UN warns vaccine-preventable diseases on the rise globally

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever are on the rise globally amid misinformation and cuts to international aid, the United Nations and the Gavi vaccine alliance warned this week.

Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades. Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy.

The increasing outbreaks around the world are "putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increased costs in treating diseases."

Measles, for example, is making an "especially dangerous comeback," with cases rising every year since 2021 and reaching an estimated 10.3 million in 2023, which is a 20% increase since 2022.

The organizations believe that the trend is likely to have continued into 2024 and 2025.

In the past 12 months, 138 countries have reported measles cases, with 61 experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks—the highest number observed in any 12-month period since 2019, according to the statement.

The joint statement was signed by the World Health Organization, the United Nations children's fund UNICEF, and Gavi, and was released Wednesday at the start of World Immunization Week, which runs April 24-30.

Cases of meningitis and yellow fever have also increased significantly in Africa in 2024, it said.

The spikes are taking place amid rising misinformation, population growth and humanitarian crisis.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2025-increases-in-vaccine-preve...

Super stem cells become better versions of themselves by changing their diet

In a new study, researchers  have successfully created stem cells that are better at developing into other cell types, like a younger, fitter version of themselves—by changing their diet. These stem cells are better than normal stem cells at creating specialized cells like liver, skin or nerve cells, which is a core trait of stem cells.

Researchers showed that by changing their diet, the stem cells can rejuvenate and turn into 'super stem cells.' It forces them to metabolize their energy in a different way than they normally would, and that process essentially reprograms the stem cells.

The net result is that they behave like they are from an earlier stage of development, which enhances their ability to develop, or differentiate, into other types of cells.

Specifically, the researchers changed what type of sugar the stem cells have available in the medium they grow in. The cells use the sugar to generate energy.

"What is really striking is that they're not just better at differentiating, but they stay fit and keep healthy much better over time compared to stem cells in standard culture conditions. And it is done with a relatively simple method.

Altering metabolism programs cell identity via NAD+-dependent deacetylation, The EMBO Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44318-025-00417-0

A Single-Celled Microbe Can Transform Into a Multicellular Creature

A single-celled microbe that revels in Earth's most hostile salt lakes has the remarkable ability to transform its mote of a body into multicellular tissue when the pressure's on.

Haloferax volcanii is a member of the often-overlooked archaea domain, which looks quite similar to bacteria and yet have more in common with our own domain, eukaryota. Multicellularity is common in eukaryotes and rare among bacteria, and as far as we know, H. volcanii is only the second archaeon found to take this multicellular leap.

H. volcanii has some impressive shape shifting techniques up its tiny sleeves to help it thrive in such extreme environments as the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake.

Why our waistlines expand in middle age

Peoples' waistlines often expand in middle age, but the problem isn't strictly cosmetic. Belly fat accelerates aging and slows down metabolism, increasing their risk for developing diabetes, heart problems and other chronic diseases. Exactly how age transforms a six pack into a softer stomach, however, is murky.

Now preclinical research has uncovered the cellular culprit behind age-related abdominal fat, providing new insights into why our midsections widen with middle age.

The researchers discovered that aging triggers the arrival of a new type of adult stem cell and enhances the body's massive production of new fat cells, especially around the belly.

The scientists conducted a series of mouse experiments later validated on human cells.

They focused on white adipose tissue (WAT), the fatty tissue responsible for age-related weight gain.

While it's well-known that fat cells grow larger with age, the scientists suspected that WAT also expanded by producing new fat cells, meaning it may have an unlimited potential to grow.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers focused on adipocyte progenitor cells (APCs), a group of stem cells in WAT that evolve into fat cells.

They first transplanted APCs from young and older mice into a second group of young mice. The APCs from the older animals rapidly generated a colossal amount of fat cells.

When the team transplanted APCs from young mice into the older mice, however, the stem cells did not manufacture many new fat cells. The results confirmed that older APCs are equipped to independently make new fat cells, regardless of their host's age.

Using single-cell RNA sequencing, the scientists next compared APC gene activity in young and older mice. While barely active in young mice, APCs woke up with a vengeance in middle-aged mice and began pumping out new fat cells.

While most adult stem cells' capacity to grow wanes with age, the opposite holds true with APCs—aging unlocks these cells' power to evolve and spread. This is the first evidence that our bellies expand with age due to the APCs' high output of new fat cells.

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Aging also transformed the APCs into a new type of stem cell called committed preadipocytes, age-specific (CP-As). Arising in middle age, CP-A cells actively churn out new fat cells, explaining why older mice gain more weight.

A signaling pathway called leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) proved critical for promoting these CP-A cells to multiply and evolve into fat cells.

The scientists discovered that the body's fat-making process is driven by LIFR. While young mice don't require this signal to make fat, older mice do.

Guan Wang et al, Distinct adipose progenitor cells emerging with age drive active adipogenesis, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adj0430

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Industrial waste is turning to rock in just decades, research reveals

An aluminum tab from a drinks can found encased in a new form of rock on the Cumbrian coastline has helped provide scientists with a shocking new insight into the impact of human activity on Earth's natural processes and materials.

Researchers have found that slag, an industrial waste product produced by the steel industry, is turning into solid rock in as little as 35 years.

The finding challenges centuries of understanding of the planet's geological processes, where research has shown that rock forms naturally over millions of years.

The researchers have documented for the first time a new "rapid anthropoclastic rock cycle," which mimics natural rock cycles but involves human material over accelerated timescales. They think the cycle is likely to be underway at similar industrial sites around the globe.

The team warn that the rapid and unplanned-for development of rock around industrial waste sites could have negative impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as coastal management and land planning.

In a paper published in the journal Geology, the researchers explain how detailed analysis of a 2-kilometer stretch of slag deposit at Derwent Howe in West Cumbria led to their discovery of a new Earth system cycle.

Derwent Howe was home to iron and steel-making foundries during the 19th and 20th centuries, and its coast accumulated 27 million cubic meters of furnace slag over the course of its industrial history.

The slag deposits have formed cliffs of waste material that are being eroded by coastal waves and tides. The team noticed intriguing irregular formations in the cliffs, and began to make detailed observations at 13 sites across the foreshore.

Lab tests using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy helped them to determine that Derwent Howe's slag materials contain deposits of calcium, iron, and magnesium, and manganese. These elements are highly chemically reactive, which is key to causing the accelerated process of rock formation.

When the slag is eroded by the sea, it exposes the material to seawater and air, which interacts with the slag's reactive elements to create natural cements including calcite, goethite, and brucite. These cements are the same materials that bind together natural sedimentary rocks, but the chemical reactions cause the process to happen much faster than we have assumed for similar materials in a natural rock cycle.

What's remarkable here is that scientists have found these human-made materials being incorporated into natural systems and becoming lithified—essentially turning into rock—over the course of decades instead. It challenges our understanding of how a rock is formed, and suggests that the waste material we've produced in creating the modern world is going to have an irreversible impact on our future.

Study explores the motivations behind helping others

Why are some people more helpful than others? In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers used rats to explore why some individuals may be more receptive to the distress of others and how this information leads to helpful behaviour.

During a task the researchers previously developed, they observed the behaviors and brain activity of helpful rats compared to less helpful rats. In this task that probes helping behavior, rats are given the option to release a distressed peer trapped in a restrainer.

Rats that were more likely to come to the aid of others had increased activity in brain regions associated with empathy and motivation compared to less helpful rats.

The researchers also observed that helper rats had increased oxytocin receptor expression in a brain region that drives motivation compared to the less helpful rats. According to the authors, this could mean that caring for others, more than relating to others' distresses, contributes to helpfulness.

When oxytocin signaling was inhibited, rats were less friendly with others, suggesting oxytocin may support helping by making rats feel attachment to others.

 Neural and Behavioral Correlates of Individual Variability in Rat Helping Behavior: A Role for Social Affiliation and Oxytocin Receptors, JNeurosci (2025). DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0845-24.2025

Mice develop fibromyalgia-like pain after receiving gut microbiota from human patients

Research has discovered that transplanting gut microbiota from women with fibromyalgia into mice induces pain, immune activation, metabolomic changes, and reduced skin innervation.

The exact cause of fibromyalgia is unknown. Fibromyalgia affects 2% to 4% of the population, primarily women, and is characterized by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disruptions, and cognitive difficulties. Most patients suffer from significant symptoms that negatively impact quality of life.

Dysregulated activity of the central nervous system, altered neurotransmitters, neuroinflammation, and reduced intraepidermal nerve fiber density have been observed in fibromyalgia patients. Functional gastrointestinal disorders and depression are also common.

Previous studies have revealed that gut microbiota composition differs between women with fibromyalgia and healthy controls, yet the connection between this altered microbiota and any functional role it might play remains a mystery.

In the study, "The gut microbiota promotes pain in fibromyalgia," published in Neuron, researchers conducted a fecal microbiota transplantation study to determine whether altered gut microbiota from fibromyalgia patients could cause pain and related symptoms.

Researchers performed fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) into germ-free female mice using samples collected from women with fibromyalgia and age-matched healthy controls. An open-label clinical trial enrolled 14 women with severe fibromyalgia who received five oral FMT doses from healthy female donors.

To assess pain and systemic changes in mice, the study employed behavioral assays, single-cell RNA sequencing, metabolomic profiling, dorsal root ganglia calcium imaging, and spinal microglia analysis. Clinical participants received oral FMT capsules biweekly for five doses following antibiotic and bowel cleansing preparation.

Mice that received microbiota from fibromyalgia patients developed mechanical, heat, and cold hypersensitivity, spontaneous pain, and muscle pain within four weeks. Persistent pain and depression-like behaviors were observed in mice four months post-transplantation.

Changes coincided with altered gut microbiota composition, immune activation marked by classical monocytes and spinal microglia, shifts in amino acid and bile acid metabolism, and reduced intraepidermal nerve fiber density. Replacing fibromyalgia-associated microbiota with that from healthy donors reversed pain hypersensitivity. Oral bile acid supplementation also reduced pain responses in mice.

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In the human clinical study, 14 women with severe, treatment-resistant fibromyalgia received FMT from healthy donors. Post-treatment, 12 participants reported a clinically significant reduction in pain.

Improvements, while not complete reversals, were observed in overall symptom burden, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression scores. Quantitative sensory testing showed reductions in cold pain hypersensitivity. Stool analysis confirmed successful bacterial engraftment from healthy donors.

Based on the results, alterations in gut microbiota may play a causal role in the development of pain and other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. Because the human trial was open-label, lacked a control arm, and enrolled only women, the findings are preliminary and need confirmation in randomized controlled trials.
Modulating the gut microbiota through fecal transplantation presents a potential therapeutic strategy for individuals suffering from this chronic pain syndrome. Establishing the functional significance of gut microbiota in fibromyalgia would open new opportunities for evaluating microbial-based interventions.

Weihua Cai et al, The gut microbiota promotes pain in fibromyalgia, Neuron (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.03.032

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Flares from magnetized stars can forge planets' worth of gold

Astronomers have discovered a previously unknown birthplace of some of the universe's rarest elements: a giant flare unleashed by a supermagnetized star. The astronomers calculated that such flares could be responsible for forging up to 10% of our galaxy's gold, platinum and other heavy elements.

The discovery also resolves a decades-long mystery concerning a bright flash of light and particles spotted by a space telescope in December 2004. The light came from a magnetar—a type of star wrapped in magnetic fields trillions of times as strong as Earth's—that had unleashed a giant flare.

The powerful blast of radiation only lasted a few seconds, but it released more energy than the sun does in 1 million years. While the flare's origin was quickly identified, a second, smaller signal from the star, peaking 10 minutes later, confounded scientists at the time. For 20 years, that signal went unexplained.

Now, a new insight by astronomers at the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) in New York City has revealed that the unexplained smaller signal marked the rare birth of heavy elements such as gold and platinum. In addition to confirming another source of these elements, the astronomers estimated that the 2004 flare alone produced the equivalent of a third of Earth's mass in heavy metals. They report their discovery in a paper published on April 29 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

This is really just the second time we've ever directly seen proof of where these elements form, the first being neutron star mergers, say the researchers. 

Part1

Most of the elements we know and love today weren't always around. Hydrogen, helium and a dash of lithium were formed in the Big Bang, but almost everything else has been manufactured by stars in their lives, or during their violent deaths. While scientists thoroughly understand where and how the lighter elements are made, the production locations of many of the heaviest neutron-rich elements—those heavier than iron—remain incomplete.

These elements, which include uranium and strontium, are produced in a set of nuclear reactions known as the rapid neutron-capture process, or r-process. This process requires an excess of free neutrons—something that can be found only in extreme environments. Astronomers thus expected that the extreme environments created by supernovae or neutron star mergers were the most promising potential r-process sites.

It wasn't until 2017 that astronomers were able to confirm an r-process site when they observed the collision of two neutron stars. These stars are the collapsed remnants of former stellar giants and are made of a soup of neutrons so dense that a single tablespoon would weigh more than 1 billion tons. The 2017 observations showed that the cataclysmic collision of two of these stars creates the neutron-rich environment needed for the formation of r-process elements.
However, astronomers realized that these rare collisions alone can't account for all the r-process-produced elements we see today. Some suspected that magnetars, which are highly magnetized neutron stars, could also be a source.

Researchers  calculated in 2024 that giant flares could eject material from a magnetar's crust into space, where r-process elements could form.

It's pretty incredible to think that some of the heavy elements all around us, like the precious metals in our phones and computers, are produced in these crazy extreme environments

The group's calculations show that these giant flares create unstable, heavy radioactive nuclei, which decay into stable elements such as gold. As the radioactive elements decay, they emit a glow of light, in addition to minting new elements. The group also calculated in 2024 that the glow from the radioactive decays would be visible as a burst of gamma rays, a form of highly energized light. When they discussed their findings with observational gamma-ray astronomers, the group learned that, in fact, one such signal had been seen decades earlier that had never been explained. Since there's little overlap between the study of magnetar activity and heavy-element synthesis science, no one had previously proposed element production as a cause of the signal.

In the new paper, the astronomers used the observations of the 2004 event to estimate that the flare produced 2 million billion billion kilograms of heavy elements (roughly equivalent to Mars' mass). From this, they estimate that one to 10% of all r-process elements in our galaxy today were created in these giant flares. The remainder could be from neutron star mergers, but with only one magnetar giant flare and one merger ever documented, it's hard to know exact percentages—or if that's even the whole story.

Anirudh Patel et al, Direct Evidence for r-process Nucleosynthesis in Delayed MeV Emission from the SGR 1806–20 Magnetar Giant Flare, The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/adc9b0

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Heart disease deaths worldwide linked to chemical widely used in plastics

Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make plastic household items could be linked to more than 365,000 global deaths from heart disease in 2018 alone, a new analysis of population surveys shows.

While the chemicals, called phthalates, are in widespread use globally, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East populations bore a much larger share of the death toll than others—about half the total.

For decades, experts have connected health problems to exposure to certain phthalates found in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellents, and other products. When these chemicals break down into microscopic particles and are ingested, studies have linked them to an increased risk of conditions ranging from obesity and diabetes to fertility issues and cancer.

 The current study focused on a kind of phthalate called di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is used to make food containers, medical equipment, and other plastic softer and more flexible. Exposure has been shown in other studies to prompt an overactive immune response (inflammation) in the heart's arteries, which, over time, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

In their new analysis, the authors estimated that DEHP exposure contributed to 368,764 deaths, or more than 10% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women aged 55 through 64. A report on the findings is published in the journal eBioMedicine.

"By highlighting the connection between phthalates and a leading cause of death across the world, our findings add to the vast body of evidence that these chemicals present a tremendous danger to human health," said study  authors.

According to the authors, the resulting economic burden from the deaths identified in their study was estimated to be around $510 billion and may have reached as high as $3.74 trillion.

In a past study from 2021, the research team tied phthalates to more than 50,000 premature deaths each year, mostly from heart disease.

 Phthalate exposure from plastics and cardiovascular disease: global estimates of attributable mortality and years life lost, eBioMedicine (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105730

Scientists develop silk microneedles to deliver nutrients and chemicals to plants

When farmers apply pesticides to their crops, 30 to 50% of the chemicals end up in the air or soil instead of on the plants. Now, a team of researchers has developed a much more precise way to deliver substances to plants: tiny needles made of silk.

In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers developed a way to produce large amounts of these hollow silk microneedles. They used them to inject agrochemicals and nutrients into plants, and to monitor their health.

In demonstrations, the team used the technique to give plants iron to treat a disease known as chlorosis, and to add vitamin B12 to tomato plants to make them more nutritious. The researchers also showed the microneedles could be used to monitor the quality of fluids flowing into plants and to detect when the surrounding soil contained heavy metals.

Overall, the researchers think the microneedles could serve as a new kind of plant interface for real-time health monitoring and biofortification.

Yunteng Cao et al, Nanofabrication of silk microneedles for high-throughput micronutrient delivery and continuous sap monitoring in plants, Nature Nanotechnology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-01923-2

Blood droplets on inclined surfaces reveal new cracking patterns

Drying droplets have fascinated scientists for decades. From water to coffee to paint, these everyday fluids leave behind intricate patterns as they evaporate. But blood is far more complex—a colloidal suspension packed with red blood cells, plasma proteins, salts, and countless biomolecules.

As blood dries, it leaves behind a complex microstructural pattern—cracks, rings, and folds—each shaped by the interplay of its cellular components, proteins, and evaporation dynamics. These features form a kind of physical fingerprint, quietly recording the complex interplay of physics that unfolded during the desiccation of the droplet.

Researchers explored how blood droplets dry by varying both their size—from tiny 1-microliter drops to larger 10-microliter ones—and the angle of the surface, from completely horizontal to a steep 70° incline. Using an optical microscope, a high-speed camera, and a surface profiler, they tracked how the droplets dried, shrank and cracked.

 On flat surfaces, blood droplets dried predictably, forming familiar coffee-ring-like deposits surrounded by networks of radial and azimuthal cracks. But as the researchers increased the tilt, gravity pulled the red blood cells downhill, while surface tension tried to hold them up. This resulted in asymmetric deposits and stretched patterns—a kind of biological landslide frozen in time.

Cracking patterns were different on the advancing (downhill) and receding (uphill) sides. On the advancing side, where the dried blood mass accumulated more, the cracks were thicker and more widely spaced. On the receding side, where the deposit thinned out, the cracks were finer. Larger droplets (10 microliter) exaggerated the asymmetry even more, with gravity playing a bigger role as the droplets grew heavier—leaving behind a long, thin "tail" of blood that dried and showed scattered dried red blood cells.

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To explain what they observed, the researchers developed a first-order theoretical model showing how mechanical stresses build up unevenly on either side of the droplet—a difference that helps explain the asymmetric cracking patterns they saw.

These findings have real-world implications. In forensic science, for example, investigators use bloodstain pattern analysis—or BPA—to reconstruct events at crime scenes. Their results suggest that both the tilt of the surface and the size of the droplet can significantly alter the resulting patterns. Ignoring these factors could lead to misinterpretations, potentially affecting how such evidence is read and understood.

Bibek Kumar et al, Asymmetric Deposits and Crack Formation during Desiccation of a Blood Droplet on an Inclined Surface, Langmuir (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03767

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SUVs pose greater risk of death or serious injury to pedestrians and cyclists, study shows

The likelihood of a pedestrian or cyclist being fatally injured is 44% higher if they are hit by a sports utility vehicle (SUV) or light truck vehicle (LTV) compared with smaller passenger cars, new research shows. For children there is an even larger effect, with a child hit by an SUV or LTV being 82% more likely to be killed than a child hit by a passenger car.

Researchers gathered real-world collision data from over 680,000 collisions from the last 35 years.

They compared the severity of injuries suffered by pedestrians or cyclists struck by SUVs or LTVs with the injuries of pedestrians or cyclists struck by passenger cars. LTVs are a category of vehicle that covers SUVs, small vans and pick-up trucks – the researchers found similar increases in risk when they looked at SUVs only.

The research is published in Injury Prevention.

SUVs and LTVs are typically taller, wider and heavier than traditional passenger cars, such as sedans or hatchbacks.

Multiple cities worldwide have recently introduced, or are currently considering, policies that discourage the use of these large vehicles.

In the study, the authors found that in the case of a crash, pedestrians or cyclists struck by an SUV or LTV suffered more severe injuries than those hit by a passenger car. The odds of fatal injury increased by 44% for people of all ages struck by an SUV, compared with those hit by a passenger car. Among children, the odds of fatal injury increased by 82%, and among children under the age of 10 it increased by 130%.

Part 1

When looking at the likelihood of having a fatal or a serious injury, as compared to a slight injury, the likelihood increased by around a quarter (odds 24% higher in adults and 28% higher in children) for those hit by an SUV or LTV. These effects were all similar for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Previous research indicates that a key mechanism for this increased risk is likely to be the taller and blunter profile of the front end of SUVs and LTVs. A taller front end means that a pedestrian or cyclist is struck higher up on their body (e.g. the pelvis not the knees for an adult, or the head not the pelvis for a child).

A taller and blunter front end also means that the pedestrian or cyclist is more likely to be thrown forward onto the road, at which point the striking vehicle may hit them a second time or roll over their body.
If all SUVs were replaced with passenger cars, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed in car crashes would decrease, say the researchers.

 Do sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and light truck vehicles (LTVs) cause more severe injuries to pedestrians and cyclists than passenger cars in the case of a crash? A systematic review and meta-analysis, Injury Prevention (2025). DOI: 10.1136/ip-2024-045613

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Skin wounds in humans found to heal nearly three times slower than those in other primates

A team of evolutionary scientists, dermatologists and wildlife specialists has found that human skin wounds take nearly three times as long to heal as they do in other primates. In their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the group conducted experiments involving skin healing speed in humans and several other primates.

Prior research  suggest that other animals recover from skin wounds faster than humans. In this new effort, the research team sought to measure such differences.

The experiments involved comparing skin wounds in humans—courtesy of volunteers at a hospital undergoing skin tumor removal—and several primates. Wound healing pace in chimpanzees was measured by studying chimps housed at a sanctuary who endured skin wounds periodically due to fighting between males.

In looking at the data, the researchers found that all the test subjects healed at nearly the same rate—0.62 millimeters of new skin growth a day—except for humans, who healed at an average of 0.25 millimeters per day. The researchers also tested mice and rats and found their healing rates were similar to those of non-human primates.

The research team suggests the reason for the difference lies in humans having lost their fur. They note that hair follicle stem cells can grow skin cells when needed. Humans have replaced most of their hair follicles with sweat glands, which also have stem cells that can grow into skin cells, but do so far less efficiently.

As humans lost their fur, the researchers note, they replaced them with sweat glands to prevent overheating. The trade-off was obviously worth it, or humans would be covered in fur today. They also note that the expanding brain may have helped along the way, providing humans with the ability to treat skin wounds in ways other animals cannot.

Akiko Matsumoto-Oda et al, Inter-species differences in wound-healing rate: a comparative study involving primates and rodents, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0233

Size and chemical makeup determine which ancient animals fossilize

Why do some ancient animals become fossils while others disappear without a trace? A new study  published in Nature Communications, reveals that part of the answer lies in the body itself. The research shows that an animal's size and chemical makeup can play an important role in determining whether it's preserved for millions of years—or lost to time.

Fossils are more than just bones; some of the most remarkable finds include traces of soft tissues like muscles, guts, and even brains. These rare fossils offer vivid glimpses into the past, but scientists have long puzzled over why such preservation happens only for certain animals and organs but not others.

To dig into this mystery, a team of scientists turned to the lab. They conducted state-of-the-art decay experiments, allowing a range of animals including shrimps, snails, starfish, and planarians (worms) to decompose under precisely controlled conditions.

As the bodies broke down, the researchers used micro-sensors to monitor the surrounding chemical environment, particularly the balance between oxygen-rich (oxidizing) and oxygen-poor (reducing) conditions.

The results were striking. The researchers discovered that larger animals and those with a higher protein content tend to create reducing (oxygen-poor) conditions more rapidly. These conditions are crucial for fossilization because they slow down decay and trigger chemical reactions such as mineralization or tissue replacement by more durable minerals.

This means that, in nature, two animals buried side by side could have vastly different fates as fossils, simply because of differences in size or body chemistry. One might vanish entirely, while the other could be immortalized in stone.

According to this study, animals such as large arthropods are more likely to be preserved than small planarians or other aquatic worms. This could explain why fossil communities dating from the Cambrian and Ordovician periods (around 500 million years ago) are dominated by arthropods.

These findings not only help explain the patchy nature of the fossil record but also offer valuable insight into the chemical processes that shape what ancient life we can reconstruct today. Pinpointing the factors that drive soft-tissue fossilization brings us closer to understanding how exceptional fossils form—and why we only see fragments of the past.

 Nora Corthésy et al, Taxon-specific redox conditions control fossilisation pathways, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59372-3

Re-writing textbooks: New insights into cell division

Scientists  have changed our understanding of how cells in living organisms divide, which could revise what students are taught at school. In a study published this week in Science, the researchers challenge conventional wisdom taught in schools for over 100 years.

Students are currently taught that during cell division, a parent cell will become spherical before splitting into two daughter cells of equal size and shape. However, the study reveals that cell rounding is not a universal feature of cell division and is not how it often works in the body.

Dividing cells, the researchers show, often don't round up into sphere-like shapes. This lack of rounding breaks the symmetry of division to generate two daughter cells that differ from each other in both size and function, known as asymmetric division.

Asymmetric divisions are an important way that the different types of cells in the body are generated, to make different tissues and organs. Until now, asymmetric cell division has predominantly only been associated with highly specialized cells, known as stem cells.

The scientists found that it is the shape of a parent cell before it even divides that can determine if they will round or not in division and determines how symmetric—or not—its daughter cells will be. Cells that are shorter and wider in shape tend to round up and divide into two cells which are similar to each other. However, cells that are longer and thinner don't round up and divide asymmetrically, so that one daughter is different from the other.

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The findings could have far-reaching implications on our understanding of the role of cell division in disease. For example, in the context of cancer cells, this type of "non-round," asymmetric division could generate different cell behaviors known to promote cancer progression through metastasis.

Harnessing this information could also impact regenerative medicine, enabling us to better manufacture the cell types needed to regenerate damaged tissues and organs. Scientists may one day be able to influence the function of daughter cells by simply manipulating their parental cell shape.

Holly E. Lovegrove et al, Interphase cell morphology defines the mode, symmetry, and outcome of mitosis, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adu9628. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu9628

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Genetic analysis of all-women extreme divers finds changes linked to blood pressure and cold tolerance

A new analysis of a group of all-women extreme divers off the coast of Korea has uncovered genetic differences that could help them survive the intense physiological stresses of free-diving—and could ultimately lead to better treatments for blood pressure disorders.

The researchers worked with the Haenyeo: women who have spent their whole lives diving in the waters off Jeju Island, 50 miles south of mainland South Korea. They free-dive up to 60 feet below the surface to harvest seaweed, abalone, and other food items from the seafloor, spending hours a day in the water all year round.

For hundreds of years, Haenyeo diving was a staple of Jeju's economy and culture, although the practice is now waning.

They're absolutely extraordinary women, say the researchers. Every day, they head out and get in the water, and that's where they work all day. Surprisingly women over 80 dive off a boat before it even stopped moving.

To figure out if the Haenyeo's diving abilities are aided by differences in genetics, the researchers measured physiological variables related to diving ability, such as blood pressure and heart rate. They then sequenced participants' DNA—and found two changes related to diving physiology that could give the Haenyeo advantages underwater.

Haenyeo divers are more than four times more likely than mainland Koreans to have a genetic change associated with lower blood pressure while diving. The researchers think this difference could keep divers and their unborn children safe when diving during pregnancy.

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Breath-hold diving not only limits the body's oxygen supply but also raises divers' blood pressure during a dive, the researchers say. Holding one's breath in other contexts, such as sleep apnea, is associated with pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders, although it's unknown whether diving causes the same effect.

The researchers speculate that if the genetic change helps lower blood pressure, it could be especially vital for the Haenyeo. These women dive throughout pregnancy and must avoid blood pressure conditions such as preeclampsia, which can be fatal.

This is not something that every human or every woman is able to do. It's kind of like they have a superpower, courtesy, their genes and practice.

A second genetic difference is related to pain tolerance—specifically, cold-based pain. Air temperatures off Jeju Island drop to around freezing in the winter, but the Haenyeo don't stop diving. 

The genetic differences that could boost diving ability are found throughout the population of Jeju Island. But much of what makes the Haenyeo women special comes from a lifetime of practice.

Researchers have long known that when anyone dives—trained or untrained, Haenyeo or not—their heart rate reflexively drops to conserve oxygen for longer. For an average untrained person from Jeju Island, heartbeat slows down by about 20 beats per minute over the course of a simulated dive. For Haenyeo with a lifetime of diving experience, heart rate drops by up to twice that.

The researchers hope that their discovery of a genetic difference linked to blood pressure will ultimately advance care for health conditions, like stroke, that are related to high blood pressure.

Genetic and Training Adaptations in the Haenyeo Divers of Jeju, Korea, Cell Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115577. www.cell.com/cell-reports/full … 2211-1247(25)00348-1

Part 2

Scientists develop antivenom that neutralizes the neurotoxins of 19 of the world's deadliest snakes

By using antibodies from a human donor with a self-induced hyper-immunity to snake venom, scientists have developed the most broadly effective antivenom to date, which is protective against the likes of the black mamba, king cobra, and tiger snakes in mouse trials. Described in the journal Cell, the antivenom combines protective antibodies and a small molecule inhibitor and opens a path toward a universal antiserum.

How we make antivenom has not changed much over the past century. Typically, it involves immunizing horses or sheep with venom from a single snake species and collecting the antibodies produced. While effective, this process could result in adverse reactions to the non-human antibodies, and treatments tend to be species and region-specific.

While exploring ways to improve this process, scientists stumbled upon someone hyper-immune to the effects of snake neurotoxins. The donor, for a period of nearly 18 years, had undertaken hundreds of bites and self-immunizations with escalating doses from 16 species of very lethal snakes that would normally kill a horse.

After the donor, Tim Friede, agreed to participate in the study, researchers found that by exposing himself to the venom of various snakes over several years, he had generated antibodies that were effective against several snake neurotoxins at once.

What 's exciting about the donor 's his once-in-a-lifetime unique immune history. Not only did he potentially create these broadly neutralizing antibodies, in this case, it could give rise to a broad-spectrum or universal antivenom.

To build the antivenom, the team first created a testing panel with 19 of the World Health Organization's category 1 and 2 deadliest snakes across the elapid family, a group which contains roughly half of all venomous species, including coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans, and kraits.

Part 1

Next, researchers isolated target antibodies from the donor's blood that reacted with neurotoxins found within the snake species tested. One by one, the antibodies were tested in mice envenomated from each species included in the panel. In this way, scientists could systematically build a cocktail comprising a minimum but sufficient number of components to render all the venoms ineffective.

The team formulated a mixture comprising three major components: two antibodies isolated from the donor and a small molecule. The first donor antibody, called LNX-D09, protected mice from a lethal dose of whole venom from six of the snake species present in the panel.

To strengthen the antiserum further, the team added the small molecule varespladib, a known toxin inhibitor, which granted protection against an additional three species. Finally, they added a second antibody isolated from the donor, called SNX-B03, which extended protection across the full panel.

Moreover, their results suggest that the three-part cocktail could be effective against many other, if not most, elapid snakes not tested in this study.

Snake-venom protection by a cocktail of varespladib and broadly neutralizing human antibodies, Cell (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.050. www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00402-7

Part 2

In extreme conditions, heat does not flow between materials—it bounces off

A new study published in Nature Communications shows, for the first time, how heat moves—or rather, doesn't—between materials in a high-energy-density plasma state.

The work is expected to provide a better understanding of inertial confinement fusion experiments, which aim to reliably achieve fusion ignition on Earth using lasers. How heat flows between a hot plasma and a material's surface is also important in other technologies, including semiconductor etching and vehicles that fly at hypersonic speeds.

High-energy-density plasmas are produced only at extreme pressures and temperatures. The study shows that interfacial thermal resistance, a phenomenon known to impede heat transfer in less extreme conditions, also prevents heat flow between different materials in a dense, super-hot plasma state.

Researchers focused on how heat moves between metal and plastic heated to extreme temperatures and pressures. 

In their experiment, the tungsten wire was heated to about 180,000 degrees Fahrenheit while its plastic coating remained relatively cool at "only" 20,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a series of laser shots with progressively delayed timing, the researchers were able to see if the heat was moving between the tungsten and plastic.

When they looked at the data, they were totally shocked because the heat was not flowing between these materials. It was getting stuck at the interface between the materials. 

The reason was interfacial thermal resistance. The electrons in the hotter material arrive at the interface between the materials carrying thermal energy but then scatter off and move back into the hotter material.

Cameron H. Allen et al, Measurement of interfacial thermal resistance in high-energy-density matter, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56051-1

https://vimeo.com/1065285809

Home washing machines fail to remove important pathogens from textiles

Health care workers who wash their uniforms at home may be unknowingly contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, according to a new study published in PLOS One.

Hospital-acquired infections are a major public health concern, in part because they frequently involve antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Many nurses and health care workers clean their uniforms at home in standard washing machines, but some studies have found that bacteria can be transmitted through clothing, raising the question of whether these machines can sufficiently prevent the spread of dangerous microbes.

In the new study, researchers evaluated whether six models of home washing machine successfully decontaminated health care worker uniforms, by washing contaminated fabric swatches in hot water, using a rapid or normal cycle. Half of the machines did not disinfect the clothing during a rapid cycle, while one-third failed to clean sufficiently during the standard cycle.

The team also sampled biofilms from inside 12 washing machines. DNA sequencing revealed the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. Investigations also showed that bacteria can develop resistance to domestic detergent, which also increases their resistance to certain antibiotics.

This research shows that domestic washing machines often fail to disinfect textiles, allowing antibiotic-resistant bacteria to survive. If we're serious about the transmission of infectious disease via textiles and tackling antimicrobial resistance, we must rethink how we launder what we wear.  

Caroline Cayrou et al, Domestic laundering of healthcare textiles: Disinfection efficacy and risks of antibiotic resistance transmission, PLOS One (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321467. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti … journal.pone.0321467

Special relativity made visible

When an object moves extremely fast—close to the speed of light—certain basic assumptions that we take for granted no longer apply. This is the central consequence of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity. The object then has a different length than when it is at rest, and time passes differently for the object than it does in the laboratory. All this has been repeatedly confirmed in experiments.

However, one interesting consequence of relativity has not yet been observed—the so-called Terrell-Penrose effect. In 1959, physicists James Terrell and Roger Penrose (Nobel laureate in 2020) independently concluded that fast-moving objects should appear rotated. 

Now, a collaboration study has succeeded for the first time in reproducing the effect using laser pulses and precision cameras—at an effective speed of light of 2 meters per second. The research is published in the journal Communications Physics.

Suppose a rocket whizzes past us at 90% of the speed of light. For us, it no longer has the same length as before it took off, but is 2.3 times shorter. This is the relativistic length contraction, also known as the Lorentz contraction.

However, this contraction cannot be photographed. If you want to take a picture of the rocket as it flew past, you will have to take into account that the light from different points take different lengths of time to reach the camera. 

The light coming from different parts of the object and arriving at the lens or our eye at the same time is not emitted at the same time—and this results in complicated optical effects.

Let's imagine that the super-fast object is a cube. Then the side facing away from us is further away than the side facing towards us. If two photons reach our eye at the same time, one from the front corner of the cube and one from the back corner, the photon from the back corner has traveled further. So it must have been emitted at an earlier time. And at that time, the cube was not at the same position as when the light was emitted from the front corner. This makes it look to us as if the cube has been rotated.

This is a combination of relativistic length contraction and the different travel times of light from different points. Together, this leads to an apparent rotation, as predicted by Terrell and Penrose.

Of course, this is irrelevant in everyday life, even when photographing an extremely fast car. Even the fastest Formula One car will only move a tiny fraction of the distance in the time difference between the light emitted by the side of the car facing away from us and the side facing towards us. But with a rocket traveling close to the speed of light, this effect would be clearly visible.

Part 1

Technically, it is currently impossible to accelerate rockets to a speed at which this effect could be seen in a photograph. However, physicists found another solution inspired by art: they used extremely short laser pulses and a high-speed camera to recreate the effect in the laboratory.
They moved a cube and a sphere around the lab and used the high-speed camera to record the laser flashes reflected from different points on these objects at different times.
It is easy to combine images of different parts of a landscape into one large image. What has been done here for the first time is to include the time factor: the object is photographed at many different times. Then the areas illuminated by the laser flash at the moment when the light would have been emitted from that point if the speed of light was only 2 m/s are combined into one still image. This makes the Terrell-Penrose effect visible.
They combined the still images into short video clips of the ultra-fast objects. The result was exactly what they expected.
The demonstration of the Terrell-Penrose effect is not only a scientific success—it is also the result of an extraordinary symbiosis between art and science.

Dominik Hornof et al, A snapshot of relativistic motion: visualizing the Terrell-Penrose effect, Communications Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42005-025-02003-6

Part 2

**

Probing the molecular mechanisms of metastasis

Cells have a mailing system of sorts. They can release tiny molecular balls, called extracellular vesicles (EVs), that contain biological matter or messages and attach to other cells to share whatever they contain.

In cancer, EVs often depart from tumour cells to seed the cancer elsewhere in the body, leading to metastasis. However, how the EVs connected to recipient cells to deliver their payload has remained a mystery—until now. A team of researchers has now revealed the molecular mechanisms underpinning the process for small EVs (sEVs), which they said could have implications for developing better cancer treatments.

The team published their findings in the Journal of Cell Biology.

EVs can serve as biomarkers, since they carry specific proteins and genetic material that can indicate disease progression. Researchers have also started to explore their potential to treat cancers, either by inhibiting their binding to host cells or by encouraging the binding of EVs with therapeutic payloads.

The researchers now focused on understanding the role of integrin heterodimers, which are molecules that help sEVs adhere to the host cell. The same team previously found that sEVs could be sorted into subtypes with different properties, depending on which tetraspanin protein it has. This type of protein is small but critical to EV formation and regulation.

Using this understanding, the researchers sorted and tracked the sEVs with single-molecule resolution.

They examined the sorted subtypes with super-resolution microscopy to find that all subtypes primarily used integrin heterodimers associated with a specific tetraspanin protein known as CD151 and a molecule containing carbohydrates and fats called GM1 to bind to laminin, a protein critical to cellular membranes and heavily involved in cell membrane structure and cell adhesion, among other responsibilities.

Laminin is specifically a glycoprotein, meaning it is a protein with a carbohydrate, or sugar, molecule attached to it. It exists in the extracellular matrix, or the molecular network surrounding cells and supports their signaling and structure.

Quantitative analysis using single-molecule imaging and super-resolution microscopy demonstrated that all EV subtypes derived from four distinct tumor cell lines, irrespective of size, predominantly bind to laminin via CD151-associated integrin heterodimers and GM1, thereby eliciting responses in recipient cells.

EVs bound to laminin significantly more than they bound to fibronectin, which is another protein responsible for cell adhesion in the extracellular matrix.

Two other proteins associated with adhesion in the EVs, talin and kindlin, did not activate the integrin heterodimers. Taken all together, the researchers concluded that GM1 and integrin heterodimers associated with CD151 are key for EV binding. This understanding could help researchers better inhibit or encourage binding as needed in the name of disease treatment.

 Tatsuki Isogai et al, Extracellular vesicles adhere to cells primarily by interactions of integrins and GM1 with laminin, Journal of Cell Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202404064

**

Tetracycline antibiotics impair T cell function by targeting mitochondria

A team of international researchers has revealed in unprecedented detail how tetracycline antibiotics impair T cell function by binding mitochondrial ribosomes and inhibiting oxidative metabolism (OXPHOS). The study, reported in Nature Communications, raises mechanistic considerations for antibiotic therapy and the design of new molecules that can better discriminate between pathogen and host.

Antibiotics historically developed to inhibit bacterial protein synthesis cross-react with mitochondrial ribosomes due to shared evolutionary features, impairing translation of key phosphorylation complex subunits in host cells. Indeed, certain antibiotics, such as tetracyclines, have a long history in the treatment of inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, although large controlled cohort studies are lacking, in part due to the lack of a molecular mechanism.

When you take antibiotics, the effects are not solely restricted to commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Some of your cells take a hit, and there is good evidence in the literature to support reversible inhibition of that mitochondrial translation can be used to treat inflammatory diseases.

The researchers identified specific structural features of mitochondrial ribosomes that could potentially be targeted to develop more selective therapeutics.

"The discrimination between bacterial and human mitochondrial ribosomes represents an important frontier for antibiotic development. By understanding the specific binding domains within the mitoribosome that interact with tigecycline, it will be possible to design next-generation entities with different specificities, whether those affect the host or pathogen.

Qiuya Shao et al, T cell toxicity induced by tigecycline binding to the mitochondrial ribosome, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59388-9

Experimental peptide treatment could triple survival rates in severe blood loss cases

Researchers  have discovered a promising new therapeutic approach to treating hemorrhagic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by severe blood loss that remains the leading cause of preventable death in trauma cases globally.

The study demonstrated that activating Protein Kinase C epsilon (PKC-ε) significantly improves early survival rates and physiological stability following severe hemorrhage.

The work is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

In a carefully controlled experiment using a porcine model, researchers induced hemorrhagic shock by withdrawing 35% of the animals' total blood volume. Animals treated with a PKC-ε activator peptide just five minutes after the onset of bleeding showed dramatically improved survival—73% of treated subjects survived compared to only 25% of those left untreated.

Additionally, treated animals maintained significantly better cardiovascular stability, including blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output, all critical indicators of effective response during severe trauma.

Moreover, detailed analysis of mitochondrial activity revealed enhanced function within the heart tissues of animals receiving the PKC-ε activator. As mitochondria are vital cellular energy producers, these findings suggest that activating PKC-ε helps maintain organ energy levels under stress, potentially protecting tissues against further damage associated with severe blood loss.

The implications of this study are far-reaching. Current therapeutic strategies for severe hemorrhagic shock often involve fluid resuscitation, which can unintentionally exacerbate tissue damage by triggering ischemic-reperfusion injury.

This new approach—administering a PKC-ε activator peptide—has the potential to significantly minimize these detrimental effects, thereby improving survival chances and reducing complications associated with severe trauma.

Maya Simchoni et al, Protein kinase C epsilon activation improves early survival in an acute porcine model of controlled hemorrhage, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92310-3

Tire additives found deposited on fruits and vegetables

A new study has found that tire additives enter into and pass through the food chain. Further research is needed to establish the implications for human health.

Traces of the additives typically used in tire manufacturing have been detected in all of the most common types of fruits and vegetables.  The scientists don't yet know the long-term implications of exposure to these substances for human health. Further research is needed to clarify this point.

The study follows on from two Austrian studies demonstrating that these additives were present in leafy vegetables. 

Researchers  sampled around 100 of the most commonly eaten fruits and vegetables  from major supermarket chains to organic markets and small,  grocery stores.

After rinsing the fruits and vegetables and turning them into workable samples, the scientists tested them for 11 compounds typically found in tire additives. Using consumption data held by the FSVO, they were then able to calculate theoretical daily intake values for these substances.

They found that 31% of the samples contained traces of the compounds, including 6-PPD and 6-PPD-quinone, with no difference according to where the fruits and vegetables came from or whether they were organic.

Previous studies have established that tire additives, especially DPG, 6-PPD and 6-PPD-quinone, are toxic to mammals. This research, which has so far been carried out only on rodents, found that these additives lead to decreased fertility in males and have neurotoxic and neuroinflammatory effects.

Scientists in China are also conducting in-depth research into the subject, analyzing human blood and urine for the presence of these substances.

When tires wear against road surfaces, they release additives such as antioxidants and vulcanizing agents (which give rubber more strength, elasticity and durability). These particles, the toxicity of which is yet to be determined, disperse through the air, settle on the ground, and are transported in runoff water. Humans are exposed to them in two ways: by inhaling them and, as the EPFL-FSVO study shows, by ingesting them in contaminated food.

According to a paper published in 2017, six million metric tons of these additives are released into the environment every year. Our exposure to these additives is similar to that for other micropollutants. 

They're around us constantly, in every part of our environment. What we don't know is whether we need to introduce tighter controls, such as by phasing them out in tire manufacturing in favor of less toxic alternatives.

Scientists  are currently exploring ways in which roads can be decontaminated to prevent tire additives from entering the environment. Several studies have shown that aggressive driving—with hard acceleration and braking—increases tire wear, making it more likely that these particles will transfer into the air, soil and surface water.

 Florian Breider et al, Assessment of tire-derived additives and their metabolites into fruit, root and leafy vegetables and evaluation of dietary intake in Swiss adults, Journal of Hazardous Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138432

Why some mammals glow under ultraviolet light

Scientists have been trying to discover exactly why some animals glow under ultraviolet light as photoluminescence in mammal fur is common.

 Rats, along with bandicoots, possums, bats, tree-kangaroos and many other creatures  around the world are photoluminescent; they glow under ultraviolet, violet or blue light.

Scientists' aim 's to identify luminophores (molecules or groups of molecules) contributing to photoluminescence.

The researchers  shaved fur from roadkill and subjected it to high-performance liquid chromatography.

The fur of the  northern long-nosed and northern brown bandicoots photoluminesces strongly, displaying pink, yellow, blue and/or white colors. The researchers wanted to find out whether the luminophores present in bandicoot fur might be common across multiple species.

So they compared the results from the two bandicoots to the northern quoll, the coppery brushtail possum, the Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo, the pale field rat and the platypus—all of which photoluminesce in different ways.

The scientists confirmed metabolites of the amino acid tryptophan and identified derivatives of the chemical compound porphyrin that cause bandicoots, quolls and possums to glow bright pink in UV light.

They   also found a contributing cause of the colour of coppery brushtail possum fur—not photoluminescent, but a strong purple colouration in white light—a match for the molecule Indigo—which is also extracted as a dye from plants.

 Linda M. Reinhold et al, Luminophores in the fur of seven Australian Wet Tropics mammals, PLOS One (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0320432. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti … journal.pone.0320432

A recently-discovered termite terminator is better, more targeted and won't harm humans

Drywood termites, the ones that hide in wooden structures, molt about seven times in their lives. Researchers have found that a chemical preventing them from growing new exoskeletons will also end their infestation of your home.

The chemical, bistrifluron, and its ability to kill about 95% of a termite colony without off-target effects on mammals, are documented in a paper published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.

This chemical is more environmentally friendly than ones traditionally used for drywood termite infestation. It's specific to insects and can't harm humans.

Unlike humans with skeletons located inside their flesh, termites have exoskeletons on the outside that protect them from the elements. The main component of these external skeletons is chitin, which is also found in fungal cell walls, fish scales, and the beaks of squids and octopuses. Chitin also provides mechanical strength for insect exoskeletons, making them suitable as armor as well as sites for muscle attachment.

As termites are getting ready to molt, something they must do in order to grow, they also produce chitin to create the new exoskeleton. Bistrifluron prevents them from doing so.

Once the termites reach a certain stage, they have to molt. They cannot avoid that. With a lethal dose of this chemical, they'll try to shed their old exoskeleton but won't have a new one ready to protect them. 

The researchers observed that bistrifluron initially slows the termites down, reducing their feeding activity. Eventually it prevents them from molting, and they die. This is one of the first studies that looks at the impact of chitin-inhibiting chemicals on drywood termites.

As the termites eat the treated wood, they also spread the chemical to other members of the colony. Full collapse happens in about two months, which is slower than other methods but carries certain advantages in addition to lower toxicity.

Nicholas A Poulos et al, Toxicity and horizontal transfer of chitin synthesis inhibitors in the western drywood termite (Blattodea: Kalotermitidae), Journal of Economic Entomology (2025). DOI: 10.1093/jee/toaf064

Natural short sleepers have a genetic mutation

Does everybody need 8-hours sleep? NO!

Several prominent figures in science and invention were known to get by on significantly less sleep than the typical 7-8 hours recommended for adults. Notable examples include Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin who reportedly slept as little as two to four hours per night. 

I too sleep for just four and half to six hours, never more than that. Rest of the time I work like mad. I am used to it.

When your mind is in the grip of something, you can't sleep and feel very restless if you don't complete your work in art, literature, science,  or any other field.

And there are some natural short sleepers. Science says ....

Not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep to function properly. Some people can feel well-rested and show no negative effects of sleep deprivation, even after just 4 hours of sleep, which is likely the result of a genetic mutation.

A recent study has reported that a mutation in salt-induced kinase 3 (hSIK3-N783Y)—a gene critical for regulating sleep duration and depth—may be the reason why some people are natural short sleepers (NSS).

The findings of this study are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

We might be physically inactive when sleeping, but our body is far from being idle. It goes into servicing mode, repairing cells, replenishing essential hormones and facilitating neural reorganization.

As a result, sleep deprivation can significantly impair both physical and cognitive functioning. Over time, chronic sleep loss may even raise the risk of serious health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. Hence, it is medically advised to sleep for at least 7–8 hours to maintain good physical and mental health.

Natural short sleepers seem to bypass all these negative outcomes of sleep deprivation with only 4–6 hours of sleep per night, and sleeping beyond that can sometimes make them feel worse. Previous studies have identified five mutations in four genes—DEC2, ADRB1, NPSR1, and GRM1—that have been linked to the natural short sleep (NSS) trait in humans.

It has also been found that intracellular signaling pathways of protein kinases—enzymes catalyzing the transfer of phosphate groups from ATP to other proteins—such as salt-inducible kinase 3 (Sik3), play a key role in regulating sleep and wakefulness. However, there was a lack of direct evidence of their role in regulating NSS traits.

Computational analysis showed that the point mutation caused significant structural changes in the SIK3 protein, impairing its ability to transfer phosphate molecules to other proteins and resulting in reduced sleep duration.

Hongmin Chen et al, The SIK3-N783Y mutation is associated with the human natural short sleep trait, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2500356122

Formaldehyde releasers found in common personal care products

Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer in humans but several women use personal health care products that release this chemical.

In recent years, growing concerns about exposure to formaldehyde in personal care products have focused on hair relaxers. For instance, recent studies show a link between the use of hair relaxers and increased risk of uterine and breast cancer.

A new study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, is among the first to demonstrate that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are present in a wide range of personal care products, including shampoo, lotions, body soap, and even eyelash glue.

These chemicals are in products we use all the time, all over our bodies. Repeated exposures like these can add up and cause serious harm.

Companies add formaldehyde to personal care products to extend their shelf-life. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are often used as an alternative—these are chemicals that slowly release formaldehyde over time and serve the same purpose.

But lotions can vary widely: some might have a few natural ingredients, like beeswax and shea butter, while others might have many toxic chemicals like formaldehyde releasers, phthalates, and parabens.

In the study, fifty-three percent of participants reported using at least one personal care product that listed formaldehyde releasers on its label. Many of the products with formaldehyde releasers that participants reported using were applied daily or multiple times per week.

DMDM hydantoin was the most common formaldehyde-releasing preservative. Roughly 47% of skincare products and 58% of hair products with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives contained DMDM hydantoin. 

One way to reduce exposures would be to require that companies add warning labels to formaldehyde-releasing products, say the researchers.

But  it can be hard for the average consumer—and even chemists—to identify a formaldehyde-releasing preservative on a label. They have long, weird, funny names, and they typically don't have the word formaldehyde in them.   

While warning labels might be a good first step banning the use of formaldehyde releasers altogether would be the best-case scenario. Companies shouldn't be putting these chemicals in products in the first place.

Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasing preservatives in personal care products used by Black women and Latinas, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00242

A  new tool unlocks the body's 'messages in a bottle' to detect and treat diseases

Have you ever dreamed of writing a heartfelt letter, sealing it in a bottle, and letting the ocean carry it to someone special? It's a romantic image we've seen in movies like "Message in a Bottle." But did you know this beautiful act of connection is happening inside your body every minute of every day?

Our cells, much like us, are constantly trying to communicate. But instead of ink and paper, they send out tiny biological packages called extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are the body's real-life messages in a bottle, carrying precious cargo—like proteins and genetic material—from one cell to another. Each EV holds a snapshot of its sender's identity and condition, making them incredibly promising for diagnosing diseases and tailoring treatments.

It's like thousands of bottles with messages washing up on shore, and we still don't know which ones carry lifesaving information.

Now researchers offer a solution. 

They've developed a technology called SHINER, short for Subpopulation Homogeneous Isolation and Nondestructive EV Release, designed to gently capture and release specific EV subpopulations without damaging them.

SHINER is like a molecular claw machine. Using specially designed "claws" made from antibodies and DNA, it reaches into the crowded sea of EVs, grabs the ones with just the right surface markers, and gently lifts them out, intact and ready to be read.

At the core of this technology is a clever tool called SWITCHER, which ensures that only EVs with a specific molecular "barcode" are captured. Then, a matching DNA "key" activates the claw to gently release the captured EVs unharmed. No harsh chemicals. No broken "bottles." Just pure, readable messages, delivered safely to scientists for analysis.

What makes this work even more exciting is that SHINER doesn't just work in theory. 

The research team showed it can purify EVs from real-world biological samples, like blood, while preserving their full structure and function. When paired with the earlier invention by the team, the ultrasensitive EV single-molecule array, SHINER opens the door to next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. Doctors could one day use it to detect cancer earlier, monitor treatment response, or even deliver precision drugs using EVs as natural carriers.

Chen‐Wei Hsu et al, Decoding Complex Biological Milieus: SHINER's Approach to Profiling and Functioning of Extracellular Vesicle Subpopulations, Small (2025). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202503638

Superbug can digest medical plastic, making it even more dangerous

A dangerous hospital superbug has been found to digest plastic—specifically the kind used in some sutures, stents and implants inside the human body. Microbiologists show the bacteria can feed on plastic to survive, potentially enabling these pathogens to survive longer in hospital wards and within patients.

The discovery, published in Cell Reports , challenges the widely held belief that pathogens cannot degrade medical plastics. A patient isolate of the common hospital-acquired bacterial infection Pseudomonas aeruginosa was shown to degrade polycaprolactone (PCL)—a plastic often used in sutures, wound dressings, stents, drug-delivery patches and surgical mesh.

Plastics, including plastic surfaces, could potentially be food for these bacteria. Pathogens with this ability could survive for longer in the hospital environment. It also means that any medical device or treatment that contains plastic could be susceptible to degradation by bacteria.

Researchers isolated the enzyme, named Pap1, from a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that was originally sampled from a patient's wound. Tested in the lab, the enzyme degraded 78% of a plastic sample in just seven days. Crucially, the bacteria could also use the plastic as its only carbon source—effectively eating it.

This plastic-digesting power also makes the bug more dangerous. The team showed that the broken-down plastic fragments helped it form tougher biofilms—the protective clingy bacterial coatings that help bacteria overcome antibiotics and make infections harder to treat.

Part 1

The implications stretch beyond one material. While the team confirmed degradation only for PCL, they identified signs of similar enzymes in other pathogens. This means that other plastics could also be vulnerable to microbial attack—and some of the most widely used medical materials made from polyethylene terephthalate or polyurethane may be at risk.

These include:

Bone scaffolds and dental implants
Bandages and wound dressings
Catheters
Breast implants
"The bug's plastic-eating ability is likely helping it survive on surfaces in hospitals, potentially driving hospital outbreaks. We should start to consider focusing on plastics that are harder for microbes to digest and potentially screening pathogens for these enzymes, especially in unexplained prolonged outbreaks

Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates can encode functional plastic-degrading enzymes that allow survival on plastic and augment biofilm formation., Cell Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115650. www.cell.com/cell-reports/full … 2211-1247(25)00421-8

Part 2

Cuttlefish use their arms to wave at each other

ALICE detects the conversion of lead into gold at the Large Hadron Collider

In a paper published in Physical Review C, the ALICE collaboration reports measurements that quantify the transmutation of lead into gold in CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Transforming the base metal lead into the precious metal gold was a dream of medieval alchemists. This long-standing quest, known as chrysopoeia, may have been motivated by the observation that dull gray, relatively abundant lead is of a similar density to gold, which has long been coveted for its beautiful color and rarity. It was only much later that it became clear that lead and gold are distinct chemical elements and that chemical methods are powerless to transmute one into the other.

With the dawn of nuclear physics in the 20th century, it was discovered that heavy elements could transform into others—either naturally, by radioactive decay—or in the laboratory, under a bombardment of neutrons or protons. Though gold has been artificially produced in this way before, the ALICE collaboration has now measured the transmutation of lead into gold by a new mechanism involving near-miss collisions between lead nuclei at the LHC.

Extremely high-energy collisions between lead nuclei at the LHC can create quark–gluon plasma, a hot and dense state of matter that is thought to have filled the universe around a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, giving rise to the matter we now know. However, in the far more frequent interactions where the nuclei just miss each other without "touching," the intense electromagnetic fields surrounding them can induce photon–photon and photon–nucleus interactions that open further avenues of exploration.

The electromagnetic field emanating from a lead nucleus is particularly strong because the nucleus contains 82 protons, each carrying one elementary charge. Moreover, the very high speed at which lead nuclei travel in the LHC (corresponding to 99.999993% of the speed of light) causes the electromagnetic field lines to be squashed into a thin pancake, transverse to the direction of motion, producing a short-lived pulse of photons.

Often, this triggers a process called electromagnetic dissociation, whereby a photon interacting with a nucleus can excite oscillations of its internal structure, resulting in the ejection of small numbers of neutrons and protons. To create gold (a nucleus containing 79 protons), three protons must be removed from a lead nucleus in the LHC beams.

The ALICE team used the detector's zero degree calorimeters (ZDC) to count the number of photon–nucleus interactions that resulted in the emission of zero, one, two and three protons accompanied by at least one neutron, which are associated with the production of lead, thallium, mercury and gold, respectively.

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While less frequent than the creation of thallium or mercury, the results show that the LHC currently produces gold at a maximum rate of about 89,000 nuclei per second from lead–lead collisions at the ALICE collision point. Gold nuclei emerge from the collision with very high energy and hit the LHC beam pipe or collimators at various points downstream, where they immediately fragment into single protons, neutrons and other particles. The gold exists for just a tiny fraction of a second.
The ALICE analysis shows that, during Run 2 of the LHC (2015–2018), about 86 billion gold nuclei were created during the four major experiments. In terms of mass, this corresponds to just 29 picograms (2.9 × 10-11 g). Since the luminosity in the LHC is continually increasing thanks to regular upgrades to the machines, Run 3 has produced almost double the amount of gold that Run 2 did, but the total still amounts to trillions of times less than would be required to make a piece of jewelry.

While the dream of medieval alchemists has technically come true, their hopes of riches have once again been dashed.

S. Acharya et al, Proton emission in ultraperipheral Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=5.02 TeV, Physical Review C (2025). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.111.054906

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Eggs less likely to crack when dropped side-on, research reveals

Eggs are less likely to crack when dropped on their side than when dropped vertically, finds research published in Communications Physics. Controlled trials simulating the "egg drop challenge," a common classroom science experiment, found that the shell of an egg can better withstand an impact when dropped side-on.

Researchers conducted a series of 180 drop tests to compare how chicken eggs break when oriented vertically or side-on. After dropping 60 eggs from each of three different heights—8, 9, and 10 millimeters—on to a hard surface, the authors observed that, on average, eggs dropped vertically broke at lower drop heights.

More than half of the eggs dropped vertically from 8 millimeters cracked, with which end of the egg pointed downwards making no difference.

However, less than 10% of horizontally-dropped eggs cracked from the same height. A further 60 eggs were subjected to compression tests, which measured the force required to crack the eggs vertically and horizontally.

While 45 newtons of force was required to break the eggs in both orientations, the horizontally-loaded eggs could compress further before cracking. The authors suggest that this means that eggs are more flexible around their equator, and therefore able to absorb more energy in this orientation before breaking.

The authors conclude that the reason behind the common misassumption that an egg dropped vertically is less likely to crack is a confusion between the physical properties of stiffness, strength, and toughness.

Eggs are stiffer when compressed vertically, but the authors say that this does not necessarily mean that eggs are also tougher in that direction. 

Challenging common notions on how eggs break and the role of strength versus toughness, Communications Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42005-025-02087-0

DNA-like molecule may survive Venus-like cloud conditions

Punishing conditions in the clouds of Venus could be home to a DNA-like molecule capable of forming genes in life very different to that on Earth, according to a new study.

Long thought to be hostile to complex organic chemistry because of the absence of water, the clouds of Earth's sister planet are made of droplets of sulphuric acid, chlorine, iron, and other substances.

But new research  shows how peptide nucleic acid (PNA)—a structural cousin of DNA—can survive under lab conditions made to mimic conditions that can occur in Venus' perpetual clouds.

Their findings add to the evidence that shows that concentrated sulfuric acid can sustain a diverse range of organic chemistry that might be the basis of a form of life different from Earth.

People think concentrated sulfuric acid destroys all organic molecules and therefore kills all life, but this is not true. While many biochemicals, like sugars, are unstable in such an environment, but research to date shows that other chemicals found in living organisms, such as nitrogenous bases, amino acids, and some dipeptides, don't break down.

Janusz J. Petkowski et al, Astrobiological implications of the stability and reactivity of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) in concentrated sulfuric acid, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr0006

The first genetic editing in spiders with CRISPR‐Cas yields colourful silk

A research group for the first time, successfully applied the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool to spiders. Following the genetic modification, the spiders produced red fluorescent silk.

The findings of the study have been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Spider silk is one of the most fascinating fibers in the field of materials science. In particular, its dragline thread is extremely tear-resistant, while also being elastic, lightweight and biodegradable. If scientists succeed in influencing spider silk production in vivo—in a living animal—and thereby gain insights into the structure of the dragline thread, it could pave the way for the development of new silk functionalities for a wide range of applications.

Researchers developed an injection solution that included the components of the gene-editing system as well as a gene sequence for a red fluorescent protein. This solution was injected into the eggs of unfertilized female spiders, which were then mated with males of the same species. As a result, the offspring of the gene-edited spiders showed red fluorescence in their dragline silk—clear evidence of the successful knock-in of the gene sequence into a silk protein.

The spider silk protein manipulated in this study thus serves as the first model for developing silk fibers with new properties, supporting their functionalization for future applications.

Edgardo Santiago‐Rivera et al, Spider Eye Development Editing and Silk Fiber Engineering Using CRISPR‐Cas, Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2025). DOI: 10.1002/anie.202502068

The Medical Gaslighting of Endometriosis: Why doctors ignore women's pain

Your fingers wrinkle in the same pattern every time you're in the water for too long, study shows

Do your wrinkles always form in the same pattern every time you're in the water for too long? According to new research the answer is yes.

Research found that blood vessels beneath the skin actually contract after prolonged immersion, and that's where the wrinkles come from. 

And in a paper recently published in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, researchers show that the topography patterns remain constant after multiple immersions.

Blood vessels don't change their position much—they move around a bit, but in relation to other blood vessels, they're pretty static. That means the wrinkles should form in the same manner, and this work proved that they do.

They also made an interesting side discovery:  that wrinkles don't form in people who have median nerve damage in their fingers!  got median nerve damage in my fingers.' They tested  a person with median nerve damage and no wrinkles were formed on his fingers!

 Rachel Laytin et al, On the repeatability of wrinkling topography patterns in the fingers of water immersed human skin, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.106935

Heart rhythm disorder traced to bacterium lurking in gums

Tempted to skip the floss? Your heart might thank you if you don't. A new study  finds that the gum disease bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis  can slip into the bloodstream and infiltrate the heart. There, it quietly drives scar tissue buildup—known as fibrosis—distorting the heart's architecture, interfering with electrical signals, and raising the risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib). 

Clinicians have long noticed that people with periodontitis, a common form of gum disease, seem more prone to cardiovascular problems. One recent meta-analysis has linked it to a 30% higher risk of developing AFib, a potentially serious heart rhythm disorder that can lead to stroke, heart failure, and other life-threatening complications.

Globally, AFib cases have nearly doubled in under a decade, rising from 33.5 million in 2010 to roughly 60 million by 2019. Now, scientific curiosity is mounting about how gum disease might be contributing to that surge.

Past research has pointed to inflammation as the likely culprit. When immune cells in the gums rally to fight infection, chemical signals they release can inadvertently seep into the bloodstream, fueling systemic inflammation that may damage organs far from the mouth.

But inflammation isn't the only threat escaping inflamed gums. Researchers have discovered DNA from harmful oral bacteria in heart muscle, valves, and even fatty arterial plaques. Among them, P. gingivalis has drawn particular scrutiny for its suspected role in a growing list of systemic diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes, and certain cancers. It has previously been detected in the brain, liver, and placenta. 

This study, published in Circulation, provides the first clear evidence that P. gingivalis in the gums can worm its way into the left atrium in both animal models and humans, pointing to a potential microbial pathway linking periodontitis to AFib.

In the experiments conducted, twelve weeks after infection, mice exposed to P. gingivalis  showed more heart scarring than their uninfected counterparts. At 18 weeks, scarring in the infected mice had climbed to 21.9% compared to the likely aging-related 16.3% in the control group, suggesting that P. gingivalis may not just trigger early heart damage, but also speed it up over time.

And this troubling connection was not only seen in mice. In a separate human study, researchers analyzed left atrial tissue from 68 AFib patients who underwent heart surgery. P. gingivalis was found there, too, and in greater amounts in people with severe gum disease.

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