New Method Uncovers How Viruses Evade Immune Responses — and How We Might Fight Back

Co-first authors Erin Doherty (left) and Jason Nomburg (right)
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Innovative Genomics Institute

Viruses and their hosts — whether bacteria, animals, or humans — are locked in a constant evolutionary arms race. Cells evolve defenses against viral infection, viruses evolve ways around those defenses, and the cycle continues.

One important weapon that cells use in the fight against viruses is a set of tiny molecular “alarm signals” made of nucleotides: the same chemical building blocks that make up DNA and RNA. When a virus infects a cell, these nucleotide messengers activate powerful immune defenses. To survive, viruses must find ways to shut these signals down. In a new study published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, IGI researchers reveal that viruses have evolved a surprisingly large and diverse set of enzymes specifically designed to destroy these immune alarm signals, helping them hide from or disable the host’s antiviral defenses.

A new approach links quantum physics and gravitation

Quantum-Geodesics 
Large masses – such as a galaxy – curve space-time. Objects move along a geodesic. If we take into account that space-time itself has quantum properties, deviations arise (dashed line vs. solid line).
Image Credit: © TU Wien  

A team at TU Wien combines quantum physics and general relativity theory – and discovers striking deviations from previous results. 

It is something like the “Holy Grail” of physics: unifying particle physics and gravitation. The world of tiny particles is described extremely well by quantum theory, while the world of gravitation is captured by Einstein’s general theory of relativity. But combining the two has not yet worked – the two leading theories of theoretical physics still do not quite fit together. 

There are many ideas for such a unification – with names like string theory, loop quantum gravity, canonical quantum gravity or asymptotically safe gravity. Each of them has its strengths and weaknesses. What has been missing so far, however, are observable predictions for measurable quantities and experimental data that could reveal which of these theories describes nature best. A new study from TU Wien may now have brought us a small step closer to this ambitious goal. 

Contraceptive pills may affect women's mental health

Photo Credit: Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition

The contraceptive pill has been hailed as one of the most revolutionary health technologies of the 20th century – a tool that gave women control over their fertility and paved the way for education and careers. But a new study suggests that this freedom may have come at a hidden cost: impaired mental health. 

Access to the contraceptive pill during adolescence is associated with an increased risk of depression later in life. Women who are genetically predisposed to mental illness are particularly at risk of suffering from this side effect. 

This is shown by a new study from the University of Copenhagen, which builds on previous research from the same university – and demonstrated links between hormonal contraceptives and mental health problems. 

‘We know that the contraceptive pill has had enormous societal consequences and positively affected women’s careers. But we have overlooked the fact that it can also have a negative impact on mental health – and that has implications for how we understand its overall effect,’ says the researcher behind the study, Franziska Valder, assistant professor at the Department of Economics and CEBI. 

Our brains recognize the voices of our primate cousins

When participants heard chimpanzee vocalisations, this response was clearly distinct from that triggered by bonobos or macaques.
Image Credit: © L. Ceravolo

The brain doesn’t just recognize the human voice. A study by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) shows that certain areas of our auditory cortex respond specifically to the vocalizations of chimpanzees, our closest cousins both phylogenetically and acoustically. This finding, published in the journal eLife, suggests the existence of subregions in the human brain that are particularly sensitive to the vocalizations of certain primates. It opens a new window on the origin of voice recognition, which could have implications for language development. 

Our voice is a fundamental sign of social communication. In humans, a large part of the auditory cortex is dedicated to its analysis. But do these skills have older roots? To find out, scientists from the UNIGE’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences adopted an approach based on the evolution of species. By comparing the neural processing of vocalizations emitted by species close to humans, such as chimpanzees, bonobos and macaques, it is possible to observe what our brain shares, or does not share, with that of other primates and thus to investigate the emergence of the neural bases of vocal communication, long before the appearance of language. 

Findings suggest red planet was warmer, wetter millions of years ago

Purdue University research into scattered kaolinite rocks on Mars’ surface shows the dry, dusty planet could have featured a rain-heavy climate billions of years ago.
Photo Credit: NASA

Rocks that stood out as light-colored dots on the reddish-orange surface of Mars now are the latest evidence that areas of the small planet may have once supported wet oases with humid climates and heavy rainfall comparable to tropical climates on Earth.

The rocks discovered by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover are white, aluminum-rich kaolinite clay, which forms on Earth after rocks and sediment are leached of all other minerals by millions of years of a wet, rainy climate.

These findings were published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment by lead author Adrian Broz, a Purdue University postdoctoral research associate in the lab of Briony Horgan, a long-term planner on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover mission and professor of planetary science in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences in Purdue’s College of Science.

The mystery of the missing deep ocean carbon fixers

Alyson Santoro Associate Professor Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
Alyson Santoro's research focuses on microbes involved in nutrient cycling in the ocean, especially of the element nitrogen. This research combines laboratory experiments with field observations, and to date has used genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and stable isotope geochemistry as tools to uncover the activity of microbes in the mesopelagic ocean.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of California, Santa Barbara

In a step toward better understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon, new findings from UC Santa Barbara researchers and collaborators challenge the current view of how carbon dioxide is “fixed” in the sunless ocean depths. UCSB microbial oceanographer Alyson Santoro and colleagues, publishing in the journal Nature Geoscience, present results that help to reconcile discrepancies in accounting for nitrogen supply and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fixation at depth.

“Something that we’ve been trying to get a better handle on is how much of the carbon in the ocean is getting fixed,” Santoro said. “The numbers work out now, which is great.”  

Rising levels of banned toxic chemicals in otters from Wales

Photo Credit: Lilian Dibbern

New research has found that the levels of toxic industrial chemicals, which were banned over 40 years ago, are rising in otters in Wales. 

The Cardiff University Otter Project, in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales analyzed liver samples from Eurasian otters (Lutralutra) collected across Wales between 2010 and 2019. The team found Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in every otter they tested. Of the otters sampled, 16% exceeded a toxic threshold, which is known to impair reproduction. 

PCBs were once widely used in electrical equipment, paints, and plastics due to their stability and heat resistance. Although banned in the 1980s, their environmental persistence means they continue to accumulate in wildlife and can be found in high concentrations in top predators. 

Microbiology: In-Depth Description

Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

Microbiology is the scientific study of microorganisms, a diverse group of microscopic life forms that include bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, prions, protozoa, and algae. Collectively, these organisms function as the invisible backbone of the biosphere, influencing every ecosystem on Earth. The primary goal of this field is to understand the structure, function, genetics, and ecology of these entities, as well as their complex interactions with humans, other organisms, and the environment.

New SwRI laboratory to study the origins of planetary systems

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created a new space science laboratory, the Nebular Origins of the Universe Research (NOUR) Laboratory. Led by SwRI Senior Research Scientist Dr. Danna Qasim, the NOUR laboratory aims to bridge pre-planetary and planetary science to create a better understanding of the origins of our universe.
Photo Credit: Southwest Research Institute

The laboratory will trace the chemical origins of planetary systems. Qasim aims to establish a robust astrochemistry program within SwRI’s Space Science Division, connecting early cosmic chemistry to planetary evolution. The SwRI lab will give particular focus on the chemistry of interstellar clouds, vast regions of ice, gas and dust between stars representing a largely unexplored area of astrochemistry.

“We are examining the chemistry of ice, gas and dust that have existed since before our solar system formed, connecting the dots to determine how materials in those clouds ultimately evolve into planets,” Qasim said. “By simulating the physico-chemical conditions of these pre-planetary environments, we can fill key data gaps, providing insights that future NASA missions need to accomplish their goals.”

Bear teeth break free – Researchers discover the origin of unusual bear dentition

Lower jaw of a polar bear
The polar bear has a second molar that is only slightly larger than the first. Although the polar bear is a carnivore, it is descended from the omnivorous brown bear. 
Photo Credit: © Katja Henßel, SNSB

Mammalian teeth show an astonishing diversity that has developed over 225 million years. One approach to describing the development of mammalian teeth is the so-called “Inhibitory Cascade Model”, short ICM. The ICM describes the growth pattern of molars in the lower jaw. According to the model, the following applies to many mammals: The front molars in the lower jaw influence the growth of all the teeth behind them. 

Certain molecules inhibit or activate tooth growth in the animal's dentition according to the same pattern. Which molars become small or large depends on the size of the first molar, which depends on the animal's diet. In carnivorous mammals, the first molar is usually larger than the third. In herbivores, it is the other way around: the first molar is small, while the third is large.