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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 4 hours ago

Targeted phages curb Crohn's-linked gut inflammation by disabling harmful E. coli traits
IBD affects millions, with rates continuing to rise, particularly among children. Although current treatments can be effective, they can fail long term or require escalating doses, increasing the risk of serious side effects.

A research team at McMaster University has developed a targeted approach to treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using bacteriophages, viruses that infect specific bacteria, to disarm harmful microbes without disrupting the broader gut ecosystem.
Targeted bacteriophages directed against adherent-invasive E. coli reduced gut inflammation in experimental models of Crohn’s disease by suppressing virulence traits, particularly adhesion to intestinal cells, without eradicating the bacteria or disrupting the microbiota. Phage therapy also potentiated steroid efficacy, enabling lower doses, and stool-based functional assays may identify patients most likely to benefit.
IBD is shaped by a combination of genetics, immune responses and the gut microbiome. The research team focused on a group of bacteria known as adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), which have been linked to inflammation in some people with Crohn's disease. These bacteria can be difficult to identify and selectively target, making them an important test case for more precise microbiome-based therapies.
Working with E. coli strains isolated from patients with Crohn's disease, the team used controlled experimental models to isolate how AIEC contribute to inflammation and explore ways to neutralize their harmful behaviour without damaging beneficial bacteria.
To target AIEC without collateral damage, the team turned to bacteriophages (phages), which are naturally occurring viruses that infect bacteria with remarkable precision.

Phages work like a lock-and-key system—each phage targets only certain bacteria. That precision gives us a way to intervene without wiping out the entire microbiome.

The team identified and characterized phages that selectively target AIEC strains isolated from patients with IBD and found that this approach significantly reduced gut inflammation.

The phages did not eliminate the bacteria entirely. Instead, they altered their behavior by suppressing a molecular "grappling hook" that helps AIEC attach to the gut lining and trigger immune responses. When that virulence mechanism was turned off, inflammation subsided.

The bacteria were still there, but they lost the traits that drive inflammation as the bacteria can't do as much damage anymore.
The researchers also found that phage therapy enhanced the effectiveness of a commonly used steroid treatment for IBD. When combined with the phage, a lower-than-standard dose produced benefits comparable to higher doses of the drug alone. While phages have previously been shown to increase the effectiveness of antibiotics, this is the first time a positive collaboration between phage and a non-antibiotic drug has been reported.

The findings point to a precision-medicine approach for IBD.

Kyle Jackson et al, Phage intervention improves colitis and response to corticosteroids by attenuating virulence of Crohn's disease–associated bacteria, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adz4589

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 4 hours ago

International expert team says science alone won't save coral reefs

Coral reefs are rapidly declining due to climate change, overfishing, pollution and habitat loss, threatening food security, coastal protection and cultural identity. The article argues that scientific research and restoration are insufficient without strong public engagement and political will. It proposes integrating science with art, design and community collaboration to translate complex data into emotionally resonant experiences, thereby motivating broader participation in reef conservation. The Coral Art-Science Consortium is introduced as a global platform to coordinate such interdisciplinary efforts and promote collective action for reef protection.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 4 hours ago

Ocean acidification may be shrinking the brains of the world's most intelligent invertebrates

An ongoing research project exploring the effects of rising levels of oceanic CO2 on squid neurology reveals that exposure to future levels of ocean acidification could shrink their brain volume by around 50%. This severe brain shrinkage appears to be most pronounced in the areas that interpret visual information, correlating with significant reductions in normal feeding behaviors and suggesting serious consequences for the future of squid and other cephalopods.
Elevated CO₂ levels simulating future ocean acidification (pH 7.8) reduced bigfin reef squid brain volume by ~49% after 90 days, with strongest effects in visual centers (optic lobes −52%, optic tracts −62%) and no change in body size. These neural changes correlate with large reductions in hunting and feeding behaviour, implying impaired visual processing and major ecological consequences.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-09506-6

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 4 hours ago

Ancient extinctions that may have been influenced by these emissions include the end of the Ordovician Period around 440 million years ago, when up to 85% of shallow marine species died, including many trilobites and corals. Another occurred at the end of the Devonian Period around 370 million years ago, when many marine species, especially reef-building corals and bony armored fish like Dunkleosteus, died out.

The end of the Permian Period, or the "Great Dying," occurred around 252 million years ago and wiped out up to 96% of marine species and 70% of land species. Around 201 million years ago, the end of the Triassic Period eliminated many groups of giant reptiles that dominated land, sea and sky, making way for the rise of dinosaurs.
Although these events occurred millions of years ago, they provide natural experiments for investigating interactions and cycles among the solid Earth, atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. Understanding their causes helps scientists better understand the sensitivity of Earth systems to large-scale environmental change.

Earth's systems are deeply interconnected, and major environmental changes rarely result from a single isolated process.

Emily Stewart et al, Metamorphic sulfur release as a driver of sustained cooling and mass extinction, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aee2277. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aee2277

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 4 hours ago

Scientists find gas emissions from rocks may have contributed to ancient climate swings, mass extinctions

An interdisciplinary team of scientists has uncovered new evidence about processes that may have contributed to ancient mass-extinction events, some of the most dramatic ecosystem reorganizations in Earth's history.
They combined deep-earth geochemistry and atmospheric science to show that natural sulfur and carbon released from metamorphic rocks affect the environment in ways similar to emissions from volcanic eruptions, long considered the primary drivers of mass-extinction events.
Evidence shows that the process that wipes out species is a climate swing, or an oscillation back and forth between hot and cold climates.

Some extinctions are correlated with the timing of eruptions in large igneous provinces, which are massive magmatic areas that have seen lots of volcanic eruptions and lava spewing out of Earth's surface. As long as geology as a field has existed, scientists have thought that volcanic eruptions and their emissions were the primary trigger for rapid global cooling and climate swings. Now scientists found another process that contributes to these events: metamorphism.

Metamorphism of sulfur- and carbon-bearing rocks in large igneous provinces can release substantial SO₂ and CO₂, producing sulfate aerosol–driven short-term cooling followed by long-term CO₂ warming. This mechanism can generate pronounced climate oscillations, offering an additional driver of ancient mass extinctions beyond direct volcanic degassing.
Metamorphic processes occur when rock under Earth's surface is exposed to extreme heat, like when rock in large igneous provinces, such as the Ferrar large igneous province in Antarctica or the Siberian Traps in Russia, is heated by magma. If that rock contains sulfur and carbon, the heating process results in sulfur and carbon emissions, allowing them to seep out at ground level as gases.

Sulfur emissions become sulfate particles in the atmosphere that act like tiny mirrors, reflecting some of the sun's energy back into space. Earth then absorbs less energy from the sun, leading to cooling spikes. Sulfates also act as "cloud seeds," attracting water vapor to form clouds with liquid droplets that disperse water more efficiently and reflect more sunlight, also contributing to cooling spikes.

Cooling spikes are the result of sulfur, which doesn't stay in the atmosphere for more than a few days before dissipating.
The opposite warming effect is due to carbon, which is also released in the metamorphic process but doesn't react with other particles. Carbon remains in the atmosphere for hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. Even after sulfate-driven cooling spikes, the atmosphere is several degrees warmer than before due to carbon gas continually warming while sulfur aerosols cool and eventually disappear from the system.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 6 hours ago

The benefits of exercise were evident in concrete cognitive gains: the most active students significantly outperformed their sedentary peers on the working-memory tasks. Brain scans using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) confirmed these behavioral differences at a neural level and helped researchers further understand the underlying mechanisms. For instance, in physically fit students, the prefrontal cortex, an important area for cognitive control and decision-making, showed steadier and more efficient blood flow during the difficult memory task.

In contrast, the brains of less active students had to work much harder and showed different patterns of activation to get similar—or often worse—results. Basically, it seemed that regular exercise created a buffer that shielded the brain from the cognitive scramble of watching too many short videos.

Tian Feng et al, Exercise modulates behavioural and neural mechanisms of working memory in excessive short video users, Frontiers in Psychology (2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1875248

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 6 hours ago

Could endless scrolling really rot your brain? A new study suggests it might, but also says exercise could fight back
Consider flipping through numerous videos on TikTok and YouTube within mere minutes—some news item, some dancing fad, some culinary trick and some comedy sketch. The content might grab your attention momentarily, but it's gone just like that. This pattern of consuming information so rapidly puts pressure on our working memory—a short-term memory system in which the brain temporarily stores the information required to think. Each time you flip from one piece of content to the next, you change the context of your thinking, which has led psychologists to wonder whether the brain's scratchpad gets tired from all the switching.

Is this endless digital churn truly shredding our memory? A new study delves into this question, exploring the impact of excessive short-video use on working memory performance and how physical activity might offer a surprising countermeasure. The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

The concern isn't new. By 2025, TikTok alone had more than 1.6 billion active users, and the cultural impact was so profound that Oxford even selected "brain rot" as its 2024 Word of the Year. For years, parents and teachers have worried that the "thumbs-on-tech" habit shortens attention spans and impairs cognition. In fact, prior research has already associated heavy short-video use with major declines in focus and memory. But how precisely does this manifest in our brains?
To investigate this, a new experiment put participants through a classic "2-back" working-memory test, a task designed to measure how well individuals can hold and manipulate information in their minds (checking whether each presented item matched the one from two steps back). The results were eye-opening: those identified as the heaviest video watchers consistently performed the worst on this critical cognitive assessment.

As the researchers reported, their findings indicated that "excessive short video use was associated with poorer working memory performance, whereas regular exercise habits were associated with better behavioural performance." This direct link between high video consumption and diminished memory function provides compelling evidence for the growing concerns.
Then came a significant twist in the findings: Exercise changed everything. Not only did the researchers divide the subjects into those who viewed videos frequently, but they also classified them according to the amount of exercise done in a day: high, low or none. Their findings were striking: The level of fitness counted for a lot. The regular exercisers performed better on the memory test and showed better working-memory functioning regardless of the number of videos consumed.
This strong protective effect of exercise is supported by decades of research showing that exercise literally "builds up" the brain, improving cognitive functioning.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

From mother to offspring: Young birds show how 'forever chemicals' accumulate

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic fluorine-containing organic chemicals used in the manufacture of many household and industrial goods, as well as historically, in perfluorinated aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) used to fight flammable liquid fires.

The highest PFAS concentrations in wildlife are typically recorded around petrochemical manufacturing facilities and near former firefighting training areas—the Williams Laverton RAAF Base has an extensive history of the use of firefighting foams.

New research has found young birds living near contaminated industrial and military sites in suburban Melbourne carry especially high concentrations of PFAS, so-called "forever chemicals."

Analysis of the samples showed that PFAS levels peaked in young, newly fledged birds after the chemicals were transferred from mothers into their eggs and through the insect-heavy diets chicks are fed when being reared
Young house sparrows near industrial and military PFAS hotspots in suburban Melbourne show elevated blood PFAS, with PFOS medians about 10-fold higher than in birds from uncontaminated sites. Concentrations peak in recently fledged chicks and decline with age, driven by maternal transfer via eggs and insect-heavy nestling diets, indicating substantial bioaccumulation and widespread environmental contamination.

PFAS concentrations generally decreased with the age of the birds: Recently fledged chicks had the highest levels, followed by older juveniles and then mature adults.

Consuming a diet where the main food source is invertebrates—including insects, spiders, snails and worms—is a key driver for PFAS exposure.
Even birds that feed mainly on grains as adults shift their diets toward animal food sources like invertebrates when they're breeding, to meet the energy demands of reproduction and rearing chicks.
Similar trends in PFAS levels with age have been reported for a wide range of species, including humans and other mammals, and this seems to be linked to transfer from mother to offspring.
The reputation of PFAS as "forever chemicals" is based on their persistence in the environment and their potential to accumulate in living organisms, where they have increasingly been associated with health risks.

Max M Gillings et al, Early Life Uptake and Elimination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in a Seasonally Invertivorous Bird, Environmental Science & Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6c02297

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

The team then ran numerical simulations of crystal settling during atmospheric deceleration to determine likely entry speeds and orbital eccentricities. The results showed that olivine "settling" will most likely occur with high encounter speeds of roughly 14–17 km/s. The team says this points to eccentric orbits (around e > 0.2), and this eccentricity is more consistent with near-Earth objects than typical main-belt asteroid sources.

They say this parent body seems to be a previously unsampled, primitive, sulfide-rich carbonaceous asteroid related to a group of carbonaceous meteorites called the CM–CO–CY chondrite clan.

The study authors write, "Given that we have linked their composition to the CM-CO-CY clan of carbonaceous chondrites, it is plausible that their parent body was a primitive carbonaceous asteroid that migrated onto an Earth-crossing orbit—attaining comet-like orbital parameters. For instance, one might consider the disrupted fragments of a thermally altered but water-bearing asteroid (like the CY group) that evolved into near-Earth space."

The researchers note that this hypothetical parent body represents a "missing" meteorite type. The micrometeorite samples exist, but no meteorite like it exists in current collections. They say that future identification through asteroid missions or meteorite finds would be considered "a pivotal discovery."

Matthias Van Ginneken et al, ¹⁶ O poor cosmic spherules from near-Earth CY chondrite asteroids, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed6340

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

To try to learn more about their origins, the researchers examined 10 CumPo cosmic spherules from Antarctica and a more modern collection found on urban rooftops. They used electron microscopy and microprobe chemistry to analyze textures and key minerals and chemistry. They also measured oxygen isotopes with SIMS and NanoSIMS to fingerprint sources.

The team found many similarities between the two collections and defined them as a new subset of sulfur-rich cumulate olivine cosmic spherules, which they call "SCumPo." The subset is strongly tied to the oxygen-16-poor Group 4 signature. The group shares a set of features that imply extremely reducing conditions during atmospheric entry. This includes an uncommon near-absence of magnetite, frequent iron-nickel-sulfur droplets, consistently low nickel in olivine crystals, and unusually sulfur-rich glass.

Some spots within a single spherule showed both oxygen-16-poor and oxygen-16-rich signatures, implying the original dust was likely a mixture of at least two components because this does not happen naturally.

The study authors explain, "We interpret this as strong evidence that the SCumPo precursors were composite materials containing at least two different components: one component carrying a 16O-rich signature (relatively low δ18O and negative Δ17O, typical of carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous phases) and another carrying a 16O-poor signature (high δ18O and positive Δ17O not matched to known meteorites but akin to Group 4 fine-grained material)."
Part 2

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