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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Scientists map more than 200 years of nature's progress
Comparisons of current mammal communities along the Lewis and Clark Trail with historical records reveal significant changes in species composition and ecosystem function, largely due to land use, development, and species loss over two centuries. Dominant species such as bison and wolves are now absent or greatly reduced, indicating altered ecological roles and community dynamics.

For scientists, the project's goal goes beyond documenting which species remain. By pairing modern data with Lewis and Clark's observations, they are examining how centuries of land use, development, and species loss have reshaped entire ecosystems.

https://showme.missouri.edu/2026/mizzou-helps-smithsonian-map-more-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Corals have a hormonal clock and it looks surprisingly like ours

A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.
Corals exhibit annual reproductive hormone cycles, with estrogen peaking months before spawning and progesterone surging after, paralleling patterns seen in other animals. Sunlight, rather than temperature, primarily regulates these hormone levels. These findings provide a baseline for detecting reproductive stress in corals, aiding early intervention in reef conservation.

Once a year, on cue, corals across a reef release their eggs and sperm into the sea simultaneously. Coral reproduction is one of nature's most spectacular events. For reefs increasingly threatened by warming, pollution and overfishing, getting that timing right is a matter of survival.
A team of researchers has uncovered evidence that corals may rely on hormone cycles like those used by many animals, including humans, to prepare for reproduction.
Their findings reveal a hidden biological rhythm that may help explain how corals coordinate reproduction and how scientists might detect reproductive stress before spawning failures become visible.
Scientists had previously suspected that estrogen-like hormones would peak just before corals spawned. Instead, the researchers found that estrogen levels reached their highest point months earlier, during the earliest stages of egg development, before steadily declining as eggs matured.

Meanwhile, progesterone remained relatively stable throughout the reproductive season but surged several months after spawning, suggesting it may help initiate the next reproductive cycle.

Equally surprising: Sunlight, not heat, emerged as the dominant driver of these hormone levels.
So there's a whole process beforehand, driven by these familiar reproductive hormones, which are remarkable to find in corals, animals so evolutionarily distant from us.
The team discovered another surprise inside individual coral colonies. Hormone levels were distributed fairly evenly throughout the colony, yet the central portions of corals were far more likely to contain developing eggs than the growing outer edges. The finding suggests that local conditions within a colony, such as age, energy reserves or developmental stage, may determine which polyps respond to reproductive signals.

Beyond advancing basic science, the findings could have practical implications for conservation.

Chen Azulay et al, Steroid hormones dynamics during coral reproduction: Multi-year patterns in Acropora eurystoma from the Red Sea, iScience (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116205

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Bacteria can learn and form memories without a brain

Researchers have shown that bacteria can learn from past experiences, store memories across generations and adapt their behaviour to changing environments, all without a brain or nervous system. The research could shape how scientists think about bacterial infections and antibiotic treatment.
E. coli bacteria can encode and transmit memories of past environmental conditions, enabling adaptive responses to fluctuating nutrient availability. These memory effects persist across generations via inherited molecular components, influencing behaviour even in descendants. The findings indicate bacterial responses depend on both current and historical environments, with implications for understanding infection dynamics and antibiotic resistance.
In a study published in PRX Life, researchers tracked individual E. coli cells as nutrient conditions shifted between rich and poor environments. Instead of responding the same way every time, the bacteria adjusted their growth based on patterns they had experienced before. Cells exposed to rapidly changing conditions were able to adapt better than cells raised in more stable environments.

The findings suggest bacteria do more than just react to their surroundings. They appear to encode memories of past environments and use those memories to guide future behaviour.

Josiah C. Kratz et al, Multi-Timescale Adaptation and Emergent Learning in Single Bacterial Cells, PRX Life (2026). DOI: 10.1103/5zbg-8vll

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Monday

CAR-T enables kidney transplants

A single dose of engineered immune cells has helped three people with ‘highly sensitized’ immune systems to receive life-saving kidney transplants. People in this group are often ineligible for transplants because their bodies usually reject the donated organ. Researchers engineered the recipient’s own immune cells into chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that ultimately reduce the trouble-making antibodies that push their immune systems into overdrive. More than a year after receiving the cells, the three people are now living with new kidneys and without notable side effects.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2513428

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMc2517277

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Monday

Confronting risks of mirror life

Broad discussion is needed to chart a path forward

‘Mirror life’ study reignites fierce debate

Mirror life — a hypothetical form of microbes that use mirror-image versions of the biological molecules that exist in nature — might not pose an existential threat to life after all, says a team of researchers. In a modelling study, the group found that mirror organisms would struggle to survive in the wild because they would require ‘mirror’ nutrients that don’t exist naturally. The study has prompted criticism from other researchers — including some who co-authored a 2024 paper calling for all work to create mirror life to be halted — who counter that mirror life would quickly adapt to new conditions.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.07.723461v2

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9158

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Science Media Amplifies Male Scientists’ Voices Over Female Ones

Analysis of more than 2,500 science stories revealed that men were quoted more often than women, highlighting systemic gender bias in science communication.
According to the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), which analyzes gender in news, only 26 percent of the people seen, heard, or spoken about in the news are women. Merryn McKinnon, a science communication researcher at the Australian National University, set out to investigate whether science news reflects a similar imbalance.

By analyzing STEM stories in Australian media over five years, McKinnon and her colleagues found that men were more frequently used as direct sources, even in disciplines dominated by women.1 Their findings, published in the Journal of Science Communication, reveal that stories shaping public understanding of science continue to cater to male voices and expertise, underscoring the importance of journalists, organizations, and science communicators in increasing the diversity of their sources.
Female Voices Are Consistently Underrepresented in Science News

McKinnon M, et al. Gender in Australian science news. J Sci Comm. 2026;25(3).

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Air pollution may be harming your brain's 'encyclopedia'

A new study by researchers found that higher exposure to very small air pollution particles (PM2.5) over a 17-year span was associated with lower semantic memory. Semantic memory acts like the brain's "encyclopedia" for things like facts, words and long-term general knowledge.
Semantic memory is essential for communication, comprehension and navigating everyday life.
Long-term exposure to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with lower semantic memory performance in older adults, independent of age, education, income, and marital status. The impact of PM2.5 on semantic memory exceeds that expected from a decade of normal aging, while executive function and verbal episodic memory were not affected.
Two other measures of cognitive function—executive function and verbal episodic memory—did not show an impact related to the pollution.

The researchers found:

People who were exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 pollution over many years scored noticeably lower on semantic memory tests than those exposed to lower levels of pollution.
The association with PM2.5 pollution persisted even after accounting for other factors such as age, education, income and marital status.
The effect of long-term PM2.5 exposure on semantic memory was greater than what researchers would expect from 10 years of normal aging.

How individuals can reduce exposure to air pollution
While air pollution is largely a community-level issue, there are many ways individuals can reduce their exposure to air pollution:

Check daily air quality forecasts on AirNow. The EPA website lets you enter your ZIP code to find out about air quality, which accounts for fine particulates, in your area.
Limit outdoor activity when pollution levels are high, especially during wildfire smoke events.
Use high-efficiency (HEPA) air filters indoors.
Keep windows closed on poor air quality days.
Avoid exercising near busy roads or heavily trafficked areas.
Use recirculated air settings in vehicles during heavy traffic or smoky situations.

Stacey E. Alexeeff et al, Particulate air pollution and domain‐specific cognition among Black adults, Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging (2026). DOI: 10.1002/bsa3.70074

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Celiac disease tied to higher risk for solid organ transplants

Celiac disease (CeD) is associated with a nearly tripled risk for needing a solid organ transplantation, according to a study published online May 28 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Celiac disease is associated with a nearly threefold increased risk of solid organ transplantation compared to the general population, with particularly elevated risks for liver (aHR 7.26) and kidney (aHR 1.85) transplants. No significant difference was observed for heart transplantation risk.

John B. Doyle et al, Risk of solid organ transplantation in individuals with celiac disease: a nationwide cohort study, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2026.04.034

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Aspirin may unmask silent bladder cancer by triggering bleeding
Initiation of aspirin therapy is associated with increased cystoscopy rates and detection of bladder cancer at less invasive stages, likely due to aspirin-induced urinary bleeding unmasking asymptomatic tumours. In contrast, NSAID initiators showed increased cystoscopy rates without a corresponding increase in bladder cancer detection or shift in stage distribution.

Malene Söth Hansen et al, Aspirin or non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug initiation and subsequent bladder cancer evaluation, Journal of Internal Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1111/joim.70115

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Sunday

Why do male chimpanzees throw rocks at the same trees for more than a decade?
Male chimpanzees throw rocks at specific trees over long periods as part of a rare, culturally transmitted behavior, likely linked to communicative or symbolic functions within their social groups. This accumulative stone throwing is not related to food acquisition and is observed only in select West African populations, suggesting cultural specificity. The behavior may mark important locations and is maintained for over a decade, but its precise meaning remains unclear.

original article.

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