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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 17 hours ago

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 17 hours ago

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 17 hours ago

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 18 hours ago

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 18 hours ago

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 18 hours ago

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 18 hours ago

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

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

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

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

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

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday

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

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