Researchers at Swansea University have discovered that baboons walk in lines, not for safety or strategy, but simply to stay close to their friends.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections can lead to deadly brain inflammation, yet treatment options remain limited. Japanese researchers have now uncovered how HSV-1 evades the host’s intrinsic immunity by using an enzyme, uracil-DNA glycosylase, to block APOBEC1, a host protein that edits viral DNA to suppress infection. They also developed a promising therapeutic strategy to restore immune defense in the brain, offering new hope for managing HSV-1-induced encephalitis.

 (1) Atmospheric transport affects glacial microbes; (2) Community assembly processes are dynamic as glacial microorganisms move downstream; (3) Glacial microbes participate in biogeochemical cycles and feedback to climate; (4) Impacts of mixed pollutants on glacier habitats deserve deeper attention; (5) Climate change, pollutants, and microbes combine to affect glacier habitats.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh discovered that specific brain white matter features in 3-month-old infants can predict how their emotional responses and regulation abilities will develop by 9 months. Higher neurite dispersion in brain connections was linked to increased negative emotionality, while greater connectivity within executive control regions predicted better positive emotions and self-soothing abilities.

A new study in Genome Biology and Evolution finds that the African Swine Fever virus, currently circulating in Europe, is not the result of a recent introduction. Instead, the virus has been present in the region since 2007. Its current dramatic spread appears to be driven largely by people within Europe traveling longer distances.