Why drawing eyes on food packaging could stop seagulls stealing your chips

Displaying eye-like images on food packaging can deter some herring gulls from approaching and stealing food, as these birds are slower to approach and less likely to peck at boxes with eyes compared to plain ones. This response likely stems from an instinctive wariness of being watched, a behavior observed in many animals. However, the deterrent effect is not universal, with only about half of gulls consistently avoiding the eye-marked packaging.

https://theconversation.com/why-drawing-eyes-on-food-packaging-coul...

Deuterium-labeled guinea pig helps scientists study metabolism

A guinea pig was raised exclusively on heavy water, resulting in deuterium incorporation into its biomolecules. Using mass spectrometry, the dynamics of deuterium labeling in various compounds were tracked, revealing synthesis rates and dietary contributions. This approach enables precise metabolic studies and supports the development of personalized nutrition strategies.
Scientists have raised the world's only isotope-labeled guinea pig. For 156 days, the animal, named Khryun, was given only heavy water to drink. Such water is non-radioactive and has long been used in biomedical research as a way to "label" molecules: the natural isotope deuterium accumulates in the chemical bonds of organic compounds and serves as a tracer for tracking their formation and breakdown. This approach can be useful for studying human metabolism, including the development of personalized medicine methods. The research results are published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Chemical elements exist in nature as isotopes—atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. In heavy water, ordinary hydrogen atoms are replaced by its heavier isotope, deuterium. Isotopes have virtually identical chemical properties, allowing them to be used as invisible tracers. This very approach—replacing ordinary compounds with labeled ones and tracking their transformations—forms the basis for deciphering most biochemical processes.
To track how the isotopic labels became incorporated into various biological molecules, the researcher used high-performance liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry.
The Mass spectrometry enables precise determination of the mass of all molecules present in a sample and distinguishes isotopes by their weight, making this method indispensable for such studies. The rate at which the label appears in a given compound reflects the intensity of its synthesis in the body.

The study determined the timeframes over which deuterium content in various substances reached steady-state levels. The final isotope content in each compound indicates to what extent it is synthesized by the body itself versus derived from food.

Oat shoots grown on heavy water were also produced. After Khryun ate them, the researcher determined how quickly the isotopically labeled substances from the oats became incorporated into the animal's own biological molecules.

 The study established a methodological framework for using isotopically labelled food to investigate individual metabolic characteristics, opening up enormous possibilities for metabolic control.

Yury Kostyukevich et al, Turnover Rate of Lipids, Metabolites and Proteins Revealed by 156-Day-Long D₂O Administration in a Guinea Pig, International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.3390/ijms27041944

Mild hypoxia after premature birth may disrupt hippocampal communication, mouse study suggests
Mild hypoxia after premature birth impairs learning and memory into adulthood by disrupting neuron-to-neuron communication in the hippocampus. This effect involves altered function of a specific protein channel and a second regulatory protein. Restoring the second protein's function in adult mice reversed the channel impairment, indicating potential therapeutic targets for hypoxia-induced cognitive deficits.
During intensive care after preterm births, babies can experience low oxygen in their tissue and cells—or hypoxia. Hypoxia is linked to poor brain health outcomes and life-long memory issues, but the mechanisms are unclear.
Researchers discovered a contributing mechanism by creating a mouse model for mild hypoxia following premature birth.
This new study explores how mild hypoxia may alter brain development without direct brain injury in this neonatal period.
As presented in their JNeurosci paper, mild hypoxia shortly after birth hindered learning and memory into adulthood, and the researchers discovered, at least in part, the mechanism for this effect: altered neuron-to-neuron communication in the hippocampus.

Probing a molecular mechanism, the researchers found that hypoxia following premature birth affected a protein channel involved in neuron-to-neuron communication and memory that develops in the hippocampus during adolescence. They also identified a second protein that was involved in hypoxia's effects on the channel's functioning.

When the researchers targeted this second protein in adult mice, they restored the channel's function.
According to the authors, this work sheds light on how hypoxia in preterm babies influences neuron communication in memory-related brain regions to hinder learning and memory into adulthood.

Mild Neonatal Hypoxia Targets Synaptic Maturation, Disrupts Adult Hippocampal Learning and Memory, and is Associated with CK2-Mediated Loss of Synaptic Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel KCNN2 Activity, JNeurosci (2026). DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1643-25.2026