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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Patchy geographical coverage of dog vaccinations is a key barrier for rabies elimination

Dog vaccination programs are a highly effective way to control and, ultimately, eliminate rabies; however, new research has shown just how detrimental geographical gaps in vaccine coverage can be for virus control.

The new research examined two decades of dog vaccination data from the Serengeti district, from 2002 to 2022. The study is published in PLOS Biology.

Through analysis of detailed local data, researchers were able to show where vaccination programs had been effective, and, importantly, why some dog-mediated rabies outbreaks had occurred.

Researchers found that when district-wide dog vaccination was both routine and comprehensive in its geographical coverage, rabies outbreaks in humans were few or none. However, rabies cases in humans did begin to occur when some areas, such as clusters of villages, remained unvaccinated for more than two years.

The study findings show that sustained control of rabies  will require scaled-up dog vaccination efforts, focused on uniform coverage across a wide area, as frequent dog movements mean that neighboring unvaccinated areas are a persistent source of rabies cases in vaccinated areas.

Rabies circulates so widely that even if you protect some villages for a period, it's likely that disease will return, spreading from domestic dogs in nearby villages that are unvaccinated. That means dog vaccination needs to be a concerted and coordinated effort, say the researchers.

Despite effective post-exposure human vaccines being available, dog-mediated rabies is still responsible for tens of thousands of human deaths every year. These are predominantly in Africa and Asia, where rural communities are most at-risk of both bites from infected dogs and being unable to secure post-bite vaccination on time. Of those who die of the disease, the WHO estimate four in ten are children.

Elaine A. Ferguson et al, Improved effectiveness of vaccination campaigns against rabies by reducing spatial heterogeneity in coverage, PLOS Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002872

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Uncovering compounds that tame the heat of chili peppers: Study challenges reliability of Scoville scale

When biting into a chili pepper, you expect a fiery sensation on your tongue. This spiciness is detected because of capsaicinoid compounds. But for some peppers, despite high levels of capsaicinoids, the heat is mysteriously dull.

Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have identified three compounds that lessen peppers' pungency. These results challenge the reliability of the century-old Scoville scale, which traditionally bases its rating on two capsaicinoids.

Capsaicinoids are a group of compounds that produce the strong spicy sensation or pungency that comes with consuming chili peppers. The combined amount of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in a pepper is used to calculate its heat intensity rating on the Scoville scale, ranging from zero Scoville Heat Units (SHU) for bell peppers to millions of SHU for the hottest peppers.

However, some of these fruits have less heat than would be expected from their Scoville rating, which suggests that something else in the pepper influences that spicy sensation. So, researchers wanted to investigate multiple chili pepper varieties for potential spiciness suppressors.

In their experiments, the researchers identified five compounds that could be modulating pepper spiciness.

Another set of panelists assessed whether these compounds, alone or in combination, changed the pungency of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin. Three of the five compounds (capsianoside I, roseoside and gingerglycolipid A) reduced the heat intensity, though they didn't have an additive effect when combined. In addition, none of the spiciness suppressors had a noticeable flavor in water.

These advancements could enable the customization of desirable spicy flavor profiles or lead to the creation of a household ingredient designed to tone down excessive heat in dishes—the anti-spice. Also, they hold significant medical potential in the design of (non-opioid) analgesic agents for pain management.

Identification of Chili Pepper Compounds That Suppress Pungency Perception, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5c01448

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 13 hours ago

The researchers spent four months observing each community, as well as drawing on video evidence from the Great Ape Dictionary database, logbooks containing decades of observational data, and a survey of other scientists who had witnessed chimpanzees treating illness or injury.

Any plants chimpanzees were seen using for external care were identified; several turned out to have chemical properties which could improve wound healing and relevant traditional medicine uses.

During their direct observational periods, the scientists recorded 12 injuries in Sonso, all of which were likely caused by within-group conflicts. In Waibira, five chimpanzees were injured—one female by a snare, and four males in fights. The researchers also identified more cases of care in Sonso than in Waibira.

This likely stems from several factors, including possible differences in social hierarchy stability or greater observation opportunities in the more thoroughly habituated Sonso community.
The researchers documented 41 cases of care overall: seven cases of care for others—prosocial care—and 34 cases of self-care. These cases often included several different care behaviors, which might be treating different aspects of a wound, or might reflect a chimpanzee's personal preferences.

Chimpanzee wound care encompasses several techniques: direct wound licking, which removes debris and potentially applies antimicrobial compounds in saliva; finger licking followed by wound pressing; leaf-dabbing; and chewing plant materials and applying them directly to wounds.
All chimpanzees mentioned in our tables showed recovery from wounds, though, of course, we don't know what the outcome would have been had they not done anything about their injuries.

They also documented hygiene behaviours, including the cleaning of genitals with leaves after mating and wiping the anus with leaves after defecation—practices that may help prevent infections.
Of the seven instances of prosocial care, the researchers found four cases of wound treatment, two cases of snare removal assistance, and one case where a chimpanzee helped another with hygiene. Care wasn't preferentially given by, or provided to, one sex or age group. On four occasions, care was given to genetically unrelated individuals.

These behaviors add to the evidence from other sites that chimpanzees appear to recognize need or suffering in others and take deliberate action to alleviate it, even when there's no direct genetic advantage.

Elodie Freymann et al, Self-Directed and Prosocial Wound Care, Snare Removal, and Hygiene Behaviors Amongst the Budongo Chimpanzees, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2025.1540922

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 13 hours ago

Chimpanzees use medicinal leaves to perform first aid, scientists discover

Scientists studying chimpanzees in Budongo Forest, Uganda, have observed that these primates don't just treat their own injuries, but care for others, too—information which could shed light on how our ancestors first began treating wounds and using medicines.

Although chimpanzees elsewhere have been observed helping other community members with medical problems, the persistent presence of this behaviour in Budongo could suggest that medical care among chimpanzees is much more widespread than we realized, and not confined to care for close relatives.

This  research helps illuminate the evolutionary roots of human medicine and health care systems. By documenting how chimpanzees identify and utilize medicinal plants and provide care to others, we gain insight into the cognitive and social foundations of human health care behaviours. 

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

We Emit a Visible Light That Vanishes When We Die

A new study hints that plants and animals — including people — emit a tiny glow when alive, which disappears after death. This ‘ultraweak photon emission’ — equivalent to a few photons a second per square centimetre of skin tissue — might be a byproduct of energy-producing processes within cells.

An extraordinary experiment on mice and leaves from two different plant species has uncovered direct physical evidence of an eerie 'biophoton' phenomenon ceasing on death, suggesting all living things – including humans – could literally glow with health, until we don't.

To determine whether the process could be scaled from isolated tissues to entire living subjects, the researchers used electron-multiplying charge-coupled device and charge-coupled device cameras to compare the faintest of emissions from whole mice – first alive, then dead.

Four immobilized mice were individually placed in a dark box and imaged for an hour, before being euthanized and imaged for another hour. They were warmed to body temperature even after death, to keep heat from being a variable.

The researchers found they could capture individual photons in the visible band of light popping out of the mouse cells before and after death. The difference in the numbers of these photons was clear, with a significant drop in UPE in the measurement period after they were euthanized.

A process carried out on thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) and dwarf umbrella tree (Heptapleurum arboricola) leaves revealed similarly bold results. Stressing the plants with physical injuries and chemical agents provided strong evidence that reactive oxygen species could in fact be behind the soft glow.

The results show that the injury parts in all leaves were significantly brighter than the uninjured parts of the leaves during all 16 hours of imaging.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c03546

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

5G safety confirmed: Study finds no genetic changes in exposed skin cells

The adoption of 5G wireless technology has raised concerns about the health effects of the associated electromagnetic exposure, but a new study published in PNAS Nexus claims 5G wireless is safe.

The frequencies involved can only penetrate a few millimeters into human skin, so  researchers studied the gene expression and methylation profiles of human skin cells exposed to 5G electromagnetic fields at different frequencies (27 GHz and 40.5 GHz), power flux densities (1 mW/cm2 and 10 mW/cm2) and exposure times (2h and 48h).

Gene expression and DNA methylation remained statistically unchanged after 5G exposure, even at 10 times the recommended exposure limits. According to the authors, the quantum energies are far too low to have photochemical or even ionizing effects on cells.

The authors controlled for temperature in their experiments; some previous studies that found effects of 5G failed to do so, and effects are likely to have been caused by heat alone.

 Jyoti Jyoti et al, 5G-exposed human skin cells do not respond with altered gene expression and methylation profiles, PNAS Nexus (2025). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf127

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

MRI scans can identify cardiovascular disease ten years in advance, study reveals

People at risk of cardiovascular disease could be identified a decade before they have a heart attack or stroke, a breakthrough study has discovered.

Experts  have identified that an increased, but still normal, mass of the heart's left ventricle could be used to indicate an increased risk of future cardiovascular events, even when the organ was functioning correctly at the time of assessment. The findings, which also indicated different risk factors in men and women, have been published in Radiology.

The researchers  looked at thousands of health records and it became apparent that the mass of the left ventricle was a clear indicator of future risk of cardiovascular disease.

What made these findings particularly interesting was the difference the researchers noted between men and women.

In men, they found that a larger left ventricle, associated with heart attack and stroke, was linked to the diastolic—the bottom measure,—blood pressure. This level was what we would consider to be normal, albeit in the upper level. In women, they found a link between an increase in left ventricle mass and cholesterol.

Again, this level was in the upper end of what we would consider normal. Both the level of blood pressure and cholesterol level were such that, normally, no preventive treatment would be offered.

The researchers  have clearly identified a very early marker of future cardiovascular disease which can be detected via a simple MRI scan. This is a widely available, easy-to-perform procedure that this study has proven to be able to identify people at risk of cardiovascular disease who may have no other identifiable risk factors, 10 years before the event.

The ability to provide pre-emptive treatment for patients at a stage where their heart is working perfectly well could save vast numbers of lives that are cruelly taken from us as a consequence of cardiovascular disease.

The findings of this study make it clear that we need to encourage men to monitor and reduce their diastolic blood pressure, while for women we should be looking at increasing the use of statins at an earlier stage to control cholesterol levels.

 Jonathan R. Weir-McCall et al, Sex-specific Associations between Left Ventricular Remodeling at MRI and Long-term Cardiovascular Risk, Radiology (2024). DOI: 10.1148/radiol.232997

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Golf course proximity linked to higher Parkinson's disease risk

Researchers report an association between living near golf courses and increased Parkinson's disease (PD) risk in a study published in JAMA Network Open.

Reasons?

Residents within 1 to 2 miles of a golf course demonstrated nearly triple the odds of having PD, with the greatest risk identified among those in water service areas with a golf course situated in regions susceptible to groundwater contamination.

Environmental risk factors, including pesticide exposure, have been identified as contributors to PD risk. Golf courses in some countries are treated with high levels of pesticides  raising concerns about potential environmental contamination. Earlier reports have proposed that proximity to golf courses may increase PD risk through groundwater and drinking water contamination.

In the study, "Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease," researchers conducted a population-based case-control study to assess the relationship between proximity to golf courses and PD risk.

Addressing pesticide application practices on golf courses and monitoring groundwater quality in susceptible areas may serve as preventive strategies to reduce PD risk in nearby populations.

Brittany Krzyzanowski et al, Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease, JAMA Network Open (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.9198

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

How typhoid fever triggers severe neurological symptoms

Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella Typhi, is one of the oldest documented human diseases. Most commonly spread by contaminated food or water, it is characterized by high fever, headaches, nausea, and, in some cases, potentially deadly neurological complications.

About 15% of patients with typhoid fever develop serious neurological complications, including delirium and seizures, that are collectively described as acute encephalopathy.

A new  study  published in the journal Nature Microbiology provides critical insights into how typhoid fever leads to encephalopathy. Researchers found that typhoid toxin, a key virulence factor only produced by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, does not directly damage brain cells, as previously thought. Instead, it targets the endothelial cells lining the blood-brain barrier (BBB), causing significant barrier disruption and subsequent brain pathology.

The findings will inform treatment of this life-threatening infection, which annually afflicts about 12 million people and causes about 200,000 deaths, mostly in the world's poorest countries.

Researchers discovered that typhoid toxin severely damages the endothelial cells lining the BBB, a crucial protective barrier separating the bloodstream from the brain. This damage triggered inflammation, edema, and neurological dysfunction in mice models. Crucially, mice engineered to protect endothelial cells from toxin binding showed no neurological symptoms.

The team demonstrated that treatment with the corticosteroid dexamethasone effectively mitigated toxin-induced damage of the BBB and reduced brain inflammation and edema.

 Heng Zhao et al, Typhoid toxin causes neuropathology by disrupting the blood–brain barrier, Nature Microbiology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02000-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on Tuesday

Flamingos are super-specialized animals for filter feeding. It's not just the head, but the neck, their legs, their feet and all the behaviors they use just to effectively capture these tiny and agile organisms.

 Victor M. Ortega-Jimenez et al, Flamingos use their L-shaped beak and morphing feet to induce vortical traps for prey capture, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2503495122

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