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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 8:47am

Scientist uncover hidden immune 'hubs' that drive joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects millions worldwide and can have a devastating impact on patients' lives. Yet, about one in three patients respond poorly to existing treatments.

Researchers have shed new light on this challenge by discovering that peripheral helper T cells (Tph cells), a key type of immune cell involved in RA, exist in two forms: stem-like Tph cells and effector Tph cells. The stem-like Tph cells reside in immune "hubs" called tertiary lymphoid structures within inflamed joints, where they multiply and activate B cells.

Some of these then become effector Tph cells that leave the hubs and cause inflammation. This continuous supply of effector Tph cells may explain why inflammation persists in some patients despite treatment.

Targeting the stem-like Tph cells at the source could offer a new therapeutic strategy, bringing hope for more effective symptom relief and improved quality of life for patients living with RA.

The findings are published online in Science Immunology.

Yuki Mauso et al, Stem-like and effector peripheral helper T cells comprise distinct subsets in rheumatoid arthritis, Science Immunology (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adt3955. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.adt3955

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 8:44am

Dementia-like protein buildup found in pancreas cells before cancer develops

Multiple cancer types, including pancreatic cancer, are linked to a faulty mutation in a gene called KRAS, but scientists are increasingly learning that genetic changes are not the whole story.

Scientists have uncovered dementia-like behavior in pancreas cells at risk of turning into cancer. The findings provide clues that could help in the treatment and prevention of pancreatic cancer, a difficult-to-treat disease.

The research was published in the journal Developmental Cell in a paper titled "ER-phagy and proteostasis defects prime pancreatic epithelial state changes in KRAS-mediated oncogenesis."

Researchers studied pancreas cells in mice over time, to see what was causing healthy cells to turn into cancer cells. They discovered that pancreatic cells at risk of becoming cancerous, known as pre-cancers, develop faults in the cell's recycling process (known as "autophagy"). 

In pre-cancer cells, the researchers noticed excess "problem protein" molecules forming clumps—behavior seen in neurological diseases such as dementia. The researchers also noticed similar clumping occurring in human pancreas samples, suggesting this happens during pancreatic cancer development.

This  research shows the potential role autophagy disruption plays in the beginnings of pancreatic cancer. While early stage, we can potentially learn from research into other diseases where we see protein clumping, such as dementia, to better understand this aggressive type of cancer and how to prevent it.

One of the ways cells keep people healthy is by breaking down excess molecules they no longer need, through a recycling process called "autophagy." Autophagy is particularly important in the pancreas to control the level of digestive proteins and hormones the pancreas produces to help break down food.

Scientists have studied autophagy in detail over many years and are learning the key role it plays in diseases such as cancer. In some cases, cancer cells can become "addicted" to autophagy, hijacking the recycling process to help cancer cells divide and grow more quickly.

This research, on the other hand, suggests the combined effect of the faulty KRAS gene and disrupted autophagy could be driving the development of pancreatic cancer.

 ER-phagy and proteostasis defects prime pancreatic epithelial state changes in KRAS-mediated oncogenesis, Developmental Cell (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.07.016. www.cell.com/developmental-cel … 1534-5807(25)00473-3.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 7:16am

How human protein ACE2 modulation could stop the entry of coronavirus

Early in the pandemic, most research focused on designing drugs that could block the virus's spike protein. This was a logical first step, but as we've seen, the virus is a moving target. It was rapidly evolving, and new variants acquired resistance due to changes in the surface spike glycoprotein (S protein).

This highlighted a critical challenge: would our treatments still work as the virus continued to change? Instead of constantly chasing new variants, scientists began to ask, what if they focused on how the human body responds to the virus, rather than only targeting the virus itself?

Instead of pursuing the virus directly, researchers decided to explore a new idea: targeting the human protein that mediates the virus's entry into cells in our body. This led them to angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2), the critical "gateway" protein the virus hijacks to begin its invasion. ACE2 is present on the surface of many human cells, especially in the lungs, and plays a crucial role in regulating blood pressure and heart health. Unfortunately, SARS-CoV-2 hijacks this protein as its entry point into cells.

This poses a significant challenge: blocking ACE2 entirely isn't a good option, as it's far too important for normal body functions. So the scientists' goal was: can they  make it harder for the virus to use ACE2 without disturbing its vital role in our bodies?

The researchers, in their experiments, found that when a suitable small molecule binds to  allosteric pocket of hACE2, it causes a conformational change in ACE2. This change primarily affects the global allostery, which is critical for the protein's interaction with the viral spike glycoprotein. This conformational shift weakens the binding between ACE2 and the viral spike protein, making it tougher for the virus to latch on and infect a cell.

The real innovation, however, is that this conformational change does not inhibit ACE2's normal function; in fact, their simulations and calculations confirmed that it enhances it.

Pratyush Pani et al, Modulating functional allostery of the host-cell receptor protein hACE2 to inhibit viral entry of SARS-CoV-2, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1039/D5CP01740H

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 7:01am

Based on the global biosphere model LPJmL, which simulates water, carbon and nitrogen flows on a daily basis at a resolution of half a degree of longitude/latitude, the study provides a detailed inventory for each individual year since 1600, based on changes in climate and human land use.
The research team not only computed, mapped and compared the two indicators for functional integrity of the biosphere, but also evaluated them by conducting a mathematical comparison with other measures from the literature for which "critical thresholds" are known.

This resulted in each area being assigned a status based on local tolerance limits of ecosystem change: Safe Operating Space, Zone of Increasing Risk or High Risk Zone.

The model calculation shows that worrying developments began as early as 1600 in the mid-latitudes. By 1900, the proportion of global land area where ecosystem changes went beyond the locally defined safe zone, or were even in the high-risk zone, was 37% and 14% respectively, compared to the 60% and 38% we see today.

Industrialization was beginning to take its toll; land use affected the state of the Earth system much earlier than climate warming. At present, this biosphere boundary has been transgressed on almost all land surface—primarily in Europe, Asia and North America—that underwent strong land cover conversion, mainly due to agriculture.

This first world map showing the overshoot of the boundary for functional integrity of the biosphere, depicting both human appropriation of biomass and ecological disruption, is a breakthrough from a scientific perspective, offering a better overall understanding of planetary boundaries.
It also provides an important impetus for the further development of international climate policy. This is because it points to the link between biomass and natural carbon sinks, and how they can contribute to mitigating climate change. Governments must treat it as a single overarching issue: comprehensive biosphere protection together with strong climate action.

 Breaching planetary boundaries: Over half of global land area suffers critical losses in functional biosphere integrity, One Earth (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101393. www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltex … 2590-3322(25)00219-2

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 6:59am

Exceeding functional biosphere integrity limits: Study finds 60% of the world's land area is in a precarious state

A new study maps the planetary boundary of "functional biosphere integrity" in spatial detail and over centuries. It finds that 60% of global land areas are now already outside the locally defined safe zone, and 38% are even in the high-risk zone.

Functional biosphere integrity refers to the plant world's ability to co-regulate the state of the Earth system. This requires that the plant world is able to acquire enough energy through photosynthesis to maintain the material flows of carbon, water and nitrogen that support the ecosystems and their many networked processes, despite today's massive human interference.

Together with biodiversity loss and climate change, functional integrity forms the core of the Planetary Boundaries analytical framework for a safe operating space for humanity.

There is an enormous need for civilization to utilize the biosphere—for food, raw materials and, in future, also for climate protection.

Human demand for biomass continues to grow—and on top of that, the cultivation of fast-growing grasses or trees for producing bioenergy with carbon capture and storage is considered by many to be an important supporting strategy for stabilizing climate.

It is therefore becoming even more important to quantify the strain we're already putting on the biosphere—in a regionally differentiated manner and over time—to identify overloads. This new research is paving the way for this.

The study builds on the latest update of the Planetary Boundaries framework published in 2023.

The framework now squarely puts energy flows from photosynthesis in the world's vegetation at the center of those processes that co-regulate planetary stability. These energy flows drive all of life—but humans are now diverting a sizable fraction of them to their own purposes, disturbing nature's dynamic processes.

The stress this causes in the Earth system can be measured by the proportion of natural biomass productivity that humanity channels into its own uses—through harvested crops, residues and timber—but also the reduction in photosynthetic activity caused by land cultivation and sealing.

The study added to this measure a second powerful indicator of biosphere integrity: An indicator of risk of ecosystem destabilization records complex structural changes in vegetation and in the biosphere's water, carbon and nitrogen balances.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 6:54am

Scientists reveal how senses work together in the brain

It has long been understood that experiencing two senses simultaneously, like seeing and hearing, can lead to improved responses relative to those seen when only one sensory input is experienced by itself. For example, a potential prey that gets visual and auditory clues that it is about to be attacked by a snake in the grass has a better chance of survival.

Precisely how multiple senses are integrated or work together in the brain has been an area of fascination for neuroscientists for decades. New research has revealed some new key insights.

Research participants were asked to watch a simple dot animation while listening to a series of tones and press a button when they noticed a change in the dots, the tones, or both.

Using EEG, the scientists were able to infer that when changes happened in both the dots and tones, auditory and visual decision processes unfolded in parallel but came together in the motor system. This allowed participants to speed up their reaction times.

Researchers found that the EEG accumulation signal reached very different amplitudes when auditory versus visual targets were detected, indicating that there are distinct auditory and visual accumulators.

Using computational models, the researchers then tried to explain the decision signal patterns as well as reaction times. In one model, the auditory and visual accumulators race against each other to trigger a motor reaction, while the other model integrates the auditory and visual accumulators and then sends the information to the motor system. Both models worked until researchers added a slight delay to either the audio or visual signals.

Then the integration model did a much better job at explaining all the data, suggesting that during a multisensory (audiovisual) experience, the decision signals may start on their own sensory-specific tracks but then integrate when sending the information to areas of the brain that generate movement.

The research provides a concrete model of the neural architecture through which multisensory decisions are made. It clarifies that distinct decision processes gather information from different modalities, but their outputs converge onto a single motor process where they combine to meet a single criterion for action.

 Distinct audio and visual accumulators co-activate motor preparation for multisensory detection, Nature Human Behaviour (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02280-9

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 6:49am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 6:45am

Human embryo implantation recorded in real time for the first time

Researchers have captured unparalleled images of a human embryo implanting. This is the first time that the process has been recorded in real time and in 3D.

Failure of the implantation process in the uterus is one of the main causes of infertility, accounting for 60% of spontaneous abortions. Until now, it had not been possible to observe this process in humans in real time, and the limited available information came from still images taken at specific moments during the process.

The researchers have observed that human embryos burrow into the uterus, exerting considerable force during the process. These forces are necessary because the embryos must be able to invade the uterine tissue, becoming completely integrated with it. It is a surprisingly invasive process. Although it is known that many women experience abdominal pain and slight bleeding during implantation, the process itself had never been observed before. 

To advance during implantation, the embryo releases enzymes that break down the surrounding tissue. However, it is also known that force is required in order to penetrate the underlying layers of the uterus. This fibrous tissue is filled with collagen, a rigid protein that also forms tendons and cartilage.

The embryo opens a path through this structure and begins to form specialized tissues that connect to the mother's blood vessels in order to feed.

The research team's results reveal that human embryos exert traction forces on their environment, remodeling it. The embryo pulls on the uterine matrix, moving and reorganizing it. It also reacts to external force cues. Researchers hypothesize that contractions occurring in vivo may influence embryo implantation.Thus, effective embryo invasion is associated with optimal matrix displacement, highlighting the importance of these forces in the implantation process.

Improving our understanding of the implantation process could have a significant impact on fertility rates, embryo quality and the time taken to conceive through assisted reproduction.

Traction force and mechanosensitivity mediate species-specific implantation patterns in human and mouse embryos, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr5199

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 15, 2025 at 12:34pm

Astronomers discover new type of supernova triggered by black hole-star interaction

Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole companion, offering an explanation for one of the strangest stellar explosions ever seen.

The discovery was made by an Astrophysicist team. The results are published in The Astrophysical Journal.

The blast, named SN 2023zkd, was first discovered in July 2023 by the Zwicky Transient Facility. A new AI algorithm designed to scan for unusual explosions in real time first detected the explosion, and that early alert allowed astronomers to begin follow-up observations immediately—an essential step in capturing the full story of the explosion. By the time the explosion was over, it had been observed by a large set of telescopes, both on the ground and from space.

The scientists think the most likely interpretation is that the massive star was locked in a deadly orbit with the black hole. As energy was lost from the orbit, their separation decreased until the supernova was triggered by the star's gravitational stress as it partially swallowed the black hole.

Analysis shows that the blast was sparked by a catastrophic encounter with a black hole companion, and is the strongest evidence to date that such close interactions can actually detonate a star.

An alternative interpretation considered by the team is that the black hole completely tore the star apart before it could explode on its own. In that case, the black hole quickly pulled in the star's debris and supernova emission was generated when the debris crashed into the gas surrounding it. In both cases, a single, heavier black hole is left behind.

A. Gagliano et al, Evidence for an Instability-induced Binary Merger in the Double-peaked, Helium-rich Type IIn Supernova 2023zkd, The Astrophysical Journal (2025). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/adea38. iopscience.iop.org/article/10. … 847/1538-4357/adea38.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 15, 2025 at 12:31pm

To test out the effect of EPIC1 knockdown, the researchers used "humanized mice"—mice with human immune systems implanted to mimic the effect of the mechanism in a human. Using these mouse models along with RNA interference to knock down EPIC1 in various cancer cell lines, they found that targeting EPIC1 enabled reduced tumor growth and increased T cell and inflammatory macrophage infiltration. This led to a significant improvement in the efficacy of pembrolizumab in TNBC.

"EPIC1 can be a potential therapeutic target in combination with immunotherapy. Coculture assays of T cells or monocytes with cancer cells showed that EPIC1 knockdown could significantly increase the therapeutic effect of pembrolizumab through antitumor T cell and macrophage activation," the researchers write.

This is a promising result, offering hope for more effective treatments for aggressive cancers with limited options. However, the study authors note that these results still need to be tested out in human models and with other types of cancers to determine how best to improve immunotherapy outcomes in the future.

 Dhamotharan Pattarayan et al, The lncRNA EPIC1 suppresses dsRNA-induced type I IFN signaling and is a therapeutic target to enhance TNBC response to PD-1 inhibition, Science Signaling (2025). DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.adr9131

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