Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a lowered mood and loss of interest, contributing not only to difficulties in academic and professional life but also as a major cause of suicide in South Korea. However, there are currently no objective biological markers that can be used for diagnosis or treatment. Amidst this, a research team from KAIST has revealed that depression is not merely a problem of the mind or brain, but is deeply connected to abnormalities in the body's overall immune response. They found that this immune abnormality affects brain function, and the 'Immune Neural Axis' imbalance is the core mechanism of depression, opening up the possibility for the discovery of new biomarkers and the development of new drugs for depression treatment.

This study presents a comprehensive exploration of fermented oats (FO) as a next-generation skincare ingredient with dual anti-inflammatory and skin barrier-restoring functions. By utilizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation, the authors successfully enhanced the bioactive composition of oats, significantly increasing β-glucan, proteins, flavonoids, amino acids, and their derivatives. These biochemical improvements translate into potent biological activity, positioning FO as a multifunctional soothing and repairing ingredient for sensitive and photodamaged skin. A major highlight of this research is its multi-model validation across cellular assays, zebrafish embryos, and 3D reconstructed skin. FO demonstrated a marked ability to modulate inflammatory pathways, including a 79.87% inhibition of TNF-α/TNFR1 binding, suppression of LPS-induced nitric oxide release, and reduction of neutrophil recruitment. These results collectively establish FO as a robust anti-inflammatory agent capable of suppressing both cytokine- and TRPV1-mediated inflammatory responses. Equally noteworthy is FO’s impact on skin barrier repair. In UVB-irradiated 3D skin models, FO significantly upregulated key structural proteins—including loricrin, filaggrin, transglutaminase 1, and caspase-14—which are essential for epidermal reinforcement, differentiation, and natural moisturizing factor formation. The ingredient also enhanced hydration by increasing both skin moisture content and AQP3 expression.

Overall, this study highlights fermented oats as an innovative, solvent-free, bioactivated skincare ingredient that simultaneously alleviates inflammation, repairs barrier damage, and improves hydration. Its strong mechanistic support and multi-level experimental confirmation underscore its potential as an effective soothing and repairing ingredient for sensitive skin formulations.

The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) has announced that World Hormone Day will return on Friday 24 April 2026.

Researchers have developed a new culture medium for canine iPS cells, enabling their stable differentiation into cardiomyocytes.

Wearable sensors integrated with deep learning techniques have the potential to revolutionize seamless human–machine interfaces for real-time health monitoring, clinical diagnosis, and robotic applications. Nevertheless, it remains a critical challenge to simultaneously achieve desirable mechanical and electrical performance along with biocompatibility, adhesion, self-healing, and environmental robustness with excellent sensing metrics. Herein, we report a multifunctional, anti–freezing, self-adhesive, and self-healable organogel pressure sensor composed of cobalt nanoparticle encapsulated nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (CoN CNT) embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol–gelatin (PVA/GLE) matrix. Fabricated using a binary solvent system of water and ethylene glycol (EG), the CoN CNT/PVA/GLE organogel exhibits excellent flexibility, biocompatibility, and temperature tolerance with remarkable environmental stability. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirms near-stable performance across a broad humidity range (40%-95% RH). Freeze-tolerant conductivity under sub-zero conditions (−20 °C) is attributed to the synergistic role of CoN CNT and EG, preserving mobility and network integrity. The CoN CNT/PVA/GLE organogel sensor exhibits high sensitivity of 5.75 kPa⁻¹ in the detection range from 0 to 20 kPa, ideal for subtle biomechanical motion detection. A smart human–machine interface for English letter recognition using deep learning achieved 98% accuracy. The organogel sensor utility was extended to detect human gestures like finger bending, wrist motion, and throat vibration during speech.

The road to glory in the Australian Football League (AFL) is highly competitive, with as few as 0.01% of more than 640,000 young footballers and athletes from around Australia selected in the annual draft process. 

 

With so many young players pinning their hopes on selection, sport experts from Flinders University have surveyed more than 400 young male Australian footballers (16-18 years old) to evaluate the psychological impact on their mental health and wellbeing during a draft selection year.