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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 11:08am

Your gut microbes can be anti-aging—scientists are uncovering how to keep your microbiome youthful
The gut microbiome changes with age, typically losing diversity and increasing inflammation-promoting bacteria, which correlates with aging. Maintaining a youthful microbiome is linked to healthier aging and longevity. Diets high in fiber and regular exercise support a beneficial microbiome, while interventions like fecal transplants, postbiotics, and targeted drugs or phages are being explored to promote healthy aging.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 11:00am

Why do falls rise with age? Study points to cerebellar neuron firing
Age-related declines in Purkinje cell firing in the cerebellum directly impair motor coordination, balance, and gait. Experimental reduction of Purkinje cell activity in young mice induced motor deficits, while enhancing firing in older mice improved performance. These findings highlight cerebellar neuron dysfunction as a key factor in increased fall risk with aging.
A new study has found a direct link between age-related declines in neuron activity in the cerebellum and worsening motor skills, including gait, balance and agility. While it is well known that these abilities diminish with age, this is the first research to pinpoint how changes in Purkinje cells—a key type of cerebellar neuron—drive this decline and translate into measurable changes in behaviour and physical function.
Purkinje cells process sensory input and internal signals from the body and send corrective messages that finetune movement. However, unlike other neurons, they can also spontaneously fire electrical signals. To test how aging affects this activity, the researchers examined motor coordination in mice ranging from young adults (two months old) to elderly (18 to 24 months old). Older mice performed worse on several coordination tasks, including crossing an elevated beam and staying on a rotating rod (Rotarod), mirroring motor decline in humans.
The team then recorded electrical activity from Purkinje cells and found significantly lower firing frequencies in older mice. To determine whether this caused the behavioral decline, they used a genetically targeted tool called a DREADD, a type of designer receptor that increases or decreases neuron excitability when activated.
When they turned on the DREADD for young mice, which made their Purkinje cells fire at lower rates, mimicking the older Purkinje cells, the researchers found that they jumped off the Rotarod sooner than young mice who did not have the DREADD.
The reverse was also true: when the researchers boosted neuron firing in older mice, those mice stayed on the Rotarod longer, suggesting improved motor coordination.
The researchers showed that spontaneous firing rates in older Purkinje cells are reduced, and if we reverse this, we improve coordination. This indicates that the change plays a direct role in the age-related decline of motor coordination.

Eviatar Fields et al, Cerebellar Purkinje cell firing reduction contributes to aging-related declining motor coordination in mice, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2525795122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 10:47am

When influencers raise a glass, young viewers want to join them

Exposure to social media influencer posts featuring alcohol increases young adults' immediate desire to drink by 73% compared to similar posts without alcohol. This effect is amplified when influencers are perceived as trustworthy, honest, and knowledgeable. The findings highlight the subtle influence of everyday social media content on drinking intentions among young viewers.

Exposure to Alcohol-Related Social Media Content and Desire to Drink Among Young Adults, JAMA Pediatrics (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6335

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 10:45am

Rare genetic variant protects against malaria-causing parasite by making red blood cells bigger
Scientists have found that a special component in some people's blood provides them with natural protection against malaria. A recent study has demonstrated that a genetic variant named rs112233623-T reduces the activity of CCND3, a gene that normally helps control how red blood cells divide and grow. This change prompts the body to make fewer but larger-than-normal red blood cells and also leads to higher levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside the cells. Together, these factors create a hostile environment for the malaria parasite to thrive and replicate.
This genetic variant is present in 10% of the population in Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, but is rare or absent elsewhere in the world. The researchers think this phenomenon to be positive selection—a trait that likely became common because it helped people survive the disease in areas where malaria had been a major problem for centuries.
As per the findings published in Nature, replicating the reduction in CCND3 and the resulting changes in red blood cells caused by the rs112233623-T genetic variant could provide a potential therapeutic strategy to combat malaria.

Maria Giuseppina Marini et al, Reduced cyclin D3 expression in erythroid cells protects against malaria, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10110-9

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 10:03am

158 giant tortoises reintroduced to a Galapagos island
A total of 158 giant tortoises, bred from individuals with high genetic similarity to Floreana Island’s extinct native species, have been reintroduced to Floreana after more than a century. These tortoises, important for ecosystem functions such as seed dispersal and habitat regeneration, underwent quarantine and microchipping before release as part of a broader rewilding effort.

Source: News Agencies

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 10:01am

How your body senses cold—and why menthol feels cool

When you step outside on a winter morning or pop a mint into your mouth, a tiny molecular sensor in your body springs into action, alerting your brain to the sensation of cold. Scientists have now captured the first detailed images of this sensor at work, revealing exactly how it detects both actual cold and the perceived cool of menthol, a compound derived from mint plants.

The study focused on a protein channel called TRPM8 which acts like a microscopic thermometer inside your body. It's the primary sensor that tells your brain when it's cold.

TRPM8 sits in the membranes of sensory neurons innervating the skin, oral cavity, and eyes. It responds to cold temperatures—roughly between 46°F and 82°F—by opening up and allowing ions to flow into the cell, which triggers a nerve signal to the brain. It's also the reason menthol, eucalyptus, and certain other compounds produce that characteristic cooling sensation.

Menthol is like a trick. It attaches to a specific part of the channel and triggers it to open, just like cold temperature would. So even though menthol isn't actually freezing anything, your body gets the same signal as if it were touching ice.

The researchers discovered that cold and menthol activate the channel through shared yet distinct allosteric networks: cold primarily triggers changes in the pore region (the part that actually opens to let ions through), while menthol binds a different part of the protein and induces shape changes that propagate to the pore. When cold is combined with menthol, the response is enhanced synergistically.

The findings have medical implications. When TRPM8 doesn't function properly, it has been linked to conditions including chronic pain, migraines, dry eye and certain cancers.

https://www.biophysics.org/news-room/scientists-show-how-your-body-....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 9:53am

2-month-olds see the world in a more complex way than people thought: study

A new study suggests that babies are able to distinguish between the different objects they see around them at 2 months old.

The findings, published this week in Nature Neuroscience, may help doctors and researchers better understand cognitive development in infancy.

It really tells us that infants are interacting with the world in a lot more complex of a way than we might imagine.

The study looked at data from 130 2-month-olds who underwent brain scans while awake. The babies viewed images from a dozen categories commonly seen in the first year of life, such as trees and animals. When babies looked at an image like a cat, their brains might "fire" a certain way that researchers could record. If they looked at an inanimate object, their brains would fire differently.

The technique—known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI—allowed scientists to examine visual function more precisely than in the past.

So even at 2 months of age, infants can distinguish between different objects, according to this new study.

Cliona O'Doherty, Infants have rich visual categories in ventrotemporal cortex at 2 months of age, Nature Neuroscience (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-02187-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02187-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 9:38am

Every time the dogs in the study moved, sensors picked up "puffs" of indoor pollution, with large dogs giving off two to four times more microorganisms than the humans in the same room do. Many of these particles are fluorescent: when exposed to ultraviolet light, they glow ever so slightly, betraying their biological origin.

Shen Yang et al, Our Best Friends: How Dogs Alter Indoor Air Quality, Environmental Science & Technology (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5c13324

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 9:28am

Large dogs release two to four times more airborne microbes than humans

Unseen but all around us, the air we breathe in enclosed spaces is crucial to our health and well-being. Indoor air is not simply outdoor air that has been run through a filter: it has its own chemical makeup and a unique combination of particles, gases and microorganisms. Because indoor air has many sources of its own, concentrations of many pollutants can be as high as—or higher than—outdoor levels, especially during everyday activities like cooking or cleaning.
The composition of indoor air, even in well-ventilated spaces, depends on the room's occupants and what they're doing, as well as any objects located there.
In a new study published in Environmental Science & Technology, a team of researchers measured the gases, particles of different sizes and microorganisms that dogs give off, through experiments run under tightly controlled conditions.

Large dogs emit two to four times more airborne microbes than humans, primarily through the release of particles during movement or interaction. Both dogs and humans produce similar amounts of CO2 and ammonia, though dogs have a higher ammonia-to-CO2 ratio, likely due to diet and metabolism. Dogs generate fewer ozone byproducts than humans, and their presence significantly alters indoor air microbiology.

The researchers discovered that the ammonia-to-CO₂ ratio is higher in dogs than in humans. In other words, a dog exhaling the same amount of CO₂ as a human will be producing significantly more ammonia. This difference is probably a function of their more protein-rich food, their unique metabolism and their fast breathing, which is one of the ways they control their body temperature.

When it comes to air pollutants, dogs make their biggest impact through the tiny solid and liquid particles that they send up into the air.

When shaking themselves off, scratching themselves or simply being petted, dogs release sizeable quantities of relatively large particles: dust, pollen, plant debris and microbes.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on February 24, 2026 at 9:21am

Maternal infections during pregnancy increase the risk of suicidal behaviors in their offspring, study finds

Past medical research consistently showed that specific events unfolding during pregnancy can influence the health of their offspring after birth.

Researchers carried out a large-scale study investigating the possible connection between maternal infections during pregnancy and the risk that offspring will exhibit suicidal behaviour later in life. Their findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that children who were exposed to an infection while they were still in their mother's womb are at a higher risk of attempting suicide.

Infections caused by an exposure to specific viruses or bacteria activate an immune response known as inflammation. 

Inflammation at crucial stages of brain development has previously been linked to a higher risk of developing some mental health disorders.

As part of their recent study, the researchers analyzed a large amount of data extracted from Denmark's national health registers. The dataset analyzed by them is remarkably large, as it contains information relating to over 2 million individuals. This ultimately allowed the researchers to reliably search for associations between maternal infections and suicidal behaviours, which would be difficult to uncover within smaller datasets.

The researchers analyzed the health records of all individuals above the age of 10 in the period spanning from 1987 to 2021. They specifically looked for maternal and paternal infections, before, during and after they were expecting a child, as well as their children's hospital visits after the age of 10.

Based on their analyses, the researchers estimated that if a mother was exposed to a bacterial or viral infection while she was pregnant, her child had a 46% higher risk of attempting suicide. This percentage appeared to be higher if infections occurred during the second or third trimester. Surprisingly, the risk of offspring attempting suicide was also higher when mothers contracted an infection before or after their pregnancy than if they contracted no infection at all, which could suggest either long-lasting effects of infections or the presence of residual confounding factors.

Interestingly, the researchers found that while maternal infections were linked to a higher risk of suicide attempts in offspring, paternal infections were not. This suggests that the link they observed is unlikely to be a result of social or family-related factors, as it would also hold true for paternal infections, but that it is instead rooted in fetal brain development.

The results of this recent study suggest that women's health before, during and right after pregnancy could be very important for the prevention of mental health-related issues and the reduction of suicide rates.

Massimiliano Orri et al, Association between maternal infections during pregnancy and offspring suicide risk: A national cohort study, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-025-03430-1.

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