24 | New Scientist | 29 January 2022PollutionAIR pollution severely impairs
the ability of bees, butterflies
and other pollinators to sniff
out the plants they feed on. That
could be bad news for both insect
populations and crop pollination.
Pesticides and land use changes
are two of the biggest drivers of
plummeting insect numbers, but
a new field trial suggests that
polluted air caused by diesel
cars may be a major cause too.
Previous evidence from
lab studies has shown how air
pollutants degrade the floral odour
particles released by plants, making
it harder for insects to locate them.
To gain a better handle on how
those interactions play out in the
wider environment, James Ryalls at
the University of Reading, UK, and
his colleagues ran a three-year
field trial. They built a system thatgenerated nitrogen oxides and
ozone pollution in the centre of
a wheat field and piped it to six
octagonal enclosures where black
mustard plants were grown. Two
more enclosures filled with ambient
air acted as a control.
The results were stark. Levels of
the pollutants on a par with average
concentrations next to major UK
roads led to a fall in the number of
pollinators counted on the plants
by up to 70 per cent compared
with the controls (Environmental
Pollution, doi.org/hdd5).
Further field studies and research
at a wider landscape level will be
needed to fully establish how much
dirty air is confusing pollinators
hunting for plants’ odours. Some
pollinator groups may be more able
to compensate with visual cues than
others, says Ryalls. Adam VaughanCar fumes hinder insects in
hunt for flowers to feed on
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News In brief
BY ANALYSING high-resolution
images, a computer can quickly
predict the sequence of amino
acids in antibodies, potentially
cutting the time to make vaccines.
“It’s a shortcut on a process
which typically takes months,”
says Andrew Ward at Scripps
Research in California.
Antigens, such as the spike
protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
are key components of vaccines.
They cause the immune system
to produce a range of antibodies
against the antigen, but some of
these are more useful to us than
others. For example, a more useful
antibody may block viral entry
into a cell while another may
not affect this process.
Looking at the ratio of useful
“on-target” to less useful “off-
target” antibodies resulting from
vaccination helps us to optimise
the vaccine, but requires antibodyImmunology^analysis that can take a long time.
Ward and his team have come
up with a quicker method. They
image frozen antibodies using a
method called cryogenic electron
microscopy to show structures,
then a computer algorithm
quickly predicts the amino acid
sequences of the antibodies
based on these structures.
To test the approach, they
vaccinated monkeys using an
antigen from HIV, which caused
antibodies to be produced. They
used the new approach to analyse
the antibodies and then compared
the results with a library of known
antibodies in the monkeys.
They went on to make synthetic
antibodies from the sequences
predicted by their technique and
confirmed that their structures fit
those from the original cryogenic
electron microscope images
(Science Advances, doi.org/hdfm).
“It’s a transformational
tool for vaccine design, and for
therapies that rely on antibodies,”
says Ward. Carissa WongAntibody imaging to
speed vaccine workA SYSTEM controlled by a phone
app can monitor and control
blood sugar in young children
with type 1 diabetes better than
the standard therapy.
Type 1 diabetes affects insulin
production, a hormone that
regulates blood glucose levels.
Treating young children with this
condition can be very challenging
because they have less predictable
eating and exercise patterns, andHealththerefore more variable insulin
requirements, says Julia Ware at
the University of Cambridge.
The standard treatment is called
sensor-augmented pump therapy.
It uses a sensor to track blood
glucose levels, but requires carers
to input how much insulin to
release, both at mealtimes and
when the child isn’t eating.
To make life easier, Ware and her
team used an app called CamAPS
FX linked to an implanted glucose
sensor and insulin pump. This is
known as an artificial pancreas.
Other than at meal times, an
algorithm calculates how much
insulin should be automatically
delivered. The team compared this
system with the standard therapy
in 74 children aged 1 to 7 years.
On average, the children spent
around three-quarters of their day
within their target blood sugar
range with the new system, about
2 hours more per day compared
with the standard therapy (New
England Journal of Medicine,
UN doi.org/hdd8). CWIVERS
ITYOFCAMBRIDGE‘Artificial pancreas’
helps with diabetes