Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Patients who suffer heart attack have more micro and nanoplastic in their blood

People who suffered a serious heart attack had higher levels of micro- and nanoplastics in their blood compared with patients diagnosed with chronic ischemic heart disease and those with normal blood vessels supplying the heart, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal this week.
Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction showed higher prevalence and diversity of micro- and nanoplastics in coronary and peripheral blood than patients with chronic coronary disease or normal coronaries, with polyethylene predominating. Microplastic presence correlated with smoking, long-term PM2.5 exposure, and elevated inflammatory markers, indicating an association between plastic exposure, systemic inflammation, and acute cardiovascular events without establishing causality.
The study also revealed that people who smoke and people exposed to higher levels of air pollution had higher levels of micro- and nanoplastics in their blood.

The researchers say the study adds to growing evidence that environmental pollution may affect cardiovascular health.
Among those who had heart attacks, micro- and nanoplastics were detected in 84% of patients, compared with 40% of patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and 32% of patients with normal coronary arteries. Heart attack patients had a greater variety of plastic types in their blood. The most common type of plastic was polyethylene, which is commonly used in packaging and consumer products.

Patients exposed to higher long-term levels of air pollution (PM2.5/particles measuring 2.5 μm or less in diameter) were more likely to have microplastics in their blood, and smokers were six times more likely to have microplastics in their blood. All patients who smoked and were exposed to higher air pollution levels had plastics in their blood, compared with only 12.5% of patients who did not smoke and were not exposed to higher levels of air pollution.
The findings suggest that smoking might make it easier for micro- and nanoplastics to enter the bloodstream via the lungs. Air pollution may act in a similar way.
The emerging clinical evidence now suggests a potential link between NMPs and cardiovascular disease. In patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy, NMPs were detected within atherosclerotic plaques, and their presence was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and all-cause mortality.

Micro- and nano-plastics in the coronary circulation and air pollution exposure in ischaemic heart disease presentation, European Heart Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag447

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Why some people are more prone to negative emotions than others

Why are some people particularly prone to anxiety, worry or stress, while others remain more composed? An international study shows that the amygdala—previously considered central to these processes—apparently does not explain differences in people's susceptibility to anxiety, worry and stress. Instead, the researchers identified brain networks involved in body awareness, movement and visual processing as more significant predictors of individual susceptibility to stress. The findings have now been published in Nature Communications.

Neuroticism and related negative emotionality were not reliably explained by amygdala activity in emotional fMRI tasks. Limited predictability of individual stress susceptibility instead arose from large-scale networks involved in interoception, motor control, and visual processing, indicating that distributed brain systems, rather than single regions, underlie vulnerability to stress.

People differ significantly in how often and how intensely they experience negative emotions. Psychologists summarize these differences under the term "neuroticism." They include, among other things, anxiety, depressive moods and increased susceptibility to stress. Pronounced negative emotionality is considered a major risk factor for various mental illnesses and has therefore been the focus of neurobiological research for many years. Until now, the amygdala was considered the most important brain region underlying these personality traits. However, the scientific evidence was contradictory.

For many years, the amygdala has been regarded as the central hub for negative emotions. However, the new wrok results show that this assumption cannot be confirmed by the functional MRI paradigms commonly used to date. This does not mean that the amygdala is unimportant for emotions. However, it does not seem to provide a reliable explanation for stable differences between people.
The results showed that while neuroticism as a whole could not be reliably predicted based on brain activity, individual susceptibility to stress could be predicted to a limited extent. Brain networks that process information about one's own body, control movements and integrate visual stimuli were particularly relevant. It was not the emotional centers that had previously been the focus of attention, but rather these large-scale networks that provided the most meaningful clues to individual susceptibility to stress.

The results suggest that the neural basis of emotional personality traits is more complex than previously thought. Rather than individual brain regions, large-scale networks that link perception, bodily sensations and action planning may play a decisive role.
Emotional personality traits apparently do not originate in individual brain regions, but rather through the interaction of distributed brain networks, the researchers concluded.

M. Sicorello et al, The functional neurobiology of dispositions towards negative emotions, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-74565-0

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Typhoons mix up bacteria and biochemistry

After a typhoon surprised a research cruise, scientists took advantage of the unique sampling opportunity to reveal rapid changes in bacterioplankton communities and biogeochemical cycling.

Typhoons are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of climate change, and scientists are working to understand the transient but impactful changes these storms have on ocean biogeochemistry.

A typhoon stirs the ocean's stratified water, redistributing nutrients and organisms and changing seawater temperature and salinity.

Previous research found that this mixing process can change the makeup and activity of bacterioplankton communities and stimulate primary productivity. Those two changes can temporarily alter the water column's food web and its role as a carbon sink or source.

The present research found that nutrient concentrations, primary production and bacterial activity all increased after the storm.

The researchers also documented a shift in community structure. Contrary to their expectations, overall bacterioplankton diversity did not change. But the composition of bacterial communities became more homogeneous between distantly spaced layers of the water column. Copiotrophic taxa that thrive in nutrient-rich conditions increased, while oligotrophic taxa that prefer low-nutrient conditions decreased.

These observations have given scientists novel insights into how typhoons enhance microbially mediated biogeochemical cycling in the ocean. As storms increase, this could affect whether the ocean acts as a local carbon source or sink.

Yi‐Hsuan Lo et al, Typhoon‐Induced Vertical Mixing Rapidly Reshapes Bacterioplankton Communities Across Ocean Depths, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (2026). DOI: 10.1029/2025jc023738

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

We may still be choosing our friends like it's the Stone Age

Choosing friends may involve more than clicking with others who share our interests or outlooks. According to new research, people may select friends based on traits that made them valuable survival partners in our evolutionary past.
The standard social psychology view of friendship is that we are strategic in selecting friends, choosing people who can help us achieve our goals. Examples include networking for a job, studying for an exam or finding a roommate.

But this new study, published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, argues that friendship evolved as a long-term cooperative partnership critical for survival when humans were hunter-gatherers.

According to this view, we look for traits such as cooperativeness, competence, social status and physical attractiveness, even if those attributes are not directly useful for our current goals. "Friend choices are sometimes goal-relevant and sometimes guided by evolved 'social taste buds,'" the study authors commented in their paper.

In the first study, researchers reported that participants preferred friends who seemed cooperative, dominant, attractive and of higher social status. Among these traits, cooperativeness, physical attractiveness and dominance emerged as the strongest predictors of friendship interest.

Men were much more likely than women to offer their email address to a potential friend, despite rating their partners as similarly desirable overall.

The results from the second study revealed that the traits that make a face seem like a desirable friend did not consistently match what participants needed to achieve their everyday goals. This supports the evolutionary theory of friendship selection, although the findings do not rule out the possibility that current goals also play a role, as the researchers noted.

"The majority of variance in friend desirability judgments comes from preferences that are not goal-calibrated."

So while we may think we are choosing friends to help us with our modern lives, our ancient instincts may also be calling the shots behind the scenes.

Adar B. Eisenbruch et al, What do people want in a friend? Cues of ancestral cooperative partner value predict same-sex friend preferences, Evolution and Human Behavior (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2026.106919

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 14, 2026 at 1:42pm

Bacteria from gum disease may cause inflammation, harden heart valves

Gum disease bacteria may spur calcium buildup in the heart's aortic valve, leading to a common and serious heart valve disease, according to preliminary, independent research presented at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2026, held in Boston, July 13–16, 2026.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a key periodontal pathogen, was enriched in calcified aortic valves and, in mice, accumulated in valves, increased calcification, and induced aortic stenosis–like changes. These effects were reduced by antibiotics and markedly attenuated when IL‑1β was deleted, implicating an IL‑1β–mediated inflammatory pathway linking periodontal disease to calcific aortic valve stenosis.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 14, 2026 at 12:02pm

Scientists strike invisible gold in the deep sea—locked inside fool's gold

Pyrite, an iron sulfide ore, is often known as fool's gold because its shiny metallic luster and pale brass-yellow color can easily fool the untrained eye into mistaking it for real gold. This time, however, 360 kilometers (220 miles) south of Tokyo, scientists have uncovered invisible gold within pyrite structures found deep beneath the ocean at the Higashi-Aogashima Knoll Caldera hydrothermal field.
With the help of robotic submarines that dived more than 700 meters (2,300 feet) below sea level, researchers collected rock samples from volcanic vents and underwater mounds scattered across the floor of a deep-sea caldera. Peering inside these rocks using secondary-ion mass spectrometry through tiny drill holes, they discovered that the minerals at this site contain record-breaking concentrations of gold, reaching as high as 1.9 wt% (19,231 ppm).
Instead of being present as gold granules or nodules, as found in conventional gold mines, the metal was locked as a solid solution within the crystal lattice of seafloor pyrite. This discovery, published in Scientific Reports, could give geologists a new way to identify promising mining sites around the world.
What surprised the researchers most was how the gold existed. Instead of forming tiny nuggets trapped inside the mineral, the gold was woven directly into pyrite's crystal structure, atom by atom. They also found that this could only happen when elements such as arsenic, lead and copper were present. These elements cause structural distortions in the pyrite lattice, creating vacancies that allow gold atoms to fit within the crystal and become trapped.

This was reflected in the positive gold-arsenic correlation, in which gold concentrations increased alongside arsenic concentrations. This occurs because arsenic substitutes for sulfur in the pyrite structure, creating space for the larger gold ions to enter.
Not all pyrite, however, was equally rich in gold. The concentration depended on where it was found and under what conditions it formed.

Yuichi Morishita et al, SIMS discovers invisible gold in pyrite from the high-grade seafloor hydrothermal deposits in the Higashi-Aogashima knoll caldera, Izu-Ogasawara arc, Japan, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-58760-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 14, 2026 at 11:24am

The heart works as a one-way pump, moving blood into the organ with every beat. Heart valves help maintain this steady flow by opening to let blood pass through and closing to keep it from moving in the wrong direction. Each valve responds to pressure changes within the heart, causing its thin flaps to open at the right moment and then seal shut once blood has passed.

Valve disorders take two main forms. The first is regurgitation, in which the valve doesn't close completely, so blood leaks backward instead of flowing forward. This means less blood moves in the right direction and puts extra strain on the heart.

The second is stenosis, in which the valve opening narrows or stiffens, blocking blood flow and forcing the heart to pump harder to push blood through the tight opening. Depending on the severity of the condition, doctors decide whether it can be treated with medication, repair or replacement.

Aortic stenosis is one of the most common heart valve diseases, affecting millions of people worldwide. It is typically treated by replacing the aortic valve through either open-heart surgery (SAVR) or the less invasive TAVR.

While surgical bioprosthetic valves are designed to last 10 years or more, some can wear out much sooner, within five to seven years, with certain valve types showing a higher risk of early failure. There is still limited information comparing how well TAVR valves perform beyond five years, especially in low-risk patients.
In this study, the researchers sought to understand whether a less invasive procedure could provide results comparable to traditional surgery over time. They recruited 1,000 patients considered low-risk, meaning they were healthy enough to undergo open-heart surgery safely.

Participants were then randomly assigned to one of two groups: One received TAVR using the SAPIEN 3 valve, while the other underwent traditional open-heart surgical valve replacement. Over the seven years, patients had regular echocardiograms at set intervals: 30 days, one year, annually through year five, and again at year seven.
They found that only a small number of patients experienced significant valve deterioration, with similar rates between the two groups—7.3% for TAVR and 7.6% for surgery. Valve failure also occurred at similar rates, affecting 6.9% of TAVR patients and 7.5% of surgical patients, with 6% of TAVR patients and 5.5% of surgical patients needing a second valve procedure.

Overall, about 75% of patients in both groups were alive with a fully functioning replacement valve at the end of the study.

The results strengthen the case for TAVR, alongside conventional surgery, as a long-term alternative for low-risk patients. The researchers noted that these findings could help guide treatment choices based on each patient's needs and preferences. However, they suggested that if TAVR is chosen, patients should be monitored for early valve thrombosis so it can be identified and managed when needed.

Julien Ternacle et al, Seven-Year Valve Durability With Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement, JAMA Cardiology (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2026.2299

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 14, 2026 at 11:23am

Seven-year study finds non-surgical valve replacement holds up as well as open-heart surgery
The incidence of cardiovascular disease is rising across the globe, with more than 28 million people worldwide living with heart valve disease. Each year, surgeons perform thousands of heart valve replacement procedures.
As treatment options evolve, the profile of patients undergoing these surgeries is also changing. As transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is increasingly considered for younger, lower-risk patients, researchers sought to explore a broader question: Which heart valve replacement approach offers better long-term durability and healthier valve function?

In the recent randomized PARTNER 3 trial, researchers compared TAVR, a minimally invasive procedure, with traditional open-heart surgery to see how the two approaches performed over the long term.

The study followed low-risk patients for seven years after their procedures and found encouraging results for both TAVR and surgery, with excellent outcomes and comparable valve durability. Both groups experienced very few valve-related problems over seven years, with similarly low rates of valve failure, valve wear and tear, and the need for another procedure.

The long-term follow-up revealed one important difference: Blood clots (thrombosis) occurred more frequently after TAVR, affecting 5.2% of patients compared with 0.9% of those who underwent traditional heart surgery.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 14, 2026 at 11:03am

Study reports the first detection of a sugar in interstellar space

Sugars are key biomolecules in living organisms, as they form the backbone of DNA and RNA and play a fundamental role in metabolic processes. In theories of the origin of life, sugars are also essential for the synthesis of the first nucleic acids. Despite their importance, one of the major questions in origin-of-life research is how the first sugars formed on Earth, since laboratory experiments show that they do not form in sufficient quantities under prebiotic conditions.
Sugars such as ribose and glucose have previously been detected in meteorite and asteroid samples, suggesting that some of these molecules may have originated in the primordial molecular cloud from which our solar system formed. However, until now, no sugar had ever been directly detected in the interstellar medium.
An international team has now identified the first sugar in interstellar space: erythrulose. This molecule is the only possible four-carbon ketose, and on Earth, it is commonly found in raspberries and sunless tanning products. Erythrulose was detected toward the molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027, located near the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

The discovery was made possible by ultrasensitive, broadband spectroscopic surveys carried out with the 40-m Yebes radio telescope and the 30-m telescope of the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range (IRAM).
The team identified 12 spectral lines matching the laboratory spectrum of erythrulose measured at the University of the Basque Country. The study also shows that this sugar is at least eight times more abundant than similar three-carbon sugars, none of which were detected in the same region.
Based on the abundance of erythrulose measured in the G+0.693−0.027 molecular cloud, the researchers estimate that between 0.5 and 50 million metric tons of this sugar could have reached Earth's surface during the Late Heavy Bombardment, which occurred approximately 4.1–3.8 billion years ago.

The presence of erythrulose in interstellar space therefore provides an alternative source of sugars that may have contributed to the emergence of the first metabolic and replication processes on early Earth.

The detection of erythrulose is very exciting because it opens up the possibility of discovering in space other sugars such as ribose, which is part of RNA, and other important molecules for the origin of life.

Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, Detection of a four-carbon sugar in interstellar space, Nature Astronomy (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-026-02905-7. www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02905-7

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on July 11, 2026 at 10:21am

Your Medicine Cabinet Is Polluting The Ocean

Over-the-counter medication makes up the majority of pharmaceutical pollution in several rivers across the world, and may persist in rivers long enough to spread into coastal waters.

The everyday medications in our homes may be a major source of water pollution. A recent study of Hong Kong’s major rivers revealed that common over-the-counter (OTC) drugs accounted for 85 percent of pharmaceutical pollution in the wet season compared to just 13 percent for prescription medicines.

We often assume that complex or restricted prescription medications pose the greatest environmental risk, but our findings shine a new light on everyday household medicines.

Because medicines are designed to be effective when taken orally, they often have molecular properties that make them mobile in water.

However, these properties also allow them to easily travel in river environments, through estuaries and eventually enter the ocean, where they can pose threats to marine ecosystems. Pharmaceutical residues have been found even in deep seas and remote marine environments.

Pharmaceutical pollution is not a local pollution issue at a specific site. Hence, we should adopt a river-estuary-sea perspective to prioritise pollutants for control and management.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590182626000500...

**

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• …
• 1268
• Next ›
• Page