Researchers from Kansas City University School of Medicine have published a scoping review examining the role of astrocytes in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Synthesizing evidence from 40 studies, the review suggests that astrocytic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, impaired waste clearance, and disrupted glutamate homeostasis may contribute significantly to disease development and progression. The findings support a shift from a neuron-centric view of CTE toward a broader neuroglial disease model.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that tiny photosynthetic bacteria band together into protective "herds" when attacked by predators – a survival strategy that could also influence how carbon is stored in the world's waters. 

Chronic pancreatitis, which affects around three million people worldwide, is especially difficult to treat because the molecular drivers of the disease vary from patient to patient. Salk researchers have created a new platform for studying chronic pancreatitis that retains patient-specific disease biology, which can be used to develop personalized chronic pancreatitis treatments and has already pinpointed a protein that could be a promising target for many patients.

A new tool that allows researchers to create realistic full-body animations of monkeys has provided the first evidence that non-human primates experience the “uncanny valley” phenomenon for body avatars, according to a study by Lucas Maximilian Martini at the University Clinic Tubingen in Germany and colleagues at KU Leuven in Belgium, publishing July 14^th in the open access journal PLOS Biology.