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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Remarkably, the researchers found that this fibrotic scaffold alone was enough to give healthy, non-mutant cells tumor-like properties, even in the absence of cancer-causing mutations. This suggests that beyond genetic alterations, early tumors are shaped by how healthy cells in the underlying tissue respond, with lasting consequences for disease progression.
When the researchers examined tissue from early-stage esophageal cancers in humans, they found similar clusters of tumor cells sending stress signals, as well as the same fibrotic scaffolding seen in the mouse models, demonstrating that this mechanism is also relevant in people.

Maria Alcolea, Precancerous niche remodelling dictates nascent tumour persistence, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10157-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10157-8

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Why some tiny tumors vanish and others grow: Discovery could help treat cancer at very earliest stages
The persistence of early tumors depends not only on genetic mutations but also on interactions with surrounding healthy tissue. Tumor cells emit signals that prompt nearby fibroblasts to form a fibrotic scaffold, creating a supportive micro-environment that enables tumor survival and growth. Disrupting this communication reduces tumor persistence, suggesting new avenues for early cancer intervention and diagnosis.
Scientists have shown that when tumors first emerge, interactions with healthy cells in the underlying supportive tissue determine their ability to survive, grow, and progress to advanced stages of disease.
The study, carried out in mice and further validated using human tissue, may explain why some tiny, newly-formed tumors disappear, while others manage to survive and eventually grow into cancer.

Tumors arise when our DNA accumulates errors, or mutations, causing the cells to grow faster and ignore signals that would otherwise instruct damaged cells to die before they can cause harm. However, these same mutations can also accumulate in the tissues of healthy people during aging without developing into cancer.

To examine why this should be the case, scientists have been studying what additional factors influence tumor formation at the very early stages and what determines whether they persist and develop into cancer.
Previous collaborative work by the team had shown that when a newly-formed microscopic tumor first emerges in a tissue, it can be removed by other mutant cells surrounding it, which compete for space within the tissue. But this does not always happen.

Scientists have puzzled for some time over why some of these so-called "incipient tumors" manage to outwit the body's defenses and flourish, creating the conditions for advanced disease to develop.

To answer this question, a team led by scientists at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, modeled early stages of cancer in the upper part of the mouse digestive tract.

The researchers replicated key features of human disease by exposing mice to a chemical found in tobacco smoke, a known cancer risk factor. This causes mutations in the cells lining the esophagus, leading to the development of microscopic tumors, most of which disappear naturally as described above—but some persist.

The team then tracked these nascent tumors over time, from the point when they were made up of just over a handful of altered cells (around 10 cells) through to later stages of disease.
They analyzed the tumors and surrounding cells using high‑resolution confocal microscopy and a range of tools, including single‑cell RNA sequencing and genetic cell tracking, to understand what each cell was doing. In addition, the team grew three-dimensional tissue in the lab, allowing them to model the interactions between the tumor cells and surrounding tissue.

In findings published in Nature, the researchers found that at these early stages, the tumor sends a "distress signal" to nearby fibroblasts—supportive "first-aid" cells in the underlying tissue. This communication triggers a response that closely resembles wound healing.

The fibroblasts behave as though the tissue has been damaged, producing a fibrotic scaffold around the tumor cells. This creates a supportive micro‑environment—a "pre-cancerous niche"—that shelters the tumor from being cleared and helps it persist and grow.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Female astronauts face clotting risks, five-day weightlessness simulation suggests

Simulated microgravity over five days altered blood clotting in women, with delayed initiation but faster, more stable clot formation. Menstrual hormones showed no effect on coagulation. These changes may increase clot risk in critical areas like the jugular vein during spaceflight, highlighting the need for enhanced monitoring protocols for female astronauts.

Just a few days in simulated microgravity can subtly change the way women's blood clots, sparking bigger questions about health monitoring protocols for astronauts who can spend six months or more in orbit, say researchers. First reported in 2020, an International Space Station mission detected an unexpected blood clot in a female astronaut's jugular vein. To date, space-health research has had more male participants, but with the number of female astronauts on the rise, a new SFU–European Space Agency study examined how microgravity affects blood clotting specifically in women.
On Earth, clotting in men and women can vary with age, but we have little information till now on whether these will be different when in space.
In this microgravity environment, researchers found the female participants took longer for their blood to start clotting. But once that clotting began, it formed faster and was more stable, making it harder to break down.

This combination—slower initiation, faster formation, stronger clots—was not shown to be inherently dangerous in the short term. But it does raise concerns for astronauts because of how and where in the body these dangerous blood clots can form while in space and far from emergency medical care.
If left untreated, blood clots can dislodge and travel through the bloodstream. If they reach the lungs, heart, or brain, they can cause pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke.

Gravity on Earth means blood clots most commonly form in the legs, buying the body more time to break the clot up on its own, or be treated by doctors before causing a life-threatening event.

But without the force of gravity, blood pools in the head, and in some cases even reverses direction, creating conditions where clots are more likely to form.

 In space, blood clots are more likely to form in the jugular vein. From there, it doesn't have to travel far to reach the lungs or heart, and trigger a serious medical event. Space is not a place where you want these things to happen.

Space agencies are already paying close attention. Astronaut crews now regularly perform jugular-vein ultrasound scans during missions.

T.E. Stead et al, Blood coagulability changes in females exposed to dry immersion: examining a mechanism for the development of venous thromboembolism in microgravity, Acta Astronautica (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.065

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

AI could end online anonymity

The internet is rife with anonymous accounts as users adopt pseudonyms, sometimes for genuine reasons like speaking freely, and other times for nefarious ones. But this era of online privacy could be coming to a close. In a study available on the arXiv preprint server, researchers demonstrate that large language models (LLMs) can identify the people behind these accounts at scale.

The study authors thought that LLMs had become powerful enough to break online invisibility. To test whether this was the case, the team designed an automated framework to replicate a human investigator's decision-making process.

First, the AI reads through a user's post history on either Reddit or Hacker News, examining unstructured text. This is raw, unorganized information like comments, jokes, education, and subtle writing quirks. It then turned this micro-data into a mathematical representation of the person's profile to find candidate matches across millions of other profiles on the open web or on separate sites like LinkedIn.

When the AI found possible matches, it weighed up the evidence that both profiles belonged to the same person. Then it assigned a confidence score to its predicted match. If the LLM wasn't sure, it didn't write anything. This helped ensure it was not making wild guesses.

The researchers tested their framework on nearly 1,000 LinkedIn profiles to see if it could match them to accounts on Hacker News. These were profiles where the real-world identity was known to the team, who removed names, links, and other obvious identifiers from the bios.

The AI-powered framework successfully linked accounts with up to 67% accuracy at 90% precision, whereas the best non-AI methods struggled to succeed. It was also able to match individuals across Reddit communities, even if those users spread their activities across different accounts and time periods. The researchers also found that user identification is cheap, costing only $1 to $4 in computing power per account successfully linked.

"The practical obscurity that has long protected pseudonymous users... no longer holds," wrote the researchers in their paper.

The results show that, if further developed, this system could find applications in numerous fields, such as law enforcement and cybersecurity.

Simon Lermen et al, Large-scale online deanonymization with LLMs, arXiv (2026). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2602.16800

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Bacteria found in mouth and gut may help protect against severe peanut allergic reactions
One of the big mysteries in food allergy is why two people with similar levels of peanut-specific antibodies can react so differently. It turns out the answer may be in the mouth and gut's bacteria. A new study by researchers and published online in Cell Host & Microbe on March 3, 2026, shows for the first time how gut bacteria break down parts of an allergenic food and influence how a person reacts to peanuts.

Certain bacteria in the mouth and gut, particularly Rothia species, can break down peanut allergens and reduce their ability to trigger immune responses. Individuals with higher levels of these bacteria tolerate greater amounts of peanut before reacting. These findings suggest the oral and gut microbiome influences peanut allergy severity and may inform future prevention and treatment strategies.

Elisa Sánchez-Martínez et al, Microbial metabolism of food allergens determines the severity of IgE-mediated anaphylaxis, Cell Host & Microbe (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2026.02.013

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Faecal transplants from older mice found to significantly improve ovarian function and fertility in younger mice

Faecal transplants from older female mice into young mice led to improved ovarian function, reduced ovarian inflammation, and increased fertility in recipients. The findings indicate a direct link between gut microbiome composition and ovarian health, suggesting that targeted microbiome interventions may influence reproductive aging and overall health.

Estropausal gut microbiota transplant improves measures of ovarian function in adult mice, Nature Aging (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-026-01069-3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Sting in the tail of scorpion venom accelerates blood clotting, could help save lives

A new study has shown that a deadly scorpion's venom carries an extra biochemical sting that could be used to guide future medical treatments and tests. The paper is published in the journal Biochimie.
Found in the Middle East and North Africa, scorpions in the genus Androctonus have a potentially lethal neurotoxic venom that can overwhelm the nervous system, leading to heart failure.
Their venom also causes rapid clots in human blood. Clinical reports had hinted that some scorpion sting patients had abnormal clotting, but until now the mechanism behind it wasn't known.
By introducing the venoms to human plasma, the researchers saw them accelerate clotting and then mapped the molecular steps responsible.
The research revealed that Androctonus venoms activate major clotting factors in blood, particularly Factors VII and X, and this process depends on Factor V being in its activated form.
While the available antivenom is effective against the neurotoxic effects of the scorpion venom, it did not affect the clotting.

Sam I.D. Campbell et al, The sting that clots: The Factor VII and Factor X activating procoagulant effects of Androctonus scorpion venoms are potentiated by Factor Va as a cofactor, Biochimie (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2026.02.018

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Synthetic gene medicines may disrupt DNA repair
Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), used in gene therapies, can bind to key DNA repair enzymes and induce the formation of nuclear condensates, triggering DNA repair signals in the absence of actual damage. This may disrupt normal DNA repair processes and potentially lead to harmful DNA alterations, highlighting the need for careful safety assessment in the development of genetic medicines.

Linn Hjelmgren et al, Dysregulation of the DNA damage response by phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69980-2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

High-fat diet accelerates triple-negative breast cancer growth in engineered tumours

A multidisciplinary team of researchers  conducted a study to find out what patients diagnosed with breast cancer should eat to ensure the best prognosis.

The interplay between the immune system, human tissues involved in metabolism, and the microbiome of trillions of microorganisms in the body affects how cancer cells behave.

In addition, cells in the body are bathed in a water-based fluid, called interstitial fluid, that flows continuously around cells.

The researchers engineered a tumor model using a human plasma-like medium to re-create a more realistic microenvironment around tumors. This allowed them to replicate the biochemical effects of nutrients from food. As a result, they could isolate specific nutrients and their effects and closely examine the metabolic reprogramming that occurs in cancer cells.
Their study focused on triple-negative breast cancer, a subtype that is particularly difficult to treat with standard methods. They carefully examined the structure, growth, and spread of cancer cells and how these characteristics differ in four different dietary conditions that can occur in a human body: high-insulin, high-glucose, high-ketone, and high-fat.

They discovered a high-fat diet accelerates tumor growth and invasion. They also found it causes an increase in the enzyme MMP1, which degrades the extracellular matrix, and is associated with a poor prognosis. Using their results, the researchers will be able to apply their method to other breast cancer subtypes and scenarios.
The study shows that tumor cells behave differently when cultured in media that matches the biochemical composition of human plasma.

Fat promotes growth and invasion in a 3D microfluidic tumor model of triple-negative breast cancer, APL Bioengineering (2026). DOI: 10.1063/5.0291646

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Monday

National Science Day, India

National Science Day is celebrated in India on February 28 each year to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir C. V. Raman on 28 February 1928.

Raman received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery and was the first Asian to receive a Nobel Prize in any branch of science.

Presenting stamps featuring CV Raman 

(1971) and other prominent Indian scientists ;

Meghnad Saha (1993), Prafulla Chandra Ray (1961), Jagadish Chandra Bose (1958), Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1993), D.S. Kothari (2011), Satyendranath Bose (1993), Srinivasa Ramanujan (2011), Vikram Sarabhai (1972), Samanta Chandrashekhar (2001), Guduru Venkatachalam (2010), Ruchiram Sahni (2013), M.S. Swaminathan (2025), A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2015) and Homi Jehangir Bhabha (2009) released by India

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