SCIENCES ENERGIES ENVIRONNEMENT

 

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 25: Kidney healing improves after protein blockade, with less scarring and faster recovery ENPP1 is upregulated in injured and chronically diseased kidneys, where it disrupts cellular metabolism and impairs repair. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic blockade of ENPP1 with the monoclonal antibody AD-NP1 in mouse models of kidney injury accelerates functional recovery, reduces fibrosis, and enhances tubular cell proliferation, indicating improved renal regeneration.   Copper drug restores memory and clears toxic Alzheimer's proteins, preclinical study finds Cu(ATSM), a copper-delivering compound, increased P-glycoprotein abundance at the blood-brain barrier by ~24% in an Alzheimer’s model, reduced amyloid-β levels by ~42%, and improved spatial learning by ~44% over 56 days. Data indicate restoration of neurovascular clearance mechanisms and support further evaluation of Cu(ATSM) as a biometal-based Alzheimer’s therapy.   Why just sharing a stick while walking can significantly improve balance A rigid mechanical link between two side-by-side walkers improves post-perturbation stability and speeds balance recovery compared with no link or an elastic connection. Benefits are greatest when only one partner is perturbed, with the unperturbed individual acting as a stabilizing anchor. High-frequency (~15 Hz) tactile interactions mediate rapid corrective forces, suggesting a fast sensorimotor communication channel through touch.   NASA should build a biocontainment facility on the moon to protect Earth, researchers advise A policy paper recommends a lunar biocontainment and quarantine facility to process all extraterrestrial samples before they reach Earth. Robotic handling on the Moon is proposed to minimize human exposure and accidental release. The argument relies on invasion biology, emphasizing unpredictable, potentially irreversible ecological risks and the inadequacy of current Earth-based containment.   Nonsurgical procedure provides lasting relief for knee pain, finds study Genicular artery embolization with rapidly resorbable gelatin microspheres in 194 patients with knee osteoarthritis was technically successful in all 239 procedures, with only mild, self-limited adverse events in 6.7%. Pain scores decreased from 7 to 3 over 12 months, functional and quality-of-life scores improved beyond clinically important thresholds in 80%, indicating durable, clinically meaningful benefit.   'Timescapes' may help explain how animal species perceive events so differently in time Nonhuman animals exhibit distinct temporal organization of perception that is not captured by critical flicker fusion thresholds. A framework of five temporal windows—synchronization, revision, attention, persistence, and stability—better characterizes species-specific “timescapes.” Temporal illusions, such as motion dazzle and apparent motion, probe these windows and have ecological and applied relevance.   Ancient DNA uncovers deadly plague outbreak among Siberian hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago Ancient DNA from 46 individuals at four Siberian hunter-gatherer cemeteries identified Yersinia pestis in 18 cases, indicating lethal plague outbreaks ~5,500 years ago in small mobile groups. Mortality patterns show many children and closely related individuals dying within short intervals. Genomes reveal early strains carried a unique superantigen, implying high virulence even before efficient flea-borne transmission evolved.   Could Earth have sent life to Jupiter's moon Europa? Calculations indicate micron-scale dust grains ejected from Earth’s atmosphere could reach Europa, with a small fraction surviving impact and potentially entering the subsurface ocean via ice fracturing and melt-through over 10³–10⁴ years. Over billions of years, ~10²³ such particles may have arrived, implying non-negligible probability of Earth-derived microbes on Europa, contingent on compatible environmental conditions.   Radiocarbon dating confirms 10,000 years of continuous human occupation in the Pyrenees Radiocarbon data from 124 samples across 45 sites in the Pyrenees high mountains indicate continuous human presence above 2,000 m for over 10,000 years. Key rock shelters show multi-millennial occupation spanning Mesolithic to modern periods, with peaks in activity at the end of the Neolithic and early medieval times. Evidence includes 5,000-year-old stone architecture, revising views of high mountains as marginal or rarely used environments.   Rewired metabolism helps revive exhausted immune cells and boost cancer immunity BET inhibitors restore function of exhausted T cells by epigenetically rewiring metabolism, notably enhancing a polyamine-dependent pathway. Treated human T cells showed increased effector molecule production, and BET inhibitor–primed T cells reduced tumor burden and prolonged survival in mouse lung cancer models, indicating a potential strategy to improve cancer immunotherapy.   World's highest-consuming 10% cause up to $5.7 trillion a year in environmental damage, study finds The highest-consuming 10% of the global population cause environmental damage valued at $1.7–5.7 trillion annually across climate change, biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution, and freshwater use, with biodiversity loss as the largest component. Per-capita damage is highest in the U.S., and more than 60% of this group live in the U.S. and EU. Estimates are conservative, excluding investment-related impacts, but illustrate substantial potential revenue from applying polluter-pays measures to high-consuming groups.   'Geriatric' butterfly species lives nearly three times as long as their relatives Heliconius butterflies exhibit median and maximum lifespans up to ~3-fold longer than close relatives, with extremes differing by up to 25-fold. They show lower baseline mortality, slower aging, and in H. hecale little detectable age-related functional decline. Pollen feeding supports longevity, but extended lifespan persists without pollen, indicating both dietary and evolved mechanisms.   People consciously recognize the meaning of words they can no longer see, study finds Participants briefly viewed visually masked words, then heard semantically related or unrelated auditory words. Related auditory cues enhanced conscious detection and identification of the prior word’s meaning, while participants failed to report its visual features. Findings indicate that conscious access can target abstract semantic representations independently of low-level sensory details.   Baby fossils reveal link between human and Neanderthal development Micro-CT analysis of Neanderthal infant bones and teeth from Sesselfelsgrotte indicates early growth patterns broadly similar to modern humans, with some long bones showing slightly more advanced structural organization. Dental microdefects in dentin suggest episodes of early-life physiological or metabolic stress, potentially linked to mineral or vitamin imbalances during late gestation to early childhood.   Cockroach genomes are packed with DNA transferred by their endosymbiont bacterial partners Cockroach genomes contain tens of thousands of horizontally transferred DNA fragments from their endosymbiont Blattabacterium, with some species harboring >3,000 inserts. These fragments are widely distributed, represent many independent events over ≥29 Myr, and are mostly nontranscribed, though a small transcribed subset, including chimeric and exon-incorporated sequences, may influence genome evolution.   The Sun may not engulf Earth after all, scientists say New tidal-dissipation models and constraints on solar mass loss suggest the Sun’s future expansion will likely not engulf Earth or Mars, as reduced tidal dissipation and stronger mass loss allow their orbits to expand beyond the solar radius. Mercury and Venus remain destined for engulfment, and the Sun will ultimately evolve into a cooling white dwarf.   World's largest genetic study of 'moliness' helps unravel mysteries of melanoma A genome-wide analysis of >85,000 individuals identified 24 loci influencing mole count, with all but one also associated with melanoma, implicating >250 candidate genes. Pathways involve immune regulation and cell proliferation, including SIKE1, suggesting mechanisms for melanocyte overgrowth. A polygenic risk score for moliness was developed to refine melanoma risk stratification and guide prevention and therapeutic target discovery.   How intermittent fasting may shield the brain from chronic stress In chronically stressed mice, intermittent fasting reduced depression-like behaviors and preserved myelin integrity in brain regions involved in emotion and cognition. Intermittent fasting reshaped gut microbiota, increasing species associated with myelin protection and behavioral improvement and partially normalizing stress-altered microbial metabolic pathways.   Early life adversity leaves a lasting molecular imprint across the body, primate study reveals Early-life adversity in free-ranging rhesus macaques is associated with widespread, lasting changes in DNA methylation across multiple tissues. Epigenetic aging patterns are tissue-specific but partially coordinated, and adversity modifies methylation in genomic regions that often overlap with aging marks without uniformly accelerating aging. These results indicate that early experiences reshape, rather than simply speed, molecular aging trajectories.   Fossilized babies of ancient crocodile-like predators uproot understanding of how animals adapted to the land Fossilized hatchling embolomeres from Mazon Creek lack tadpole-like traits and amphibian-style metamorphosis, despite being early tetrapods. Comparative analysis across multiple early tetrapod lineages shows larval stages more similar to fish or amniotes than modern amphibians, challenging the view that amphibian-like metamorphosis mediated the water-to-land transition.