Mothers provide a hidden immune legacy that protects their children's teeth long after weaning is over. A new study reveals how maternal antibodies act as early life architects, programming the mouth to resist aggressive bacteria and prevent the bone loss associated with adult gum disease. By setting a healthy immune tone before birth, these maternal defenses ensure that the foundation for a lifetime of oral health is laid from the very beginning.

The finding explains how the absence of a key protein in the structure of bile ducts promotes the onset of fibrosis. 

If bile ducts let bile acids leak through, these will cause damage that liver tissue repairs by producing scars. The accumulation of these scars leads to fibrosis.

For the study’s authors, "this finding allows research to be steered towards safer therapies targeting liver fibrosis."

The paper is published in Nature Metabolism.

A study published in Science Bulletin identifies tRF-Glu-TTC-013, a tRNA-derived fragment, as a key driver of colorectal cancer liver metastasis. The researchers found that the molecule promotes tumour progression by enhancing glutamate metabolic reprogramming through a newly defined CREB3L1–AMDHD1 pathway.

Researchers created a bismuth-coordinated melanin material that provides in vivo physical radiation shielding and ROS scavenging. It markedly mitigates acute radiation syndrome and boosts mouse survival from 20% to 60% after lethal total body irradiation.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) has been recognized for almost 30 years, but there is still no unified definition or diagnostic standard worldwide. Recently, the core clinical features used to describe ACLF have narrowed these differences and built a broader consensus. This review updates the latest changes in disease classification, summarizes the current understanding of ACLF pathogenesis, outlines new treatment targets, and presents a three-stage mouse model that supports testing of potential therapies.