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Articles by Michael Marshall
Why Epstein-Barr is the ‘everything virus’
Citations K. Bjornevik et al. CD4+ T cells reactive to Epstein-Barr virus late lytic antigens are enriched in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Science Translational Medicine. 2026. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adz6566 N. Wick et al. Clinical relevance of circulating blood microaggregates and reactivation of Epstein Barr Virus in long-term Post-CoVID syndrome patients. Scientific Reports. 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-42952-8 J. Stewart and B. Damania.
Neuropathologic Features of Adult-Onset Progressive Leukodystrophy Due to KARS Pathogenic Variants A Case Report
Clinical/Scientific Note Open Access Introduction Aminoacyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetase (ARS) disorders are a group of rare inherited conditions leading to a wide spectrum of disease, including early-onset developmental impairment, peripheral neuropathy, deafness, and adult-onset leukodystrophy.1 These enzymes, responsible for loading an amino acid onto its corresponding tRNA, typically have separate cytoplasmic and mitochondrial genes.
Many universities hold seized human remains. What should they do with them?
“Shock and awe.” That was Fatimah Jackson’s reaction when police dropped a makeshift bomb onto a residential building in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985. The brick-faced row house was the communal home of MOVE, an organization that advocated for Black liberation, natural living and animal rights. After a daylong standoff and shootout, during which MOVE members refused to leave the building, the city’s mayor gave police the go-ahead to drop an explosive device.
Epidemiology, aetiology and outcomes of paediatric ocular trauma: a population-level study in Northern Ireland
Abstract Ocular trauma is a major cause of blindness. The objectives of this study were to report epidemiology, aetiology, visual outcomes, and interactions with ophthalmology services of paediatric ocular trauma patients. A retrospective review of consecutive paediatric ocular trauma presentations between 01 January 2017 and 31 December 2019, within the Belfast Trust. Patients were younger than 16 years old at presentation. In total, 535 paediatric ocular trauma patients are reported.
How did birds evolve? The answer is wilder than anyone thought
Some 150 million years ago, Europe was tropical — and mostly underwater. The entire continent was closer to the equator than it is today, and what is now Germany and its neighbouring countries was submerged under a shallow inland sea, dotted with islands. ‘Weird’ dinosaur prompts rethink of bird evolution On one cluster of islands, there were unusual creatures that didn’t fit in with the rest of the fauna.
Long-COVID research just got a big funding boost: will it find new treatments?
Global estimates indicate that 6 in 100 people who get COVID-19 develop post-COVID-19 condition, also known as long COVID.Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty In a major boost to research on long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the German government has announced that it will provide €500 million (US$582 million) in research funding to support a National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases from 2026 to 2036.
7 basic science discoveries that changed the world
Under President Donald Trump, the US government is gutting scientific research. The National Institutes of Health has cut almost US$2 billion of grants that were already approved, and the National Science Foundation has terminated more than 1,400 grants. And the president has even bigger plans to eviscerate science. His proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would cut non-defence-related research and development by 36%.
Who were the ancient Denisovans? Fossils reveal secrets about the mysterious humans
6 hours ago Email has a problem — and it’s not getting fixed. Less than 10% of email traffic is now genuine, the rest is at best annoying spam and at worst much more dangerous than that. Despite the best efforts of Google, Microsoft and others, email remains painful and wedded to an architecture that’s long …
India’s pioneering mission bolsters idea that Moon’s surface was molten
India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has obtained the first measurements of the composition of the soil near the Moon’s south pole1. The minerals found offer further evidence that the lunar surface was entirely molten shortly after the Moon formed. Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander touched down on 23 August 2023. It released a rover called Pragyan, which collected data ranging from temperature to seismological measurements over 10 days.
Geology’s biggest mystery: when did plate tectonics start to reshape Earth?
Earth’s outer shell suffered a catastrophic break on 6 February last year, when a major fault came to life in southern Turkey. The Anatolian peninsula suddenly lurched to the southwest by as much as 11 metres relative to the Arabian peninsula. Nearly 60,000 people died in one of the most devastating earthquakes of modern times. An earthquake such as this occurs because Earth’s crust is divided into shifting tectonic plates.
Soybean Response to Weed Residues in the Soil
1. Introduction Field preparation at the beginning of the growing season or after harvest varies depending on whether a producer chooses conservative or aggressive methods of soil preparation [1]. Soil preparation may be achieved through conventional tillage or ploughing or by more conservative methods like strip tilling. Disc harrowing followed by strip tilling to create crop rows is sometimes paired together.
Determining the optimum planting date × maturity group combination for soybean produced in South Carolina
MG maturity group PD planting date 1 INTRODUCTION The United States was responsible for the production of 4.28 billion bushels of soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr.) in 2022, equaling approximately $34.4 billion in export value (USDA-FAS, 2023). South Carolina alone contributed to $191,653,000 in production value in 2021 (USDA-NASS, 2022). In South Carolina, soybean is typically planted between mid-April and late-June, depending on the production system and maturity group (MG).
Why was the Morocco earthquake so deadly?
Morocco is dealing with the aftermath of its most devastating earthquake for decades. The tremor, which hit on 8 September in the High Atlas mountain range, around 70 kilometres southwest of Marrakesh, has killed more than 2,800 people, with thousands more injured. The death toll seems likely to rise as rescue and recovery efforts continue. Why was the quake so deadly? Multiple factors have contributed, according to seismologists and disaster risk-reduction specialists. The first was magnitude.
Long COVID: answers emerge on how many people get better
More than three years after SARS-CoV-2 began its global spread, an estimated 65 million or more people1 are still living with the often devastating effects of long COVID — and scientists are still struggling to understand this complex condition. Even the definition of long COVID, whose symptoms include headaches, fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and more, is debated. Its causes are also elusive.
Cropland Mapping in Tropical Smallholder Systems with Seasonally Stratified Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Spectral and Textural Features
Open AccessArticle by Manushi B.
Photosynthesis is still a mystery-but science is revealing unknown steps
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Long COVID: answers emerge on how many people get better
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TDP‐43 and tau concurrence in the entorhinal subfields in primary age‐related tauopathy and preclinical Alzheimer's disease
1 INTRODUCTION Transactive response DNA binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) was first identified as the main pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia [1, 2]. Numerous studies have since linked TDP-43 to Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is typically characterized by phosphorylated tau (p-tau) protein, amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, and neurodegeneration [3-7].
COVID and smell loss: answers begin to emerge
Researchers are finally making headway in understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causes loss of smell. And a multitude of potential treatments to tackle the condition are undergoing clinical trials, including steroids and blood plasma. Once a tell-tale sign of COVID-19, smell disruption is becoming less common as the virus evolves.
LINKS - February 23rd, 2022
Welcome to LINKS — my attempt to provide Rhapsody readers with five interesting stories that tell us something about what it means to be human. LINKS is published every Wednesday. Have a link you want to share? Drop it in the comments. Separate Fidelities By Ge Gao, Hypocrite Reader “Earlier, when Kevin had replied to my email for this job, I had lied and said I had ‘some experience.’ How hard could interpreting be? I was perfectly capable of speaking both languages.
Speculation breeds misinformation in the wake of the Liverpool terrorist attack
On Sunday 14th November, Liverpool was the scene of a terrorist attack. Just before 11am, a taxi pulled up to Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and just as the car stopped, an explosive device went off inside of it. The event was captured on video, and you can clearly see the moment the bomb goes off, the windscreen blows out, the car starts emitting white smoke, before the smoke turns black and the vehicle is soon engulfed in flames.
How filling out your FAFSA early (like now) increases your chances for financial aid
Across the country, young people are preparing this week for spooky celebrations of Halloween. But university enrollment and financial-aid administrators are more frightened by college-going students’ response to another annual October happening: the opening of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Students must complete the FAFSA to access need-based aid at colleges and universities in the United States, including Pell Grants, direct federal student loans and work-study.
Inside the White Rose: from stickers and graffiti to an online Covid conspiracy ecosystem
In a previous article, I wrote about the White Rose, the Covid conspiracy movement which is plastering lampposts, bins, and bus shelters across the world with misleading, misinformed and manipulative stickers designed to question the reality of the global pandemic.
Inside the White Rose: The Covid conspiracy graffiti group operating on your doorstep
Back in April, during the height of the second lockdown, anyone taking their government-permitted recreational stroll along the river in Liverpool might have been surprised to see every other lamppost adorned with cheaply-produced stickers calling into question the legitimacy of the pandemic.
COVID and the brain: researchers zero in on how damage occurs
Chou, S. H.-Y. et al. JAMA Netw. Open 4, e2112131 (2021). Article PubMed Google Scholar Douaud, G. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.11.21258690 (2021). Serrano, G. E. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.15.21251511 (2021). Farhadian S. F., Seilhean, D. & Spudich, S. Curr. Opin. Neurol. 34, 417–422 (2021). Article PubMed Google Scholar Andrews, M. G. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.17.427024 (2021). Crunfli, F. et al.
Autistic children’s sleep problems linked to behavioral regulation issues
Lost sleep costs: Autistic children are prone to persistent sleeping problems, which may impair their executive function. Sally Anscombe / Getty Images Sleep problems in young children with autism are associated with behavioral regulation difficulties later in childhood, according to a new longitudinal study.
Our guide to the pseudoscience promoters aiming to be the next mayor of London
Next week, people around the UK will take to the polls in a series of elections to determine who will be their local councilor, who will be their police and crime commissioner, and in some cases who will be their city’s mayor. London is one of those cities holding a mayoral election, as its people decide whether to stick with Labour’s Sadiq Khan – the candidate who replaced Boris Johnson in 2016 – or whether to choose one of the other available candidates.
Cell Clocks May Explain Why Elephants Bigger Than Mice
In her laboratory in Barcelona, Spain, Miki Ebisuya has built a clock without cogs, springs or numbers. This clock doesn’t tick. It is made of genes and proteins, and it keeps time in a layer of cells that Ebisuya’s team has grown in its lab. This biological clock is tiny, but it could help to explain some of the most conspicuous differences between animal species. Read Full Article »
These cellular clocks help explain why elephants are bigger than mice
In her laboratory in Barcelona, Spain, Miki Ebisuya has built a clock without cogs, springs or numbers. This clock doesn’t tick. It is made of genes and proteins, and it keeps time in a layer of cells that Ebisuya’s team has grown in its lab. This biological clock is tiny, but it could help to explain some of the most conspicuous differences between animal species. Animal cells bustle with activity, and the pace varies between species.
Factors associated with myocardial SARS-CoV-2 infection, myocarditis, and cardiac inflammation in patients with COVID-19
Abstract COVID-19 has been associated with cardiac injury and dysfunction. While both myocardial inflammatory cell infiltration and myocarditis with myocyte injury have been reported in patients with fatal COVID-19, clinical–pathologic correlations remain limited. The objective was to determine the relationships between cardiac pathological changes in patients dying from COVID-19 and cardiac infection by SARS-CoV-2, laboratory measurements, clinical features, and treatments.
Encouraging patients to question their vaccine eligibility will cause more harm than good
On February 23rd, at 2pm, I received a text from my doctor: Dear Mr Marshall. We would like to invite you to book your appointment for your COVID-19 vaccination. If you are able to, please click the link and make your appointment within the next 24 hours. If you can’t, don’t worry – the practice will contact you to arrange. This was a surprise, to say the least, as a pretty healthy 37 year old.
How the Society of Homeopaths had their accredited status suspended
Earlier this month, the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) announced it had suspended the accreditation of the Society of Homeopaths (SoH), finding that the SoH “did not appear to have prioritised public protection over professional interests in its handling of complaints or governance processes.” According to the PSA, the SoH’s failings in this regard “led to risks to the public from homeopathy being offered as an alternative for serious conditions such as depression, arthritis and...
Why Have So Few People Heard of Tibor Gánti?
When biologist Tibor Gánti died on April 15, 2009, at the age of 75, he was far from a household name. Much of his career had been spent behind the Iron Curtain that divided Europe for decades, hindering an exchange of ideas. But if Gánti’s theories had been more widely known during the communist era, he might now be acclaimed as one of the most innovative biologists of the 20th century.
How Earth's First Life Survived Its Biggest Threat: Water
On 18 February next year, a NASA spacecraft will plummet through the Martian atmosphere, fire its retro-rockets to break its fall and then lower a six-wheeled rover named Perseverance to the surface. If all goes according to plan, the mission will land in Jezero Crater, a 45-kilometre-wide gash near the planet’s equator that might once have held a lake of liquid water. Read Full Article »
How Covid has changed the way we view our portfolio
Michael Marshall, head of sustainable ownership initiative, and Caroline Escott, senior investment manager, are part of RPMI Railpen’s active ownership team. The idea of changing roles in the midst of a pandemic sounds uncertain and risky. Yet 6.1% of employed people in the UK moved jobs in the first half of this year, including us. We recently moved from our previous roles and joined RPMI Railpen’s sustainable ownership team.
How the first life on Earth survived its biggest threat - water
On 18 February next year, a NASA spacecraft will plummet through the Martian atmosphere, fire its retro-rockets to break its fall and then lower a six-wheeled rover named Perseverance to the surface. If all goes according to plan, the mission will land in Jezero Crater, a 45-kilometre-wide gash near the planet’s equator that might once have held a lake of liquid water. Among the throngs of earthlings cheering on Perseverance, John Sutherland will be paying particularly close attention.
French scientist Didier Raoult given Rusty Razor Award for pseudoscience
The French microbiologist Didier Raoult has today been named the 2020 recipient of the “Rusty Razor” award, the prize given by The Skeptic to the year’s worst promoters of pseudoscience. The scientist made headlines around the world earlier this year for his study promoting the use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.
Charles Darwin's Hunch About Early Life Was Probably Right
Charles Darwin had some rather good ideas. His most famous is the theory of evolution by natural selection, which explains much of what we know about life on Earth. But he also pondered many other questions. In a hasty letter to a friend, he put forward an idea about how the first life might have formed. Some 150 years later, that letter looks remarkably prescient – maybe even prophetic. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Llamas May Have Been Buried Alive in Ritual Sacrifice
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP The remains of five llamas that may have been ritually sacrificed by Incas have been found in Peru. It is not clear how the animals were killed, but it may have been a slow death. “I have no way to prove it, but I think they were buried alive,” says Lidio Valdez at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He says the llamas do not have injuries like knife wounds to their throats, which would point to different methods of killing.
How COVID-19 Can Damage the Brain
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) The woman had seen lions and monkeys in her house. She was becoming disoriented and aggressive towards others, and was convinced that her husband was an impostor. She was in her mid-50s — decades older than the age at which psychosis typically develops — and had no psychiatric history. What she did have, however, was COVID-19. Hers was one of the first known cases of someone developing psychosis after contracting the disease1.
The lasting misery of coronavirus long-haulers
The lung scans were the first sign of trouble. In the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, clinical radiologist Ali Gholamrezanezhad began to notice that some people who had cleared their COVID-19 infection still had distinct signs of damage. “Unfortunately, sometimes the scar never goes away,” he says. Gholamrezanezhad, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and his team started tracking patients in January using computed tomography (CT) scanning to study their lungs.
Mysterious Stone Age Artifacts May Be Human Sculptures
Mysterious Stone Age Artifacts May Be Human Sculptures More than 100 distinctive flint artefacts from a Stone Age village in Jordan may be figurines of people used in funeral rituals, according to a team of archaeologists. However, other researchers aren't convinced that the objects represent people at all. Read Full Article »
Roots of Mental Illness
In 2018, psychiatrist Oleguer Plana-Ripoll was wrestling with a puzzling fact about mental disorders. He knew that many individuals have multiple conditions—anxiety and depression, say, or schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He wanted to know how common it was to have more than one diagnosis, so he got his hands on a database containing the medical details of around 5.9 million Danish citizens. He was taken aback by what he found.
Forerunner to the Great Wall of China Mapped in Detail
A medieval forerunner to the Great Wall of China was thought to have been designed to defend against the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan, but the first major study of this wall suggests it was built before he was born. The Great Wall of China is actually a collection of many walls. The 8850-kilometre stretch beloved by tourists dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was indeed built to defend China from the Mongols. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Earth's First Life Built From RNA and DNA?
Key building blocks of DNA and RNA can be made from the same raw materials. This finding suggests that instead of one or the other kick-starting life on Earth, both chemicals were involved in the first organisms. DNA and RNA are central to life. They are the molecules that carry genes, which are passed from parent to offspring and underpin heredity. Most organisms have genes made of DNA, although some viruses use RNA. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
The Hidden Links Between Mental Disorders
In 2018, psychiatrist Oleguer Plana-Ripoll was wrestling with a puzzling fact about mental disorders. He knew that many individuals have multiple conditions — anxiety and depression, say, or schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He wanted to know how common it was to have more than one diagnosis, so he got his hands on a database containing the medical details of around 5.9 million Danish citizens. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
The hidden links between mental disorders
In 2018, psychiatrist Oleguer Plana-Ripoll was wrestling with a puzzling fact about mental disorders. He knew that many individuals have multiple conditions — anxiety and depression, say, or schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He wanted to know how common it was to have more than one diagnosis, so he got his hands on a database containing the medical details of around 5.9 million Danish citizens. He was taken aback by what he found.
Remote diagnosis, support could aid families during lockdown
Video diagnosis: Remote assessments may be less reliable than in-person evaluations but better than nothing during a pandemic. BSIP / Getty Images Listen to this story: Cut off from clients by the coronavirus pandemic, clinicians are turning to video conferencing and other technologies to diagnose children with autism.
Autism’s relationship to head size, explained
Some people with autism have an unusually large head: This fact has been known since autism was first described in the 1940s. But debate about this finding has raged ever since. How many people with autism have a large head? What causes the enlargement? And does it have any bearing on outcome? Here is what researchers do and do not know about head size in autism. What proportion of people with autism have a large head?
U.K. government faces lawsuit over mistreatment of autistic people
Serious abuse: Investigative journalists have found that autistic people at some hospitals were pinned down, slapped, taunted and teased. BBC Following a series of scandals in the United Kingdom over people with autism being held against their will and mistreated in hospitals, a watchdog group has issued a legal challenge to the government. The incidents highlight that the entire system of care for people on the spectrum is in need of an overhaul, the challengers say.
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