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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 6, 2025 at 7:06am

Generally, things really do seem better in the morning, large study suggests

Generally, things really do seem better in the morning, with clear differences in self-reported mental health and well-being across the day, suggest the findings of a large study published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health.

People generally wake up feeling in the best frame of mind in the morning, but in the worst around midnight, the findings indicate, with day of the week and season of the year also playing their part.

Mental health and well-being are dynamic in nature, and subject to change over both short and extended periods, note the researchers. But relatively few studies have looked at how these might change over the course of the day, and those studies that have, have included particular, or only small, groups.

The researchers therefore wanted to explore whether time of day was associated with variations in mental health (depressive and/or anxiety symptoms), happiness (hedonic well-being), life satisfaction, sense of life being worthwhile (eudemonic well-being) and loneliness (social well-being). They also wanted to find out if these associations varied by day, season, and year. They analyzed data from the University College London COVID-19 Social Study, which began in March 2020, and involved regular monitoring until November 2021, and then additional monitoring up to March 2022.

All studied aspects were measured via questionnaires using validated assessment tools or through single direct questions.

Analysis of the data revealed a clear pattern in self-reported mental health and well-being across the day, with people generally waking up in the morning feeling best—lowest depressive/anxiety symptoms and loneliness and highest happiness, life satisfaction, and worthwhile ratings—and feeling worst around midnight.

The influence of day of the week was less clear-cut, with more variation in mental health and well-being during weekends than on weekdays.

Happiness, life satisfaction, and worthwhile ratings were all higher on Mondays and Fridays than on Sundays, and happiness was also higher on Tuesdays. But there was no evidence that loneliness differed across days of the week.

There was clear evidence of a seasonal influence on mood, however. Compared with winter, people tended to have lower levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and loneliness, and higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and feeling that life was worthwhile in other seasons.

And mental health was best in the summer across all outcomes. But the season didn't affect the associations observed across the day, however.

Mental health and well-being also steadily improved from 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause. 

Will things feel better in the morning? A time-of-day analysis of mental health and wellbeing from nearly 1 million observations, BMJ Mental Health (2025). DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2024-301418

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 6, 2025 at 6:59am

The two OCD subtypes uncovered by the researchers are characterized by distinct patterns in gray matter volumes within specific brain regions. People in subtype 1 presented more gray matter in brain areas supporting decision-making (e.g., the frontal gyrus) and emotional processing (i.e., the amygdala).

In contrast, those in subtype 2 were found to present lower gray matter volumes in areas linked to self-referential thinking (i.e., the precuneus) and cognitive function (i.e., the striatum).

Notably, the newly unveiled subtypes were also found to be associated with different disease epicenters and distinct links to neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. This essentially means that the brain regions and receptors most affected by or implicated in the disorder also differed significantly between the two subtypes.
Subtype 1 showed disease epicenters in the middle frontal gyrus, while subtype 2 displayed disease epicenters in the striatum, thalamus and hippocampus," wrote the researchers. "Furthermore, structural brain abnormalities in these subtypes displayed distinct associations with neurotransmitter receptors/transporters."

The findings of this recent study could help to partially explain the differences between patients diagnosed with OCD that have often been observed .

 Baohong Wen et al, Individualized gray matter morphological abnormalities unveil two neuroanatomical obsessive-compulsive disorder subtypes, Translational Psychiatry (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03226-5

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 6, 2025 at 6:57am

Gray matter study uncovers two neuroanatomically different OCD subtypes

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder associated with persistent, intrusive thoughts (i.e., obsessions), accompanied by repetitive behaviors (i.e., compulsions) aimed at reducing the anxiety arising from obsessions. Past studies have showed that people diagnosed with OCD can present symptoms that vary significantly, as well as distinct brain abnormalities.

A team of researchers  recently carried out a study aimed at further exploring the well-documented differences among patients with OCD. Their findings, published in Translational Psychiatry, allowed them to identify two broad OCD subtypes, which are associated with different patterns in gray matter volumes and disease epicenters.

OCD is a highly heterogeneous disorder, with notable variations among cases in structural brain abnormalities.

The researchers recruited 100 individuals who had just been diagnosed with OCD for the first time and had not yet started treatment, along with 106 healthy individuals who received no psychiatric and medical diagnoses. They then used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to collect to collect structural imaging scans of all the participants' brains.

Utilizing normative models of gray matter volume, the researchers identified subtypes based on individual morphological abnormalities.

Subtype 1 displayed significantly increased gray matter volume in regions including the frontal gyrus, precuneus, insula, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, amygdala, and temporal gyrus, while subtype 2 exhibited decreased gray matter volume in the frontal gyrus, precuneus, insula, superior parietal gyrus, temporal gyrus, and fusiform gyrus," wrote the researchers in their paper. "When considering all patients collectively, structural brain abnormalities nullified."

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 1:00pm

Juicing may harm your health in just 3 days, study finds

Think your juice cleanse is making you healthier? A new  study suggests it might be doing the opposite. The study, recently published in Nutrients, found that a vegetable and fruit juice-only diet—even for just three days—can trigger shifts in gut and oral bacteria linked to inflammation and cognitive decline.

Scientists studied three groups of healthy adults. One group consumed only juice, another had juice with whole foods and a third ate only whole plant-based foods. Scientists collected saliva, cheek swabs and stool samples before, during and after the diets to analyze bacterial changes using gene-sequencing techniques.

The juice-only group showed the most significant increase in bacteria associated with inflammation and gut permeability, while the plant-based whole food group saw more favorable microbial changes. The juice plus food group had some bacterial shifts but less severe than the juice-only group. These findings suggest that juicing without fiber may disrupt the microbiome, potentially leading to long-term health consequences.

Most people think of juicing as a healthy cleanse, but this study offers a reality check, say the researchers.

Consuming large amounts of juice with little fiber may lead to microbiome imbalances that could have negative consequences, such as inflammation and reduced gut health.

Fiber matters

Juicing strips away much of the fiber in whole fruits and vegetables, which feeds beneficial bacteria that produce anti-inflammatory compounds such as butyrate.

Without fiber, sugar-loving bacteria can multiply. The high sugar content in juice further fuels these harmful bacteria, disrupting the gut and oral microbiome. The study also suggests that reduced fiber intake may impact metabolism, immunity and even mental health.

Unlike the gut microbiota, which remained relatively stable, the oral microbiome showed dramatic changes during the juice-only diet. Scientists found a reduction in beneficial Firmicutes bacteria and an increase in Proteobacteria, a bacterial group associated with inflammation.

This highlights how quickly dietary choices can influence health-related bacterial populations. The oral microbiome appears to be a rapid barometer of dietary impact.

So don't just drink juices, eat whole fruits and vegetables, with their fibre intact.

Maria Luisa Savo Sardaro et al, Effects of Vegetable and Fruit Juicing on Gut and Oral Microbiome Composition, Nutrients (2025). DOI: 10.3390/nu17030458

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:45pm

What is brown fat?

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:39pm

They used CRISPR to activate genes that are dormant in white fat cells but are active in brown fat cells, in the hopes of finding the ones that would transform the white fat cells into the hungriest of beige fat cells.

A gene called UCP1 rose to the top.

Then, the researchers grew UCP1 beige fat cells and cancer cells in a "trans-well" petri dish. The cancer cells were on the bottom and the fat cells were above them in separate compartments that kept the cells apart but forced them to share nutrients.

The results were shocking.
In their very first trans-well experiment, very few cancer cells survived.
The beige fat cells held sway over two different types of breast cancer cells, as well as colon, pancreatic and prostate cancer cells.

But the researchers still didn't know if the implanted beige fat cells would work in a more realistic context.
So, the scientists turned to fat organoids, which are coherent clumps of cells grown in a dish, to see if they could beat tumor cells when they were implanted next to tumors in mice.

The approach worked against breast cancer, as well as pancreatic and prostate cancer cells. The cancer cells starved as the fat cells gobbled up all the available nutrients.

The implanted beige fat cells were so powerful that they suppressed pancreatic and breast tumors in mice that were genetically predisposed to develop cancer. It even worked when the beige fat cells were implanted far away from the breast cancer cells.
When tested with removed cancer breasts, these same-patient beige fat cells outcompeted breast cancer cells in petri dishes—and when they were implanted together in mouse models.

Knowing that cancers have preferred diets, the researchers engineered fat just to eat certain nutrients. Certain forms of pancreatic cancer, for example, rely on uridine when glucose is scarce.

So, they programmed the fat to eat just uridine, and they easily outcompeted these pancreatic cancer cells. This suggests that fat could be adapted to any cancer's dietary preferences.
Fat cells have many advantages when it comes to living cell therapies.

Hai P. Nguyen et al, Implantation of engineered adipocytes suppresses tumor progression in cancer models, Nature Biotechnology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-024-02551-2

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:34pm

Hungry fat cells could  starve cancer to death

Liposuction and plastic surgery aren't often mentioned in the same breath as cancer. But they are the inspiration for a new approach to treating cancer that uses engineered fat cells to deprive tumors of nutrition.

Researchers  used the gene editing technology CRISPR to turn ordinary white fat cells into "beige" fat cells, which voraciously consume calories to make heat.

Then, they implanted them near tumors the way plastic surgeons inject fat from one part of the body to plump up another. The fat cells scarfed up all the nutrients, starving most of the tumor cells to death. The approach even worked when the fat cells were implanted in mice far from the sites of their tumors. Relying on common procedures could hasten the approach's arrival as a new form of cellular therapy.

Doctors already routinely remove fat cells with liposuction and put them back via plastic surgery. These fat cells can be easily manipulated in the lab and safely placed back into the body, making them an attractive platform for cellular therapy, including for cancer.

Beige fat cells outcompete cancer cells for nutrients. That is why exposure to cold could suppress cancer in mice.

One remarkable experiment even showed it could help a patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Scientists concluded that the cancer cells were starving because the cold was activating brown fat cells, which use nutrients to produce heat.

But cold therapy isn't a viable option for cancer patients with fragile health.

So the researchers turned to the idea of using beige fat, wagering that they could engineer it to burn enough calories, even in the absence of cold, to deprive tumors of the fuel they needed to grow.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:26pm

Image source : tandfonline.com

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:22pm

Phage Therapy: Helping viruses deliver a knockout blow to killer bacterial infections

In the face of rising concerns about antibiotic resistant infections, an international group of microbial experts have launched a powerful and flexible free online genomic toolkit for more rapid development of phage therapy.

After decades of research, phages or bacteriophage viruses that target and kill specific bacteria are seen as the next frontier in finding fast and effective ways to curb the death toll and serious illnesses caused by antibiotic resistant "superbugs" every year.

The lead developers of the new platform, called Sphae, claim it is capable of assessing if a phage is suitable for a targeted therapy in under 10 minutes.

This marks a big step forward in quickly evaluating phage safety and suitability for addressing antibiotic-resistant infections, according to the team at Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration (FAME) and collaborators in a new article just published in the journal Bioinformatics Advances.

Sphae integrates high-throughput sequencing technologies with advanced computational pipelines, enabling researchers to analyze vast and complex datasets efficiently. It  prioritizes safety, flagging genes associated with toxins or undesirable traits to ensure that only the safest candidates are advanced for therapeutic use.

Adaptability and scalability sets Sphae apart. The workflow supports a wide range of sequencing technologies while the toolkit can handle the massive datasets typical of high-performance computing environments, making it an invaluable tool for labs tackling large-scale projects.

Sphae not only aids in therapeutic research but also advances our broader understanding of microbial ecosystems and their impact on global health and climate. Sphae processes multiple phage genomes at once, saving time and efficiently handling larger datasets.

Sphae works effectively even in mixed or challenging datasets, providing consistent and accurate results to help identify phages that can potentially combat resistant bacterial strains.

It offers a complete view of phage genomes, summarizing key features like resistance and virulence markers for better insight into phage safety and functionality.

When conventional antibiotics are not effective any more, personalized phage therapy could become a standard part of medical practice by simplifying and accelerating the discovery of therapeutic phages suited to the individual patient's infection. The future of medicine lies in the precise, efficient, and safe use of phages to combat bacterial infections and restore hope to patients worldwide.

Bhavya Papudeshi et al, Sphae: an automated toolkit for predicting phage therapy candidates from sequencing data, Bioinformatics Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1093/bioadv/vbaf004

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 5, 2025 at 12:01pm

Human influence has led to loss of dialects in chimpanzees, long-term study suggests

A new study, conducted on wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, provides evidence that the gestures used by male chimpanzees from four neighboring communities during copulation requests may reflect different dialects. One gesture, used predominantly in one community, disappeared from the repertoire 20 years ago after a poaching incident and did not return. This incident documents a cultural loss associated with human-induced population decline, a phenomenon rarely documented in animals.

Much like people from different regions speak with different accents or use unique expressions, many animals have their own "dialects." Songbirds such as sparrows and finches, or even whales, learn their songs from others, resulting in variations that are as unique to a region as local accents in humans. However, in primates, which are phylogenetically closer to humans, evidence for community-specific dialects remains surprisingly scarce, presenting an intriguing area for further scientific investigation.

Researchers observed members of the four neighboring communities of wild chimpanzees every day from the time they left their nests in the morning until they went to sleep at night. Their work is published  in the journal Current Biology.

Researchers identified four types of communicative gestures, 'heel kick,' 'knuckle knock,' 'leaf clip' and 'branch shake,' used by male chimpanzees to attract females to mate with them. Between 2013 and 2024, they found differences in the frequency of use of these communicative gestures between neighboring chimpanzee communities, but also between populations across Africa.

Using long-term data from 45 years of research in the Taï Chimpanzee Project, the researchers also revealed variations in gesture use over time. These findings highlight the ability of humans' closest living relatives to produce cultural differences in communicative signals.

The consistent use of the same mating request signal forms within communities, but different signal forms between neighboring communities that experience regular gene flow through female migration, suggests socially learned dialects in chimpanzees, evidence that has rarely been demonstrated before.

These days, males in the North group, one of the four communities, have not been observed to use the 'knuckle knock' for 20 years, although all males in the North group used this gesture before 2004.

Following a series of human-induced events leading to demographic loss, the last adult male of the North group was killed by a poacher, resulting in several years without an adult male.

The loss of competition between adult males for females or the loss of all role models could be responsible for the cultural loss of this specific copulation request gesture in this community.

This finding provides evidence that human illegal activities have altered the cultural behavior of chimpanzees.

There is an urgent need to integrate the preservation of chimpanzee culture into conservation strategies, the researchers say.

Mathieu Malherbe et al, Signal traditions and cultural loss in chimpanzees, Current Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.12.008

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