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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

'Jump-scare' science: Study elucidates how the brain responds to fear

In haunted houses across the US this month, threatening figures will jump out of the shadows, prompting visitors—wide-eyed and heart racing—to instinctively freeze and flee.

Evolutionarily speaking, this "innate threat response" is key to survival, helping a wide variety of animal species escape predators. But when stuck in overdrive it can cause problems for humans.

A  research team has identified a novel brain circuit responsible for orchestrating this threat response. Known as the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN), this dense cluster of specialized neurons not only jump-starts that freeze-and-flee reaction, but dials it down when animals learn there's no real danger.

In people with anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this circuit may be broken, researchers say.

The findings could help explain why some people have a greater appetite for risk than others and lead to new therapies for psychiatric disorders.

The brain's threat system is like an alarm. It needs to sound when danger is real, but it needs to shut off when it's not. This new study shows how the brain learns to fine-tune those responses through experience, helping us adapt to the world.

 Elora W. Williams et al, Interpeduncular GABAergic neuron function controls threat processing and innate defensive adaptive learning, Molecular Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03131-9

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

Why women's brains face higher risk: Scientists pinpoint X-chromosome gene behind MS and Alzheimer's

New research has identified a sex-chromosome linked gene that drives inflammation in the female brain, offering insight into why women are disproportionately affected by conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis as well as offering a potential target for intervention.

The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, used a mouse model of multiple sclerosis to identify a gene on the X chromosome that drives inflammation in brain immune cells, known as microglia. Because females have two X chromosomes, as opposed to only one in males, they get a "double dose" of inflammation, which plays a major role in aging, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis.

When the gene, known as Kdm6a, and its associated protein were deactivated, the multiple sclerosis-like disease and neuropathology were both ameliorated with high significance in female mice.

Multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease each affect women more often than men, about two to three times as often. Also, two-thirds of healthy women have 'brain fog' during menopause. These new findings explain why and point to a new treatment to target this.

When researchers genetically "knocked out" the gene Kdm6a in brain immune cells, the inflammatory molecules shifted from being activated to a resting state. Additionally, they  performed a pharmacologic "knock down" of the protein made by this gene using metformin. Metformin is widely used as a treatment for diabetes but is currently being researched for potential anti-aging properties.

While these interventions were highly significant in female mice, their effect was almost undetectable in males.

This is consistent with there being 'more to block' in females due to having two copies of the X-linked gene.

It's also why females are more likely to get MS and AD than males. This has implications for the clinic. Women may respond differently to metformin treatment than men.

The findings may also have implications for explaining a connection to brain fog in healthy women during menopause.

Sex chromosomes and sex hormones achieve a balance through evolution. There is a selection bias to do so. Females have a balance between X chromosome-driven inflammation that can be good to fight infections at child-bearing ages. This is held in check by estrogen, which is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective. As women age, menopause causes loss of estrogen, unleashing the proinflammatory and neurodegenerative effects of this X chromosome in brain immune cells.

Yuichiro Itoh et al, Microglia-specific deletion of the X-chromosomal gene Kdm6a reverses the disease-associated microglia translatome in female mice, Science Translational Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adq3401. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adq3401

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

Scientists turned off moths' sex signals—this could be the key to greener pest control

A single "sexy" gene could help us combat one of the world's most destructive fruit pests. By deleting the gene that lets female moths produce their mating scent, researchers  created an "unsexy" moth—and showed one way to turn insect attraction into a powerful pest control tool.

You've probably seen moths flittering around a bright lamppost on a balmy summer night. Those same insects, in their larval form, are the worms that burrow into your apples and peaches, making them serious pests in agriculture.
Moths are usually controlled with chemical pesticides, but pests evolve resistance and these sprays also harm bees and other pollinators. We need new and more sustainable methods to protect important crops targeted by moth larvae, like apples, maize, tomatoes and rice.

In a new study published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, researchers have demonstrated a way to unravel sexual communication in insects and provide a more sustainable alternative to pesticides. Yes, now  we can stop moths by using their natural instincts against them.

Marie Inger Dam et al, Sex pheromone biosynthesis in the Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta involves Δ8 desaturation, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2025.104307

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

Human cells activate self-destruction when viruses disrupt RNA production, study shows

Viruses are masters at taking over our cells: They disable our defenses and hijack the cellular machinery in order to multiply successfully. For example, the herpes simplex virus 1, which causes blister-like skin rashes, and influenza viruses specifically block a crucial step in gene activity in which the production of RNA molecules is completed—known as transcription termination. The blockade results in unnaturally long RNA molecules that cannot be translated into proteins. This suppresses the antiviral defense in the cells and creates optimal conditions for the viruses to multiply.

A new study published in Nature now shows that human cells are not helpless against this viral sabotage. They recognize the disruption of transcription termination as an alarm signal, activate a "self-destruction program" and sacrifice themselves—even before the virus can multiply in them. This enables them to nip the spread of the infection in the bud.

Researchers discovered that the unnaturally long RNA molecules adopt a special structure: They twist into left-turning double strands, known as Z-RNAs. These unusual RNA forms are recognized by the cellular protein ZBP1. And then the controlled cell death begins.

It is particularly noteworthy that Z-RNAs form primarily in those sections of these unnaturally long RNA molecules that originate, among other things, from remnants of previous viral infections. These otherwise silent areas of our genome are only transcribed into RNA due to the virus-related disruption of transcription termination.

Our cells therefore use these genetic remnants of ancient viral infections to detect and ward off current viral attacks.

Evolution has thus turned the tables: what once began as a viral invasion now serves as an alarm signal for the antiviral immune defense. This discovery impressively demonstrates how closely virus and host have been intertwined over millions of years—and how our cells can transform viral sabotage into highly effective protective strategies.

 Chaoran Yin et al, Host cell Z-RNAs activate ZBP1 during virus infections, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09705-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

Differences in coexistence create new species

A simple change in species composition can impact the course of evolution: A research team shows that the presence of just one other fish species is enough to drive the emergence of new species in sticklebacks.

It has long been assumed that adaptation to different habitats plays an important role in the evolution of new species. Yet how important this influence truly is—particularly during the initial stages of the speciation process—and which ecological differences are most critical remain major questions in evolutionary research.

For the current study, the research team studied populations of threespine stickleback—small fish about the size of a finger—from lakes in western Canada. These lakes formed after glaciers from the last ice age melted less than 12,000 years ago and were then colonized by sticklebacks from the sea. While many of these lakes are environmentally similar, they differ in one aspect: in some, another fish species, the prickly sculpin, lives alongside sticklebacks, while in other lakes sculpins are absent.

This seemingly simple ecological difference—living with or without sculpins—has repeatedly pushed sticklebacks down distinct evolutionary paths: in lakes with sculpins, sticklebacks have evolved into slimmer open-water forms, while in sculpin-free lakes they have become stockier bottom-feeding specialists.

 Marius Roesti et al, A species interaction kick-starts ecological speciation in allopatry, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2506625122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

Electric charge connects jumping worm to aerial prey

A tiny worm that leaps high into the air—up to 25 times its body length—to attach to flying insects uses static electricity to perform this astounding feat, scientists have found.

The journal PNAS published the work on the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, a parasitic roundworm. 

Researchers identified the electrostatic mechanism this worm uses to hit its target, and we've shown the importance of this mechanism for the worm's survival. Higher voltage, combined with a tiny breath of wind, greatly boosts the odds of a jumping worm connecting to a flying insect.

They conducted the experiments, including the use of high-speed microscopy techniques to film the parasitic worm—whose length is about the diameter of a needle point—as it leaped onto electrically charged fruit flies.

The researchers showed how a charge of a few hundred volts, similar to that generated by an insect's wings beating the air, initiates an opposite charge in the worm, creating an attractive force. They identified electrostatic induction as the charging mechanism driving this process.

Using physics, scientists learned something new and interesting about an adaptive strategy in an organism.

Ranjiangshang Ran et al, Electrostatics facilitate midair host attachment in parasitic jumping nematodes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2503555122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 3 hours ago

A rare variety of wheat with three ovaries—gene discovery could triple production

Researchers discovered the gene that makes a rare form of wheat grow three ovaries per flower instead of one. Since each ovary can potentially develop into a grain of wheat, the gene could help farmers grow much more wheat per acre. Their work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The special trait of growing three ovaries per flower was initially discovered in a spontaneously occurring mutant of common bread wheat. But it wasn't clear what genetic changes led to the new trait. The UMD team created a highly detailed map of the multi-ovary wheat's DNA and compared it to regular wheat.

They discovered that the normally dormant gene WUSCHEL-D1 (WUS-D1) was "switched on" in the multi-ovary wheat.
When WUS-D1 is active early in flower development, it enlarges the flower-building tissues, enabling them to produce extra female parts like pistils or ovaries.

If breeders can control or mimic this genetic trick of activating WUS-D1, they could design new wheat varieties that grow more kernels per plant. Even small gains in the number of kernels per plant can translate into huge increases in food supply at the global scale.

Pinpointing the genetic basis of this trait offers a path for breeders to incorporate it into new wheat varieties, potentially increasing the number of grains per spike and overall yield, say the researchers. By employing a gene editing toolkit, scientists can now focus on further improving this trait for enhancing wheat yield. This discovery provides an exciting route to develop cost-effective hybrid wheat.

The discovery of WUS-D1 could also lead to the development of similar multi-ovary varieties of other grain crops.

 Adam Schoen et al, WUSCHEL-D1upregulation enhances grain number by inducing formation of multiovary-producing florets in wheat, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2510889122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Men’s brains shrink more with age
Men’s brains shrink more as they age than women’s brains do, which could scupper the theory that age-related brain changes explain why women are more frequently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men. Using more than 12,500 brain scans from 4,726 people, researchers found that men experienced a greater reduction in volume across more regions of the brain over time than women did. This suggests that sex differences in brain volume don’t play a part in the development of Alzheimer’s, but “just looking at age-related changes in brain atrophy is unlikely to explain the complexities behind [the disease]”, say neurophysiologists.

 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2510486122

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03353-5?utm_source=Live+...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Fetal hearing begins to develop a little more than halfway through pregnancy, around 24 weeks into what is normally a 40-week gestation period. As the fetus grows, the uterus expands and the uterine wall thins.

Late in pregnancy, more sounds, including the mother's conversations, reach the fetus. At birth, full-term newborns recognize their mother's voice and prefer the sounds of their parents' native language to other languages, prior research has shown.

These factors suggest that listening to Mom's voice contributes to brain maturation in the latter half of a full-term pregnancy.

So in their work the researchers realized that by supplementing the sounds that premature babies hear in the hospital so they resemble what they would have heard in the womb, they had a unique opportunity to possibly improve brain development at this stage of life.

 Listening to Mom in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A randomized trial of increased maternal speech exposure on white matter connectivity in infants born preterm, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1673471

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Mom's voice boosts language-center development in preemies' brains, study finds

Hearing the sound of their mother's voice promotes development of language pathways in a premature baby's brain, according to a new  study.

During the study, which is published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, hospitalized preemies regularly heard recordings of their mothers reading to them. At the end of the study, MRI brain scans showed that a key language pathway was more mature than that of preemies in a control group who did not hear the recordings. It is the first randomized controlled trial of such an intervention in early development.

This is the first causal evidence that a speech experience is contributing to brain development at this very young age.

Premature babies—born at least three weeks early—often spend weeks or months in the hospital, typically going home around their original due dates. During hospitalization, they hear less maternal speech than if they had continued to develop in utero.

Parents can't usually stay at the hospital around the clock; they may have older children to care for or jobs they must return to, for example. Preemies are at risk for language delays, and scientists have suspected that reduced early-life exposure to the sounds of speech contributes to the problem.

The researchers decided to boost preemies' exposure to their mom's voices during hospitalization. They did this by playing recordings of the mothers speaking, a total of two hours and 40 minutes a day, for a few weeks at the end of the babies' hospital stays.

Babies were exposed to this intervention for a relatively short time. In spite of that, researchers saw very measurable differences in their language tracts. It's powerful that something fairly small seems to make a big difference.

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