Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 1:39pm

How a Brain Implant and AI Gave a Woman with Paralysis Her Voice Back

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 1:24pm

Vaccines trigger rapid lymph node responses, researchers discover

Lymph nodes are a key part of the human immune system, whose primary function is to combat infections. The effectiveness of vaccines is based on their ability to trigger events in lymph nodes that lead to the development of an immune response that protects the host against pathogens.

Researchers observed that lymphatic endothelial cells and other stromal cells are the first cells in the lymph nodes to come into contact with vaccines. The vaccines induced several changes in stromal cells at the gene and protein levels within the first hours of vaccination, which in turn affected lymph node function.

The changes in the stromal cells were observed before the development of the protective immune response triggered by the vaccine.

The researchers also discovered that different vaccines activate lymph node stromal cells in different ways.  

Ruth Fair-Mäkelä et al, COVID-19 vaccine type controls stromal reprogramming in draining lymph nodes, Science Immunology (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adr6787

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 1:21pm

How AI support can go wrong in safety-critical settings

When it comes to adopting artificial intelligence in high-stakes settings like hospitals and airplanes, good AI performance and brief worker training on the technology is not sufficient to ensure systems will run smoothly and patients and passengers will be safe, a new study suggests.

Instead, algorithms and the people who use them in the most safety-critical organizations must be evaluated simultaneously to get an accurate view of AI's effects on human decision making, researchers say.

The team also contends these evaluations should assess how people respond to good, mediocre and poor technology performance to put the AI-human interaction to a meaningful test—and to expose the level of risk linked to mistakes.

During tests, results showed that more accurate AI predictions about whether or not a patient was trending toward a medical emergency improved participant performance by between 50% and 60%. But when the algorithm produced an inaccurate prediction, even when accompanied by explanatory data that didn't support that outcome, human performance collapsed, with an over 100% degradation in proper decision making when the algorithm was the most wrong.

An AI algorithm can never be perfect. So if you want an AI algorithm that's ready for safety-critical systems, that means something about the team, about the people and AI together, has to be able to cope with a poor-performing AI algorithm.

The point is this is not about making really good safety-critical system technology. It's the joint human-machine capabilities that matter in a safety-critical system

While the overall results provided evidence that there is a need for this type of evaluation, the researchers said they were surprised that explanations included in some experimental conditions had very little sway in participant concern—instead, the algorithm recommendation, presented in a solid red bar, overruled everything else.

Whatever effect that those annotations had was roundly overwhelmed by the presence of that indicator that swept everything else away.

Dane A. Morey et al, Empirically derived evaluation requirements for responsible deployments of AI in safety-critical settings, npj Digital Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41746-025-01784-y

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 12:53pm

Brain abnormalities seen in children exposed prenatally to widely used pesticide

A new study reports evidence of a link between prenatal exposure to the widely used insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) and structural abnormalities in the brain and poorer motor function in  children and adolescents.

The findings are the first to demonstrate enduring and widespread molecular, cellular, and metabolic effects in the brain, as well as poorer fine motor control among youth with prenatal exposure to the insecticide.

Progressively higher insecticide exposure levels were significantly associated with progressively greater alterations in brain structure, function, and metabolism, as well as poorer measures of motor speed and motor programming. Links between higher CPF and greater anomalies across different neuroimaging measures suggest that prenatal exposure produces enduring disturbances in brain structure, function, and metabolism in direct proportion to the level of exposure.

Residential use was the primary source of CPF exposure in this cohort. Although the EPA banned indoor residential use in 2001, agricultural use continues for non-organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, contributing to toxic exposures carried by outdoor air and dust near agricultural areas.

Current widespread exposures, at levels comparable to those experienced in this sample, continue to place farm workers, pregnant women, and unborn children in harm's way.

The disturbances in brain tissue and metabolism that we observed with prenatal exposure to this one pesticide were remarkably widespread throughout the brain. Other organophosphate pesticides likely produce similar effects, warranting caution to minimize exposures in pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood, when brain development is rapid and especially vulnerable to these toxic chemicals, say the researchers.

Brain Abnormalities in Children Exposed Prenatally to the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos, JAMA Neurology (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.2818

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 12:37pm

Wild birds switch from sound to sight communication in noisy  environments

As anyone who has tried to hold a conversation in a noisy room knows, it is sometimes easier to rely on hand gestures than to shout over the din. White-throated dippers face a similar challenge along the fast-flowing streams they inhabit, where the roar of fast-flowing waters can sometimes drown out their melodic songs. Rather than trying to out-sing the river to defend territory or attract mates, these plump, endearing birds sometimes switch strategy entirely—turning to sight instead of sound, by flashing their bright white eyelids in a striking visual display.

A new study led by researchers is among the first to document this kind of sensory shift in a wild bird. The findings shed light on how dippers adapt their communication depending on social and environmental cues—and how such flexibility may have evolved in response to noise.

Evolution shaped by river noise Using more than one sense to communicate can be a big advantage in noisy environments. However, while many animals are known to adapt within a single sense—for example, by singing louder, changing pitch, or repeating themselves—clear evidence of animals switching between senses to send messages, like moving from sound to sight, or touch to smell, is still surprisingly rare. The white-throated dipper made an ideal test case: it lives year-round beside fast-flowing rivers, where background noise is often high, and it has bright white eyelids that can act as a visual signal. If any species had learned to shift between senses to get its message across, the researchers reasoned, the dipper would be a great candidate.

The study sheds light not just on how dippers communicate, but on how environmental challenges—like noisy rivers—can shape the evolution of signaling.

 Léna de Framond et al, Stream noise induces song plasticity and a shift to visual signals in a riverine songbird, Current Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.07.049

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 9:58am

There are several possible explanations for the vascular effects of COVID. The COVID-19 virus acts on specific receptors in the body, called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors, that are present on the lining of the blood vessels. The virus uses these receptors to enter and infect cells.

This may result in vascular dysfunction and accelerated vascular aging. Our body's inflammation and immune responses, which defend against infections, may also be involved.

One of the reasons for the difference between women and men could be differences in the function of the immune system. Women mount a more rapid and robust immune response, which can protect them from infection. However, this same response can also increase damage to blood vessels after the initial infection.

Vascular aging is easy to measure and can be addressed with widely available treatments, such as lifestyle changes, blood pressure-lowering and cholesterol-lowering drugs. For people with accelerated vascular aging, it is important to do whatever possible to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The researchers are working now on this aspect.

 Rosa Maria Bruno et al, Accelerated vascular ageing after COVID-19 infection: the CARTESIAN study, European Heart Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf430

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 19, 2025 at 9:57am

COVID infection ages blood vessels, especially in women, research reveals

A COVID infection, particularly in women, may lead to blood vessels aging around five years, according to research published in the European Heart Journal.

Blood vessels gradually become stiffer with age, but the new study suggests that COVID could accelerate this process. Researchers say this is important since people with stiffer blood vessels face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.

Researchers know that COVID can directly affect blood vessels. They think that this may result in what they call early vascular aging, meaning that your blood vessels are older than your chronological age and you are more susceptible to heart disease. If that is happening, we need to identify who is at risk at an early stage to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The study included 2,390 people from 16 different countries (Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Turkey, UK and US) who were recruited between September 2020 to February 2022.

They were categorized according to whether they had never had COVID, had recent COVID but were not hospitalized, hospitalized for COVID on a general ward or hospitalized for COVID in an intensive care unit.

Researchers assessed each person's vascular age with a device that measures how quickly a wave of blood pressure travels between the carotid artery (in the neck) and femoral arteries (in the legs), a measure called carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). The higher this measurement, the stiffer the blood vessels and the higher the vascular age of a person. Measurements were taken six months after COVID infection and again after 12 months.

Researchers also recorded demographic information such as patient's sex, age and other factors that can influence cardiovascular health.

After taking these factors into consideration, researchers found that all three groups of patients who had been infected with COVID, including those with mild COVID, had stiffer arteries, compared to those who had not been infected. The effect was greater in women than in men and in people who experienced the persistent symptoms of long COVID, such as shortness of breath and fatigue.

The average increase in PWV in women who had mild COVID was 0.55 meters per second, 0.60 in women hospitalized with COVID, and 1.09 for women treated in intensive care. Researchers say an increase of around 0.5 meters per second is "clinically relevant" and equivalent to aging around five years, with a 3% increased risk of cardiovascular disease in a 60-year-old woman.

People who had been vaccinated against COVID generally had arteries that were less stiff than people who were unvaccinated. Over the longer term, the vascular aging associated with COVID infection seemed to stabilize or improve slightly.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 17, 2025 at 9:41am

Aging Can Spread Through Your Body Via a Single Protein

ReHMGB1. A new study pinpoints this protein as being able to spread the wear and tear that comes with time as it quietly travels through the bloodstream. This adds significantly to our understanding of aging.

Short for reduced high mobility group box 1, ReHMGB1 triggers senescence in cells, permanently disabling them. It doesn't just do this locally; it can send damaging signals throughout the body, particularly in response to injuries or disease.

This study reveals that aging signals are not confined to individual cells but can be systemically transmitted via the blood, with ReHMGB1 acting as a key driver

The findings could help develop ways to keep us healthier for longer. If we can block or control this protein's signals, it might slow the cascade of cellular decline that comes with age.

The researchers were able to identify ReHMGB1 as a critical messenger passing on the senescence signal by analyzing different types of human cells grown in the lab and conducting a variety of tests on mice.

When ReHMGB1 transmission was blocked in mice with muscle injuries, muscle regeneration happened more quickly, while the animals showed improved physical performance, fewer signs of cellular aging, and reduced systemic inflammation.

By blocking this pathway, scientists were able to restore tissue regenerative capacity, suggesting a promising strategy to treat aging-related diseases.

This process is only one contributor to aging out of many, but the signals that ReHMGB1 spreads are particularly important in terms of our bodies becoming dysfunctional over time and less able to carry out repairs.

https://www.metabolismjournal.com/article/S0026-0495(25)00128-3/fulltext

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 17, 2025 at 9:35am

Easy Way to Remove Microplastics From Your Drinking Water

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 16, 2025 at 9:21am

How gut microbiota makes genetically identical mice go different ways structurally and functionally while dealing with immune system

Genetically identical, but not the same: How gut microbiota composition shapes the immune system in mice

Laboratory mice are often considered the scientific equivalent of identical twins—genetically identical and expected to look and behave the same. But new research shows that this assumption doesn't always hold true. Researchers discovered that the composition of the gut microbiota can dramatically influence the structure and function of the immune system—even in genetically identical animals.

Researchers were surprised by how much the absence of microbiota increased phenotypic variability. Germ-free mice were each a little different, while those with a normal microbiota were much more alike.

They found that mice with a complex microbiota were more similar to each other than GF or OMM12-colonized mice, and the absence of microbiota dramatically increased variability in the shape and size of gut immune organs. While OMM12 partly restored gut morphology, it failed to restore physiological immune cell numbers or fully replicate the functional immune status of conventional mice.
Along the way, the team also described a previously unknown immune structure—the immunovillus. This densely immune cell–packed villus-like projection was found mainly in mice with restricted microbiota and may represent an adaptation to a specific microbial environment.

Published in the journal Gut Microbes, the study highlights the need to consider microbial context—not just genetics—when interpreting results from laboratory mouse models. Standardizing microbiota is essential for reproducibility, but current simplified microbial consortia such as OMM12 are not yet a perfect substitute for a natural complex microbiota.

Pačes Jan et al, Microbiota modulate immune cell populations and drive dynamic structural changes in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, Gut Microbes (2025). DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2543908

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 32
• 33
• 34
• 35
• 36
• …
• 1130
• Next ›
• Page