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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Exposure to wildfire smoke late in pregnancy may raise autism risk in children

Analysis of over 200,000 births in Southern California indicates that exposure to wildfire smoke during the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with a 23% higher risk of autism diagnosis by age 5. The association is strongest with exposure exceeding 10 days. These findings support concerns about air pollution's impact on fetal neurological development.

Prenatal Exposure to Wildfire and Autism in Children, Environmental Science & Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c08256

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Wednesday

Scientists discover a hidden RNA 'aging clock' in human sperm

Increasing paternal age has been linked to elevated health risks for the next generation, including higher risks of obesity and stillbirth. So, what drives this increased risk?

Most research into this link focuses on how the DNA inside sperm changes with age. But sperm carries other molecules as well, including a diverse array of molecules called RNAs.

Now, new research has shown that the RNA contents of sperm go through similar shifts over time in both mice and humans, which may lead to a rapid, dramatic shift at midlife. What's more, "old RNA" seems to change cells' metabolism—potentially contributing to the health risks of having kids later in life.

It's like finding a molecular clock that ticks with age in both mice and humans, suggesting a fundamental, conserved molecular signature of sperm aging.

The researchers were only able to detect some of these changes when they looked at RNA from the sperm head alone—the part of the sperm that delivers its contents to the egg. The long tail of the sperm contains other RNA that obscured the pattern until now.

If we can understand the enzymes driving this shift, they could become actionable targets for interventions to potentially improve sperm quality in aging males.

Conserved shifts in sperm small non-coding RNA profiles during mouse and human aging, The EMBO Journal (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44318-025-00687-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

No clear evidence that cannabis-based medicines relieve chronic nerve pain, updated review finds

Current evidence does not support that cannabis-based medicines, including THC, CBD, or balanced THC/CBD products, provide clinically meaningful relief for chronic neuropathic pain compared to placebo. Adverse event data are uncertain, with THC products linked to increased dizziness and drowsiness. Higher-quality, longer-term studies are needed.

Cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2026). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012182.pub3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Why adapting to the environment is more difficult as people age

Age-related structural changes in specific brain regions reduce adaptability to environmental changes. Older adults rely more on brain structures involved in task switching and updating information, but these structures deteriorate over time, correlating with decreased adaptive behaviour in later adulthood.
Researchers characterized changes in the brain across two periods of adulthood that may correspond to changes in adaptive behaviour.

Identifying these changes may help track adaptability decline.

eNeuro (2026). DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0179-25.2025

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Human heart regrows muscle cells after heart attack, researchers discover

Until now we've thought that, because heart cells die after a heart attack, those areas of the heart were irreparably damaged, leaving the heart less able to pump blood to the body's organs.

But Pioneering research by experts has shown that heart muscle cells regrow after a heart attack, opening up the possibility of new regenerative treatments for cardiovascular disease.

This new work shows that while the heart is left scarred after a heart attack, it produces new muscle cells, which opens up new possibilities.

Though  increased mitosis(a process in which cells divide and reproduce) after a heart attack has been observed in the heart muscles of mice, this is the first time the phenomenon has been demonstrated in humans.

Although this new discovery of regrowing muscle cells is exciting, it isn't enough to prevent the devastating effects of a heart attack. Therefore, in time, the researchers hope to develop therapies that can amplify the heart's natural ability to produce new cells and regenerate the heart after an attack.

Robert D. Hume et al, Human Hearts Intrinsically Increase Cardiomyocyte Mitosis After Myocardial Infarction, Circulation Research (2026). DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.125.327486

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

A new anti-biofilm strategy
Nanopatterned surfaces with nanoscale protrusions physically disrupt bacterial cells, preventing biofilm formation through mechanical means rather than chemical agents. These surfaces, inspired by insect wings, can kill a broad range of microbes, including bacteria and fungi. Scalability challenges are being addressed with adaptable materials like metal-organic frameworks, enabling more practical applications.

Combining mechanical killing mechanisms with chemical agents or near-infrared light irradiation could enhance efficacy against diverse organisms.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22674670/

Zhejian Cao et al, Mechano‐Bactericidal Surfaces Achieved by Epitaxial Growth of Metal–Organic Frameworks, Advanced Science (2025). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202505976

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Tumor cells steal immune mitochondria to aid lymph node spread

Researchers report that tumor cells hijack mitochondria from immune cells, reducing anti-tumor immune function and activating cGAS-STING and type I interferon signaling that promotes lymph node metastasis.

Mitochondrial transfer, the movement of mitochondria between cells, is a mode of intercellular communication that reshapes metabolism, stress responses, and cellular function across diverse physiological and pathological settings. Recruiting outside mitochondria into cancer cells can enhance oxidative phosphorylation, promote survival under metabolic stress, and influence therapy resistance.

Lymph node metastasis is a critical early step in cancer progression that can create a systemic impairment of tumor control. 

Previous reports have found that T cells and macrophages can transfer mitochondria to cancer cells. The extent of mitochondrial transfer by other immune cells remains unclear, along with any connections to lymph node colonization.

In the experiments, Tumor cells acquired mitochondria from host cells across colon, breast, and melanoma models. Immune cells were identified as a donor source in bone marrow chimera experiments that restricted the reporter signal to hematopoietic cells. Draining lymph nodes carried a higher fraction of tumor cells with immune-derived mitochondria than primary tumors.

Direct physical contact supported transfer, with higher transfer under hypoxic stress and inflammatory cues. Disruption of transfer structures and knockdown of a transfer-related factor reduced transfer, paired with reduced lymph node metastasis incidence in reported mouse experiments. mtDNA polymorphism tracing added a second line of evidence that donor mitochondrial DNA could be detected in tumor material.

Immune cells that lost mitochondria showed reduced antigen-presentation and co-stimulatory machinery, with reduced activation and cytotoxic capacity reported for natural killer and CD8 T cells. Changes aligned with impaired immune surveillance in the co-culture systems described.

Researchers identify immune-to-tumor cell mitochondrial transfer as a central mechanism that facilitates lymph node colonization through two coordinated effects. Loss of mitochondria disables anti-tumor immunity by diminishing antigen presentation and impairing cytotoxic function across multiple immune lineages, while immune-derived mitochondria activate the cGAS-STING pathway in tumor cells and induce a type I interferon program that promotes immune evasion and lymph node colonization.

Targeting mitochondrial transfer or the resulting cGAS-STING signaling represents a promising strategy to restrict lymph node metastasis, a critical early step in systemic cancer progression.

Azusa Terasaki et al, Mitochondrial transfer from immune to tumor cells enables lymph node metastasis, Cell Metabolism (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.12.014

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Scientists design artificial pain receptor that senses pain intensity and self-heals

All over the body are tiny sensors called nociceptors whose job is to spot potentially harmful stimuli and send warning signals to the brain and spinal cord, helping protect us from injury or tissue damage.

In a recent study, scientists  designed a jelly-like artificial nociceptive nerve pathway built using a memristor—a tiny electronic component that controls current flow and retains the memory of how much electricity has flowed through it.

The quantized conductance (QC) phenomenon in memristors, where electricity flows through a material in discrete steps rather than a smooth stream, allowed the pain receptor to go beyond simply turning on and off in response to a stimulus. Instead, it exhibited four distinct levels that correspond to the human pain scale: no pain, mild, moderate, and severe.

The bio-inspired receptor also showed signs of self-healing in terms of repairing physical damage and fading of pain signals.

Xuanyu Shan et al, Bioinspired Artificial Nociceptor Based on Quantized Conductance Memristor With Pain Rating, Self‐Healing, and Neuromodulation Capabilities, Advanced Functional Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202528900

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

The researchers also found that a rover's approach path into a crater can strongly influence its charging environment. If it enters a crater on the downwind side—facing the sun and solar wind—it can remain in a relatively dense plasma flow.
If the rover enters the leeward edge of the crater—moving with the sun at its back—the rover enters a region where the local mini-wake first forms
Finally, they examined how a rover's wheels should be electrically connected to its body. While isolating the wheels might seem like a way to protect onboard electronics, the simulations showed that this isolation actually limits the dissipation of charge—only worsening the problem.
Instead they recommend that the rover wheel is tested to ensure it is electrically connected to the larger rover structure, ensuring that the wheel has a conductive path to the larger structure. The rover body can then be used to increase the plasma current collection to more quickly dissipate the wheel tribocharge buildup.
Together, these findings highlight how space-weather effects on the moon can pose subtle but serious risks to surface operations.

W.M. Farrell et al, Rover wheel tribocharging in lunar shadowed regions: deriving a speed limit for charge accumulation, Advances in Space Research (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2025.10.102

Part 2**

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Charge buildup in a lunar rover

As they roll across shadowed regions of the moon's surface, future lunar rovers could develop hazardous buildups of electric charge on their wheels.

With an interest in lunar exploration now reigniting worldwide, several space agencies are considering how the moon's surface could be explored in unprecedented detail using wheeled rovers. One challenge these vehicles will face is the buildup of 'triboelectric charge' as their wheels move across the regolith: a dry, granular, and highly insulating layer of dust and rock that blankets the moon. If allowed to accumulate, this charge could trigger discharges that threaten a rover's sensitive electronics and instruments.

Under many circumstances, charge buildup is naturally limited by the solar wind—a continuous stream of charged particles that emanate from the sun. Because this plasma is far more conductive than the regolith, it provides a pathway for excess charge to dissipate into the surrounding environment. However, this helpful effect can't always be guaranteed.

As the moon travels through the solar wind, it creates a long plasma "wake" on its night-time side, where particle densities drop dramatically. "If the plasma flux levels are reduced, charge dissipation will slow. In essence, it will become increasingly difficult to remediate charge buildups in these plasma-starved regions.
These conditions are also found inside the moon's permanently shadowed polar craters—potential harbors of frozen water and carbon dioxide that could be prime targets for upcoming missions. For rovers operating in these environments, engineers must take steps to prevent triboelectric charging from reaching problematic levels.
Using advanced simulations, researchers modeled the balance between triboelectric charging and plasma-based charge dissipation under realistic lunar conditions. Their results show that keeping a rover's speed extremely low—below about 0.2 cm per second—can prevent charge from accumulating.

If a rover moves faster than this speed limit in the given plasma environment, then the wheel tribocharging currents will exceed plasma dissipation currents and the wheel will build up charge. If the rover moves slower than this speed limit, then the plasma currents will dissipate the charge before it builds up to large levels
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