New research from Michigan State University reveals that photorespiration – long considered a wasteful process – is essential for producing a crucial nutrient for preventing birth defects.

For the first time, scientists have measured how much carbon flows through photorespiration to make folates, a class of compounds that includes vitamin B9 – known for its importance as a prenatal vitamin. According to the study, led by MSU researcher Berkley Walker, about 6 percent of the carbon absorbed by plants is used to make folates. That number plummets by fivefold when photorespiration is suppressed.  

These findings, published in Nature Plants, could help scientists engineer plants to boost production of the nutrient important for human health. They also shed light on how a high-carbon dioxide world caused by climate change could make plants less nutritious.

A team of scientists at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) has created a protein-based therapeutic tool  that could change the way we treat diseases caused by harmful or unnecessary cells. The new tool, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, involves a synthetic protein called Crunch, short for Connector for Removal of Unwanted Cell Habitat. Crunch uses the body’s natural waste removal system to clear out specific target cells, offering hope for improved treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other diseases where harmful cells cause damage.

Neonates who undergo enterostomy are at risk of complications that can lead to poor growth, fluid-electrolyte imbalance, and growth abnormalities if the postoperative nutrition is not optimally managed. To address this, researchers have developed a clinical guideline for postoperative nutrition support in neonates with enterostomy (2024). This standardized evidence-based guideline for infants with enterostomy presents 22 recommendations for postoperative nutritional management in this high-risk population.

Jie Chen et al. from Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, of Sun Yat-sen University published a paper entitled "Psychological effects of virtual reality intervention on breast cancer patients with different personalities: A randomized controlled trial" in the International Journal of Nursing Sciences. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to systematically investigate the efficiency and safety of VR intervention with natural landscape content in alleviating negative emotions, aiming to provide new ideas and empirical evidence for psychological care of breast cancer patients.