Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication
JAI VIGNAN
All about Science - to remove misconceptions and encourage scientific temper
Communicating science to the common people
'To make them see the world differently through the beautiful lense of science'
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Latest Activity: 23 hours ago
WE LOVE SCIENCE HERE BECAUSE IT IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING
THIS IS A WAR ZONE WHERE SCIENCE FIGHTS WITH NONSENSE AND WINS
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
"Being a scientist is a state of mind, not a profession!"
"Science, when it's done right, can yield amazing things".
The Reach of Scientific Research From Labs to Laymen
The aim of science is not only to open a door to infinite knowledge and wisdom but to set a limit to infinite error.
"Knowledge is a Superpower but the irony is you cannot get enough of it with ever increasing data base unless you try to keep up with it constantly and in the right way!" The best education comes from learning from people who know what they are exactly talking about.
Science is this glorious adventure into the unknown, the opportunity to discover things that nobody knew before. And that’s just an experience that’s not to be missed. But it’s also a motivated effort to try to help humankind. And maybe that’s just by increasing human knowledge—because that’s a way to make us a nobler species.
If you are scientifically literate the world looks very different to you.
We do science and science communication not because they are easy but because they are difficult!
“Science is not a subject you studied in school. It’s life. We 're brought into existence by it!"
Links to some important articles :
1. Interactive science series...
a. how-to-do-research-and-write-research-papers-part 13
b. Some Qs people asked me on science and my replies to them...
Part 6, part-10, part-11, part-12, part 14 , part- 8,
part- 1, part-2, part-4, part-5, part-16, part-17, part-18 , part-19 , part-20
part-21 , part-22, part-23, part-24, part-25, part-26, part-27 , part-28
part-29, part-30, part-31, part-32, part-33, part-34, part-35, part-36, part-37,
part-38, part-40, part-41, part-42, part-43, part-44, part-45, part-46, part-47
Part 48, part49, Critical thinking -part 50 , part -51, part-52, part-53
part-54, part-55, part-57, part-58, part-59, part-60, part-61, part-62, part-63
part 64, part-65, part-66, part-67, part-68, part 69, part-70 part-71, part-73 ...
.......306
BP variations during pregnancy part-72
who is responsible for the gender of their children - a man or a woman -part-56
c. some-questions-people-asked-me-on-science-based-on-my-art-and-poems -part-7
d. science-s-rules-are-unyielding-they-will-not-be-bent-for-anybody-part-3-
e. debate-between-scientists-and-people-who-practice-and-propagate-pseudo-science - part -9
f. why astrology is pseudo-science part 15
g. How Science is demolishing patriarchal ideas - part-39
2. in-defence-of-mangalyaan-why-even-developing-countries-like-india need space research programmes
3. Science communication series:
a. science-communication - part 1
b. how-scienitsts-should-communicate-with-laymen - part 2
c. main-challenges-of-science-communication-and-how-to-overcome-them - part 3
d. the-importance-of-science-communication-through-art- part 4
e. why-science-communication-is-geting worse - part 5
f. why-science-journalism-is-not-taken-seriously-in-this-part-of-the-world - part 6
g. blogs-the-best-bet-to-communicate-science-by-scientists- part 7
h. why-it-is-difficult-for-scientists-to-debate-controversial-issues - part 8
i. science-writers-and-communicators-where-are-you - part 9
j. shooting-the-messengers-for-a-different-reason-for-conveying-the- part 10
k. why-is-science-journalism-different-from-other-forms-of-journalism - part 11
l. golden-rules-of-science-communication- Part 12
m. science-writers-should-develop-a-broader-view-to-put-things-in-th - part 13
n. an-informed-patient-is-the-most-cooperative-one -part 14
o. the-risks-scientists-will-have-to-face-while-communicating-science - part 15
p. the-most-difficult-part-of-science-communication - part 16
q. clarity-on-who-you-are-writing-for-is-important-before-sitting-to write a science story - part 17
r. science-communicators-get-thick-skinned-to-communicate-science-without-any-bias - part 18
s. is-post-truth-another-name-for-science-communication-failure?
t. why-is-it-difficult-for-scientists-to-have-high-eqs
u. art-and-literature-as-effective-aids-in-science-communication-and teaching
v.* some-qs-people-asked-me-on-science communication-and-my-replies-to-them
** qs-people-asked-me-on-science-and-my-replies-to-them-part-173
w. why-motivated-perception-influences-your-understanding-of-science
x. science-communication-in-uncertain-times
y. sci-com: why-keep-a-dog-and-bark-yourself
z. How to deal with sci com dilemmas?
A+. sci-com-what-makes-a-story-news-worthy-in-science
B+. is-a-perfect-language-important-in-writing-science-stories
C+. sci-com-how-much-entertainment-is-too-much-while-communicating-sc
D+. sci-com-why-can-t-everybody-understand-science-in-the-same-way
E+. how-to-successfully-negotiate-the-science-communication-maze
4. Health related topics:
a. why-antibiotic-resistance-is-increasing-and-how-scientists-are-tr
b. what-might-happen-when-you-take-lots-of-medicines
c. know-your-cesarean-facts-ladies
d. right-facts-about-menstruation
e. answer-to-the-question-why-on-big-c
f. how-scientists-are-identifying-new-preventive-measures-and-cures-
g. what-if-little-creatures-high-jack-your-brain-and-try-to-control-
h. who-knows-better?
k. can-rust-from-old-drinking-water-pipes-cause-health-problems
l. pvc-and-cpvc-pipes-should-not-be-used-for-drinking-water-supply
m. melioidosis
o. desensitization-and-transplant-success-story
p. do-you-think-the-medicines-you-are-taking-are-perfectly-alright-then revisit your position!
q. swine-flu-the-difficlulties-we-still-face-while-tackling-the-outb
r. dump-this-useless-information-into-a-garbage-bin-if-you-really-care about evidence based medicine
s. don-t-ignore-these-head-injuries
u. allergic- agony-caused-by-caterpillars-and-moths
General science:
a.why-do-water-bodies-suddenly-change-colour
b. don-t-knock-down-your-own-life-line
c. the-most-menacing-animal-in-the-world
d. how-exo-planets-are-detected
e. the-importance-of-earth-s-magnetic-field
f. saving-tigers-from-extinction-is-still-a-travail
g. the-importance-of-snakes-in-our-eco-systems
h. understanding-reverse-osmosis
i. the-importance-of-microbiomes
j. crispr-cas9-gene-editing-technique-a-boon-to-fixing-defective-gen
k. biomimicry-a-solution-to-some-of-our-problems
5. the-dilemmas-scientists-face
6. why-we-get-contradictory-reports-in-science
7. be-alert-pseudo-science-and-anti-science-are-on-prowl
8. science-will-answer-your-questions-and-solve-your-problems
9. how-science-debunks-baseless-beliefs
10. climate-science-and-its-relevance
11. the-road-to-a-healthy-life
12. relative-truth-about-gm-crops-and-foods
13. intuition-based-work-is-bad-science
14. how-science-explains-near-death-experiences
15. just-studies-are-different-from-thorough-scientific-research
16. lab-scientists-versus-internet-scientists
17. can-you-challenge-science?
18. the-myth-of-ritual-working
19.science-and-superstitions-how-rational-thinking-can-make-you-work-better
20. comets-are-not-harmful-or-bad-omens-so-enjoy-the-clestial-shows
21. explanation-of-mysterious-lights-during-earthquakes
22. science-can-tell-what-constitutes-the-beauty-of-a-rose
23. what-lessons-can-science-learn-from-tragedies-like-these
24. the-specific-traits-of-a-scientific-mind
25. science-and-the-paranormal
26. are-these-inventions-and-discoveries-really-accidental-and-intuitive like the journalists say?
27. how-the-brain-of-a-polymath-copes-with-all-the-things-it-does
28. how-to-make-scientific-research-in-india-a-success-story
29. getting-rid-of-plastic-the-natural-way
30. why-some-interesting-things-happen-in-nature
31. real-life-stories-that-proves-how-science-helps-you
32. Science and trust series:
a. how-to-trust-science-stories-a-guide-for-common-man
b. trust-in-science-what-makes-people-waver
c. standing-up-for-science-showing-reasons-why-science-should-be-trusted
You will find the entire list of discussions here: http://kkartlab.in/group/some-science/forum
( Please go through the comments section below to find scientific research reports posted on a daily basis and watch videos based on science)
Get interactive...
Please contact us if you want us to add any information or scientific explanation on any topic that interests you. We will try our level best to give you the right information.
Our mail ID: kkartlabin@gmail.com
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Why do type 2 diabetics sometimes become thin if their condition is not managed properly?Earlier we used to get this answer to the Q : Type 2 diabetics may experience weight loss and become thin due…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Movies and TV serials shaped how many people imagine a heart attack—someone clutching their chest and collapsing dramatically. But those portrayals are misleading and shouldn't be expected, say the…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Friday. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Recent measles outbreak in the California state of the US ( now spread to other states too) tells an interesting story.Vaccines are not responsible for the woes people face but because of rejection…Continue
Started by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa. Last reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Thursday. 5 Replies 0 Likes
When I was a very young school girl, I still remember very well, my Dad used to tell me to bear the pain out and not to scream and cry whenever I hurt myself and was in severe pain. I never ever saw…Continue
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This research provides a novel twist on prior studies of the effects of high-altitude living. Prior studies have mostly focused on adaptation by gaining new functions or traits to cope with harsh environments, while this study shows that animals can also lose certain abilities. These understudied mechanisms of maladaptation and trait loss may have future implications for evolutionary biology and medicine.
Allie M. Graham et al, Convergent reduction of olfactory genes and olfactory bulb size in mammalian species at altitude, Current Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.061
Part 2
A recent study published in Current Biology has found that animals living at elevations of 1,000 meters and higher have a reduction in genes related to smell and a smaller olfactory bulb than similar low-altitude species.
The researchers screened the genomes of 27 different species of animals living in high-altitude environments, as well as their low-altitude relatives. A wide range of mammal types was studied, including monkeys, goats, llamas and guinea pigs. Both domesticated and wild mammals were included.
Scientists found a 23% reduction in genes related to smell and an average of an 18% size reduction of the olfactory bulb, a kind of smell processing center located in the brain. These evolutionary changes appear to be specific to smell. No changes were found in the genes related to pheromone and taste detection.
Environmental differences at high altitudes include thinner, drier and colder air, which can lead to difficulties in breathing, increased nasal congestion and hypoxia—low levels of oxygen in the body. These conditions also make it harder for scent molecules to travel—meaning there are fewer available scents for animals to detect in the air.
Although the exact mechanism is still unclear, the reduced sense of smell may be related to the reduction of available scents and to nasal inflammation, which causes additional difficulties in picking up scents. Over time, these issues may have led to mountain-dwelling animals evolving a worse sense of smell, but possibly compensating with better other senses.
The study also compared the genomes of human communities at high and low altitudes. Researchers studied the genomes of Tibetans, who were estimated to have established their mountain-dwelling communities at altitudes above 3,000 meters sometime between 9,000 and 30,000 years ago. These were compared with the genomes of the low-altitude Han Chinese populations.
Interestingly, no olfactory changes were found in human populations. Researchers posit that this may be due to the continued mixing of lowland and highland populations, or because there may not have been enough generations for the genetic changes to occur yet.
Part 1
Throughout the course of their lives, humans are known to build social ties with various other individuals in their community. Past neuroscience and psychology studies suggest that as humans form bonds with others, they also mentally represent them in their minds, creating internal maps that outline the relationships between different members of their community.
Researchers carried out a study aimed at better understanding how people mentally represent social networks, using data collected from residents of 82 villages.
Their findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, uncovered some biases in people's mental representation of connections between others, especially between people who belong to the same family and close community groups.
People not only form social networks, they construct mental maps of them.
The results of the analyses carried suggest that people's mental representations of the connections between people around them are flawed. Specifically, they found that people often overestimate the closeness of other people's connections, especially family ties.
Many individuals believed that family members spent more time with each other than they did, while friendships and non-family ties appeared to be more accurately represented in their internal "maps." Moreover, people's judgements about others' social ties appeared to be more accurate when these others shared their same religion or had similar levels of wealth. Interestingly, the researchers also found that middle-aged, well-educated and well-connected people internally represented the connections between others more accurately.
Overall, people inflate the number of connections in their networks and exhibit varying accuracy and bias, with implications for how people affect and are affected by the social world.
The findings gathered by this team of researchers shed new light on how people internally map ties within their community and on the biases that can reduce the accuracy of their mental representations.
Eric Feltham et al, Cognitive representations of social networks in isolated villages, Nature Human Behaviour (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02221-6.
PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) can't be avoided in the modern world. These man-made chemicals are in many everyday items, including waterproof clothing, non-stick pans, lipsticks and food packaging, used for their resistance to heat, water, oil and grease. But because they take thousands of years to break down, they are accumulating in large quantities in the environment—and in our bodies.
There are over 4,700 PFAS chemicals in widespread use. Some get cleared out of the body in our urine in a matter of days, but others with a longer molecular structure can hang around in the body for years.
PFAS have been linked with a range of health issues including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, and a higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
Scientists have identified a family of bacterial species, found naturally in the human gut, that absorb various PFAS molecules from their surroundings. When nine of these bacterial species were introduced into the guts of mice to 'humanize' the mouse microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS eaten by the mice, which were then excreted in feces.
Certain species of human gut bacteria have a remarkably high capacity to soak up PFAS from their environment at a range of concentrations, and store these in clumps inside their cells. Due to aggregation of PFAS in these clumps, the bacteria themselves seem protected from the toxic effects.
The researchers also found that as the mice were exposed to increasing levels of PFAS, the microbes worked harder, consistently removing the same percentage of the toxic chemicals. Within minutes of exposure, the bacterial species tested soaked up between 25% and 74% of the PFAS.
The results are the first evidence that our gut microbiome could play a helpful role in removing toxic PFAS chemicals from our body—although this has not yet been directly tested in humans.
The researchers plan to use their discovery to create probiotic dietary supplements that boost the levels of these helpful microbes in our gut, to protect against the toxic effects of PFAS.
The results are published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, Nature Microbiology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02032-5
Analysis of the tumor microenvironment revealed no differences in immune cell populations between groups. In a cohort of patients with colorectal cancer, higher serum concentrations of primary bile acids correlated with shorter time to metastasis. This pinpointed dramatic alterations in bile acid circulation following RYGB surgery as the likely key factor inhibiting tumor progression and metastasis.
Further exploration revealed that gut microbiome alterations or immune system changes were not involved in this observed anticancer effect, leaving a reduced-primary/ elevated-secondary bile-acid profile as the only distinguishable change.
Researchers think that this altered bile acid metabolism of increased secondary bile acid and decreased primary bile acid contributes to reduced tumor growth and metastasis, although the precise mechanisms are still unknown.
Claudia Lässle et al, Metabolic surgery reduces CRC disease progression through circulating bile acid diversion, Science Translational Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ads9705
Elizabeth R. M. Zunica et al, Bile diversion underlies Roux-en-Y antitumor benefits, Science Translational Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adx3814
Part 2
Research has found that bile acid diversion in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) reduces colorectal tumor growth and metastasis independent of weight loss, potentially reshaping future cancer treatment approaches.
More than 2 billion adults worldwide are now overweight or obese, a condition marked by chronic low-grade inflammation and metabolic disruption that can promote tumor growth, increasing the risk of developing at least 15 types of cancer.
Previous research has focused on how losing weight with RYGB reshapes cancer outcomes, leaving unanswered questions about biological mechanisms behind RYGB's anticancer correlation.
In the study, "Metabolic surgery reduces CRC disease progression through circulating bile acid diversion," published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers developed a combined mouse model of obesity and colorectal cancer to determine whether bile acid diversion after gastric bypass surgery reduces tumorigenesis and metastasis independent of weight loss.
In the experiments conducted by researchers, mice that underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass developed primary colorectal tumors that were significantly smaller and exhibited almost no liver metastases compared with sham-operated controls. Even when researchers extended tumor development periods to allow increased tumor size, metastases remained disproportionately low in RYGB mice, suggesting that metabolic changes, rather than weight loss alone, drive this anticancer effect.
When bile acid diversion was achieved by cholecysto-intestinal shunt alone, similar suppression of tumor growth and metastasis occurred. Circulating bile acids in gastric bypass animals shifted toward reduced primary bile acids and elevated secondary bile acids, a pattern absent in diet-restricted controls.
Fecal microbiome composition remained largely unchanged after bile diversion, and transplantation of microbiota from treated mice into high-fat diet recipients did not confer anticancer effects.
Part 1
In the study, "Reactivation of mammalian regeneration by turning on an evolutionarily disabled genetic switch," published in Science, researchers conducted comparative genomic analyses of regenerative mammals, rabbits, goats, and African spiny mice, and nonregenerative mice and rats.
Analyzing ear pinna injury recovery in these mammals, researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomic profiling, bulk RNA sequencing, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, and Micro-C to identify gene activity differences in wound-induced fibroblasts, specialized cells crucial to tissue regeneration.
Genetic analysis identified regulatory elements required for regeneration after injury that have become inactive in nonregenerative species. Reactivation of this genetic switch induced regeneration of damaged structures, and skipping the genetic mechanism by supplying the retinoic acid worked even better.
Weifeng Lin et al, Reactivation of mammalian regeneration by turning on an evolutionarily disabled genetic switch, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adp0176
Part 2
Researchers recently discovered that switching on a single dormant gene enables mice to regenerate ear tissue.
Some vertebrates such as salamanders and fish can regenerate complex tissue structures with precision. A lost limb can be regrown, a damaged heart or eye can be repaired. Salamanders are so remarkable at reconstructing damaged tissues that even a spinal cord injury with severed neural motor connectivity can be restored.
Mammals occasionally showcase the ability to regenerate. Deer antlers and goat horns are examples of living tissue regeneration. Mice can regrow fingertips if they are lost. A healthy human liver can experience up to 70% loss of tissue and regrow to near full size within several weeks.
However, for the most part, mammals have seemingly replaced the ancient capacity for tissue regeneration with scarring, a trade-off that increases immediate survival of an injury by closing and sealing the wound.
Ear tissue punch regeneration has previously been studied in specific strains of Murphy Roths Large mice that have the ability to close 2-mm ear punches with scar-free regeneration. They can regenerate cartilage, dermis, epidermis, hair follicles, and even nerves in the ear tissue, and have shown some capacity to repair heart damage as well. Rabbits too have this ability to regenerate holes in ear tissue, suggesting that the capacity may have been shared by a common ancestor.
Rabbits and mice are related species that share a common ancestor around 90 million years ago which had previously diverged from the human primate ancestor around the same time. Millions of years of separate evolution have left the regeneration gene itself intact, but rewired its expression, extinguishing an ancestral regenerative response in most rodents that a few mice and the rabbit lineage still deploy.
Part 1
The world's most advanced AI models are exhibiting troubling new behaviors—lying, scheming, and even threatening their creators to achieve their goals.
In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic's latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT-creator OpenAI's o1 tried to download itself onto external servers and denied it when caught red-handed.
These episodes highlight a sobering reality: more than two years after ChatGPT shook the world, AI researchers still don't fully understand how their own creations work.
Yet the race to deploy increasingly powerful models continues at breakneck speed.
This deceptive behavior appears linked to the emergence of "reasoning" models—AI systems that work through problems step-by-step rather than generating instant responses.
O1 was the first large model where developers saw this kind of behaviour.
These models sometimes simulate "alignment"—appearing to follow instructions while secretly pursuing different objectives.
For now, this deceptive behavior only emerges when researchers deliberately stress-test the models with extreme scenarios.
The concerning behavior goes far beyond typical AI "hallucinations" or simple mistakes.
Users report that models are "lying to them and making up evidence".This is not just hallucinations. There's a very strategic kind of deception.
But current regulations aren't designed for these new problems.
Source: News Agencies
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-ai-scheme-threaten-creators.htm...
Humans are innately capable of recognizing other people they have seen before. This capability ultimately allows them to build meaningful social connections, develop their sense of identity, better cooperate with others, and identify individuals who could pose a risk to their safety.
Most studies so far suggest that the identity of others is encoded by neurons in the amygdala and hippocampus, two brain regions known to support the processing of emotions and the encoding of memories, respectively.
Based on evidence collected in the past, researchers have concluded that neurons in these two brain regions respond in specific ways when we meet a person we are acquainted with, irrespective of visual features (i.e., how their face looks).
A recent paper published in Nature Human Behaviour, however, suggests that this might not be the case, and that individual neurons in the amygdala encode and represent facial features, ultimately supporting the identification of others.
Across four experiments (3,581 neurons from 19 neurosurgical patients over 111 sessions), researchers demonstrated a region-based feature code for faces, where neurons encode faces on the basis of shared visual features rather than associations of known concepts, contrary to prevailing views.
Feature neurons encode groups of faces regardless of their identity, broad semantic categories or familiarity; and the coding regions (that is, receptive fields) predict feature neurons' response to new face stimuli.
Together, these results reveal a new class of neurons that bridge perception-driven representation of facial features with mnemonic semantic representations, which may form the basis for declarative memory.
Runnan Cao et al, Feature-based encoding of face identity by single neurons in the human amygdala and hippocampus, Nature Human Behaviour (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02218-1.
© 2025 Created by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa.
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