Soil is often perceived simply as “dirt,” but in reality, it is a dynamic, living system that acts as Earth’s natural sponge. Unfortunately, common agricultural practices—including deep plowing and the use of heavy machinery—can severely disrupt this natural system, according to a new study led by Dr. Shi Qibin from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with international partners.
The study, published in Science, shows that healthy soil contains a natural internal “plumbing” network of microscopic pores and channels that allow water to infiltrate deeply into the ground, where it becomes available to plant roots.
Frequent plowing or heavy tractor traffic not only disrupts soil structure but also reduces its ability to help crops withstand both flooding and drought.
A team from the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UBneuro) has designed and validated in animal models an innovative compound with a pioneering mechanism of action for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike current drugs, which mainly remove beta-amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brain, this new experimental drug reprogrammes the neuronal epigenome by correcting alterations in gene expression that contribute to the progression of the disease. The results of this study, published in Molecular Therapy, open the door to an epigenetic-based therapeutic strategy to fight Alzheimer’s disease.
“The compound FLAV-27 represents an innovative and promising approach to Alzheimer’s disease, with the potential to modify the disease process, as it acts not only on its symptoms or a single pathological biomarker, but directly on its underlying molecular mechanisms,” says Aina Bellver, a researcher at the UB Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) and first author of the paper.
The study was led by Christian Griñán and Mercè Pallàs, UBneuro researchers and Professors from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences. Th work was performed with the participation of researchers from the CIBER Area for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), as well as the UB Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB), the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) and other national and international institutions.
Humans excel at transmitting ideas, skills, and knowledge across generations, and at building on those competencies in a cumulative manner. James Rilling, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explores how the transmission of our cumulative culture is assumed to depend on both language and mental perspective-taking, or theory of mind. If humans have specialized abilities in these domains, we must have neurobiological specializations to support them. Our research has used comparative primate neuroimaging to attempt to identify such specializations. The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter fiber tract that links Wernicke’s and Broca’s language areas. It is known to be involved in multiple, high level linguistic functions such as lexical semantics, complex syntax, and speech fluency. Using diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, we have demonstrated human specializations in the size and trajectory of the arcuate fasciculus that may partially explain human linguistic abilities. Theory of Mind depends on a set of cortical regions that belong to a neural network known as the default mode network that is functionally connected, highly active at rest, and deactivated by attention-demanding cognitive tasks. We and others have used functional neuroimaging to show that chimpanzees and other primates appear to have a default mode network that is similar to that of humans. However, the non-human primate default mode network seems to have weaker connectivity between certain key nodes, suggesting that these connections could play a role in human theory of mind specializations. Recorded on 02/27/2026. [3/2026] [Show ID: 41329]
Explore More Science & Technology on UCTV (https://www.uctv.tv/science) Science and technology continue to change our lives. University of California scientists are tackling the important questions like climate change, evolution, oceanography, neuroscience and the potential of stem cells.
UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world.
Researchers discover the SELK neuron, a single-cell decision-maker in fruit flies that weighs sweet vs. bitter signals to determine whether to eat or flee.
Prior research has shown that the four sections of the colon—ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid—have different functions and risks for disease, but it wasn’t clear why these variations exist.
In this study, the investigators showed that the identity of distinct regions of the colon are regulated by the gut microbiome. They identified nicotinic acid, a molecule produced by certain bacteria in the gut microbiome, as a main driver of these regional differences in the colon’s sections. Nicotinic acid, also known as niacin, part of the vitamin B3 family, helps the body convert food into energy and supports the health of cells.
The researchers compared laboratory mice with and without a microbiome. They found that production of nicotinic acid by bacteria in the upper colon activates a protective mechanism in colon cells by the induction of Pparα expression to establish proximal colonocyte identity. In mice without a microbiome, minimal nicotinic acid was produced, and cells in the upper colon became more vulnerable to damage and disease.
Investigators also studied human colon tissue samples. They found that the different sections of the human colon showed regional characteristics similar to patterns observed in mice. And in samples from human patients with Crohn’s disease— a type of bowel disease in which abnormal immune system activity causes inflammation—this protective mechanism was reduced. ScienceMission sciencenewshighlights.
The gut microbiome—the trillions of bacteria and other microbes that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract—drives a process vital for protecting the colon against tissue injury, according to the findings of a new study.
The discovery, published in Cell, has important implications for understanding how a wide variety of intestinal disorders may develop.
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A drug to treat Parkinson’s disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows. The approach harnesses the power of bacteria to transform post-consumer plastic into L-DOPA, a frontline medication for the neurological disorder. It is the first time a natural, biological process has been engineered to turn plastic waste into a therapeutic for a neurological disease, researchers say.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh engineered E. coli bacteria to turn a type of plastic used widely in food and drink packaging—polyethylene terephthalate, or PET—into L-DOPA. The process involves first breaking down PET waste—some 50 million tonnes of which are produced annually—into chemical building blocks of terephthalic acid. Molecules of terephthalic acid are then transformed into L-DOPA by the engineered bacteria through a series of biological reactions.
Using the new technique to produce L-DOPA is more sustainable than traditional methods of making pharmaceuticals, which rely on the use of finite fossil fuels, the team says.
Over the past several decades, researchers have identified the genes and proteins in plants that initiate the cellular self-destruct sequence. During that time, they also found shared elements of this “resistome” at work in mammalian.
Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors detect pathogen effectors and activate immunity. Coiled-coil NLRs (CNLs) form resistosomes as Ca2+-permeable channels in the plasma membrane (PM). However, the mechanism by which resistosomes activate cell death remains unclear.
The ring, which resembles a wreath or a necklace, the author said, is a combination of proteins that bind to a cell membrane and six channels that orient themselves to run through the membrane. The team made this discovery working with Arabidopsis and Nicotiana bethamaian, popular plant model systems, and a high resolution total internal reflection fluorescence microscope.
The authors show that the CNL SUPPRESSOR OF mkk1 mkk2 2 (SUMM2), unlike canonical CNLs that use a MADA motif to penetrate the PM, tethers to the PM through N-myristoylation, a common feature among many CNLs.
PM targeting via N-myristoylation is essential for SUMM2-induced cell death. Upon activation, SUMM2 promotes the association of the lipase-like proteins ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY 1 (EDS1) and PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT 4 (PAD4) with the helper NLR-ACTIVATED DISEASE RESISTANCE 1-LIKE 1 (ADR1-L1).
Active SUMM2 induces the clustering of multiple ADR1-L1 resistosomes into a ring-like assembly colocalized with the EDS1–PAD4 complex, and the EDS1–PAD4–ADR1 module is essential for SUMM2-activated cell death.
The finding invites new questions about what exactly the rings do and how they do it. The team’s current hypothesis is that the rings enable communication with nearby cells, sending inflammation signals that can help initiate cell death in a targeted way. ScienceMission sciencenewshighlights.
Microbial bioelectronic sensors use living bacteria that can create an electrical signal in response to the presence of a target substance, or analyte. These types of sensors offer many advantages over other types of biosensors based on proteins and enzymes: The bacteria can perform multiple functions, survive in a variety of environments and even grow and regenerate for potential long-term use.
However, building devices using living bacteria poses several challenges. The mediators some bacteria use to send and receive electrons, creating the electric signal, can be swept away from the sensor by liquid environments researchers would want to monitor, like wastewater. Some mediators are toxic to humans or the environment. Rice University researcher Rafael Verduzco developed a safe bioelectronic sensor that allows for effective electronic communication even in liquid environments. The study was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.
“This system uses a naturally occurring polymer chitosan, which is found in the hard outer shells of crustaceans. In our system, the chitosan also acts kind of like a shell to keep the bacteria from escaping. It is also modified to have anchor points the mediators can attach to, which are critical to transport electrons,” said Verduzco, corresponding author on the paper and the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “This material provides a flexible way to encapsulate the bacteria and enhance electronic signals. Since it’s based on a low-cost and renewable polymer, we think it has great potential for real-world applications.”
The sight of a delectable plate of lasagna or the aroma of a holiday ham are sure to get hungry bellies rumbling in anticipation of a feast to come. But although we’ve all experienced the sensation of “eating” with our eyes and noses before food meets mouth, much less is known about the information superhighway, known as the vagus nerve, that sends signals in the opposite direction — from your gut straight to your brain.
These signals relay more than just what you’ve eaten and when you are full. A new study in mice from researchers at Stanford Medicine and the Palo Alto, California-based Arc Institute has identified a critical link between the bacteria that live in your gut and the cognitive decline that often occurs with aging.
“Although memory loss is common with age, it affects people differently and at different ages,” said Christoph Thaiss, PhD, assistant professor of pathology. “We wanted to understand why some very old people remain cognitively sharp while other people see significant declines beginning in their 50s or 60s. What we learned is that the timeline of memory decline is not hardwired; it’s actively modulated in the body, and the gastrointestinal tract is a critical regulator of this process.”
Aging causes changes in gut bacteria in mice, which hampers communication between the intestines and the brain. Restoring this connection helped old mice form memories as well as young animals.
