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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 6 hours ago

AI-supported mammography screening results in fewer aggressive and advanced breast cancers

Artificial intelligence (AI)-supported mammography identifies more cancers during screening and reduces the rate of breast cancer diagnosis by 12% in the years following, finds the first randomized controlled trial of its kind. The trial involved over 100,000 Swedish women, and its results are published in The Lancet.

The interim safety results of the MASAI trial, published in The Lancet Oncology in 2023, found a 44% reduction in screen-reading workload for radiologists. Additionally, a different early analysis of the trial, published in The Lancet Digital Health, found a 29% increase in cancer detection without an increase in false positives.

The full results of the latest trial show that AI-supported mammography also reduces cancer diagnoses in the years following a breast cancer screening appointment by 12%—a key test of screening program effectiveness.

Interval cancer, sensitivity, and specificity comparing AI-supported mammography screening with standard double reading without AI in the MASAI study: a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, single-blinded, population-based, screening-accuracy trial, The Lancet (2026). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)02464-X

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 7 hours ago

Snakes on trains: When king cobras prefer rail travel

King cobras are the world's longest venomous snakes. So, imagine seeing one a few feet away as you embark on a train in India. The Western Ghats King Cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga)—a vulnerable king cobra species found in India's Western Ghats—has reportedly been caught aboard many trains in the Goa region of India. A new study, published in Biotropica, takes a closer look at these reports, where these snakes end up and whether this strange mode of animal migration is putting snakes into unsuitable habitats.

To learn more about the geographical spread of the Western Ghats King Cobra, the researchers compiled 22 years' worth of king cobra rescue records and verified local reports, spanning from 2002 to 2024. They found 47 georeferenced localities for O. kaalinga in Goa, with 18 in North Goa and 29 in South Goa.

Out of these, five king cobra records were found near busy railway corridors. Informal questioning also revealed that local residents reported king cobra encounters in the village and forested areas, but no such reports came from agricultural plots or paddy fields.

In 2017, study author Dikansh Parmar was volunteering with a local animal rescue group that received a call about a snake onboard a train. The incident is now included as part of this study. Another train rescue occurred in 2019, which ended up in a newspaper report in Uttarakhand. An incident occurred in 2023, in which a snake catcher from Gujarat State snapped a picture of an Indian Cobra sitting in a train window.

The study team writes, "With the increased global availability of low-cost smartphones and social media in recent years, the number of reports of snakes on and around trains in India has increased, with three incidents recorded in a 30-day period, and many more emerging on social media."

They also note that a combination of prey, in the form of other snakes and rodents, and shelter might lure a king cobra to enter a goods train at a location near their normal habitat.

"The findings suggest a different, more passive mechanism: railways may act not just as corridors for active movement, but as high-speed conduits. This contrasts with the typically negative impact of roads, which often function as barriers or significant mortality sinks for snakes. The potential for railways to inadvertently connect populations across otherwise unsuitable habitats represents a novel and underappreciated aspect of human-wildlife interaction," the study authors explain.

Clearly, the movement of these snakes to less suitable habitats has implications for the survival of an already vulnerable species. In addition, their presence onboard a train can present a threat to both the snakes and humans on the train. When humans are bitten by king cobras, fatalities can occur within 15 minutes. To avoid a bite, humans will also often resort to killing snakes even when other measures could be taken.

The team notes that the train-transport hypothesis is based on correlative and anecdotal evidence, not direct observation of movement to poorly suited habitats. Still, direct observations have been made of snakes being on trains, and mitigating these occurrences can help reduce risks for snakes and humans alike. The study team discusses the importance of snake rescue organizations and the need for public education on these matters.

Dikansh S. Parmar et al, Snakes on Trains: Railways May Sway Goa's King Cobra Distribution, Biotropica (2026). DOI: 10.1111/btp.70157

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

People who survive cancers are less likely to develop Alzheimer's. This might be why
Mouse studies indicate that tumors can release cystatin‑C, a protein that crosses the blood–brain barrier and promotes microglial clearance of amyloid beta, reducing Alzheimer‑like plaques and improving memory. This suggests a biological link between cancer and reduced Alzheimer's risk, though relevance to humans remains unproven.

Xinyan Li et al, Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer's disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2, Cell (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.020

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Why is my migraine worse in summer?
Migraine symptoms can worsen in summer due to factors such as heat-induced blood vessel dilation, dehydration from increased sweating, heightened sensitivity to light and glare, disrupted routines, and sudden changes in air pressure or allergens. Identifying personal triggers and maintaining hydration, consistent routines, and proper medication storage can help reduce attack frequency and severity.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Most patients, especially those with innocent murmurs, live completely normal and full lives. They can work, exercise, travel and enjoy normal activities. Even those with valve disease can remain active and healthy when they follow up regularly with their doctor and receive treatment at the right time.
That's great news, because staying active is an important part of managing a heart murmur.

And while we can't prevent all heart murmurs, we can reduce the risk of developing valve-related ones—and in some surprising ways.

Treating strep throat promptly helps prevent rheumatic fever, which can damage valves. Good dental hygiene lowers the risk of infections that can spread to the heart, too. Managing blood pressure and cholesterol also helps protect the heart, and avoiding intravenous drug use reduces the chance of infective endocarditis.
But if you do develop a heart murmur, rest assured. "A heart murmur is simply a clue—not a verdict. With routine checkups, healthy habits and the right care team, most people with a heart murmur can expect to live long, active, fulfilling lives.

What Is a Heart Murmur? A Cardiologist Explains. | Keck Medicine of...

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

How do doctors diagnose a heart murmur?
If a doctor hears a particularly unusual whooshing or swishing sound, they might refer you to a cardiologist for further tests to determine what's going on.

Those tests will often start with an electrocardiogram (EKG) and echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart. But should your doctor need a better idea of how your heart muscles, chambers and valves are operating, they might order a chest X-ray, cardiac MRI or CT scan or other tests, too.
People diagnosed with heart murmurs might not notice any symptoms, even if their murmurs are caused by heart muscle or valve conditions. But if such conditions progress, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, fatigue and difficulty exercising, swollen legs, trouble sleeping and lying flat at night and even dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting could develop.

"If any of these symptoms appear, especially if they're new or worsening, it's time to call your doctor."
How do you treat a heart murmur?
What happens if a heart murmur goes untreated?

In the case of an innocent murmur, possibly nothing. But heart murmurs caused by severe valve or heart-muscle disease can overwork the heart, leading to complications like heart failure, stroke or irregular heart rhythm.

Cardiomyopathy-related heart murmurs respond well to medications and, in some cases, surgery, pacemakers or defibrillators. And patients can usually manage mild to moderate valve-related murmurs with medications that lower strain on the heart and control blood pressure and heart rhythm.
Severe valve disease, however, may require valve repair or replacement. The approach varies depending on the valve involved and the patient's overall condition, and it may range from minimally invasive procedures to traditional open-heart surgery.
A skilled care team knows how to determine the right treatment.
Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

What is a heart murmur?

A heart murmur can sound scary—literally.

"Lub-dub…lub-dub…lub-dub…" That's the sound a healthy heart makes as its valves close after each pump. Your doctor wants to hear this sound when listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope. But if the sound your doctor hears is more of a "whoosh" or "swish," that may signal that you have a heart murmur.

What causes a heart murmur?

A whooshing or swishing sound in your heart will perk up your doctor's ears because it means that the blood is flowing a little faster or more turbulently than usual.

In the case of what's known as a functional, or innocent, heart murmur, that turbulence is completely harmless and not even uncommon in healthy people, including children, athletes and pregnant women. Pathological murmurs, on the other hand, may indicate a problem with one or more of the heart valves.

These valve problems can arise with age and the normal wear-and-tear a heart experiences over a lifetime. But heart defects present from birth, as well as prior infections like rheumatic fever and infective endocarditis, which affects the heart's lining and valves, might also be to blame.

Finally, cardiomyopathies, or diseases of the heart muscle itself, can cause heart murmurs, particularly when the muscle becomes abnormally thick.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Understanding how certain fungi are able to break down charcoal could ultimately benefit humans. Charcoal is chemically similar to a lot of pollutants left behind by human activities like oil spills, mining waste, and other industrial processes. If researchers gain a better understanding of the ways fungi digest such things, they could one day be used to clean up contaminated environments.

Ehsan Sari et al, Gene duplication, horizontal gene transfer, and trait trade-offs drive evolution of postfire resource acquisition in pyrophilous fungi, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2519152123

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

How fire-loving fungi learned to eat charcoal

Wildfire causes most living things to flee or die, but some fungi thrive afterward, even feasting on charred remains.
Certain fungi thrive after wildfires by metabolizing charcoal, enabled by specific genetic adaptations. These include gene duplication for increased enzyme production, sexual recombination for rapid evolution, and rare horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. Some fungi survive fires via heat-resistant structures or by recolonizing soil. Insights into these mechanisms may aid in bioremediation of pollutants.

Research finds the secret to post-fire flourishing hidden in their genes. The study is among the first to investigate how fungi that are barely detectable in the soil before a fire are able to proliferate wildly once an area has burned.

Scientists knew certain fungi were heat resistant, that some could grow quickly in scars where competitors have been burned away, and that others could consume nutrients in charcoal. Now we know the genetics behind these incredible abilities.

Over a period of five years, researchers built a collection of fungi gathered from seven different wildfire burn sites across California. The researchers sequenced their genes and exposed some of them to charcoal. They found three main ways through which pyrophilous fungal genes have evolved.

Some fungi use gene duplication, like a biological copy-paste mechanism, to make more of the enzymes needed to digest charcoal. Aspergillus, the green mold sometimes found on bread, reproduces asexually using this method. The more copies of charcoal-digesting genes it has, the more enzymes it can produce to consume burned matter full of carbon.

By contrast, Basidiomycota, a large group that contains the classic Mario Brothers-style mushroom-forming species, relies on sexual reproduction. This strategy allows it to recombine genes during mating, and quickly evolve the ability to metabolize char.

Most surprising to the researchers, however, is that one fungus, Coniochaeta hoffmannii, acquired its most useful genes from bacteria, essentially borrowing genetic tools from another kingdom of life.

Humans share genes via vertical transfer, from parents to babies. Bacteria commonly swap genes with each other horizontally.

Horizontal gene transfer is like you sharing genes with your friend or sibling. This is why bacteria are so diverse.

However, it is uncommon to find examples of this happening between bacteria and other life forms.

This kind of gene sharing across kingdoms is incredibly rare. But it gives this fungus the genes it needs to break down burn scars.

The team also identified how some fungi survive fire itself. Some produce sclerotia, heat-resistant structures that can lie dormant underground for decades, waiting for the right conditions to regrow.

Others survive deeper in the soil, then rise to colonize nutrient-rich, competitor-free ground after the fire passes. For example, Pyronema does not possess as much of the genetic machinery to break down charcoal. Instead, it quickly forms tiny orange cup-shaped mushrooms in a competitor-free environment.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Can desert sand be used to build houses and roads?
Desert sand, typically too fine for conventional concrete, can be used to create strong building materials when combined with plant-based additives and heat, forming botanical sand concrete. This material is suitable for paving stones and may reduce environmental impacts by utilizing abundant desert sand and decreasing reliance on river and crushed rock sand. Further testing is needed for broader applications.

Ren Wei et al, Botanical sandcrete: An environment-friendly alternative way to the mass utilization of fine (desert) sand, Journal of Building Engineering (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2025.114078

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