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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 11, 2026 at 12:26pm

Female scientists wait longer to have papers published in life and biomedical sciences

If you are a woman working in biomedical and life sciences, you may have longer to wait for your academic paper to appear in print than a comparable paper authored by a man. According to research published in the journal PLOS Biology, female-authored biomedical and life science articles spend around 7.4% to 14.6% longer under review than male-authored articles.

Despite increasing calls for equality and inclusion, there is still a gender gap in academia. Women are underrepresented in senior academic positions, and whether through anecdotal evidence or studies, the data show that female researchers face more obstacles than their male colleagues, including in academic peer review.

The study found significant delays for female researchers. These ranged from 7.4% for papers with a female first author to 10% for all-female teams and 14.6% when both the first and corresponding authors were women. These delays occur across different countries and nearly every branch within biomedical and life sciences.

This is unequivocal evidence that female-authored articles tend to spend longer under review than male-authored articles. Even though, for each manuscript, time under review is only 7–15 days longer for females—than for male-authored articles, accumulated over a woman's career, these delays can be very substantial.

These delays can have knock-on effects on a scientist's career, including fewer opportunities for promotion and difficulty obtaining research funding. By documenting these problems, the researchers hope their study will help the community devise mitigation strategies.

David Alvarez-Ponce et al, Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review, PLOS Biology (2026). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003574

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 11, 2026 at 12:20pm

Current flows without heat loss in newly engineered fractional quantum material

A team of researchers has unveiled a device that can conduct electricity along its fractionally charged edges without losing energy to heat. Described in Nature Physics, the work marks the first demonstration of a "dissipationless fractional Chern insulator," a long-sought state of matter with promising implications for future quantum technologies.

A device based on twisted molybdenum ditelluride bilayers demonstrates dissipationless edge conduction with fractionally quantized Hall resistance at zero magnetic field, realizing a fractional Chern insulator. Improved crystal quality and fabrication eliminate energy loss, while the thermal activation gap shows an unusual dependence on magnetic field, indicating complex low-energy excitations.

Heonjoon Park et al, Observation of dissipationless fractional Chern insulator, Nature Physics (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-025-03167-2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 11, 2026 at 11:56am

Early-life indoor mold linked to reduced childhood lung function, long-term study finds

Mold is a silent threat, often going unnoticed as it quietly harms health. What's concerning is that exposure to mold during early childhood leaves its mark way into adolescence. In a study published in Environmental Research: Health, a team  tapped into data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children —a well-known birth cohort study also known as Children of the 90s—to explore how early-life exposure to indoor mold may affect lung function, its development over time, and the risk of doctor-diagnosed asthma.

The researchers analyzed medical data from nearly 14,000 children, whose health and development were followed closely from birth through to approximately 24 years of age, using information collected from clinic visits and questionnaires.

The data indicated that serious exposure to indoor mold at age 5 was associated with a nearly 6% reduction in lung function by age 15. There was also a strong association with asthma, with children exposed to serious mold by age 5 being 1.85 times more likely to have been diagnosed with asthma by age 8 compared to those with no mold exposure. This link, however, weakened as the child approached adulthood.

Joshua Khan et al, Early-life exposure to indoor mould and associations with lung function, lung function trajectories and asthma, Environmental Research: Health (2026). DOI: 10.1088/2752-5309/ae3eda

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 10, 2026 at 12:25pm

Infusing asphalt with plastic could help roads last longer and resist cracking under heat
Incorporating 8–10% recycled plastic into asphalt enhances road durability, flexibility, and heat resistance, reducing cracking and maintenance needs. This approach diverts plastic waste from landfills, lowers demand for petroleum-based materials, and shows minimal microplastic release. Challenges include sourcing clean plastic and ensuring safe processing, but early results indicate environmental and economic benefits.

"Reuse of Recycled Plastic for Plastic Road Design" by Tahsina Islam

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 10, 2026 at 11:47am

Structural differences found in brains of people with panic disorder

Panic disorder (PD) is a mental health disorder characterized by recurring panic attacks, episodes of intense fear and anxiety accompanied by physical sensations and physiological responses such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, blurred vision and other symptoms. Estimates suggest that approximately 2–3% of people worldwide experience PD at some point during their lives.

Better understanding the neural underpinnings and features of PD could have important implications for its future treatment.

Researchers of many institutes worldwide recently carried out a new study shedding new light on the neuroanatomical signatures of PD, via the analysis of a large pool of brain scans collected from people diagnosed with the disorder and others with no known psychiatric diagnoses. Their paper, published in Molecular Psychiatry, identifies marked differences in the brains of individuals with PD, such as a slightly thinner cortex and frontal, temporal and parietal brain regions that are smaller than those of people with no known mental health disorders.

The team's analyses allowed them to pin-point various marked differences between the brains of people with PD and others with no known psychiatric or mental health disorders. The researchers found that people with PD had a slightly thinner cortex and that some parts of their brain had a smaller surface area or a reduced volume.

They identified subtle but consistent reductions in cortical thickness and surface area in frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, along with smaller subcortical volumes within the thalamus and caudate volumes, among individuals with PD.

Among other things, these regions govern how emotionally salient information is perceived, processed, modulated, and responded to. The analyses also showed that some differences are age-dependent and that early-onset PD (before age 21) is linked to larger lateral ventricles.

Overall, the findings of this recent study appear to confirm existing models of PD that suggest that the disorder is linked to disruptions in brain regions associated with the processing and regulation of emotions. 

Laura K. M. Han et al, Structural brain differences associated with panic disorder: an ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group mega-analysis of 4924 individuals worldwide, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03376-4.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 7, 2026 at 12:22pm

The secrets under our skin
Mysterious undulating microstructures in our skin, called rete ridges, could help explain how the organ can regenerate and why it is that humans don’t have fur. The ridges act “like velcro to keep the top layer of your skin attached firmly to the bottom layer of your skin”, biologist Ryan Driskell, who co-authored a new study on the ridges, tells Nature. Driskell and his colleagues scoured the animal kingdom to find the skin that most resembled humans’ and found clues as to how these ridges form.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 7, 2026 at 11:50am

Maternal perinatal depression may increase the risk of autistic-related traits in girls
Maternal perinatal depression is associated with an increased risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers, with a stronger effect observed in girls. Mouse models indicate that prenatal stress may disrupt oxytocin signaling, particularly affecting female offspring. These results highlight the importance of supporting maternal mental health to reduce adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, especially in girls.

Changrong Duan et al, Sex differences in the risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers born to mothers with perinatal depression: Evidence from human cohort and mouse study, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-026-03456-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 7, 2026 at 11:48am

Sleep disruption damages gut's self-repair ability via stress signals from brain: A biological chain reaction
Chronic sleep disruption impairs the gut’s ability to repair itself by triggering stress signals from the brain via the vagus nerve, leading to increased oxidative stress in intestinal stem cells. This weakens the gut lining and heightens susceptibility to gastrointestinal disorders. Targeting specific molecules in this brain-gut pathway may offer therapeutic strategies to protect gut health in sleep-deprived individuals.

Mingxin Zhang et al, Sleep disturbance triggers aberrant activation of vagus circuitry and induces intestinal stem cell dysfunction, Cell Stem Cell (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2026.01.002

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 7, 2026 at 11:38am

The body processes good fats and bad fats differently, study finds

The concept of "good fats" and "bad fats" has influenced diet trends, public health policy, and biomedical research for decades. Now, a new study offers new insights into how the body handles good fats and bad fats at the molecular level—opening a door to new treatments for obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions. Their study is featured on the cover of the February edition of Cell Metabolism.

The researchers  found that if you can tweak bile acids, you can find a way to selectively absorb the good fats and excrete the bad fats, with many metabolic benefits. That includes the secretion of hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), the same mechanism that underlies popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.

Dietary fat is essential to survival, and humans have evolved to process it very efficiently. Bile acids are detergent molecules that help break fat into small droplets in the intestine, allowing fats to be efficiently absorbed into systemic circulation. While this was quite useful for our ancestors living in times when food was scarce, this advantage becomes a disadvantage in a world where high-fat food options are readily available.

Researchers  engineered a CRISPR tool to disable a critical enzyme for bile acid synthesis, CYP7A1. The tool successfully decreased bile acid levels by 50% in adult mice.

The body absorbs saturated and unsaturated fats differently, a process regulated by bile acids. Reducing specific bile acids in mice selectively decreased absorption of saturated fats while preserving uptake of beneficial polyunsaturated fats, increased GLP-1 secretion, and protected against weight gain. Not all bile acids function identically, suggesting new therapeutic targets for metabolic diseases.

Alvin P. Chan et al, Bile acids regulate lipid metabolism through selective actions on fatty acid absorption, Cell Metabolism (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.11.010

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 7, 2026 at 11:32am

Scientists now know why ovarian cancer spreads so rapidly in the abdomen

Ovarian cancer spreads rapidly in the abdomen because cancer cells recruit mesothelial cells, forming hybrid clusters that resist chemotherapy and invade tissue more effectively. Cancer-derived TGF-β1 induces mesothelial cells to develop invadopodia, which penetrate tissue, facilitating cancer dissemination. Targeting these interactions may offer new therapeutic strategies.

Kaname Uno et al, Mesothelial cells promote peritoneal invasion and metastasis of ascites-derived ovarian cancer cells through spheroid formation, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adu5944. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu5944

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