Fish-odour breakthrough
analysis: had they tested the entire placenta, the number would probably have been far higher. The plastics had been dyed various colours, suggesting they came from packaging, cosmetics or paints. “It is like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities,” said Antonio Ragusa, of the
San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome, who led the study. “The mothers were shocked.”
For those afflicted, the consequences of “fish-odour syndrome” can be devastating, says The Daily Telegraph. Formally known as trimethylaminuria, the condition is caused by the inability of the liver to break down a smelly chemical called trimethylamine (TMA) that is produced by enzymes in the gut, resulting in an unpleasant fishy odour that can affect the breath, as well as sweat, urine and other bodily fluids. Sufferers have reported being abused in the street, and ordered off buses. The condition is little understood (it is not even clear how many people it affects), and there is no cure. But scientists researching treatments at Warwick University have now had a major breakthrough: they have stabilised the enzyme that produces TMA, and modelled its structure. “This is vital not only for people who have fish odour syndrome, but also because TMA can accelerate atherosclerosis and heart disease,” said Dr Mussa Quareshy, who led the research. Fish odour syndrome was only identified in 1970, but scientists suspect that it has been recognised as a distinct condition for some while. In a paper in 2013, a team at Ohio State University noted that Shakespeare may even have been aware of it. On meeting Caliban in Trinculo asks: “What have we here? A man or a fish? Dead or alive? A Fish! He smells like a fish; a very ancient and fishlike smell...”
The Tempest,
Around the world, engineers are developing new technologies to stave off the climate crisis – and their efforts are being transformative, said Robin McKie in The Guardian. Electric cars are starting to oust petrol and diesel ones, and wind and solar plants are generating more and more of our electricity. But these changes, vital as they may be, are not entirely “green”. For instance, lithium and cobalt are required to make batteries for electric cars, and to store power from wind farms. Demand for both is growing rapidly; but 60% of the world’s cobalt comes from DR Congo, where children as young as seven work in unregulated mines. These produce waste that pollutes local rivers, while lithium mining has led to devastating toxic leaks, and requires huge amounts of water – which has contributed to desertification in parts of South America.