The smell of Japanese Igusa (rush grass), the core component of tatami mats, has long been associated with comfort and relaxation. However, there was little scientific evidence behind such claims. To test this, researchers measured the brain activity of volunteers while they sat on Igusa mats and completed simple tasks. The researchers found that when using the Igusa mats the participants’ brain activity suggested they had better focus, cognitive engagement, and stress resilience.

A Stanford-led study of a marine worm’s metamorphosis found surprising signs that the original larval cells didn’t just die or assume the same role in the adult organism—most of them changed to serve another purpose.

The textbook view often describes euchromatin, the active part of the genome, as open and accessible. A research team led by Kazuhiro Maeshima has now shown that euchromatin in living human cells forms condensed domains whose local mixing is constrained by cohesin. When cohesin is lost, these domains become more fluid and locally mix without global decompaction, weakening transcriptional insulation.

Researchers developed a tiny surface patch that helps macrophages activate inside acidic tumor tissue. The engineered immune cells remodel the tumor microenvironment, suppress tumor growth and metastasis, and promote durable anti-tumor immunity without detectable systemic toxicity.

Our immune system is a highly sophisticated defense network designed to protect us from pathogens. Yet a research team from the Universities of Würzburg and Jena and the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) has now shown that certain components of this defense can actually help the yeast Candida albicans evade immune attack. Published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, the study reveals an unexpected downside of the immune response to this fungal pathogen.

Many women experience cognitive fog or memory impairment during pregnancy or while taking oral contraceptives. A new study published in Science Bulletin reveals that sustained high levels of estrogen disturb a specific neural circuit connecting the lateral hypothalamus to the hippocampus, leading to temporary memory loss. This discovery provides a long-sought biological explanation for "mom brain" and reconciles decades of conflicting data on estrogen's effects on memory

Cystic fibrosis, one of the most common genetic diseases in Switzerland, promotes chronic bacterial infections by impairing the protective barrier of the airways. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have discovered that this dysfunction is caused by the abnormal activation of a protein, connexin 43, which disrupts cellular organisation and compromises the integrity of the airways. The team has not only shed light on this molecular mechanism using 3D models of cells derived from human lungs, but has also succeeded in correcting the defect using molecules already undergoing clinical trials in dermatology and oncology. Preventing pathogenic bacteria from attaching to the airways of people with cystic fibrosis could therefore help limit serious complications. These findings are published in the journal Communications Biology.