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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 11 hours ago

Eye Movements Form a Unique Gaze Fingerprint

Eye movements reveal personal 'fingerprints' as people explore unfamiliar scenes
Eye-tracking during exploration of virtual scenes showed that individuals have stable, distinctive gaze patterns that reflect personal conceptual priorities. Machine-learning models, especially those using large language model–derived conceptual descriptions of viewed objects, reliably identified individuals from these patterns, even across sessions one week apart. Results suggest gaze can act as a persistent biometric and potential clinical marker, while raising privacy concerns in VR/AR contexts.

“Conceptual priorities shape individual gaze patterns during natural...” by Amanda J. Haskins, Katherine O. Packard, and Caroline E. Robertson. PNAS
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2604369123

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 11 hours ago

Why some people are more bothered by low-frequency sounds

Some people are more sensitive to low-frequency noise, such as from ventilation systems, heat pumps, wind turbines and transformers. Why is that?
The brain perceives low-frequency sounds in a completely different way from other sounds. Maybe that's why some people react more strongly to them.

Sound below 16 Hz is what professionals like to call infrasound. This is sound that is often considered impossible to hear. But that's not the case.

Humans can actually perceive infrasound if the sound level is high enough.
Some people are more sensitive to low-frequency noise. It can come from ventilation systems, heat pumps, wind turbines, industry, transport, generators or transformers. But this is difficult to measure because the sound is often perceived more as a hum or physical sensation than higher-frequency sound is.

Low-frequency sound and infrasound are detected via a mechanism in the inner ear that differs from normal hearing. When frequencies are very low, conventional sensory hair cells respond weakly, and supporting cells instead generate electric fields sufficient to activate auditory nerve signals. This nonlinear mechanism can make small pressure increases seem much louder and may vary between individuals, explaining differing sensitivity to low-frequency noise.

Now new research suggests that infrasound is registered in the inner ear in a different way than normal sound.

Inside the inner ear, there are specialized sensory hair cells that are crucial for transmitting sound signals to the brain.

But at very low frequencies, the signals to these hair cells become too weak, and other hair cells, which normally contribute to the hearing process, can still pick them up.
These support cells, which normally receive signals from the brain to regulate hearing sensitivity, generate electric fields that are strong enough to trigger nerve signals sent to the brain, so that infrasound is perceived.
Maybe that's why very low-frequency sounds feel different from other sounds.

This may explain why infrasound is experienced differently than normal sound. Small increases in sound pressure quickly make the sound much louder.
The findings may also help explain why some people are bothered by low-frequency noise while others are not, as the newly discovered mechanism may vary from person to person.

Carlos Jurado et al, Infrasound sensation is mediated by intracochlear electrical potentials, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-50179-w

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Biomni—an AI-powered biomedical co-scientist
Biomni is an AI-driven biomedical research agent that automates full workflows, including literature review, hypothesis generation, data integration, analysis, visualization, and code execution across 25 biomedical subdomains. It uses ~150 tools, 105 software packages, and 59 databases, providing traceable, reproducible outputs that substantially reduce manual effort while keeping humans responsible for scientific judgment and decision-making.

Biomedical research is increasingly constrained by repetitive, fragmented workflows that slow discovery. Now researchers introduced Biomni, a general-purpose biomedical artificial intelligence agent that autonomously executes diverse research tasks. To map the biomedical action space, Biomni’s action-discovery agent mines tools, databases, and protocols from thousands of publications across 25 domains, building a unified agentic environment. Its general-purpose architecture integrates large language model reasoning with retrieval-augmented planning and code-based execution, dynamically composing workflows without predefined templates. Systematic benchmarking shows strong generalization across heterogeneous tasks—causal gene prioritization, drug repurposing, rare-disease diagnosis, microbiome analysis, and molecular cloning—without task-specific tuning. Real-world case studies demonstrate Biomni interpreting multi-modal datasets, optimizing protein stability, orchestrating wet-lab instruments, and generating experimentally testable protocols. Biomni envisions artificial intelligence augmenting human scientists and accelerating discovery.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz4351

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Volcanoes and wildfires are adding water vapor to the stratosphere, raising climate concerns

Moderate volcanic eruptions and extreme wildfires since 2005 have led to an increase in the amount of water vapor in the stratosphere, a layer of Earth's atmosphere above the weather-filled troposphere. That's potentially bad news because water vapor here acts like a greenhouse gas that traps heat and changes ozone chemistry.

The findings are presented in a paper published in Nature. But the scientists not only provided the first direct observational evidence that this is happening, they also explained the mechanisms behind it. The journal's editors have also published a Research Briefing explaining the work.

Previously, only massive volcanic eruptions, such as the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, were thought to significantly increase stratospheric water vapor (SWV). But this research shows that the cumulative effect of smaller events can also drive climate variability. "Episodic aerosol perturbations from moderate volcanic eruptions and extreme wildfires therefore emerge as a previously overlooked driver of SWV variability," the study authors wrote in their paper.

The team pulled together 17 years of monthly atmospheric data from a number of sources. These included SWOOSH, which tracks stratospheric water vapor; GNSS satellite measurements used to estimate temperatures near the tropopause; and GloSSAC, a global dataset of stratospheric aerosol levels.

They organized the data into two categories: aerosol-influenced months (following recent volcanic activity or megafires) and clean months. They also ran computer models to simulate climate with and without the volcanic and wildfire aerosols to ensure natural weather cycles weren't skewing the data.

The paper revealed that between 76 million and 203 million tons of water vapor were added to the stratosphere during the study period. The researchers estimate that aerosol-driven increases explain about 36% of the observed rise in stratospheric water vapor between 2005 and 2021. According to the team, the climate impact from these fires and volcanoes was comparable to that from the global surface temperature increase.

The scientists also suggested two ways these particles pump moisture into the upper atmosphere.

The first is volcanic and wildfire aerosols that absorb and scatter radiation, thereby warming the tropopause, the boundary layer between the stratosphere and troposphere. This warming raises the amount of water vapor the air can hold, allowing more to enter the stratosphere.

The second is a process called aerosol self-lofting, which only happens with extreme wildfires. Dark, light-absorbing carbon in wildfire smoke absorbs sunlight, heats up and becomes buoyant. This causes the smoke plumes to rise into the stratosphere, carrying water vapor straight up with them.

As extreme fires intensify in a warming world, the researchers emphasize that predictions of the ozone layer, future warming and the overall composition of the stratosphere must account for these aerosol-driven processes.

Yifeng Peng et al, Moderate volcanic eruptions and extreme wildfires humidify the stratosphere, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10731-0

Volcanoes and wildfires contributed to increased stratospheric humidification, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-026-02011-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Alongside this part of the study, the researchers also used functional brain imaging to study what happens in the brains of healthy adults when they are engaged in logical reasoning. Participants in this part of the study visited MIT for a series of MRI scans, which captured images of their brain activity during an array of tasks.
Here, too, a separation between language and logic was clear: The MRI scans showed the brain's language system is not engaged for either inductive reasoning (when participants identified hidden rules) or deductive reasoning (when they assessed the validity of syllogistic conclusions).

Surprisingly, the multiple demand network, which many scientists had suspected was important for logical reasoning, was engaged during inductive reasoning but didn't seem to get involved in deductive reasoning.
The findings strongly support a separation of logic and language in the brain.

Hope Kean et al, Evidence from formal logical reasoning reveals that the language of thought is not natural language, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2520095123

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Language of thought is not natural language

Philosophers, linguists and cognitive scientists have debated the relationship between language and thought for thousands of years, with many arguing that we use language to think. There are good reasons to suspect a close relationship between logic and language.

Abstract thinking has properties that look a lot like language. You can divide a thought into subcomponents, like little atoms of logical propositions, and you can combine them in a hierarchical manner to make more complex structured rules, very akin to language.
But neuro scientists thought while we largely depend on language to communicate about logical reasoning—from presenting a problem to explaining how we have arrived at conclusions—the brain might use a separate system for the reasoning itself.
There are aspects of thinking that seem to go beyond some of the limitations of language. Logical reasoning demands precision that language often lacks. And language is linear, progressing one word at a time, whereas evaluating available information to reach logical conclusions can require thinking in less linear ways.
Some people find it useful to talk through their problems—but language isn't necessary for logical reasoning, cognitive neuroscientists say.
In research published in the journal PNAS, researchers have shown that people can perform well on tasks that require logical reasoning even if their language abilities are severely impaired. What's more, brain imaging shows that language-processing parts of the brain are not called on for logical reasoning.

The scientists worked with two patients who had experienced strokes that damaged language-processing parts of their brains, leaving them with severe impairments in both understanding and producing language. They designed language-free logic games in which participants were asked to infer relationships between sets of numbers.
As participants solved increasingly difficult puzzles, it became clear that people don't need language for this kind of reasoning. Patients with language impairments solved the problems as well as a control group and were even able to communicate the rules they inferred using gestures or with a sketch.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Softening aging ovaries could help extend fertility as women get older

Fertility declines as women get older for many reasons, such as a drop in egg quality, decreased follicle numbers and hardening of ovarian tissues. That's a problem for would-be mothers in many countries who prefer to have their children later in life, often in their 30s and 40s. Current treatments for infertility include hormone therapy and in vitro fertilization (IVF), which primarily focus on treating hormonal imbalances and helping eggs mature or be fertilized.
But in research published in the journal Nature Aging, scientists may have found a way to help women stay fertile longer by softening their ovaries. The researchers wanted to understand why ovaries stiffen with age and whether this could provide a route for future fertility treatments.

Finding the cause

To discover what could be causing ovarian tissue to harden, researchers collected healthy human ovarian tissues from young, middle-aged and older women. They also sourced samples from patients with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), POI (premature ovarian insufficiency) and endometriosis.

The team measured protein levels and gene activity in these tissues and found increased levels of the inflammatory protein interleukin-11 in aging and diseased ovaries.

To see how this might relate to stiffness, they cultured ovarian fibroblasts, the cells that produce connective tissue, in the laboratory and exposed them to the protein. They found that the protein triggered the cells to produce excess collagen, a structural material that can build up during scarring and make tissues stiffer.

Next, the researchers genetically modified mice so they could not respond to interleukin-11. The result was that these animals had less ovarian stiffening and better ovarian function as they aged. The same was true in mouse models of chemotherapy-induced POI and PCOS.
In the final part of the experiment, the scientists injected older mice and rats with a nanoparticle treatment containing small interfering RNA (siRNA) that could switch off interleukin-11. This caused their ovaries to become less stiff, improving fertility. In older mice, the pregnancy rate increased from 25% to 50%, while the average litter size also increased. The treatment also improved fertility in rats, with more animals becoming pregnant and producing larger litters.

Although it is highly speculative at this stage and requires much more research, blocking this inflammatory pathway could form the basis for new fertility treatments, as the authors acknowledge in their paper.

Meng Wu et al, Modulating IL-11-dependent matrix stiffness to delay ovarian aging, Nature Aging (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-026-01159-2

Stuart A. Cook, Targeting interleukin-11 to slow ovarian aging, Nature Aging (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-026-01137-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 13 hours ago

The team found that a key signal comes from microorganisms, especially fungi, as they break down dead plant material. During decomposition, fungi release acidic metabolites, including organic and phenolic acids. These compounds diffuse into the surrounding soil and create stable local pH gradients around the decaying material.

Roots can detect this acidity pattern even before direct contact and use it as directional information, bending away from the more acidic side. However, the "plant graveyard" does not send a permanent warning signal—it stops automatically after the matter has turned into soil. "Once the plant material had almost fully broken down, the acidic warning signal faded—and the roots stopped bending away.
How this happens
Within the root, an external signal is transformed into a growth decision: Cells on the root surface detect that one side of the root is exposed to stronger acidity than the other. This uneven signal changes the distribution of the plant hormone abscisic acid, or ABA, across the root tip.

As a result, the internal framework of root cells is rearranged, causing one side of the root to grow differently from the other. The root then bends away from the decaying plant material.
Saprotropism shows how plants interpret microbial activity in the soil and make growth decisions accordingly.
The discovery of saprotropism—a term coined by the study authors—opens new research avenues, such as how roots interpret microbial activity in soil. In the long term, a better understanding of such root behaviors could help inform approaches in agriculture, soil management and crop resilience.
Understanding the molecular basis of saprotropism opens new opportunities to develop crops with an enhanced ability to detect and avoid pathogen-rich environments.

Zhulatai Bao et al, Roots navigate around decay regions by sensing local pH gradients, Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.adw6568. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw6568

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 13 hours ago

'Saprotropism' helps roots avoid decaying plant matter—but not animal decay

Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots.
Researchers have now identified "saprotropism," a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter—but not animal-derived decay.
The study published in Science, reveals how roots adapt their growth direction by sensing local pH gradients around rot.

Plants cannot run away from danger or toward something they desire. Instead, they adjust the direction in which they grow. Shoots bend toward light (a well-known phenomenon called phototropism), roots and shoots use gravity to grow downward and upward, respectively (gravitropism), and roots can also bend toward water (hydrotropism).

These directional growth responses, known as plant tropisms, help plants navigate changing environments. Now, researchers from China and Austria describe a new member of this family: saprotropism, from "sapro," meaning rotten or decaying.

The researchers first showed that direct contact with decaying plant tissue strongly inhibited root growth and activated defense pathways linked to immunity and pathogens. In other words, roots treated these decay zones as biologically threatening environments.

Animals instinctively avoid rotten food because it often harbours harmful microbes.
The newly identified tropism enables roots to actively bend away from decaying plant matter. In experiments, roots avoided decay zones made from "fleshy" matter such as apples or leaves, and—contrary to initial assumptions—also from woody material such as sawdust.
However, when the researchers tested animal-derived decay, such as small pieces of chicken meat, the roots showed no directional growth response.

One of the striking findings was therefore that the roots did not simply avoid anything rotten.
They responded specifically to decomposing plant material. This tells us that saprotropism is not a general reaction to rot, but a dedicated response to plant-derived decay.
The response was observed not only in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, but also in crop species including rapeseed, tomato and wheat—suggesting that saprotropism is widespread among plants.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Targeted phages curb Crohn's-linked gut inflammation by disabling harmful E. coli traits
IBD affects millions, with rates continuing to rise, particularly among children. Although current treatments can be effective, they can fail long term or require escalating doses, increasing the risk of serious side effects.

A research team at McMaster University has developed a targeted approach to treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using bacteriophages, viruses that infect specific bacteria, to disarm harmful microbes without disrupting the broader gut ecosystem.
Targeted bacteriophages directed against adherent-invasive E. coli reduced gut inflammation in experimental models of Crohn’s disease by suppressing virulence traits, particularly adhesion to intestinal cells, without eradicating the bacteria or disrupting the microbiota. Phage therapy also potentiated steroid efficacy, enabling lower doses, and stool-based functional assays may identify patients most likely to benefit.
IBD is shaped by a combination of genetics, immune responses and the gut microbiome. The research team focused on a group of bacteria known as adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), which have been linked to inflammation in some people with Crohn's disease. These bacteria can be difficult to identify and selectively target, making them an important test case for more precise microbiome-based therapies.
Working with E. coli strains isolated from patients with Crohn's disease, the team used controlled experimental models to isolate how AIEC contribute to inflammation and explore ways to neutralize their harmful behaviour without damaging beneficial bacteria.
To target AIEC without collateral damage, the team turned to bacteriophages (phages), which are naturally occurring viruses that infect bacteria with remarkable precision.

Phages work like a lock-and-key system—each phage targets only certain bacteria. That precision gives us a way to intervene without wiping out the entire microbiome.

The team identified and characterized phages that selectively target AIEC strains isolated from patients with IBD and found that this approach significantly reduced gut inflammation.

The phages did not eliminate the bacteria entirely. Instead, they altered their behavior by suppressing a molecular "grappling hook" that helps AIEC attach to the gut lining and trigger immune responses. When that virulence mechanism was turned off, inflammation subsided.

The bacteria were still there, but they lost the traits that drive inflammation as the bacteria can't do as much damage anymore.
The researchers also found that phage therapy enhanced the effectiveness of a commonly used steroid treatment for IBD. When combined with the phage, a lower-than-standard dose produced benefits comparable to higher doses of the drug alone. While phages have previously been shown to increase the effectiveness of antibiotics, this is the first time a positive collaboration between phage and a non-antibiotic drug has been reported.

The findings point to a precision-medicine approach for IBD.

Kyle Jackson et al, Phage intervention improves colitis and response to corticosteroids by attenuating virulence of Crohn's disease–associated bacteria, Science Translational Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adz4589

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