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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 24, 2026 at 1:10pm

Scientists observe a 300-million-year-old brain rhythm in several animal species

Sleep is a universal biological state that allows all animals, from mammals to amphibians, fish and even insects, to restore their energy and consolidate knowledge that can contribute to their survival. Neuroscientists and zoologists have been investigating the biological underpinnings of sleep and its vital functions for centuries, more recently by measuring the brain activity of animals or people while they are asleep.

Recorded electrical signals that nerve cells produce while they are communicating with each other, also known as brain rhythms, have provided valuable insight into what happens during sleep. One of these rhythms, the so-called infraslow rhythm, had so far been primarily observed in mammals and was linked to a stage of sleep known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

Researchers recently recorded the brain activity of a wider range of animals and found that this ancient rhythm is common across several species, including reptiles, birds, rodents and humans. Their most recent paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, reports the observation of the infraslow brain rhythm in seven different lizard species.

In addition to brain activity, they also recorded physiological signals such as eye movements, heart rate, breathing rate, and muscle tone.

The large dataset compiled by the researchers over the past decade or so led to an important and interesting discovery. Specifically, the team found that reptiles, mammals, and birds share a common brain rhythm, the so-called infraslow rhythm. This finding suggests the presence of an ancestral mechanism that dates back at least to 300 million years ago, when the earliest known ancestor of the species examined lived.

This rhythm involves not only brain activity but also physiological processes and peripheral vascularization, indicating that it is a global, organism-wide rhythm.

The infraslow rhythm closely resembles a rhythm previously described in mammals during non-REM (NREM) sleep. In mammals, this rhythm has been proposed to play a role in brain 'cleaning' processes by facilitating the elimination of metabolic waste through cerebrospinal fluid flow. Additionally, because this rhythm is associated with fluctuations in vigilance, it may also represent an adaptive mechanism that allows periodic monitoring of the environment during sleep, potentially reducing the risk of predation.

Antoine Bergel et al, Sleep-dependent infraslow rhythms are evolutionarily conserved across reptiles and mammals, Nature Neuroscience (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-02159-y.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 12:26pm

Sugar Without The Insulin Spike

A natural, low-calorie sugar that doesn’t cause a spike in insulin sounds too good to be true. But it really does exist!

It’s called tagatose, and it comes in very small amounts in a few fruits and dairy products.

Now, scientists have figured out how to manufacture the rare sugar at larger scales.
The product is 92 percent as sweet as sucrose, and yet it doesn’t spike insulin levels.

Tagatose is mostly fermented in the gut, so only a small portion of it is actually absorbed into the bloodstream.

Unlike high-intensity artificial sweeteners, it can even be used in baked goods.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(25)00592-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666386425005922%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 12:24pm

Barnacle-inspired E. coli could treat IBD
Escherichia coli engineered to produce biological ‘glue’ could help to heal damage in the guts of people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Researchers engineered E. coli to produce ‘cement proteins’ — similar to those that barnacles use to stick onto rocks — when they come into contact with blood, and a protein that boosts wound healing. In mouse models of IBD, the team found that the bacteria could stick onto internal wounds for ten days, and after that time the mice’s guts resembled those of healthy mice.

New Scientist 
 Nature Biotechnology paper

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 12:22pm

Chronic wound bacterium prevents healing

The bacterium Enterococcus faecalis produces damaging molecules that can prevent chronic wounds such as diabetic foot sores from healing. These reactive molecules, such as hydrogen peroxide, trigger a stress response in keratinocytes, the skin cells responsible for wound healing, which effectively paralyzes them. Researchers found that treating skin cells with the antioxidant enzyme catalase can de-stress keratinocytes, which restores their healing capabilities. The team suggests that dressings infused with antioxidants could be a more effective way to treat chronic wounds than trying to kill E. faecalis with antibiotics.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb5297

https://www.genengnews.com/topics/infectious-diseases/disarming-ant...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 12:20pm

Phages evolve differently in microgravity

Viruses that infect bacteria, called phages, evolve different strategies to infect their targets on the International Space Station than they do on the ground. Researchers found that the phages took longer to infect E. coli in microgravity, and that the viruses developed microgravity-specific mutations, some of which helped them to better cling onto bacterial receptors. Understanding how phages adapt to different conditions could help researchers to optimize them for use against antibiotic-resistant bacteria on Earth.

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pb...

https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/virus...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 11:59am

Exhaled breath may carry clues to gut microbiome health

Exhaled breath contains volatile organic compounds produced by gut microbes, allowing noninvasive detection of gut microbiome composition. Breath analysis accurately reflected gut bacteria in both children and mice and predicted the presence of asthma-associated Eubacterium siraeum. This approach may enable rapid, noninvasive monitoring and diagnosis of gut health issues.

The gut microbiota shapes the human and murine breath volatilome, Cell Metabolism (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.12.013. www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/f … 1550-4131(25)00544-3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 11:57am

Delayed stroke care linked to increased disability risk

Prolonged door-in-door-out (DIDO) times for transferring acute ischemic stroke patients to thrombectomy-capable centers significantly reduce the likelihood of receiving endovascular therapy and increase the risk of post-stroke disability. Only 26% of transfers met the recommended 90-minute window, with longer delays linked to worse functional outcomes and higher complication rates. Systemic improvements are needed to minimize transfer times and optimize patient recovery.

Door-in-door-out times and outcomes in patients with acute ischaemic stroke transferred for endovascular therapy in the U.S.: a retrospective cohort study, The Lancet Neurology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(25)00478-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 11:53am

Domestication has changed the chemicals that squash flowers use to attract bees

Domestication alters the floral scent profiles of squash, resulting in lower overall levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) except for 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, which remains prevalent and attracts bees. Specialist squash bees detect and respond differently to VOCs from wild versus domesticated flowers, indicating that domestication changes plant–pollinator interactions.

Avehi Singh et al, Domestication Reduces Floral Volatile Richness in Squash (Cucurbitaceae: Cucurbita) But Conserves Key Compounds Critical for Pollinator Attraction, Journal of Chemical Ecology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10886-025-01664-5

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 11:39am

Cellular senescence linked to brain structure changes across lifespan

Researchers have characterized how cellular senescence—a biological process in which aging cells change how they function—is associated with human brain structure in both development and late life.

The study, published in Cell, provides new insight into how molecular signatures of cellular senescence that are present during development and aging mirror those associated with brain volume and cortical organization.

Cellular senescence is commonly defined as a state characterized by permanent cell cycle arrest in the absence of cell death, in which cells have altered function.

While cellular senescence has been implicated in aging and disease, its role in shaping human brain structure—both during development and aging—has remained unclear till now.

The research team developed a method to define senescent cells in human brain tissue and used the resource to examine how senescence-related gene expression is associated with brain structure.

Among the study's most striking findings was evidence that cellular senescence plays distinct roles in brain structure depending on cell type and stage of life. Genes associated with senescence in microglia—the primary immune cells in the brain—were linked to larger brain volumes, while senescence-related genes in excitatory neurons were associated with smaller brain volumes in the aging brain. Notably, the excitatory neuron findings were also observed early in life, providing the first evidence that senescence-related processes are at work soon after embryonic development.

The results support brain cellular senescence as an example of 'antagonistic pleiotropy'—the idea that some genes help survival or fertility early in life but cause harm later, contributing to aging and disease. 

Establishing the relationship between brain cellular senescence and brain structure, Cell (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.014. www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01179-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 23, 2026 at 11:14am

Chemotherapy rewires gut bacteria to curb metastasis, research reveals

Chemotherapy commonly damages the intestinal lining, a well-known side effect. But this injury does not remain confined to the gut. It reshapes nutrient availability for intestinal bacteria, forcing the microbiota to adapt.

In Nature Communications, researchers report that chemotherapy-induced damage to the intestinal lining alters nutrient availability for gut bacteria, reshaping the microbiota and increasing the production of indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), a tryptophan-derived microbial metabolite.

Rather than acting locally, IPA functions as a systemic messenger. It travels from the gut to the bone marrow, where it rewires immune cell production. Elevated IPA levels reprogram myelopoiesis, reducing the generation of immunosuppressive monocytes that facilitate immune evasion and metastatic growth.

By reshaping the gut microbiota, chemotherapy sets off a cascade of events that rewires immunity and makes the body less permissive to metastasis.

Ludivine Bersier et al, Chemotherapy-driven intestinal dysbiosis and indole-3-propionic acid rewire myelopoiesis to promote a metastasis-refractory state, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67169-7

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