Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Why AI may overcomplicate answers: Humans and LLMs show 'addition bias,' often choosing extra steps over subtraction
When making decisions and judgments, humans can fall into common "traps," known as cognitive biases. A cognitive bias is essentially the tendency to process information in a specific way or follow a systematic pattern. One widely documented cognitive bias is the so-called addition bias, the tendency of people to prefer solving problems by adding elements as opposed to removing them, even if subtraction would be simpler and more efficient. One example of this is adding more paragraphs or explanations to improve an essay or report, even if removing unnecessary sections would be more effective.
Researchers recently carried out a study aimed at investigating whether artificial intelligence (AI) agents, particularly the computational models underpinning the functioning of ChatGPT, also exhibit this tendency when answering user queries. Their findings, published in Communications Psychology, suggest that these models can inherit the addition bias from human-written texts that they are trained on.
Generative artificial intelligences, particularly large language models (LLMs), increasingly influence human decision-making, making it essential to understand how cognitive biases are reproduced or amplified in these systems
Building on evidence of the human 'addition bias'—a preference for additive over subtractive problem-solving strategies—this research compared humans with GPT-4 and GPT-4o in spatial and linguistic tasks.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

A common biomarker of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder revealed

For decades, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) were treated as distinct and unrelated psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by altered thinking and emotional patterns, hallucinations, false or irrational beliefs (i.e., delusions), cognitive deficits, and disorganized speech. BD, on the other hand, is marked by extreme mood swings, ranging between periods of high-energy (i.e., mania or hypomania) and depressive episodes.

While the symptoms of schizophrenia and BD are markedly different, many patients diagnosed with either of these conditions experience psychosis at least once in their lifetime. Psychosis is a mental state that causes people to lose touch with reality, experiencing hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and irrational thinking patterns.

More recently, studies found that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and BD sometimes share other overlapping symptoms, as well as common patterns in their genes and brain organization. This inspired the idea that these disorders are part of a shared psychosis spectrum, which would explain their common features and characteristics.

Researchers reviewed and analyzed the findings of previous studies to further test this hypothesis and validate the existence of a psychosis spectrum of disorders. Their paper, published in Nature Mental Health, outlines common brain features in patients with schizophrenia and BD, particularly differences in the integrity of white matter.

As part of their study,  the researchers systematically reviewed brain imaging data collected by different teams of neuroscience and mental health researchers over the past 30 years. All this data was collected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non-invasive imaging technique that allows scientists to obtain 3D images of the brain and infer properties of white matter connections.

The researchers collectively analyzed the results of several studies, looking at schizophrenia and BD both individually and together, all while also accounting for differences in age and sex. This allowed them to identify brain regions that appear to be similarly affected in patients with either of the two disorders.

Most notably, they observed shared white matter alterations in a region called the corpus callosum. This is a brain structure that connects the brain's left and right hemispheres.

This alteration was observed across the entire psychosis spectrum, rather than being limited to a single diagnosis.

Importantly, these findings remained significant (and in some cases became clearer) after accounting for age and sex, suggesting they are unlikely to be explained simply by illness duration or aging. This supports the idea that disruptions in brain connectivity may represent a core biological feature of psychosis.

The results of this recent meta-analysis pinpoint a candidate biomarker that appears to characterize both schizophrenia and BD. 

Giuseppe Pierpaolo Merola et al, A systematic review and meta-analysis of transdiagnostic impairments in white matter integrity across the psychosis continuum, Nature Mental Health (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44220-025-00573-6.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 16, 2026 at 9:22am

The researchers found butyrolactol A, a known-but-previously-understudied molecule produced by certain Streptomyces bacteria. The researchers found that the molecule could synergize with echinocandin drugs to kill fungi that the drugs alone could not.

Discovery could lead to new treatments for drug-resistant fungal in...

Part 2

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 16, 2026 at 9:20am

Antifungals are ‘ampho-terrible’ no more
Scientists have identified a molecule that acts as a plug to clog proteins that are critical for the toxicity of the dangerous fungus Cryptococcus. The notoriously drug-resistant fungus causes symptoms similar to pneumonia and is particularly dangerous for people with compromised immune systems. Currently, the go-to drug class is amphotericin, deemed “ampho-terrible” by biochemist Gerry Wright. “Fungal cells are a lot like human cells, so the drugs that hurt them tend to hurt us too,” he says. “That’s why there are so few options available to patients.” After a decade of research, researchers discovered butyrolactol A, which acts as an adjuvant to make Cryptococcus more susceptible to other drugs.

Butyrolactol A enhances caspofungin efficacy via flippase inhibitio...

Discovery could lead to new treatments for drug-resistant fungal infections

Fungal infections kill millions of people each year, and modern medicine is struggling to keep up. But researchers have identified a molecule that may help turn the tide — butyrolactol A, a chemical compound that targets a deadly, disease-causing fungi called Cryptococcus neoformans. 

Infections caused by Cryptococcus are extremely dangerous. The pathogen, which can cause pneuomia-like symptoms, is notoriously drug-resistant, and it often preys on people with weakened immune systems, like cancer patients or those living with HIV. And the same can be said about other fungal pathogens, like Candida auris or Aspergillus fumigatus — both of which, like Cryptococcus, have been declared priority pathogens by the World Health Organization. Despite the threat, though, doctors have only three treatment options for fungal infections

The gold standard is a drug class called amphotericin  - that is often called “amphoterrible,” because of the major toxic side-effects that it has on humans.  

“Fungal cells are a lot like human cells, so the drugs that hurt them tend to hurt us too. That’s why there are so few options available to patients.”  

The other two antifungal drug classes that are available — azoles and echinocandins — are much less effective treatment options, especially against Cryptococcus. 

So, with a stagnant antifungal drug pipeline, a limited arsenal of approved medicines, and rising rates of drug resistance, scientists are now betting on something called “adjuvants” as a solution to the growing health threat.  

Adjuvants are helper molecules that don’t actually kill pathogens like drugs do, but instead make them extremely susceptible to existing medicine.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 16, 2026 at 8:52am

Asian elephants can read human body language

How Asian Elephants Decide You’re Worth Talking To

Body and face orientation both matter when elephants decide it’s worth communicating.

Elephants are often celebrated for their intelligence and emotional depth, but how much do they actually understand about us? 

A study conducted at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Chiang Rai, Thailand, suggests that Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are highly perceptive of human attention, as they read visual cues that signal whether communication is even worth attempting.

Ten captive female Asian elephants were observed as an experimenter stood before them in four different orientations: facing them fully, turning away entirely, or showing only body or only face.

When both the experimenter's body and face were oriented toward them, the elephants gestured the most frequently. Body orientation emerged as a stronger cue than facial direction, but only when paired with eye contact. Neither signal alone was enough to significantly prompt communication.

So if you ever have the opportunity to interact with an elephant, make sure you pay full attention with your body language.

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) recognise human visual attention ...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 15, 2026 at 11:41am

Science academies failing to put women at the top
Women now comprise about 19% of science academy members, up from 12% in 2015, but leadership roles remain largely male-dominated, with only one in five academies chaired by a woman and nearly half lacking women as vice-presidents or co-chairs. Women are 2.5 times more likely than men to report discrimination or harassment, and institutional mechanisms to address misconduct are often viewed as inadequate.

National science organizations may have more women members today than a decade ago, but representation at the highest level has failed to keep pace, according to analysis published on International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

The International Science Council (ISC), InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science (SCGES) looked at data from 136 scientific organizations and surveyed nearly 600 scientists to get a picture of gender equality across science academies and unions worldwide.

They found that women made up around 19% of science academy members in 2025–up from 12% in 2015. But only one in five academies was chaired by a woman and almost half had no women as vice-presidents or co-chairs, representing a "very limited increase" in the last decade and no progress in the last five years, according to their report.

Science academies play a role in shaping research agendas and standards across different disciplines and advising policymakers.

On paper, most science organizations promote themselves as open and inclusive, with election procedures based on academic merit. But informal networks persist that determine who is put forward for leadership roles, the report suggests.

Additionally, women are 2.5 times more likely than men to report experiences of discrimination or harassment within scientific organizations and show less confidence in organizational mechanisms to address misconduct, it says.

Towards gender equality in scientific organization: assessment and recommendations. www.interacademies.org/publica … -and-recommendations

Carolina Espinosa Luna et al, Economías de legitimidad abusiva: explicación sociológica de la violencia académica contra mujeres, Estudios Sociológicos de El Colegio de México (2026). DOI: 10.24201/es.2026v44.e2873

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 15, 2026 at 11:27am

How did humans develop sharp vision? Lab-grown retinas show likely answer
Sharp human vision develops in early fetal life through the combined action of retinoic acid, which limits blue cone formation, and thyroid hormones, which convert blue cones into red and green cones in the foveola. This process establishes the unique cone distribution essential for high-acuity vision and may inform future therapies for retinal diseases.

Katarzyna A. Hussey et al, A cell fate specification and transition mechanism for human foveolar cone subtype patterning, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2510799123

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 15, 2026 at 11:25am

Scientists decipher how two bacterial species cooperate to avoid being eaten
Pseudomonas and Paenibacillus bacteria cooperate to evade amoeba predation by modifying the lipopeptide syringafactin. Pseudomonas produces syringafactin, which Paenibacillus activates via DL peptidases, converting it into an amoeba-toxic compound. This mechanism highlights a specific enzymatic cleavage of D/L-configured lipopeptides, aiding future natural product analysis and anti-infective development.

Shuaibing Zhang et al, Microbial _DL-Peptidases Enable Predator Defense and Facilitate Structure Elucidation of Complex Natural Products, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2026). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c17955

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 15, 2026 at 11:24am

Polluting the environment for all eternity—and still sticking our heads in the sand
Plastic pollution persists in the environment, breaking down into microplastics and releasing PFAS and heavy metals at levels exceeding safety thresholds in small freshwater ecosystems. These contaminants threaten wildlife and human health. Despite global and national targets, current cleanup efforts and funding are insufficient, and long-term, coordinated action is urgently needed.

Hilde Ervik et al, Organic contaminants and toxic elements in marine plastic debris, water and sediments in small freshwater lakes in a Norwegian coastal archipelago, Heliyon (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e44232

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 15, 2026 at 11:07am

Addressing these challenges, the interdisciplinary team of researchers propose a solution that enables the selective killing of phages without any harmful effect on bacteria. Their latest work, published in Materials & Design, shows an innovative approach based on polymeric nanospheres having a well-defined surface that interacts with bacteriophages.
Bacteriophages possess characteristic surface charges that differ from those of bacterial and eukaryotic cells. The researchers designed polypyrrole nanoparticles (NPs) that interact directly with charges on the phage surface through electrostatic interactions. Because the biological membranes of bacteria and human cells have different surface properties than bacteriophages, they are not affected, and the charged polypyrrole NPs act selectively on phages.

Importantly, the present study demonstrates that selective antiphage activity can be achieved using polymer-based nanoparticles, offering a significantly cheaper and scalable alternative to other nanostructural solutions like gold-based systems.
The proposed nanoparticles are approximately 50 nm in diameter and contain specific chemical groups on their surface, namely negatively charged carboxylic groups, which enhance electrostatic interactions with bacteriophages. The researchers controlled the density of these groups during fabrication by polymerizing mixtures of pyrrole with and without carboxylic modifications.

Importantly, they identified an optimal surface composition required for effective phage inactivation.
The cytotoxicity studies that were performed on fibroblasts demonstrated that the nanoparticles were biocompatible at concentrations effective for phage inactivation. The irreversible inactivation of phages along with minor cytotoxicity shows the potential of the proposed NP in biotechnology, antimicrobial, and medical applications.

Sada Raza et al, Targeted inactivation of bacteriophages by polypyrrole nanoparticles, Materials & Design (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2025.115204

part 2

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