Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 13 hours ago

Every time the dogs in the study moved, sensors picked up "puffs" of indoor pollution, with large dogs giving off two to four times more microorganisms than the humans in the same room do. Many of these particles are fluorescent: when exposed to ultraviolet light, they glow ever so slightly, betraying their biological origin.

Shen Yang et al, Our Best Friends: How Dogs Alter Indoor Air Quality, Environmental Science & Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c13324

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 14 hours ago

Large dogs release two to four times more airborne microbes than humans

Unseen but all around us, the air we breathe in enclosed spaces is crucial to our health and well-being. Indoor air is not simply outdoor air that has been run through a filter: it has its own chemical makeup and a unique combination of particles, gases and microorganisms. Because indoor air has many sources of its own, concentrations of many pollutants can be as high as—or higher than—outdoor levels, especially during everyday activities like cooking or cleaning.
The composition of indoor air, even in well-ventilated spaces, depends on the room's occupants and what they're doing, as well as any objects located there.
In a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology, a team of researchers measured the gases, particles of different sizes and microorganisms that dogs give off, through experiments run under tightly controlled conditions.

Large dogs emit two to four times more airborne microbes than humans, primarily through the release of particles during movement or interaction. Both dogs and humans produce similar amounts of CO2 and ammonia, though dogs have a higher ammonia-to-CO2 ratio, likely due to diet and metabolism. Dogs generate fewer ozone byproducts than humans, and their presence significantly alters indoor air microbiology.

The researchers discovered that the ammonia-to-CO₂ ratio is higher in dogs than in humans. In other words, a dog exhaling the same amount of CO₂ as a human will be producing significantly more ammonia. This difference is probably a function of their more protein-rich food, their unique metabolism and their fast breathing, which is one of the ways they control their body temperature.

When it comes to air pollutants, dogs make their biggest impact through the tiny solid and liquid particles that they send up into the air.

When shaking themselves off, scratching themselves or simply being petted, dogs release sizeable quantities of relatively large particles: dust, pollen, plant debris and microbes.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 14 hours ago

Maternal infections during pregnancy increase the risk of suicidal behaviors in their offspring, study finds

Past medical research consistently showed that specific events unfolding during pregnancy can influence the health of their offspring after birth.

Researchers carried out a large-scale study investigating the possible connection between maternal infections during pregnancy and the risk that offspring will exhibit suicidal behaviour later in life. Their findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that children who were exposed to an infection while they were still in their mother's womb are at a higher risk of attempting suicide.

Infections caused by an exposure to specific viruses or bacteria activate an immune response known as inflammation. 

Inflammation at crucial stages of brain development has previously been linked to a higher risk of developing some mental health disorders.

As part of their recent study, the researchers analyzed a large amount of data extracted from Denmark's national health registers. The dataset analyzed by them is remarkably large, as it contains information relating to over 2 million individuals. This ultimately allowed the researchers to reliably search for associations between maternal infections and suicidal behaviours, which would be difficult to uncover within smaller datasets.

The researchers analyzed the health records of all individuals above the age of 10 in the period spanning from 1987 to 2021. They specifically looked for maternal and paternal infections, before, during and after they were expecting a child, as well as their children's hospital visits after the age of 10.

Based on their analyses, the researchers estimated that if a mother was exposed to a bacterial or viral infection while she was pregnant, her child had a 46% higher risk of attempting suicide. This percentage appeared to be higher if infections occurred during the second or third trimester. Surprisingly, the risk of offspring attempting suicide was also higher when mothers contracted an infection before or after their pregnancy than if they contracted no infection at all, which could suggest either long-lasting effects of infections or the presence of residual confounding factors.

Interestingly, the researchers found that while maternal infections were linked to a higher risk of suicide attempts in offspring, paternal infections were not. This suggests that the link they observed is unlikely to be a result of social or family-related factors, as it would also hold true for paternal infections, but that it is instead rooted in fetal brain development.

The results of this recent study suggest that women's health before, during and right after pregnancy could be very important for the prevention of mental health-related issues and the reduction of suicide rates.

Massimiliano Orri et al, Association between maternal infections during pregnancy and offspring suicide risk: A national cohort study, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03430-1.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Closing in on a universal vaccine: Nasal spray protects mice from respiratory viruses, bacteria and allergens
A novel intranasal vaccine in mice provides broad, months-long protection against diverse respiratory viruses, bacteria, and allergens by sustaining both innate and adaptive immune responses in the lungs. This approach bypasses antigen specificity, instead mimicking immune signaling, and could potentially simplify and expand respiratory disease prevention in humans.

Haibo Zhang et al, Mucosal vaccination in mice provides protection from diverse respiratory threats, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aea1260. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea1260

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Gene variants help explain why food allergies run in families
Comprehensive genetic analysis reveals that nearly 40% of individuals with multiple food allergies carry rare loss-of-function mutations in genes linked to allergy risk, particularly FLG, which affects skin barrier integrity. Advanced sequencing detects more relevant mutations than traditional methods, especially in non-European populations, supporting the value of genetic testing for precise diagnosis and treatment.

Anas M. Khanshour et al, Exome sequencing reveals rare loss-of-function mutations in FLG and immune genes in patients with multiple food allergies, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2026.01.001

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Birds change altitude to survive epic journeys across deserts and seas
Small migratory birds adjust flight altitude when crossing deserts and seas, flying higher over deserts (2,500–4,000 m) to avoid heat and lower over seas, sometimes below 50 m. Wing morphology and plumage color influence these strategies, with larger wings and darker plumage linked to higher flights. These behaviors have implications for bird conservation and offshore wind farm planning.

Paul Dufour et al, Ecological barrier crossing strategies in small migratory birds depend on wing morphology and plumage color, iScience (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.114466

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Why chronic pain lasts longer in women: Immune cells offer clues

Chronic pain lasts longer for women than men, and new research suggests differences in hormone-regulated immune cells, called monocytes, may help explain why.

"The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis. It's not in your head, and you're not soft. It's in your immune system."

In a new paper in Science Immunology, researchers  found a subset of monocytes release a molecule to switch off pain. These cells are more active in males due to higher levels of sex hormones such as testosterone, the team found.

Females, however, experienced longer-lasting pain and delayed recovery, because their monocytes were less active.

The researchers discovered the same pattern in both mouse models and human patients.

These findings could mean those immune cells can be manipulated into producing more signals to calm pain. While a new treatment is likely decades away, the researchers hope this research could one day help millions of people experience relief with non-opioid treatments—and ensure women's pain is taken seriously.

Monocyte-derived IL-10 drives sex differences in pain duration, Science Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adx0292

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

The bouba-kiki effect

When we hear certain sounds, our brains often pair them with specific shapes. For example, most people will associate a sharp-sounding word with a jagged, pointed shape, while a soft, rolling word is linked to something smooth and curved. This fascinating phenomenon is known as the bouba-kiki effect.

The name comes from a classic psychology experiment where people are shown two drawings: one is rounded and bulbous and the other is sharp and spiky. When asked which shape is bouba and which is kiki (both invented words that have no actual meaning), the majority of people choose the round shape for bouba and the spiky one for kiki.

For a long time, scientists have debated whether this is an association we learn as we grow up and begin to speak. However, a recent paper published in the journal Science showed that baby chicks can also spontaneously match these sounds to shapes. It suggests that the ability may be at least partly innate rather than a learned human skill.

Maria Loconsole et al, Matching sounds to shapes: Evidence of the bouba-kiki effect in naïve baby chicks, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.adq7188

Marcus Perlman et al, In search of meaning, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aee8641

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Pregnancy complications may have helped wipe out Neanderthals

Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record approximately 40,000 years ago. Their extinction was a gradual process over thousands of years, and theories as to why include competition with modern humans and rapid climate change. However, there may have been other contributory factors: preeclampsia and eclampsia.

A new study published in the Journal of Reproductive Immunology suggests that these potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications may have been more severe in our extinct cousins.

Human fetuses are exceptionally energy-demanding owing to their large brains. To meet this demand, the placenta needs to embed deeply into the mother's uterine wall so that blood can flow freely to the fetus. However, if it does not invade deeply enough or remodel the mother's arteries, blood flow is reduced. It then sheds microscopic debris into the mother's blood, signaling that it is under stress.

The mother's body may react by raising its blood pressure, which can lead to complications, but not always. In many cases, when the placenta fails to invade deeply, the mother does not get preeclampsia. For reasons not yet fully understood, the body ignores the placenta's stress signals, which help protect the mother from developing high blood pressure. The baby may be born small as a result, but the mother stays healthy.

In this new study, an international team of physicians and researchers proposes that Neanderthal women lacked this protective mechanism. Consequently, struggling pregnancies may have triggered life-threatening high blood pressure or seizures, significantly reducing reproductive success.

The scientists based this idea on a comparison between modern medical records and ancient Neanderthal DNA. They identified genetic differences that may have affected how pregnancy-related blood pressure is regulated.
They also suggest that because Neanderthals lived in small, isolated populations, they had very low genetic diversity, so the parents were often genetically very similar. This may have affected how the mother's immune system tolerated the fetus, potentially increasing the risk of pregnancy complications.

The study authors also used modern clinical data to estimate how higher maternal mortality might have affected ancient populations, suggesting it could have contributed to their decline.

Pierre-Yves Robillard et al, Why reproduction has probably been very problematic in Neanderthals: The fabulous history of (pre)eclampsia, Journal of Reproductive Immunology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.jri.2026.104852

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Atom-thin electronics withstand space radiation, potentially surviving for centuries in orbit

Atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide are ideally suited for radiation-resistant spacecraft electronics, researchers have confirmed. In a study published in Nature, they put a communications system composed of the material through a gauntlet of rigorous tests—including the transmission of their university's Anthem—confirming that its performance is barely affected in the harsh environment of outer space.

Beyond the protection of Earth's magnetic field, the electronic components of modern spacecraft are extremely vulnerable to constant streams of cosmic rays and heavy ions. While onboard systems can be shielded with radiation-protective materials, this approach takes up valuable space and adds weight to spacecraft. That extra mass drives up launch costs and can limit the payload available for scientific instruments or communications hardware. A far better solution would be to fabricate the electronics themselves from materials that are intrinsically resistant to radiation damage.

One particularly promising route forward involves highly conductive, ultra-thin materials such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). Just a single layer of atoms thick—around 0.7 nanometers—the material has already proven remarkably robust against radiation-induced defects in previous laboratory studies.
In their latest work, the research team subjected the material to its most rigorous test yet. They began by growing monolayer MoS₂ using it to fabricate a transistor-based, radio-frequency communications system. The circuits were then exposed to powerful bursts of gamma rays, delivering doses comparable to those experienced by electronics operating in space.
To assess the effects of this irradiation, the researchers used a suite of cutting-edge imaging and spectroscopy techniques to compare the condition of the MoS₂ before and after exposure.
Transmission electron microscopy provided high-resolution images of the material's cross-section, while energy-dispersive spectroscopy mapping allowed the team to probe any changes in its chemical composition.
After irradiation, Raman spectroscopy measurements at multiple sites across the film were used to examine its structural integrity in detail. Taken together, this exhaustive analysis revealed no clear signs of structural or chemical damage in the atom-thin film.
The team then turned to the circuit's electrical performance. Encouragingly, it remained virtually unchanged after irradiation, with ultra-high on–off ratios and very little current leaking when a voltage was applied. The MoS₂ devices also maintained low power consumption, an important advantage for energy-limited spacecraft.

Liyuan Zhu et al, Radiation-tolerant atomic-layer-scale RF system for spaceborne communication, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-10027-9

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