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A breath of fresh air: solving Ulaanbaatar’s pollution issues — in photos

Author Correction: Root microbiota drive direct integration of phosphate stress and immunity

Evaluation of phytochemicals from Tamarindus indica as a potential catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor: an in-silico approach for Parkinson’s disease

Masked mitochondria slip into cells to treat disease in mice

Cancer-specific survival patterns in patients with bone metastasis: a registry-based analysis of 13,742 patients

Mathematician who reshaped number theory wins prestigious Abel prize

Sleep-dependent clearance of brain lipids by peripheral blood cells

Abstract Sleep is viewed typically through a brain-centric lens, with little known about the role of the periphery 1,2 . Here we identify a sleep function for peripheral macrophage-like cells (haemocytes) in the Drosophila circulation, showing that haemocytes track to the brain during sleep and take up lipids accumulated in cortex glia due to wake-associated oxidative damage. Through a screen of phagocytic receptors expressed in haemocytes, we discovered that knockdown of eater —a member of the Nimrod receptor family—reduces sleep. Loss of eater also disrupts haemocyte localization to the brain and lipid uptake, which results in increased brain levels of acetyl-CoA and acetylated proteins, including mitochondrial proteins PGC1α and DRP1. Dysregulation of mitochondria, reflected in high oxidation and reduced NAD + , is accompanied by impaired memory and lifespan. Thus, peripheral blood cells, which we suggest are precursors of mammalian microglia, perform a daily function of sleep to maintain brain function and fitness.

A mixed-methods national study assessing municipal rodent control infrastructure, surveillance capacity and disaster readiness in the United States

Stress can cause eczema to flare up – now we know why

Anti-DENV IgE correlates with dengue severity and triggers FcεRI-dependent basophil activation inhibited by Omalizumab

Project Hail Mary film builds dazzling new worlds — and grounds them in science

Integrated proteomic and single-cell transcriptomic profiling elucidates immunomodulatory effects of L-serine in autism spectrum disorder

Development and validation of the CAPPAC scale to measure multidimensional play in children and adolescents

Abstract Play is a core component of human behaviour that supports cognitive, social, and emotional development; yet its assessment remains fragmented across contexts and methodologies. The present study aimed to develop and validate a multidimensional measure of individual play perceptions in children and adolescents. In two independent studies conducted in Switzerland with parents of children aged 4 to 11 and adolescents aged 12 to 15, we performed exploratory (Study 1: N  = 305) and confirmatory (Study 2: N  = 263) factor analyses to develop and validate a multidimensional measure of individual play perceptions as part of the Context, Activity, and Perceptions of Play in Adolescents and Children (CAPPAC) scale. Study 1 identified seven underlying dimensions that were confirmed in Study 2 and eventually labelled as: positive immersion, creative engagement, adversarial play, cooperative play, cognitive gain, physical engagement, and autonomous play. The dimensions demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, including internal consistency and construct validity. The final CAPPAC scale assesses three domains of play: (1) the context in which play occurs (social, spatial, temporal); (2) the play modality of the activity (analogue, digital, hybrid); and (3) individual play perceptions. By linking contextual, activity-based, and perceptual aspects of play, the CAPPAC scale provides researchers, educators, clinicians, and practitioners with a conceptually grounded and adaptable tool to examine how play, as a multidimensional and situated experience, contributes to developmental processes.

Seeking an industry role? Sell yourself as a problem-solver, not a job-seeker

Editorial Expression of Concern: The gene product Murr1 restricts HIV-1 replication in resting CD4+ lymphocytes

CFD-driven neural network and SVM models for airfoil aerodynamic enhancement with bio-inspired riblets and plasma actuation

Abstract Enhancing the airfoil performance using advanced flow control techniques is an important challenge in the aerospace and automotive industries. In this article a hybrid computational and artificial intelligence (AI) approach is developed for aerodynamic performance enhancement of a NACA4412 airfoil by using a combination of bio inspired riblets and active plasma control. Semi circular, triangular and fillet riblets were tested with alternating current dielectric barrier discharge (AC-DBD) plasma devices and simulations were performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique at a Reynolds number of $$3.1\times 10^6$$ with angles of attack ranging from $$0^\circ$$ to $$20^\circ$$ . The performance assessment parameters considered in this work include lift coefficient $$(C_L)$$ , drag coefficient $$(C_D)$$ , lift to drag ratio ( $$C_L/C_D$$ ) ratio and vorticity contours in order to infer flow stability and efficiency. The simulation results indicated a reduced drag coefficient using riblets due to modifications in wall boundary layers along with a subsequent addition of AC-DBD devices to suppress vortex formation, delay separation and promote higher lift. Among all designs the bio-inspired fillet riblet with plasma actuator recorded maximum improvements with respect to $$C_L$$ with an increase of $$20.38\%$$ and $$45.71\%$$ in $$C_L/C_D$$ ratio with respect to base configuration. Additionally, to facilitate model prediction and simulation the machine learning algorithms were established using artificial neural networks with scaled conjugate gradient learning algorithm and support vector machine regressions. The results obtained indicated excellent model accuracy with high correlation coefficient and low mean squared error measurements using $$C_L$$ and $$C_D$$ predictions. These findings highlight the dual role of CFD and AI in the optimization of flow control strategies and confirm that the integration of physics based simulations with machine learning offers an efficient and reliable pathway for prediction and design innovation in aerodynamics.

China could be the world’s biggest public funder of science within two years

Virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations for drug repurposing against autophagy to attenuate blast in cereal plants

Daily briefing: Static electricity is still a mystery — here’s what we know

Dynamic optical coherence microscope integrated with cell-cultivation chamber enabled longitudinal and early-stage assessment of tumor spheroid-drug interaction

Abstract We present an integrated system that combines dynamic optical coherence tomography (DOCT) with a small cell-cultivation chamber to enable high-sensitivity and high-temporal-resolution imaging of tumor spheroid’s drug response. Unlike conventional OCT-based volume measurement, which only captures late-stage morphological changes, our system captures early-stage changes in spheroid’s intracellular activity. The compact chamber, positioned beneath the DOCT probe, maintains a cell-culture environment (37 $$^\circ$$ C, 5% CO $$_2$$ ) while allowing frequent system access without disturbing the cultivation environment. The proposed system was used to monitor human breast cancer (MCF-7) spheroids response to doxorubicin hydrochloride, tamoxifen citrate, and paclitaxel over 100 hours at 4-hour intervals. While standard OCT-based volume measurement failed to detect early-stage drug concentration impacts, DOCT signals revealed statistically significant differences among the drug concentrations as early as 12 hours. Additionally, high-temporal-resolution imaging at 30-minute intervals over 100 hours revealed rapid and subtle changes in the spheroid morphology and DOCT signals. The results demonstrate that the proposed integrated system of DOCT and cultivation chamber provides a superior, early-readout platform for label-free anti-cancer drug testing compared to traditional structural OCT imaging.