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Kids Exposed to “Forever Chemicals” May Grow Up With Weaker Bones – Science News



Hands Holding Painful Knee Joint InjuryCommon “forever chemicals” could quietly undermine kids’ bone strength before they even reach adulthood. New research published today (March 17) in the Journal of the Endocrine Society suggests that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) early in life could play a role in how children’s bones form during adolescence. PFAS are man-made chemicals commonly […]



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Immune-mediated pathways between red blood cell traits and prostate cancer: a causal relationship network based on Mendelian randomization evaluation – Research



Background:

Although both the immune and hematopoietic systems play important roles in prostate cancer (PCa), few studies have comprehensively investigated the combined influence of these systems on PCa risk.


Method:

The datasets used to construct causal networks for evaluation via Mendelian randomization and mediation Mendelian randomization (MMR). Nine analytical approaches were applied to evaluate the causal associations.


Result:

The findings revealed that red blood cell count (RBC) and red cell distribution width (RDW) were related to a modest increased risk of PCa, while mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were related to a modest reduced risk. Further, MMR analyses identified that HLA-DR on dendritic cells mediated the causal effect of RBC on PCa, with a mediated proportion of 12.09%, and that IgD+ CD38 B cell % B cell mediated the effects of RDW and MCHC on PCa, with mediating proportions of 15.07% and 25.96%, respectively. Moreover, the IgD+ CD38 B cell % lymphocytes mediated the causal effect of MCHC on PCa, with a mediated proportion of 29.03%.


Conclusion:

RBC, RDW, MCH, and MCHC were related to the risk of PCa. Immune cells act as major mediators in this relationship.


Keywords:

Mendelian randomization; Prostate cancer; immune cell traits; mediation Mendelian randomization; red blood cell traits.



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Intermittent fasting evicts long-lived plasma cells from survival niche – Immunology Research

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The efficacy of vaccination and previous infection in mediating protective humoral responses depends on the survival of long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) in the bone marrow niche that sustain the systemic release of neutralizing antibodies. The lifespan of LLPCs is highly variable between individuals and in response to different vaccines and infections but the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate LLPC survival are unclear. Zhu et al. report that intermittent fasting, which has been shown in other contexts to have beneficial effects on health and longevity, results in the eviction of LLPCs from their survival niche in the bone marrow and thus impairs humoral immunity.

Furthermore, in vaccination models in which wild-type mice were immunized with NP-KLH, inactivated influenza vaccine or the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Ad5-nCoV, mice that were fasted starting more than 8 weeks after vaccination — to analyse the effect on already generated antigen-specific LLPCs — had reduced antigen-specific IgG in serum and reduced antigen-specific LLPCs in bone marrow. Vaccinated mice that were fasted later had reduced protection against influenza virus challenge and reduced serum neutralization activity in a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralization assay. In the context of natural infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), mice subjected to ADF or prolonged fasting initiated more than 8 weeks after infection had reduced serum levels of anti-LCMV IgG. Thus, intermittent fasting impairs the maintenance of humoral memory by depleting antigen-specific LLPCs.



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Tropical Peatlands Are Burning Like Never Before in 2000 Years – Science News



Wildfire Forest Peatland FireAfter centuries of decline, tropical peatland fires have exploded in the past 100 years—driven largely by human activity and threatening massive carbon releases. A new study reports a dramatic rise in wildfires in tropical peatlands during the 20th century. The increase stands out when compared with fire activity over the previous two thousand years. Peatlands […]



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Scientists Built a Life-Size Dinosaur Nest and the Results Were Surprising – Science News



Dinosaur Egg Nest HatchingScientists recreated a life-sized oviraptor and nest to investigate how these bird-like dinosaurs hatched their eggs. How exactly did oviraptors, bird-like but flightless dinosaurs, hatch their eggs? Scientists have long debated whether these dinosaurs relied mainly on heat from the environment, similar to crocodiles and turtles, or used body warmth from a brooding adult like […]



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A genetic set-point for natural killer cells – Immunology Research

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Nature Immunology, Published online: 16 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41590-026-02474-x

Variation in HLA class I signal peptides sets the strength of NKG2A-mediated education of CD56bright natural killer (NK) cells, revealing a genetically encoded ‘set point’ for innate immune fitness and linking NK cell tuning to protection from cancer and inflammatory disease.



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A Strange Signal in a Supernova Finally Confirms a 16-Year-Old Theory – Science News



A Magnetar Powers a Superluminous SupernovaAstronomers have identified the first clear evidence of a magnetar forming during a superluminous supernova, offering new insight into some of the brightest explosions in the universe. Astronomers have observed the birth of a magnetar for the first time and confirmed that this extreme object powers some of the brightest stellar explosions in the universe. […]



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Empiric azithromycin alters the upper respiratory microbiome and resistome without anti-inflammatory benefit in COVID-19 – Microbiology Research

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Nature Microbiology, Published online: 16 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02285-8

Longitudinal metatranscriptomics in a prospective cohort of 1,164 adults hospitalized for COVID-19 reveals that azithromycin offered no apparent anti-inflammatory benefit but enriched the respiratory microbiome with potential pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes.



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