Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 30:  | A trisulfide compound, lipoic acid trisulfide (LASSS), suppresses age-related nitration of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and enhances its c-Met receptor binding in vitro, producing a more active, nitration-resistant HGF form. In a mouse disuse-atrophy model, LASSS pretreatment reduced HGF nitration in muscle, indicating in vivo protection of HGF-dependent regenerative signaling. | | |  | Autistic children show less distinct EEG patterns for faces versus objects than neurotypical peers, and this neural specificity does not increase with age as it does in neurotypical development. Differences in face processing emerge earlier than the classic N170 marker suggests. These neural features may inform early interventions and serve as candidate biomarkers to refine autism diagnosis and stratification. | | |  | Maternal inflammation in mice induced chronic neuroinflammation, mTOR overactivation, network disorganization, seizures, and autism-like behaviors in adult offspring. A single rapamycin dose rapidly normalized neuronal excitability, brain network patterns, behavior, and gene expression within hours, without structural repair and with transient effects. Findings implicate mTOR signaling and excitation–inhibition balance as therapeutic targets rather than rapamycin itself. | | |  | Task allocation in honeybee colonies is governed by specific neural circuits linked to the doublesex gene. Silencing doublesex-expressing neurons in older workers caused them to revert to brood-care tasks typical of younger bees, demonstrating causal control of age-related division of labor. The results implicate interactions among neural circuits as a key mechanism for decentralized social organization. | | |  | PCR-free next-generation metagenomic sequencing of 1978 Shroud of Turin samples identified diverse human mitochondrial lineages, skin-associated microbes, fungi, halophilic archaea, and DNA from cultivated plants, domesticated animals, and Mediterranean red coral. The data reconstructs complex contact, handling, and environmental histories but does not resolve the cloth’s age or authenticity. | | |  | Tryptamine (TrpA) in cerebrospinal fluid tracks homeostatic sleep pressure in nocturnal mice and diurnal pigs, increasing with wakefulness independently of light–dark cycles. TrpA is released from wake-active monoaminergic nuclei and activates GPR139, enhancing preoptic hypothalamic sleep-promoting neuron excitability. TrpA–GPR139 signaling is required for sleep rebound, and GPR139 agonists increase sleep duration and quality in mice and pigs. | | |  | Engineered “CMLase” reverses the age-associated protein modification Nε-carboxymethyl-lysine (CML), an advanced glycation end product linked to tissue stiffening and inflammation. Directed evolution yielded an enzyme that removed up to 97% of CML in model proteins and reduced CML by ~45–70% in ex vivo human lens, skin, and artery tissues, providing proof of concept for enzymatic repair of this damage. | | |  | A two-step remediation strategy for PFAS-contaminated farmland combines surface application of crushed alkaline rock to raise soil pH and enhance plant-mediated PFOS uptake with conversion of harvested biomass to biochar, thermally destroying PFOS and PFOA. The approach restores agricultural use, is orders of magnitude cheaper than excavation or soil incineration, and simultaneously removes atmospheric CO₂ via enhanced weathering and biochar carbon sequestration. | | |  | Entangled photon pairs were transmitted over 24.4 km of installed telecom fiber simultaneously carrying high-capacity classical data, while maintaining >94% entanglement fidelity. Quantum signals were spectrally separated into the O-band and protected with filtering, as classical traffic occupied the C-band. Picosecond synchronization enabled real-time identification of coincident photon pairs. | | |  | Prosocial behaviors such as cooperation, altruism, honesty, and fairness are strongly intuitive in early childhood, with 3–4-year-olds showing more prosociality under time pressure than after reflection. Intuitive prosociality remains stable across ages 3–10, while deliberative prosocial decisions increase with age so that by 9–10 years, reflective decisions are as prosocial as intuitive ones. | | |  | Tapeworm infection in Temnothorax nylanderi workers induces extended lifespan, reduced activity, and a partially queen-like metabolic and transcriptional profile, especially in the fat body. Brain transcriptomes instead show broad downregulation of neuropeptides and their receptors. Parasite peptides do not mimic host neuropeptides, indicating indirect manipulation via host regulatory networks. | | |  | Irregular distributed micro-roughness on an aerodynamically streamlined body reduced drag by up to 43.6% while remaining hydraulically smooth (k⁺ ≈ 1.2–1.7, below the k⁺ < 5 threshold). Measurements using a magnetic suspension balance and wall-resolved LES indicate drag reduction arises from suppressed skin-friction, persisting to Re = 3.6×10⁶, suggesting applicability to turbulent regimes and potential for improved vehicle fuel efficiency. | | |  | Micrometer-scale arachnoid fenestrations between the olfactory bulbs and cribriform plate form a defined cerebrospinal fluid–to–lymphatic drainage pathway, conserved in mice and nonhuman primates. Blocking these fenestrations markedly reduces CSF outflow, while aging reduces fenestration size/number and associated lymphatics. Intranasal VEGF-C expands local lymphatics and restores CSF drainage in aged mice without reversing fenestration loss. | | |  | For most adults, up to 400 mg caffeine/day (about 3–5 cups of black caffeinated coffee) is considered safe and is associated with lower risks of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and some arrhythmias. Very high caffeine doses, especially from energy drinks, are linked to elevated blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and potential cardiovascular harm. Individual responses vary. | | |  | The intrinsic cardiac nervous system contains two major neuron classes with distinct roles. Npy neurons are essential for baseline cardiac performance and survival, as their ablation causes rapid heart failure. Ddah1 neurons are dispensable at rest but are required to prevent lethal arrhythmias under severe stress, stabilizing cardiac electrical activity. | | |  | A hip exosuit powered solely by dielectric elastomer artificial muscle fibers reduces the metabolic cost of walking by 13.9% in healthy adults compared with no suit. The rolled fiber architecture increases actuator strength and flexibility while eliminating bulky motors or pneumatics. Limitations include restricted battery life and non-adaptive gait control. | | |  | An injectable microporous hydrogel scaffold decorated with astrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles and IL-4/C1q reorganizes the post-stroke cavity in mice, recruiting macrophages and pro-reparative neutrophils. The material promotes angiogenesis, axonal remodeling, and restores motor performance to near-normal levels, effects not reproduced by vesicles alone. | | |  | Exceptional memory performance in SuperAgers in their 80s is not explained by lower inherited Alzheimer's disease risk. APOE status, Alzheimer's polygenic risk scores, and rare protective variants did not differ from cognitively average peers. Findings indicate that mechanisms beyond common genetic risk, including biological, behavioral, and environmental factors, underlie exceptional cognitive aging. | | |  | Sildenafil inhibits PDE5, elevates cGMP, and reduces intracellular cholesterol transport, limiting cancer cells’ ability to metastasize. In mouse models, human cancer cell cultures, and epidemiologic data, sildenafil use, especially combined with statins, was associated with reduced metastasis and improved survival, implicating cholesterol metabolism as a therapeutic target. | | |  | A reusable magnetic adsorbent removed >95% of micro- and nanoplastics (down to 30 nm) and multiple co-contaminants, including metals, dyes, ibuprofen, and some larger PFAS, within about 1 hour under realistic water conditions. In industrial laundry wastewater it removed >88% of polyester microfibers and dyes. The material is magnetically recoverable, reusable, produced by a low-cost, room-temperature process, and is being assessed for scalable stormwater and wastewater treatment. | | |
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