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Science Round Up August, 2025

Hi Readers! Starting this August, I will try sharing a series of updates on the latest scientific research and news, and I look forward to continuing this journey with you in the months ahead.


The monthly roundup of the latest science stories.

August=named after Caesar Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire at the turn of BC to AD. Julius Caesar’s adopted son.

Month of Gladiolus and Poppy, and our independence day. Human Genome Project comples 25 years

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Last month’s science news

  1. A large longitudinal Danish study involving 1.2 million children over 24 years found no link between vaccines or aluminuum in vaccines either with asthma/autism or with any other medical conditions. | Annals of Internal medicine

  2. Famous retraction by NASA. Science article originally published 15 years ago, a bacterium that can use Arsenic in place of phosphorus.

  3. Processed meat can cause health issues, even in tiny amounts. Eating just one hot dog a day increased type 2 diabetes risk by 11%. It also raised the risk of colorectal cancer by 7%. According to the researcher, there may be no such thing as a “safe amount” of processed meat consumption. | Nature

  4. Friendship between people with different political views is diminishing because of extreme polarisation accentuated by social media | Social, Psychological, and Personality Science

  5. Low-income people are less likely to challenge denials of their health insurance claims than those with household incomes above $50,000. When low-income patients fight denials of payment, the outcomes are less successful. People with higher income are more likely to have a denied claim approved. | JAMA Network Open

  6. A new study provides evidence that the human brain emits extremely faint light signals that not only pass through the skull but also appear to change in response to mental states. Researchers found that these ultraweak light emissions could be recorded in complete darkness. | Cell iScience | Ultraweak Photon Emissions UPEs are generated by radiative decay of excited molecules and reflect the metabolic states of cells

  7. Body fat percentage was a stronger and more consistent predictor of attractiveness for men than either body mass index or shoulder-to-waist ratio. The most attractive male bodies had approximately 13 to 14% body fat, a level that corresponds closely with what is considered metabolically healthy. | Personality and Individual Differences

  8. Brains in adults as old as 78 years, makes new neuron (neurogenesis), and the debate is now settled. | Science | You can teach an old dog new tricks

  9. A better daily steps target: 7000. linked with 47% reduction in all cause mortality risk. a 25 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a 37 percent lower risk of dying from cancer and a 38 percent lower risk of dementia | Lancet Public Health

  10. How much an infant cries is largely steered by their genetics and there is probably not much that parents can do about it, suggests a new Swedish twin study. At age 2 months, children’s genetics explain about 50% of how much they cry. At 5 months of age, genetics explain up to 70% of the variation. | JCPP Advances

  11. Scientists discover certain species of microbe in the human gut can absorb PFAS, the toxic and long-lasting ‘forever chemicals.’ When 9 of these species were introduced into guts of mice to ‘humanise’ their microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS eaten which were then excreted in faeces. | Nature

  12. Many people will continue with a longer, less efficient path to a goal rather than backtrack and take a shortcut — even when backtracking would save time and effort. “Doubling-back aversion” is driven not by mistaken cost estimates but by how people think about their past and future effort. | Psychological SCience | Think Again by Adam Grant

  13. Surgeons at Duke University have resuscitated a ‘dead’ heart on the operating table after it stopped beating for more than five minutes. The organ was later transplanted into the chest of a three-month-old child, saving their life. | NEJM

  14. Beetroot juice lowers blood pressure in older people by changing oral microbiome. New study shows that nitrate-rich foods alter the oral microbiome in a way that could result in less inflammation, as well as a lowering of blood pressure in older people. | ABC Juice | Free Radical Biology and Medicine

  15. Around 75% of stomach cancer cases worldwide are attributable to Helicobacter pylori infection, which is treatable, meaning many of these cases could be prevented | Nature

  16. Cough syrup protects the brain from dementia in clinical trial first | A safe and affordable treatment to slow the advancement of Parkinson’s dementia in the form of a commonly available cough syrup (Ambroxol) that’s already being studied for its positive effect on other degenerative diseases. | JAMA Neurology

  17. Cat and dog ownership was associated with slower cognitive decline; bird and fish ownership showed no such association. These findings suggest that dog and cat ownership might act as a protective factor aiding to slow down cognitive decline, thus contributing to healthy cognitive ageing. | Nature

  18. A brand new organelle was discovered in human cells using cryo-electron tomography. Researchers identified this previously unknown cell structure, dubbed a «hemifusome». The discovery could open the door to new treatments for devastating inherited diseases. | This is like discovering a new recycling center inside the cell | Nature Communications



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