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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2025 at 8:15am

Arbitrary rules are those that are decided or made without any fixed principle, plan, or system, often appearing random or unfair. They are based on individual discretion, preference, or whims, rather than logic or established standards. In legal contexts, arbitrary decisions are often seen as unjust because they lack a rational basis and can disregard fair considerations. 

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 5, 2025 at 8:14am

Most people obey arbitrary rules even when it's not in their interest to do so, experiments show

Contrary to the popular saying, rules aren't meant to be broken, as they are foundational to society and exist to uphold safety, fairness and order in the face of chaos. The collective benefits of rule-following are well established, but individual incentives are often unclear. Yet, people still comply, and the reasons why are pieces of a puzzle that researchers of human behavior have been trying to piece together for years.

A recent study published in Nature Human Behavior explored the behavioral principles behind why people follow rules using a newly designed framework called CRISP. A series of four online experiments based on the framework involving 14,034 English-speaking participants, revealed that the majority (55%–70%) of participants chose to follow arbitrary rules—even when the compliance was costly, they were anonymous and violations had no adverse effects on others.

This proposed CRISP system explains rule conformity (C) as a function of four components: R—intrinsic respect for rules, independent of others' behavior; I—extrinsic incentives, such as the threat of punishment for breaking rules; S—social expectations about whether others will follow the rule or believe one should; and P—social preferences, which matter when rule-following affects the well-being of others.

Rules, often described as the "grammar of society," are embedded in nearly every aspect of human social life—personal, professional, and political in written, said and unsaid forms.

Despite their ubiquity, the deeper reasons why individuals choose to follow the rules remain poorly understood. The threat of punishment or social ostracism can motivate compliance, but studies have shown that people often follow the rules even when there are no clear consequences or incentives for doing so.

Understanding these nuances of rule-following behavior can have important implications for policy, law enforcement, and organizational behavior.

This work was done in the UK and Germany. So the results are different

In India they don't follow any rules. ANY!

 Simon Gächter et al, Why people follow rules, Nature Human Behaviour (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02196-4

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2025 at 1:47pm

Common bone medications linked to serious jaw disease

Certain medications used in the treatment of bone conditions, particularly when combined with corticosteroids, may significantly increase the risk of a rare but serious jaw disease.

This finding comes from a study which analyzed data from Finnish adult patients who began bone medication between 2013 and 2015. The researchers recommend more careful monitoring and consideration in the use of such medications.

The condition in question is so-called osteonecrosis of the jaw, in which the jawbone weakens and deteriorates as a result of the medication. The incidence of osteonecrosis was 0.3% among low-dose antiresorptive drug (AR) users and as high as 9% among those receiving high doses. Antiresorptive drugs are commonly used in Finland, particularly in the treatment of osteoporosis and in the prevention of bone metastases in patients with breast or prostate cancer. The most commonly used AR drugs are denosumab and bisphosphonates.

According to the study published in Scientific Reports, the risk of jaw osteonecrosis was significantly higher in patients using denosumab. These users were up to five times more likely to suffer serious jaw damage than those taking bisphosphonates.

When corticosteroids were also involved, the risk increased further: simultaneous use of corticosteroids in addition to AR drug increased the risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw by 2 times in high-dose AR recipients and 6 times in low-dose AR recipients. Other significant risk factors for jaw osteonecrosis included male sex and a cancer diagnosis.

This is the first population-level study conducted in Finland on the incidence and risk factors of medication-related jaw osteonecrosis. The analysis covered data from nearly 60,000 Finnish patients.

Miika Kujanpää et al, Incidence of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw and associated antiresorptive drugs in adult Finnish population, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-02225-2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2025 at 1:26pm

Physicists create 'the world's smallest violin' using nanotechnology

Physicists have used cutting-edge nanotechnology to create what they believe may be "the world's smallest violin," which is small enough to fit within the width of a human hair.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2025 at 1:14pm

DNA floating in the air can track wildlife, viruses—even drugs

The level of information that's available in environmental DNA is such that we're only starting to consider what the potential applications can be, from humans, to wildlife to other species that have implications for human health.

Researchers have developed new methods for deciphering environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, to study sea turtle genetics. They've expanded the tools to study every species—including humans—from DNA captured in environmental samples like water, soil and sand.

But these errant strands of DNA do not just settle into muddy soil or flow along rivers. The air itself is infused with genetic material. A simple air filter running for hours, days or weeks can pick up signs of nearly every species that grows or wanders nearby.

That means you can study species without directly having to disturb them, without ever having to see them. It opens up huge possibilities to study all the species in an area simultaneously, from microbes and viruses all the way up to vertebrates like bobcats and humans, and everything in between.

As a proof of concept, the researchers showed that they could pick up signs of hundreds of different human pathogens from the  air, including viruses and bacteria. Such surveillance could help scientists track emerging diseases. The same method can track common allergens, like peanut or pollen, more precisely than is currently possible, the scientists discovered.

With little more than an air filter, scientists could track endangered species and identify where they came from, all without having to lay eyes on skittish animals or root around forest floors for scat samples. When trying to save and conserve wildlife, knowing where an animal originates from can be as important as knowing where it currently is.

This powerful analysis was paired with impressive speed and efficiency. The team demonstrated that a single researcher could process DNA for every species in as little as a day using compact, affordable equipment, and software hosted in the cloud. That quick turnaround is orders of magnitude faster than would have been possible just a few years ago and opens up advanced environmental studies to more scientists around the world.

Shotgun sequencing of airborne eDNA achieves rapid assessment of whole biomes, population genetics and genomic variation, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02711-w

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2025 at 1:04pm

Scientists find new markers to identify species from fragments of fossilized bone

What happened to all the megafauna? From moas to mammoths, many large animals went extinct between 50 and 10,000 years ago. Learning why could provide crucial evidence about prehistoric ecosystems and help us understand future potential extinctions. But surviving fossils are often too fragmented to determine the original species, and DNA is not always recoverable, especially in hot or damp environments.

Now scientists have isolated collagen peptide markers which allow them to identify three key megafauna that were once present across Australia: a hippo-sized wombat, a giant kangaroo, and a marsupial with enormous claws.

Analyzing the peptides—short chains of amino acids—found in samples of collagen allows scientists to distinguish between different genera of animals, and sometimes between different species. Because collagen preserves better than DNA, this method can be applied successfully in tropical and sub-tropical environments where DNA is unlikely to survive.

Proteins generally preserve better over longer timescales and in harsh environments than DNA does. This means that in the context of megafauna extinctions, proteins may still be preserved where DNA is not.

The scientists ruled out any contaminants and compared the peptide markers they found to reference markers. The collagen in all three samples was well-preserved enough for the team to identify suitable peptide markers for all three species.

Using these markers, the team were able to differentiate Protemnodon from five living genera and one extinct genus of kangaroos. They were also able to distinguish Zygomaturus and Palorchestes from other living and extinct large marsupials, but they couldn't differentiate the two species from each other.

This is not unusual with ZooMS, since changes in collagen accumulate extremely slowly, over millions of years of evolution. Unless further research allows for more specificity, these markers are best used to identify bones at the genus level rather than the species.

However, the ability to tell apart genera from more temperate regions of Sahul does present an opportunity to try to identify bones found in more tropical areas, where closely related species—which are likely to have similar or even the same peptide markers—would have lived. DNA rarely preserves over time in these regions.

By using the newly developed collagen peptide markers, we can begin identifying a larger number of megafauna remains.

 Carli Peters et al, Collagen peptide markers for three extinct Australian megafauna species, Frontiers in Mammal Science (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fmamm.2025.1564287

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 4, 2025 at 12:51pm

Protein that helps green bush crickets mimic green foliage

A green bush cricket (Tettigonia cantans) can easily be mistaken for a plant appendage from a distance. Its leafy green hue allows it to blend seamlessly into its surroundings, camouflaging itself in meadows, marshes, and fields, the habitats it calls home. What makes the bush cricket green? 

A recent study discovered that the secret to this camouflaging superpower comes from a water-soluble protein called dibilinoxanthinin (DBXN), which binds two distinct pigments—a blue bilin and a yellow lutein—to mimic the color of green foliage closely.

With the help of the genetic sequence of protein and cloning, the researchers found that the protein was a highly fragmented form of vitellogenin, a protein family essential for embryonic development.

Researchers note that DBXN-like proteins were found in other green insects and even in a green spider, hinting at the convergent evolution of this camouflage mechanism.

Nikita A. Egorkin et al, A green dichromophoric protein enabling foliage mimicry in arthropods, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2502567122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2025 at 10:10am

The chemistry of interstellar space

Many people imagine the space between the stars as an empty, cold infinity. In reality, it is teeming with extraordinary molecules: More than 300 different types have already been discovered.

The conditions in space are completely different from those here on Earth. It is very cold, around -240°C, and the pressure is very low. There are far fewer collisions between molecules than on Earth: here, there are a billion collisions per second, while in space there is one every 10 days.

This means that certain molecules that occur in space cannot survive here on Earth. There are too many other molecules here that they would collide with immediately, causing them to ignite in the air or form new molecules. But how do you study those molecules?

At the HFML-FELIX laser and magnet lab, they have an enormous refrigerator that can cool down to -270°C and in which you can reduce the pressure. This creates conditions similar to those in space.  Then they would send a powerful infrared laser through the molecule to see how it would react.

Some researchers did this with the charged molecules C₂H⁺ and HC₂H⁺, which are thought to occur in space. We don't have these molecules on Earth because they react immediately with other molecules here. But we do have laser gas, which is used for welding. That's C₂H₂ and is very similar to HC₂H⁺ and C₂H⁺.

Welding gas is highly flammable and reacts immediately with air during welding. But if you take that welding gas, put it in a machine and fire a lot of electrons at it, it breaks down and you can extract HC₂H⁺ and C₂H^+.

By then firing an infrared laser at these charged molecules, researchers were able to obtain a kind of "fingerprint" of these molecules. To do this, they had to set up entirely new experimental methods and develop advanced theoretical models to understand the data. Once you have such a fingerprint and understand it, you can see if we can find it in the data collected by telescopes.

The method used by them has already helped find another of these exotic ions: CH₃⁺, which is methane (CH₄) with one less H. This molecule was observed in the Orion Nebula with the James Webb Space Telescope, in an area where stars are born. But we expect this molecule, and the others they investigated  to occur in many more places in space.

If we know exactly what the chemistry of space looks like, we can deduce how stars and planets are formed and how far a nebula is in its life cycle. Ultimately, it could also tell us something about how life on Earth originated and whether life can arise on other planets.

Source: Radboud University

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2025 at 9:50am

Forests aren't coming back after gold mining in the Amazon

Forests in the Peruvian Amazon aren't growing back after gold mining—not just because the soil is damaged by toxic metals, but because the land has been depleted of its water. A common mining method known as suction mining reshapes the terrain in ways that drain moisture and trap heat, creating harsh conditions where even replanted seedlings can't survive.

The findings, published in Communications Earth & Environment, revealed why reforestation efforts in the region have struggled. The mining process dries out the land, making it inhospitable for new trees. It's like trying to grow a tree in an oven!

To compare conditions, researchers installed sensors in various locations—sandy and clay soils, pond edges and undisturbed forests—and found that deforested sites were consistently hotter and drier. On exposed sand piles, surface temperatures reached as high as 145 F (60°C).

Drone-mounted thermal cameras showed how barren ground baked under the sun while nearby forested areas and pond edges stayed significantly cooler.

Abra Atwood et al, Landscape controls on water availability limit revegetation after artisanal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon, Communications Earth & Environment (2025). Data on HydroShare Resources: DOI: 10.4211/hs.05a0490e971f491fa64c62cbde499a6a

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on June 3, 2025 at 9:02am

Blood test detects multiple cancer types through cell-free DNA

Researchers  have validated a blood test that can detect a broad range of cancers with high accuracy using cell-free DNA. A multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test identified cancer with 87.4% sensitivity and 97.8% specificity in an independent validation cohort, and it correctly predicted the tissue of origin around 83% of the time.

Early detection remains a critical challenge in cancer care. Current screening tools contribute to late diagnoses and poor outcomes, especially in cancers lacking established screening protocols.

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) circulating in the bloodstream, shed by tumors, has emerged as a promising target for noninvasive detection. Sensitivity for early-stage and less common cancers has remained low, yet the non-invasive nature of the tests makes them a compelling area for improvement.

In the study, "Early detection of multiple cancer types using multidimensional cell-free DNA fragmentomics," published in Nature Medicine, researchers designed a whole-genome sequencing–based blood test to detect cancer signals and predict the tissue of origin using machine learning models trained on cfDNA fragmentation patterns.

Researchers analyzed plasma-derived cell-free DNA using low-coverage whole-genome sequencing.

Nearly half of the cancers detected by the test were not identified through standard screening or physical examination. High sensitivity for cancers typically identified late in the disease course such as liver, ovarian, and pancreatic are extremely compelling and prediction of tissue origin adds further clinical relevance for early treatment.

Hua Bao et al, Early detection of multiple cancer types using multidimensional cell-free DNA fragmentomics, Nature Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03735-2

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