). Half of the people using the treatment were completely pain free within 15 minutes compared to 2 in the placebo group.

The nasal vibration targets a collection of nerve cells called the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) located just under the nasal membrane. This nerve is connected to the hypothalamus. It is thought that the hypothalamus loses control over a collection of structures in the brain called the limbic system during an attack. This affects how a person responds to pain. Stimulation of the SPG and indirectly the hypothalamus with vibration may help the patient regain control.

Swedish company Chordate Medical is now developing a device based upon this work.

Migraines are extremely impactful on the mental health and wellbeing of suffers. Larger trials are needed however this system could be a valuable noninvasive option for migraine relief.

Paying it Forward

If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.

If you have any questions or comments please comment below.

I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.

Till next week.