Scientists discover 'bacterial constipation,' a new disease caused by gut-drying bacteria
Chronic constipation can result from two gut bacteria, Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, which degrade the protective colonic mucin layer, leading to dry, immobile stool. Elevated levels of these bacteria are found in Parkinson’s disease patients with constipation. Inhibiting bacterial sulfatase activity preserves mucin and may offer a new therapeutic approach.
Scientists have found two gut bacteria working together that contribute to chronic constipation. The duo, Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, destroy the intestinal mucus coating essential for keeping the colon lubricated and feces hydrated. Their excess degradation leaves patients with dry, immobile stool. This discovery, published in Gut Microbes, finally explains why standard treatments often fail for millions of people with chronic constipation.
Notably, the study shows that Parkinson's disease patients, who suffer from constipation decades before developing tremors, have higher levels of these mucus-degrading bacteria. While constipation in Parkinson's disease has traditionally been attributed to nerve degradation, these findings suggest that bacterial activity also plays a crucial role in the development of their symptoms.

Mucin-degrading intestinal commensal bacteria cause constipation, Gut Microbes (2026). DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2596809

Virus co-opts protein-making equipment

Scientists have identified a giant virus that can hijack a host cell’s protein-making machinery to churn out copies of itself — the first experimental evidence that viruses can co-opt this particular system, which is typically associated with cellular life. To take control, the virus attaches a three-protein complex to the host’s ribosomes — part of the apparatus cells use to make proteins — which gives viral RNA preferential access. Researchers suggest that the virus makes this protein complex using genes that it ‘stole’ from hosts early in its evolutionary history.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)00055-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867426000553%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

A New Light Therapy For Hair Loss

A new form of light therapy can lower markers of hair loss in cell experiments by more than 90 percent.

Scientists in Korea want to use their invention to make a comfortable ‘hair loss’ hat, which can be worn out in public with ease and style.

The light technology is specifically tuned to stimulate hair-regenerating cells at the base of follicles.

Compared with standard red-light treatments, this new tech is 92 percent more effective at reducing a key marker of hair loss.
It also doesn’t have to sit in a hard helmet. The light platform can be slid into a flexible cap that fits closer to the scalp.

With so few effective treatments for hair loss, this new invention is rejuvenating hope for improved hair regrowth.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-68258-3