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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

The secrets under our skin
Mysterious undulating microstructures in our skin, called rete ridges, could help explain how the organ can regenerate and why it is that humans don’t have fur. The ridges act “like velcro to keep the top layer of your skin attached firmly to the bottom layer of your skin”, biologist Ryan Driskell, who co-authored a new study on the ridges, tells Nature. Driskell and his colleagues scoured the animal kingdom to find the skin that most resembled humans’ and found clues as to how these ridges form.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

Maternal perinatal depression may increase the risk of autistic-related traits in girls
Maternal perinatal depression is associated with an increased risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers, with a stronger effect observed in girls. Mouse models indicate that prenatal stress may disrupt oxytocin signaling, particularly affecting female offspring. These results highlight the importance of supporting maternal mental health to reduce adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, especially in girls.

Changrong Duan et al, Sex differences in the risk of autistic-related traits in toddlers born to mothers with perinatal depression: Evidence from human cohort and mouse study, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-026-03456-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

Sleep disruption damages gut's self-repair ability via stress signals from brain: A biological chain reaction
Chronic sleep disruption impairs the gut’s ability to repair itself by triggering stress signals from the brain via the vagus nerve, leading to increased oxidative stress in intestinal stem cells. This weakens the gut lining and heightens susceptibility to gastrointestinal disorders. Targeting specific molecules in this brain-gut pathway may offer therapeutic strategies to protect gut health in sleep-deprived individuals.

Mingxin Zhang et al, Sleep disturbance triggers aberrant activation of vagus circuitry and induces intestinal stem cell dysfunction, Cell Stem Cell (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2026.01.002

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 10 hours ago

The body processes good fats and bad fats differently, study finds

The concept of "good fats" and "bad fats" has influenced diet trends, public health policy, and biomedical research for decades. Now, a new study offers new insights into how the body handles good fats and bad fats at the molecular level—opening a door to new treatments for obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions. Their study is featured on the cover of the February edition of Cell Metabolism.

The researchers  found that if you can tweak bile acids, you can find a way to selectively absorb the good fats and excrete the bad fats, with many metabolic benefits. That includes the secretion of hormones like glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), the same mechanism that underlies popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.

Dietary fat is essential to survival, and humans have evolved to process it very efficiently. Bile acids are detergent molecules that help break fat into small droplets in the intestine, allowing fats to be efficiently absorbed into systemic circulation. While this was quite useful for our ancestors living in times when food was scarce, this advantage becomes a disadvantage in a world where high-fat food options are readily available.

Researchers  engineered a CRISPR tool to disable a critical enzyme for bile acid synthesis, CYP7A1. The tool successfully decreased bile acid levels by 50% in adult mice.

The body absorbs saturated and unsaturated fats differently, a process regulated by bile acids. Reducing specific bile acids in mice selectively decreased absorption of saturated fats while preserving uptake of beneficial polyunsaturated fats, increased GLP-1 secretion, and protected against weight gain. Not all bile acids function identically, suggesting new therapeutic targets for metabolic diseases.

Alvin P. Chan et al, Bile acids regulate lipid metabolism through selective actions on fatty acid absorption, Cell Metabolism (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.11.010

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 10 hours ago

Scientists now know why ovarian cancer spreads so rapidly in the abdomen

Ovarian cancer spreads rapidly in the abdomen because cancer cells recruit mesothelial cells, forming hybrid clusters that resist chemotherapy and invade tissue more effectively. Cancer-derived TGF-β1 induces mesothelial cells to develop invadopodia, which penetrate tissue, facilitating cancer dissemination. Targeting these interactions may offer new therapeutic strategies.

Kaname Uno et al, Mesothelial cells promote peritoneal invasion and metastasis of ascites-derived ovarian cancer cells through spheroid formation, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adu5944. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu5944

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 11 hours ago

Almost half of the world's aquatic environments are severely contaminated by waste, research reveals
Nearly half (46%) of global aquatic environments are classified as dirty or extremely dirty, with plastics and cigarette butts comprising about 80% of waste. Protected areas show up to sevenfold lower contamination, but 31% remain polluted, especially at their edges due to external pressures. Contamination trends vary with socioeconomic development, highlighting the need for integrated global waste management

Victor Vasques Ribeiro et al, Influence of protected areas and socioeconomic development on litter contamination: A global analysis, Journal of Hazardous Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.140422

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 11 hours ago

When the interaction between fungi and bacteria becomes a dangerous alliance

Rivals or allies—how do bacteria and fungi interact in our bodies? Until now, bacteria on our mucous membranes were primarily considered to be antagonists of fungi, as they can inhibit their growth. However, an international research team has now been able to show that the yeast Candida albicans and the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis form a dangerous alliance under certain conditions: Instead of fighting each other, they can amplify their impact and cause significantly more severe cell damage together than alone.

In their study, now published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers reveal the mechanisms behind this—and the crucial role of the bacterial toxin cytolysin.

The yeast Candida albicans and the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis are usually harmless inhabitants of our mucous membranes. However, if the immune system is weakened or the microbial balance is disturbed—for example, after antibiotic therapy—they can cause infections. The severity of an infection also depends on how the two microbes interact with each other.

To understand this cooperation better, the team tested numerous E. faecalis strains in cell culture models. They found that only some of them significantly increased cell damage when infected simultaneously with Candida albicans. These strains shared a striking characteristic: they produced cytolysin, a toxin that perforates cell membranes and thus kills the cells. If the corresponding gene was missing in the bacterium, the additional damage did not occur. When it was added, the effect reappeared. The findings from the cell cultures were also confirmed in the mouse model.

Cytolysin-producing bacterial strains increased the damage to the mucous membrane caused by Candida albicans, while variants without the toxin even had a mitigating effect. Not all enterococci are the same. The cytolysin-producing variants have proven to be the dangerous ones. This explains why more severe disease progressions are sometimes observed, even though the same microorganisms are involved in the clinical samples.

In addition to the central role of cytolysin, the research team identified two main mechanisms that explain the dangerous alliance between the two microbes:
Direct contact: The bacteria attach themselves to the fungal cells and thus come into close contact with the host cells. This allows the bacterial toxin cytolysin to act exactly where it causes most of the damage.
Nutrient depletion: Candida albicans consumes sugar (glucose) particularly quickly. The resulting energy deficiency weakens the host cells and makes them more susceptible to the bacterial toxin.
In this way, the fungi and bacteria together create an environment in which they can fully unleash their destructive effects and cause massive cell damage—an impressive example of how complex microbiological interactions shape the course of an infection.

Mario Kapitan et al, Synergistic interactions between Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis promote toxin-dependent host cell damage, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2505310122

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

China awards its first ‘practical PhDs’

A cohort of PhD candidates in China have become the first in the country to be assessed on the basis of practical achievements instead of theses. This new class of PhDs is part of the Chinese government’s broader education reforms to cultivate ‘elite engineers’ that can help boost the country’s innovation. As part of their PhD defence, candidates have to make prototypes and prove that their inventions can be used at scale in the real world. Examples so far include the equipment for a new welding technique and a fire-fighting system for a large seaplane.

First ‘practical PhDs’ awarded in China — for products rather than ...

First ‘practical PhDs’ awarded in China — for products rather than papers

The programme is designed to train more elite engineers who can help to boost the country’s innovation.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

Extreme temperature changes increase number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, model finds
Extreme temperature fluctuations and higher relative humidity are associated with increased out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) incidence. A machine learning model analyzing over 190,000 cases identified 17 environmental and social risk factors, accurately predicting OHCA patterns up to seven days in advance, even in previously unstudied regions. Social factors may amplify environmental risks.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, or OHCA, is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and 90% of cases are fatal. Patients lose cardiac function and circulation, and every minute they remain untreated decreases the likelihood of a good outcome.

In a study published in npj Digital Medicine, a team of researchers developed a machine learning model that identified 17 environmental and social factors that can influence the risk of OHCA.

The researchers used patient data from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, or CARES, the largest national system that tracks OHCA. They built their model using more than 190,000 cases from 2013 to 2017 and identified 17 factors that can predict OHCA risk.

Mean ambient temperature, including both colder days and extremely warm ones, as well as higher relative humidity, influenced the number of OHCA incidents. Social factors, such as including poverty and race, may also amplify their impact.

The risks associated with cardiovascular events were mostly based on the individual risk factors, including hypertension. This new prediction model is the first to show that external environmental factors also influence risk.

In addition to its high prediction accuracy, the model was able to predict OHCA patterns up to seven days in advance.

Takahiro Nakashima et al, Development and evaluation of a machine learning model predicting out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using environmental factors, npj Digital Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41746-025-02235-4

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa yesterday

The researchers believe that the decrease in childbirth has other, more likely explanations. Those who are now in their 30s, an age when it is most common to have children, were born in the second half of the 1990s. This was a time of financial difficulties and declining childbirth rates in Sweden. In other words, the group of current potential parents has become smaller due to declining birthrates 30 years earlier. Also, factors linked to the pandemic may have reduced childbirth, such as health and economic concerns and changed behavior during lockdown.

One of the strengths of the study is that it examines pregnancy outcomes in a large group that is representative of the country's population. The researchers have taken into account that the woman's age is a possible factor that could hide a possible effect of vaccines on childbirth, and they have therefore compensated for age in their analysis.

Dennis Nordvall et al, COVID-19 vaccination carries no association with childbirth rates in Sweden, Communications Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s43856-026-01396-x

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