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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 37 minutes ago

Brain activity reveals two stages of visual processing before conscious perception
EEG decoding indicated early occipital activity (~200 ms) encoding individual visual offsets and their temporal order without conscious separation. Later central-parietal activity (~450 ms) represented the integrated percept and behavioural reports, consistent with sequential unconscious encoding followed by conscious visual integration.

Maëlan Q. Menétrey et al, Sequential neural dynamics underlie unconscious integration and conscious perception of visual stimuli, PLOS Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003894

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 54 minutes ago

Meta says its AI model hacked another company, adding to worries about bots going rogue
A Meta AI model gained unintended internet access during cybersecurity testing and exploited a third-party vulnerability; the incident is under investigation. Related tests reported unsanctioned online actions by AI agents under reduced safeguards, highlighting containment needs for cyber-capability evaluations.
source: News agencies

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Conversely, when the researchers blocked the SETD7 enzyme from adding too much of the H3K4me1 tag after early-life stress, the slinky remained closed, shielding mice from becoming hypersensitive to stress later in life. Despite experiencing both early-life and adult stress, mice with their SETD7 levels dampened were able to remain as social and exploratory as unstressed mice, and their dopamine neurons were active at normal levels.

There are currently no treatments for what early-life stress does to the brain, partially because we have not had a clear picture of what molecular mechanisms to target.
This work is exciting because it reveals a clear mechanism and also helps explain why the impact of stress is both latent and broad. Additionally, if we can step in with supportive care, therapy or social resources to buffer children during those sensitive windows of development, we may be able to protect the epigenome—preventing the genetic slinky from locking into an open position and perhaps giving the developing brain a chance to build natural resilience.

Kim HJJ, et al. Early-life stress alters H3K4me1 in VTA to prime stress sensitivity, Neuron (2026).

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Early-life stress leaves a 'scar' inside brain cells

More than half of the world's children are exposed to early-life stress from abuse, household dysfunction such as violence or drug use, or other traumatic experiences. Accumulation of four or more such experiences can trigger much higher risks for long-term mental and physical health challenges in adulthood.

Experiencing severe stress during childhood can make a person more vulnerable to anxiety, depression and other mood disorders when faced with hardships as an adult. Researchers have uncovered how trauma early in life can leave a lasting effect on the brain.
Scientists already knew that stress early in life changes the activity of genes in the brain. In a new study, the research team discovered that this is due to alterations in how brain cells package DNA, leaving the brain's genetic stress response vulnerable to being easily turned on and reducing tolerance to stress.
This new finding reveals a physical scar left by trauma experienced during development inside brain cells, providing scientists with a concrete biological target to develop new treatments and interventions.
The researchers set out to understand how trauma during early development physically changes the brain to make it more sensitive to stress later in life. They focused on a region of the brain called the ventral tegmental area, where brain cells that produce dopamine—a chemical messenger—are responsible for processing important things in the environment, including rewards and adversity.
When these brain cells are activated abnormally, which can happen in response to stress, they disrupt how the brain processes rewards, leaving individuals vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Within dopamine-producing neurons, the researchers zoomed in on the epigenome, a set of molecular tags that direct the cell's machinery to turn genes on and off, which in turn affects cells' activity.

Inside cells, DNA is coiled like a slinky. The DNA coils are wrapped around histone proteins that help determine how tightly or loosely the coil is wound.

When the genetic slinky is compressed, its genes are turned off. As the DNA slinky stretches and opens, genes are more easily accessible to be turned on.

The researchers found that an enzyme called SETD7 was more abundant in the dopamine neurons of young mice that had experienced stress compared with mice reared in a typical environment. SETD7 helps place a chemical tag—H3K4me1—on the genetic slinky, marking the structure for uncoiling, which in turn makes the cell more reactive to everything going on in the environment.
The researchers then artificially boosted SETD7 in young, stress-free mice. Even without early-life stress, these mice grew up with a stretched-open DNA structure in their dopamine-producing brain cells, making it easier to turn on the genes that respond to stress. Such mice had a lower tolerance for stress in adulthood.

The researchers found that, as adults, mice whose SETD7 levels had been boosted when they were young had more reactive dopamine neurons and more anxious behavior compared with mice with normal levels of SETD7 throughout their lives.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 2 hours ago

Mushroom behind 'tiny people' hallucinations identified

People in communities thousands of miles apart have described the same strange experience after eating a mysterious mushroom: vivid visions of tiny humans moving through and interacting with the physical world around them. Known as Lilliputian hallucinations—a reference to the 6-inch-tall inhabitants of "Gulliver's Travels"—the phenomenon has long been thought to stem from cultural influences rather than biology.

A new study suggests otherwise.

Using DNA sequencing, researchers confirmed that a single mushroom species, Lanmaoa asiatica, is responsible for these hallucinations in Southwest China and the northern Philippines.

Three completely independent cultures have reported the same specific type of hallucination, and two cases are attributed to the same DNA-verified mushroom species. That indicates that these bizarre psychological effects aren't cultural manifestations or coincidences—they must have a shared underlying chemical and neurological basis.
People pretty much always report seeing dozens or hundreds of little people, about 3 to 30 centimeters tall (1 to 12 inches), in incredible detail, like they're actually there. About 90% of people describe them as little elves or clowns or other fairy-like figures dressed in colorful clothes.

What's fascinating is they interact with the physical world using the laws of physics that govern us. They're not walking through walls or anything. They're falling off the edge of tables, walking around objects. One person told me that while they were eating soup, the little people were jumping off their spoon into the bowl and swimming around. As they scooped a bite, the little people remained in their mouth.

They also discovered that the mushroom contains none of the psychoactive compounds known to science, including psilocybin. Instead, the findings point to an entirely new hallucinogenic compound that could offer new insights into neurological disease and how the brain shapes perception and consciousness.
However, Lilliputian hallucinations predate this mushroom. There are myths about tiny people in pretty much every culture's folklore. People have also reported these hallucinations from alcohol withdrawal, dementia, macular degeneration and other neurological conditions. So, it seems like this phenomenon is fundamental to how the human mind and brain work.
That's what makes this mushroom different—it reliably produces this effect, whereas those conditions very rarely trigger it.

Colin Domnauer et al, Phylogenomic systematics of Lanmaoa (Boletaceae) reveals cryptic diversity, resolves global evolutionary relationships, and suggests a novel psychoactive lineage, Mycologia (2026). DOI: 10.1080/00275514.2026.2670968

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Is Morbi's Mysterious 'Dancing Water' : Mystery Finally Solved

An 18-foot-deep farm well in Virparda village of Gujarat's Morbi district has gone viral after producing continuous, tide-like waves since August 2. While the unusual sight sparked fears of seismic activity, experts have ruled out any connection to an earthquake. The phenomenon is reportedly caused by heavy upstream rainfall rapidly recharging underground aquifers. The increased groundwater pressure forces trapped air out of rock pores, creating rhythmic bubbling and oscillating waves inside the well. Trapped air beneath the water may be causing the ripples.

Morbi District Collector Swapnil Khare has ordered a scientific assessment.

And the above explanation is what science gives!

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer's. How complex mental maps and spatial reasoning protect your brain
Taxi and ambulance drivers had among the lowest Alzheimer’s mortality rates, potentially because continual navigation engages hippocampal spatial-memory systems. Intensive navigation is associated with hippocampal structural changes, and complex environments correlate with lower Alzheimer’s risk. Whether screen-based spatial work provides similar protection remains untested.

original article.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Dry needling is different from acupuncture. So what's involved? And is it effective?
Dry needling inserts solid needles into painful muscle areas, unlike acupuncture’s traditional point selection. It may provide short-term relief for neck, shoulder, and low-back pain but appears no more effective than exercise or other treatments, with uncertain placebo-independent benefit. Minor adverse effects are common; rare serious harms include pneumothorax and infection.

 original article.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Scientists discover a brain cycle that may explain why learning eventually stalls

For many who have struggled to learn a new language or instrument, it's a familiar pattern: They make rapid progress at first, then hit a plateau that no amount of diligent practice or concentration seems to break.

Biologists identified a physical mechanism in the brain that may help explain why such plateaus occur: A scaffold-like structure surrounding brain cells, called the extracellular matrix, helps control when the brain can change during learning. In the auditory cortex, this matrix loosens within hours of a practice session and rebuilds itself within about a day—a cycle that lets the learning from a session take hold before the next one. As a skill is mastered, the rebuilding cycle fades and eventually stops altogether, as if the brain has decided that learning is finished and it's time to protect what's been gained.
In the adult auditory cortex, extracellular matrix loosens within hours of training and rebuilds by about 24 hours, supporting learning and consolidation. This remodelling declines and ceases as skills are mastered. Enzymatic matrix disruption impaired learning and degraded retained performance, indicating roles in both plasticity and stability.

Caras, Melissa L., Experience-dependent modulation of extracellular matrix integrity supports perceptual skill learning and memory, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2601801123

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Why do people's pupils dilate when they're surprised?

When people encounter new information that challenges their expectations, their pupils are likely to dilate. This physiological response is a sign that something is happening in the brain to help the person adapt to the new situation, according to a new study.
Surprising events elicit activity in the part of the brain known as the locus coeruleus, which is the primary source of norepinephrine, the chemical messenger that drives the body's fight-or-flight stress response. This activity is correlated with a change in pupil diameter as well as with specific brain waves measured by electroencephalography (EEG).
The researchers found in their experiments that surprising colours—those that didn't match predictions—elicited pupil dilation and amplified certain brain waves. They also found that these measurements were related to reductions in bias and adjustments in learning: When images looked like what the participants thought they were going to see, participants were biased toward their expectations. Yet pupil and brain measurements showed that participants were also able to learn from unexpected results and adjust their subsequent predictions accordingly.

In surprising situations, the researchers found, the norepinephrine spike is almost like a refresh mechanism—it's a sign the brain is adjusting to new information that changes expectations.
The brain holds on to some mental context, and then when it recognizes that you're in a new situation, you replace that context. Changes in pupil diameter, as well as specific EEG readings, are external markers showing that the brain is loading that new context. This both limits the effect that the previous context has on perception and also provides a clean slate, unencumbered by previous expectations, thereby allowing one to learn faster.

Tiantian Li et al, Fluctuations in arousal reflect latent state transitions that facilitate behavioural optimization, Nature Human Behaviour (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-026-02533-1

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