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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 31, 2026 at 9:53am

Gut bacteria may tip the balance between feeding tumors and fueling immunity

A new study reveals how bacteria in the gut can help determine whether the amino acid asparagine from the diet will feed tumor growth or activate immune cells against the cancer, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. This casts the gut microbiome, comprising the trillions of microorganisms that live in the intestine, as a central player in the body's response to cancer and to modern cancer treatments like immunotherapies.

The findings, published in Cell Microbe and Host, could lead to a novel cancer treatment approach and monitoring strategy: Instead of targeting tumors directly, clinicians may one day be able to reshape the gut microbiome or diet to starve tumors while supercharging immune cells.

This study suggests that we need to think about how the interplay of diet, gut microbiota and tumor-infiltrating immune cells could affect cancer growth and response to therapy. We can't overlook this key level regulation.

Microbes deplete intestinal asparagine The researchers first established in mouse models with human gut microbiota that some bacteria could deplete amino acids and affect tumor progression. Next, they focused on asparagine, an amino acid that supports protein synthesis and promotes cell survival. Both cancer cells in the nutrient-poor environment inside tumors and CD8+ T cells, the cytotoxic immune cells that directly attack and destroy tumor cells, require the amino acid to be active.

To understand the impact of microbiota asparagine metabolism, the team worked with Bacteroides ovatus, a common gut bacterium with a gene called bo‑ansB, which encodes an enzyme that breaks down asparagine. Using mouse models, the researchers showed that when the bo‑ansB gene is present, B. ovatus consumes more asparagine in the gut, so less of it is absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered to tumors.

When the bo‑ansB gene was knocked out, the bacteria was not able to deplete asparagine in the intestine, so more of the amino acid reached the blood circulation and tumor. This demonstrated that the bacteria control the overall level of asparagine that leaves the gut and shapes the battlefield that tumors and immune cells share.

In mouse models of colorectal cancer fed extra dietary asparagine, bacteria with bo-ansB helped tumors grow. In mice with the bo‑ansB‑deleted bacteria, the same asparagine‑rich diet had the opposite effect: More asparagine reached the tumor and was taken up by CD8+ T cells. This triggered the immune cells into a "stem-like" state associated with long-lasting, effective anti-tumor responses. In contrast, without sufficient asparagine, CD8+ T cells were less effective at suppressing tumor growth.

The study showed that higher asparagine levels in the tumor microenvironment—when bo‑ansB was removed—drove CD8+ T cells to express more of a protein transporter (SLC1A5) on their cell surface, which was important in fighting cancer cells. Stem-like CD8⁺ T cells serve as a renewable source of immune cells that can mature into cancer-killing T cells. Once activated, these killer cells attack tumors by producing strong immune factors that help destroy cancer cells. Blocking SLC1A5 erased the gains from the higher asparagine levels.

Many studies suggest that enzymes produced by our microbiota, as well as the metabolites like small molecules and proteins, could be potential biomarkers for cancer progression.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 31, 2026 at 9:44am

Three scientific journals are already piloting the tool as part of their editorial screening. It will allow editors to identify potentially fabricated manuscripts before they are sent for peer review.

The team plans to expand the tool to other fields of research and improve the model as more confirmed cases of paper-mill activity become available. They stress the findings are not confirmed cases of research fraud and should be checked by human specialists.
Cancer research influences clinical trials, drug development and patient care.
If fabricated studies make their way into the evidence base, they can mislead real scientists and ultimately slow progress for patients. That's why it's vital we get ahead of this problem.

Machine Learning-Based Screening of Potential Paper Mill Publications in Cancer Research: Methodological and Cross-Sectional Study, BMJ (2026). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2025-087581

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 31, 2026 at 9:43am

Scientific 'spam filter' flags over 250,000 potentially fake cancer studies

A new machine learning tool has identified more than 250,000 cancer research papers that may have been produced by so-called "paper mills." Developed by QUT researcher Professor Adrian Barnett, from the School of Public Health and Social Work and Australian Center for Health Services and Innovation (AusHSI), and an international team of collaborators, the study, published in The BMJ, analyzed 2.6 million cancer studies from 1999 to 2024.

The study, "Machine Learning-Based Screening of Potential Paper Mill Publications in Cancer Research: Methodological and Cross-Sectional Study," found more than 250,000 papers with writing patterns similar to articles already retracted for suspected fabrication.

Paper mills are companies that sell fake or low-quality scientific studies. They are producing 'research' on an industrial scale, and these findings suggest the problem in cancer research is far larger than most people realized.

Selling authorships and entire ready-made research papers, paper mills often use recycled text, awkward phrasing or fabricated data and images.

Most likely, they're relying on boilerplate templates which can be detected by large language models that analyze patterns in texts.

Researchers trained a language model called BERT to recognize the subtle textual "fingerprints" that repeatedly appear across known paper-mill products.

When tested on verified examples, the model correctly identified suspicious papers 91% of the time.

Key findings from the large-scale analysis include: Flagged papers have increased dramatically over two decades, rising from around 1% in the early 2000s and peaking at over 16% in 2022. The issue affects thousands of journals across major publishers, including high-impact titles. The problem is most concentrated in fields such as molecular cancer biology and early-stage laboratory research. Some cancer types, including gastric, liver, bone and lung cancer, show especially high rates of suspicious papers.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 31, 2026 at 9:37am

AI-supported mammography screening results in fewer aggressive and advanced breast cancers

Artificial intelligence (AI)-supported mammography identifies more cancers during screening and reduces the rate of breast cancer diagnosis by 12% in the years following, finds the first randomized controlled trial of its kind. The trial involved over 100,000 Swedish women, and its results are published in The Lancet.

The interim safety results of the MASAI trial, published in The Lancet Oncology in 2023, found a 44% reduction in screen-reading workload for radiologists. Additionally, a different early analysis of the trial, published in The Lancet Digital Health, found a 29% increase in cancer detection without an increase in false positives.

The full results of the latest trial show that AI-supported mammography also reduces cancer diagnoses in the years following a breast cancer screening appointment by 12%—a key test of screening program effectiveness.

Interval cancer, sensitivity, and specificity comparing AI-supported mammography screening with standard double reading without AI in the MASAI study: a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, single-blinded, population-based, screening-accuracy trial, The Lancet (2026). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)02464-X

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 31, 2026 at 8:33am

Snakes on trains: When king cobras prefer rail travel

King cobras are the world's longest venomous snakes. So, imagine seeing one a few feet away as you embark on a train in India. The Western Ghats King Cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga)—a vulnerable king cobra species found in India's Western Ghats—has reportedly been caught aboard many trains in the Goa region of India. A new study, published in Biotropica, takes a closer look at these reports, where these snakes end up and whether this strange mode of animal migration is putting snakes into unsuitable habitats.

To learn more about the geographical spread of the Western Ghats King Cobra, the researchers compiled 22 years' worth of king cobra rescue records and verified local reports, spanning from 2002 to 2024. They found 47 georeferenced localities for O. kaalinga in Goa, with 18 in North Goa and 29 in South Goa.

Out of these, five king cobra records were found near busy railway corridors. Informal questioning also revealed that local residents reported king cobra encounters in the village and forested areas, but no such reports came from agricultural plots or paddy fields.

In 2017, study author Dikansh Parmar was volunteering with a local animal rescue group that received a call about a snake onboard a train. The incident is now included as part of this study. Another train rescue occurred in 2019, which ended up in a newspaper report in Uttarakhand. An incident occurred in 2023, in which a snake catcher from Gujarat State snapped a picture of an Indian Cobra sitting in a train window.

The study team writes, "With the increased global availability of low-cost smartphones and social media in recent years, the number of reports of snakes on and around trains in India has increased, with three incidents recorded in a 30-day period, and many more emerging on social media."

They also note that a combination of prey, in the form of other snakes and rodents, and shelter might lure a king cobra to enter a goods train at a location near their normal habitat.

"The findings suggest a different, more passive mechanism: railways may act not just as corridors for active movement, but as high-speed conduits. This contrasts with the typically negative impact of roads, which often function as barriers or significant mortality sinks for snakes. The potential for railways to inadvertently connect populations across otherwise unsuitable habitats represents a novel and underappreciated aspect of human-wildlife interaction," the study authors explain.

Clearly, the movement of these snakes to less suitable habitats has implications for the survival of an already vulnerable species. In addition, their presence onboard a train can present a threat to both the snakes and humans on the train. When humans are bitten by king cobras, fatalities can occur within 15 minutes. To avoid a bite, humans will also often resort to killing snakes even when other measures could be taken.

The team notes that the train-transport hypothesis is based on correlative and anecdotal evidence, not direct observation of movement to poorly suited habitats. Still, direct observations have been made of snakes being on trains, and mitigating these occurrences can help reduce risks for snakes and humans alike. The study team discusses the importance of snake rescue organizations and the need for public education on these matters.

Dikansh S. Parmar et al, Snakes on Trains: Railways May Sway Goa's King Cobra Distribution, Biotropica (2026). DOI: 10.1111/btp.70157

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 30, 2026 at 12:48pm

People who survive cancers are less likely to develop Alzheimer's. This might be why
Mouse studies indicate that tumors can release cystatin‑C, a protein that crosses the blood–brain barrier and promotes microglial clearance of amyloid beta, reducing Alzheimer‑like plaques and improving memory. This suggests a biological link between cancer and reduced Alzheimer's risk, though relevance to humans remains unproven.

Xinyan Li et al, Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer's disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2, Cell (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.020

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 30, 2026 at 12:48pm

Why is my migraine worse in summer?
Migraine symptoms can worsen in summer due to factors such as heat-induced blood vessel dilation, dehydration from increased sweating, heightened sensitivity to light and glare, disrupted routines, and sudden changes in air pressure or allergens. Identifying personal triggers and maintaining hydration, consistent routines, and proper medication storage can help reduce attack frequency and severity.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 30, 2026 at 12:40pm

Most patients, especially those with innocent murmurs, live completely normal and full lives. They can work, exercise, travel and enjoy normal activities. Even those with valve disease can remain active and healthy when they follow up regularly with their doctor and receive treatment at the right time.
That's great news, because staying active is an important part of managing a heart murmur.

And while we can't prevent all heart murmurs, we can reduce the risk of developing valve-related ones—and in some surprising ways.

Treating strep throat promptly helps prevent rheumatic fever, which can damage valves. Good dental hygiene lowers the risk of infections that can spread to the heart, too. Managing blood pressure and cholesterol also helps protect the heart, and avoiding intravenous drug use reduces the chance of infective endocarditis.
But if you do develop a heart murmur, rest assured. "A heart murmur is simply a clue—not a verdict. With routine checkups, healthy habits and the right care team, most people with a heart murmur can expect to live long, active, fulfilling lives.

What Is a Heart Murmur? A Cardiologist Explains. | Keck Medicine of...

Part 3

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 30, 2026 at 12:37pm

How do doctors diagnose a heart murmur?
If a doctor hears a particularly unusual whooshing or swishing sound, they might refer you to a cardiologist for further tests to determine what's going on.

Those tests will often start with an electrocardiogram (EKG) and echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart. But should your doctor need a better idea of how your heart muscles, chambers and valves are operating, they might order a chest X-ray, cardiac MRI or CT scan or other tests, too.
People diagnosed with heart murmurs might not notice any symptoms, even if their murmurs are caused by heart muscle or valve conditions. But if such conditions progress, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, fatigue and difficulty exercising, swollen legs, trouble sleeping and lying flat at night and even dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting could develop.

"If any of these symptoms appear, especially if they're new or worsening, it's time to call your doctor."
How do you treat a heart murmur?
What happens if a heart murmur goes untreated?

In the case of an innocent murmur, possibly nothing. But heart murmurs caused by severe valve or heart-muscle disease can overwork the heart, leading to complications like heart failure, stroke or irregular heart rhythm.

Cardiomyopathy-related heart murmurs respond well to medications and, in some cases, surgery, pacemakers or defibrillators. And patients can usually manage mild to moderate valve-related murmurs with medications that lower strain on the heart and control blood pressure and heart rhythm.
Severe valve disease, however, may require valve repair or replacement. The approach varies depending on the valve involved and the patient's overall condition, and it may range from minimally invasive procedures to traditional open-heart surgery.
A skilled care team knows how to determine the right treatment.
Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 30, 2026 at 12:32pm

What is a heart murmur?

A heart murmur can sound scary—literally.

"Lub-dub…lub-dub…lub-dub…" That's the sound a healthy heart makes as its valves close after each pump. Your doctor wants to hear this sound when listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope. But if the sound your doctor hears is more of a "whoosh" or "swish," that may signal that you have a heart murmur.

What causes a heart murmur?

A whooshing or swishing sound in your heart will perk up your doctor's ears because it means that the blood is flowing a little faster or more turbulently than usual.

In the case of what's known as a functional, or innocent, heart murmur, that turbulence is completely harmless and not even uncommon in healthy people, including children, athletes and pregnant women. Pathological murmurs, on the other hand, may indicate a problem with one or more of the heart valves.

These valve problems can arise with age and the normal wear-and-tear a heart experiences over a lifetime. But heart defects present from birth, as well as prior infections like rheumatic fever and infective endocarditis, which affects the heart's lining and valves, might also be to blame.

Finally, cardiomyopathies, or diseases of the heart muscle itself, can cause heart murmurs, particularly when the muscle becomes abnormally thick.

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