Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

How chirality goes from the molecular level to the cellular one

Researchers have discovered how right-handed molecules in our cells can give rise to cells that are not symmetrical about their central axes. This discovery is a key step toward determining why most of our organs lack left–right symmetry.

It's conceivable that if some molecules that make up our cells were twisted in the opposite direction, our hearts would be on the right side of our bodies rather than on the left.

That's because the difference between the left and right sides of our organs may originate from the "handedness," or chirality, of cells, which in turn comes from the chirality of molecules in cells.

However, the link between the chirality of molecules and cellular chirality is largely unknown. Many molecules in cells are chiral, including DNA and some amino acids and proteins, but it's not clear which ones convey their chirality to cells.

 By studying the chiral behaviours of individual cells, researchers have found that the cells' scaffolding, or cytoskeleton, gives rise to the cell's chirality. The findings are published in the journal eLife.

When single cells were placed on a substrate, their nuclei and surrounding cytoplasm rotated in a clockwise direction when viewed from above. This rotational motion is driven by the concentric pattern of the actomyosin filaments that make up the cytoskeleton.

This finding implies that the cell nucleus can rotate even when there is no chiral orientation of the cytoskeleton on a cellular level.
To confirm whether this mechanism was driving the rotation, the team created a 3D theoretical model of a cell and evaluated the effect of the molecular chirality of actin and myosin on it. The results revealed that the molecular scale torque generated by individual components of the cytoskeleton can generate rotation, even when cell-level chiral structures were absent.

These results help fill in a critical link in the chain from molecules to organs and bodies, the researchers say.

 Takaki Yamamoto et al, Epithelial cell chirality emerges through the dynamic concentric pattern of actomyosin cytoskeleton, eLife (2025). DOI: 10.7554/elife.102296

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Scientists who use AI tools are publishing more papers than ever before

Science is entering a massive publishing boom, in large part due to artificial intelligence. New research published in the journal Science has revealed that scientists who use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are producing significantly more papers across many fields. The technology is also helping to level the playing field for researchers whose first language isn't English.

The growing use of AI in scientific research has sparked concerns about shoddy work and machines making things up. But this new analysis also reveals that papers produced with LLMs use more complex language and cite a wider array of sources.

They found that when scientists use AI, their productivity soared. The biggest jump was in the social sciences and humanities, where output increased by 59.8%, while biology and life sciences saw a 52.9% increase. Meanwhile, in physics and math, the scientists report a 36.2% boost. "LLM adoption is associated with a large increase in researchers' scientific output," wrote the research team in their paper.

One of the most fascinating findings was the massive increase in productivity from non-English-speaking countries. Most top journals require manuscripts to be written in high-level English, which has long disadvantaged these scientists. But with AI handling some of the workload, researchers from Asia saw their output jump by as much as 89% in some cases.
However, the study authors also issued a warning regarding AI and quality. While the machines can make papers sound more professional, this can be a trap. Historically, sophisticated writing was a sign of high-quality research, but now the opposite can sometimes be true. The study found that the more complex the AI-generated writing was, the less likely the paper was to be high quality. In other words, good writing can mask weak ideas.

The clear message from the study authors is that we can no longer judge a paper by how smart the language appears. "As traditional heuristics break down, editors and reviewers may increasingly rely on status markers such as author pedigree and institutional affiliation as signals of quality, ironically counteracting the democratizing effects of LLMs on scientific production."

To safeguard scientific integrity, the researchers propose several measures, including that institutions implement deeper checks and even specialized "AI-based reviewer agents" to help distinguish between human writing and machine-generated writing.

 Keigo Kusumegi et al, Scientific production in the era of large language models, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adw3000

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

 Natural daylight can help people with diabetes improve blood sugar levels

People with type 2 diabetes may be able to improve their blood sugar by doing something as simple as sitting by a window for a few hours each day. In a study published in Cell Metabolism, scientists showed that natural daylight helps maintain healthy glucose levels.

Daylight is known to be a mood enhancer and also beneficial for our health. However, according to the research team, most people living in Western societies typically stay indoors around 80% to 90% of the time under artificial light, which is not as bright or dynamic as sunlight. This is important because the human body operates on circadian rhythms, internal 24-hour clocks that orchestrate a range of biological processes, such as digestion and temperature regulation. These are synchronized by light, and a lack of natural light is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

Previous studies have shown that artificial light at night disrupts these rhythms and that daylight outdoors can improve the body's response to insulin, which helps control blood sugar levels. But no prior research examined how natural light entering a window affects people with diabetes.

To test this, researchers recruited 13 volunteers with type 2 diabetes to examine how their bodies responded to both natural window lighting and artificial indoor lighting. The participants spent two separate 4.5-day periods in a controlled office environment. In one session, they sat at a desk facing large windows from morning to late afternoon.
In the other, they were in the same room, with the windows blocked and only standard office lights. All participants ate similar meals three times a day and performed the same exercises at the same time across the two sessions. They also continued taking their medication.

The results revealed that while average glucose levels were similar across the two sessions, the participants spent significantly more time in the normal glucose range when exposed to natural daylight. The body's metabolism also changed. In daylight, the volunteers burned more fat for energy and fewer carbohydrates.

The researchers also took muscle biopsies and grew muscle cells in the lab. They found that genes involved in their internal cellular clocks were better aligned to the time of day under natural light. This suggested that sunlight was acting as a signal to keep the muscles "on time," making them better at processing nutrients.

Although this study involved only a handful of people, the results indicate that natural daylight can help reduce the sharp peaks and swings in blood sugar that often affect those with this condition. It offers a simple, natural way to support people with type 2 diabetes alongside existing treatments.

Jan-Frieder Harmsen et al, Natural daylight during office hours improves glucose control and whole-body substrate metabolism, Cell Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.11.006

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Scientists observe 'extraordinary' seven-arm octopus
A rare deep-sea encounter captured footage of the seven-arm octopus, Haliphron atlanticus, at 700 meters depth in Monterey Bay. This species, with females reaching up to 4 m and 75 kg, primarily inhabits the ocean's twilight zone and feeds on gelatinous animals such as jellyfish, supporting previous observations of its unusual diet.

Hoving, H.J.T. and S.H.D. Haddock. 2017. The giant deep-sea octopus Haliphron atlanticus forages on gelatinous fauna. Scientific Reports, 7: 44952. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44952

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

The moon-forming event: Why it was by explosive ejection rather than a giant impact
A new model proposes that the Moon formed from explosive ejection of Earth's mantle and crust, driven by accumulated internal gravitational energy (LɅ) released at the core-mantle boundary, rather than by a giant impact. This mechanism explains the Moon's isotopic similarity to Earth and links geophysical processes, such as mantle plumes and LLVPs, to lunar formation.

Matthew R. Edwards, Explosive lunar fission above a large low-velocity province, Acta Geochimica (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s11631-025-00834-2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Physicists crack a 'Big Bang Theory' problem that could help explain dark matter
Theoretical work demonstrates that axions, hypothetical particles considered a candidate for dark matter, could be produced in fusion reactors using deuterium, tritium, and lithium. Neutron interactions with reactor walls and bremsstrahlung processes may generate axions or axion-like particles, offering a new approach to probing dark matter beyond solar-based searches.

Chaja Baruch et al, Searching for exotic scalars at fusion reactors, Journal of High Energy Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1007/jhep10(2025)215

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

2.8 days to disaster: Why we are running out of time in low earth orbit

Satellite mega-constellations in low Earth orbit experience close approaches every 22 seconds, with each satellite performing frequent avoidance maneuvers. Solar storms increase atmospheric drag and can disable satellite control systems, raising collision risks. If operators lose control, a catastrophic collision could occur within 2.8 days, compared to 121 days in 2018, highlighting increased vulnerability.

Sarah Thiele et al, An Orbital House of Cards: Frequent Megaconstellation Close Conjunctions, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2512.09643

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

While diverticula can develop in the large and small intestine, around 95 percent of patients in the Western world have diverticula in their sigmoid colon.

This part of the digestive tract works under great pressure to push feces into the rectum.

Once diverticula form, possibly from excessive pressure, they are prone to bleeding when aggravated, in a similar way to hemorrhoids, which form inside and outside the rectum and around the anus.
Diverticular bleeding is estimated to cause between 30 and 65 percent of all cases of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. It's usually painless and self-limiting, but seeing blood in the stool is a serious matter, as it may indicate other severe conditions.
Treatment depends on the severity of the episode.

https://www.sciencealert.com/most-people-develop-diverticulosis-in-...

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Most People Develop Diverticulosis in Their Gut by Age 80

It's easy to see your body aging on the outside – wrinkles, dark spots, gray hair, the whole shebang – but as we grow older, our insides also inevitably change.
By the time most people reach the ripe age of 80, the smooth lining of their digestive tract is scattered with small, bulging pouches of tissue.

These sac-like protrusions along the digestive tract, called diverticula, are 'weak spots' in the gut's muscular wall. They are typically harmless, and most people never even know they are there.
Sometimes, after a colonoscopy, patients are alarmed to find they have developed diverticulosis, but most of the time, this condition is nothing to worry about.
Only if the pouches become inflamed or infected is it considered diverticular disease, or diverticulitis. Symptoms, which generally come and go, often include constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, or fever.
The good news is that even if a person does develop diverticulitis, their symptoms usually improve with just a few days of bed rest and a liquid diet. Over 85 percent of patients find this sufficient.
No one knows exactly what causes diverticula to form in the first place, but current treatments generally focus on helping the digestive tract move smoothly, without blockages.

That's why a high-fiber diet, including between 25 and 30 grams of fiber a day, is often recommended to recovering patients. This won't heal existing diverticula, but may prevent more from forming.
Other potential risk factors include obesity, lack of exercise, and smoking. There's likely a complicated mix of contributing factors.
Part2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Holes in your colon!

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