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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

In the 19th century—after colonialism spread the disease—rinderpest culled about 90% of plow oxen in Ethiopia. Rinderpest itself has no effect on human health, but the resulting famine killed one-third of Ethiopia's population.
"Without cattle to plow fields and fertilize crops with dung, the once-fertile Ethiopian lands became a graveyard
Attempts to develop a vaccine, which began as early as the 18th century, provided some protection, but not a full cure. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that the first effective vaccines were introduced. Shortly after, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization began a worldwide campaign to inoculate animals, shipping vaccines and brokering meetings between countries to discuss collaborative vaccination campaigns.

Soon, the number of global rinderpest infections fell precipitously, but occasional outbreaks continued.
Complete eradication remained out of reach until a technological breakthrough—along with what Mariner and other researchers have called "social innovations"—made it possible.

Most vaccines require refrigeration, and the rinderpest vaccine was no exception. But in many places where the disease was common—rural areas with cattle ranching—refrigerated shipping was expensive and complex.

It was extremely challenging to keep the vaccine cold while traveling to isolated areas then.
It required refrigeration facilities, ice machines, cold boxes, and fleets of vehicles. They needed an easier way to deliver the vaccine.
In the 1980s, researchers earned grant funding to experiment with ways to make a vaccine that did not require refrigeration. His team worked for two years and eventually developed a method to freeze-dry the vaccine. As a result, it could stay effective at temperatures as high as 98 degrees Fahrenheit and could last 30 days without refrigeration.

That innovation made it possible to deliver vaccines to a wider array of far-flung places, but it didn't necessarily make it easier.
So, the scientists engaged in a more targeted and strategic approach and went directly to those remote areas. Researchers helped train people in these communities to provide the vaccine and relied on their knowledge to decide how and when to distribute it. These efforts increased vaccination in herds that had been missed during previous campaigns. Locals then monitored for signs of disease after vaccination occurred.
The successful eradication, then, relied on both science and collaboration, and a tool called participatory epidemiology, which incorporates both researchers and stakeholders.

The elimination of rinderpest has had an enormous impact on the lives of people and their animals.

https://now.tufts.edu/2019/07/18/world-without-rinderpest

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

15 years after the eradication of rinderpest, lessons still ring true

Permanently wiping out a disease is tricky business. Polio, measles, mumps—all have effective vaccines, yet they persist in certain pockets around the world. To date, the World Health Organization considers just two viruses as successfully eradicated: smallpox and rinderpest.

Rinderpest, a highly contagious cattle disease, was officially eradicated in 2011, marking it as one of only two viruses eliminated globally. Success was achieved through a combination of technological advances, such as a heat-stable vaccine, and community-based strategies, including participatory epidemiology and targeted vaccination in remote areas. These approaches remain vital for controlling current and future animal diseases.
Rinderpest, a German word meaning "cattle plague," can be traced back as early as the Roman Empire. In the centuries when the virus was active, it ran through herds from Europe into Asia and Africa. When the disease struck, it often killed the entire herd.

The disease was so economically devastating that it's recognized as the cause of several historic famines. In the 18th century, rinderpest killed 200 million cows in Europe.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

How microbes survive in the plastisphere
Microbes inhabiting the plastisphere—biofilms on ocean plastic—possess larger genomes with more functional gene copies than marine plankton, enabling enhanced nutrient uptake, carbon utilization, UV protection, and alternative energy use. These adaptations support survival in nutrient-poor, high-UV environments and may create eutrophic niches, potentially impacting ocean ecosystem health.

Stefan Lips et al, Metagenomic analyses of the plastisphere reveals a common functional potential across oceans, Environmental Pollution (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2026.127830

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Virus from seafood is linked to a persistent eye disease in humans
A virus that typically infects marine animals, such as shrimp and fish, has jumped to humans and is causing chronic eye disease in some people, according to a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. In recent years, the number of people in China with a condition called persistent ocular hypertension viral anterior uveitis (POH-VAU) has been increasing with no clear explanation as to why. Symptoms include extremely elevated eye pressure and inflammation.
Researchers suspected that covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV) might be the cause since patients with the condition consistently tested negative for common eye viruses such as herpes or shingles. And earlier investigations had identified unknown virus particles in the eye tissue of a few patients that looked similar in shape and size to CMNV.

To investigate further, scientists in China recruited 70 people diagnosed with the condition between January 2022 and April 2025.

The team examined patient tissue removed during eye surgery with electron microscopes and saw similar virus particles about 25 nanometers in size. No CMNV-like particles were found in the control group of healthy volunteers. To confirm the virus's identity, they used a special gold-labeled antibody that only binds to CMNV. Sequencing its genetic material revealed a 98.96% match to the version found in aquatic animals.

"This study reveals that an aquatic animal virus is associated with an emerging human disease," wrote the scientists in their paper.
The researchers interviewed the patients about their lives, and nearly three-quarters were either handling raw seafood without gloves or were eating raw aquatic animals. "Frequent unprotected processing of aquatic animals and consumption of raw aquatic animals were commonly reported exposure events," added the team.

To confirm that the virus was actually causing the disease rather than merely being present, the team conducted cell culture studies and infected mice with the virus. These rodents developed the characteristic symptoms of the condition seen in human patients, such as elevated intraocular pressure.
This is the first study to show that a virus originating from aquatic animals can be associated with a specific eye disease in humans. And it may not just be a problem in China.

As part of their study, the researchers conducted a global survey to see how far the viruses had spread. CMNV was found in 49 species, including crabs and mollusks, across Asia, Africa, Europe, Antarctica and the Americas.

Shuang Liu et al, An emerging human eye disease is associated with aquatic virus zoonotic infection, Nature Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02266-x

Fabian H. Leendertz et al, Aquatic virus transmission to humans, Nature Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02306-6

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

New study finds eye focuses using color signals, not just sharpness

The human eye functions like an exceptionally precise, high-end camera, one with a resolution of around 576 megapixels. What makes it intriguing is that although our eyes can focus on light at only one wavelength at a time, the result isn't fragmented or blurry. What we see feels seamlessly sharp and rich in details. This raises the question of which color it chooses to focus on when the scene we are looking at has multiple colors. A recent study published in Science Advances presents a mechanism that guides the choice.

The researchers discovered that the eye chooses its focus to maximize the quality of signals in specific neural pathways called color-opponent channels. These channels are neural pathways that combine signals from the three types of cone photoreceptors—long, medium, and short—into distinct patterns for color processing. These combinations create three channels: red–green, blue–yellow, and finally black–white, which represents brightness. Each channel operates in opposition, meaning that the two colors in a pair, such as red and green, cannot be perceived simultaneously.

This new discovery challenges the leading theory on which color the eyes choose to focus on.

In the real world, objects are almost never perfectly in focus, and the eyes constantly adjust to see objects clearly at different distances via a process called accommodation. This lack of focus is because visible light is made up of many different wavelengths, and each one bends slightly differently as it passes through the eye. Short wavelengths, such as blue light, focus closer to the lens; while longer ones, such as red light, focus farther away. Since the retina sits at a fixed distance behind the lens, not all wavelengths can be in focus at once, which creates a multi-colored blur known as longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA).

Previously scientists thought that the eyes' choice of colour on which to focus hinged on achieving the best possible visual acuity—our ability to see fine details. The idea was that this mechanism worked by maximizing luminance contrast, enhancing the overall brightness and clarity of an image. However, this new discovery challenges that long-held notion.

The new study questions the prevailing theory, suggesting that brightness and contrast alone don't fully explain how the eye focuses on colored objects. There must be color-processing mechanisms at play too. To test this, the researchers used a combination of specialized hardware, personalized eye mapping, and computer simulations.

The results showed that the human eye doesn't just focus on light to make images as sharp and bright as possible, as scientists long thought. Instead, the eye picks which color on which to focus based on what allows the brain's color-processing pathways to work most efficiently.

The team also found that instead of focusing on extreme wavelengths like blue, the eye often chooses a middle wavelength like greenish-yellow as a compromise. This approach keeps the main image sharp while leaving the blue areas slightly blurry, resulting in a stronger, clearer signal for the brain to process.

Benjamin M. Chin et al, Focusing on color: How the eye chooses which wavelength to see best, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aea5693

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

AI makes rewilding look tame—and misses its messy reality
AI-generated images of rewilded British landscapes tend to depict sanitized, orderly scenes lacking ecological complexity, messiness, and controversial species. These images often exclude humans, decay, and less charismatic wildlife, reflecting the sanitized visuals promoted by environmental organizations. Accurate, ecologically rich depictions require highly specific prompts, limiting their accessibility to non-experts.

original article.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Bacteria are weaving forever chemicals directly into their cell membranes, study finds
Bacteria can incorporate polyfluoroalkyl carboxylates, a type of PFAS, directly into their cell membrane lipids. This process demonstrates a biological interaction with these persistent environmental contaminants and suggests a potential microbial role in PFAS transformation, though complete degradation and disposal remain unresolved challenges.

Yongchao Xie et al, Bacteria covalently incorporate polyfluoroalkyl carboxylates into membrane lipids, Nature Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02301-x

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

How a common herbicide affects honeybee brains and behaviour

Exposure to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, reduces honeybee foraging by 13% and alters brain neurochemistry, even at sublethal levels. These changes may compromise colony stability, pollination effectiveness, and honey production, indicating that glyphosate poses a greater risk to honeybee health than previously recognized.

Laura C. McHenry et al, Sublethal glyphosate exposure reduces honey bee foraging and alters the balance of biogenic amines in the brain, Journal of Experimental Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1242/jeb.250124

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Why cutting down rainforests may be driving 28,000 heat deaths a year

Tropical deforestation significantly increases local temperatures by reducing the cooling effects of forest canopy and evapotranspiration. This regional warming exposes over 300 million people to higher heat stress, contributing to an estimated 28,000 heat-related deaths annually across the tropics, highlighting deforestation as a critical public health issue.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02411-0

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

How one 'forever chemical' can disrupt a baby's facial development
Researchers have long associated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals," with certain severe birth defects, but exactly how these pollutants harm a developing fetus has remained mostly a mystery. New research now provides the first clear molecular explanation, showing how one PFAS, called perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), can trigger craniofacial abnormalities before birth. The research was published today in Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Most people are exposed to small amounts of PFAS in everyday life but higher exposure can occur through contaminated water, living near manufacturing sites or certain jobs like firefighting and ski waxing, which is why it's so important to understand the chemicals better.
There are approximately 15,000 PFAS used in consumer and industrial products, but scientists are increasingly finding that only some pose serious health risks. In this study, researchers tested 139 commonly found PFAS and discovered PFDA as the most toxic during fetal craniofacial development.
They found even tiny amounts of PFDA were enough to cause visible facial changes, with the risk increasing by 10% at extremely low exposure levels.
They found that PFAS disrupts retinoic acid, a molecule essential for shaping the face and head during early pregnancy. Retinoic acid regulates hundreds of genes and its levels must be controlled. Because a fetus cannot produce or safely eliminate excess retinoic acid, it relies entirely on the mother to maintain the homeostatic balance of the hormone.

The researchers discovered PFDA blocks CYP26A1, a key enzyme responsible for breaking down excess retinoic acid. When this enzyme is inhibited, retinoic acid levels can rise too high, disrupting normal facial development. PFDA also suppresses the genes that produce this enzyme through a separate biological pathway, delivering a "double hit" to the system that regulates early development.
As a result, severe craniofacial abnormalities can develop, including underdeveloped eyes and abnormal jaw formation, which were the most common effects of PFDA exposure during fetal development.

Michaela Hvizdak et al, New Mechanistic Evidence for Perfluorodecanoic Acid (PFDA) Teratogenicity via CYP26A1-Mediated Retinoic Acid Metabolism and Signaling, Chemical Research in Toxicology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.5c00468 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrestox.5c00468

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