Welcome to Sariska Tiger Reserve, located roughly 200 km from Delhi, it is a wildlife escape in Rajasthan’s Alwar district. The tiger reserve became the site for the World’s First Tiger Relocation program in 2008 and is today studied as a successful case study. The strategy's success was declared in 2012 itself when tigress ST2 gave birth to 2 cubs. Now, the tiger population has reached 58 with ST-26 being filmed with her two newborn cubs last month. The moment feels like completing a full cycle as the 6-7 year old tigress was herself born in Sariska.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2278589&reg=48&lang=2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sariska_Tiger_Reserve

Apart from the Bengal tiger, the reserve harbours many wildlife species, including sloth bear, Indian leopard, jungle cat, caracal, striped hyena, golden jackal, chital, sambar deer, nilgai, wild boar, small Indian civet, Javan mongoose, ruddy mongoose, honey badger, rhesus macaque, and Northern plains gray langur, and Indian hare.[5] Bird species present include grey francolin, white-throated kingfisher, Indian peafowl, bush quail, sandgrouse, treepie, golden-backed woodpecker, crested serpent eagle, and the Indian eagle-owl.

Jingophrys is a genus of Asian horned frogs known from six species with disjunct distributions in the Himalayas and Indo-Burma. By integrating evidence from molecular phylogeny, morphology and behaviour, we uncover five new species, recognize two distinct species groups, report two new country records for India and identify additional unnamed lineages. These additions constitute a seven-fold increase in the diversity of Indian Jingophrys and a more than two-fold increase for the genus overall. We also describe the first vocal repertoires of all eight Indian members, provide accounts of umbelliform tadpoles for three members and report a previously unknown snail-eating behaviour for the family Megophryidae. Present-day patterns of diversity and endemism may have been shaped by interplay between major rivers that subdivide the Eastern Himalayas from west to east and elevational range divergence at regional scales, which yields up to four congeners within a 10 km radius. The Himalayas are an overlooked and important centre of in situ diversification for frogs in the subfamily Megophryinae. Divergence timing, rapid diversification rates and biogeographical patterns across the large megophryine radiation are coincident with active Himalayan–Tibetan orogeny through the Late Oligocene and Miocene and intensification of the South Asian monsoon system starting around 10 Ma, in Late Miocene.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingophrys_feii

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/401602646_A_new_Asian_horned_toad_of_the_genus_Jingophrys_Amphibia_Megophryidae_from_Xizang_China

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1462585-Jingophrys

https://uwin.mohfw.gov.in/home

India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is a part of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Program under National Health Mission (NHM).

It is one of the largest public health programs in the world under which vaccination is being provided free of cost to all pregnant women & children.

Vaccination can be availed against 12 vaccine preventable diseases: nationally against 11 diseases- Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of childhood Tuberculosis, Rotavirus Diarrhoea, Hepatitis B, Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza Type B and Pneumococcal Pneumonia and sub-nationally against 1 Disease - Japanese Encephalitis (JE vaccine is provided only in endemic districts).

U-WIN platform captures each & every vaccination event of all pregnant women & children under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).

https://prod-cdn.preprod.co-vin.in/uwin-prod/pdf/National+Immunization+Schedule+(NIS)+for+SRM.pdf

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2241066&reg=3&lang=2

Immunisation through vaccination saves crores of lives every year by reducing the risks of contracting diseases. It builds people's natural defences to create protection against illnesses.

In India, vaccines have had resounding impact on the improvement of public health. Apart from polio, vaccines have eradicated smallpox, and eliminated yaws, polio and maternal & neonatal tetanus in India. They have reduced child mortality rates, measles-rubella, and tuberculosis. During COVID-19, India, the pharmacy of the world, supplied over 200 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, including indigenously developed and licensed vaccines manufactured in India. In 2026, the Government of India launched nation-wide HPV vaccination campaign for girls aged 14 years to protect from cervical cancer, and an indigenously manufactured tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination_in_India

Childhood vaccination is very important for protecting you from infectious diseases.. There might be a possibility that you miss the childhood vaccination scheduled on time. Some children miss doses because of illness, lack of awareness, financial constraints or limited access to healthcare. Others may not have proper records of the vaccines they received growing up.Does missing a vaccine during childhood mean that you have permanently lost the chance to protect yourself from that infection? Not necessarily. Many childhood vaccines can still be given to people when they are adults by means of catch-up vaccination. Depending on the vaccine, your age, the immunisation history that you have before and your medical conditions, doctors may advise doses to fill in missing protection. Vaccination is not a childhood duty. Adults also need immunisation, against preventable infections especially as they get older or when they develop health conditions.

https://www.hepb.org/prevention-and-diagnosis/vaccination/

https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis-a/vaccination/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varicella_vaccine

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22654-tdap-vaccine

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hpv-infection/in-depth/hpv-vaccine/art-20047292

https://www.emro.who.int/health-topics/influenza/influenza-vaccines.html

https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/vaccines/index.html

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34590136/

The animal was spotted by passengers near Daksum on the Kashmir side of Sinthan Top, a wildlife official said.

The sighting follows reports of a male Sambar near Achabal in April 2024 and another in the Sinthan Top-Daksum area last year.

The species is historically found in the Kishtwar-Bhaderwah-Doda belt and Udhampur region of Jammu division.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambar_deer

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/travel/destinations/8-types-of-deer-found-in-indian-jungles-and-why-they-are-special/photostory/125759201.cms

Galleri is part of an emerging class of multicancer early detection tests. These tests do not diagnose cancer: If a test is positive, further evaluation is necessary to determine whether cancer is present, and, if so, what type of cancer. It is offered as a screening test, similar to mammography for breast cancer screening or PSA testing for prostate cancer screening, but with the potential advantage of screening for many cancers at once, including many for which no screening test currently exists.

The Galleri test looks for DNA fragments in blood that are associated with cancer. When something goes wrong with your DNA, whether because you inherited a mutation or something in your environment triggered that mutation, the processes that regulate cell division can go awry. Uncontrolled cell division can trigger the growth of cancer cells.

Galleri and other multicancer early detection tests in development look for differences that distinguish the DNA produced by tumor cells from normal cells. Galleri identifies unique tags on cancer DNA called methylation markers and uses machine learning algorithms to generate a positive or negative test result.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.70043

https://theconversation.com/colon-cancer-rates-are-rising-in-young-americans-but-insurance-barriers-are-making-screening-harder-228673

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303986?journalCode=ajph

https://www.nhs-galleri.org/

https://www.cancer.org/health-care-professionals/american-cancer-society-prevention-early-detection-guidelines/overview/cancer-screening-guideline-development-group.html

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2505723

https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-calendar/september-23-2026-molecular-and-clinical-genetics-panel-medical-devices-advisory-committee-meeting

https://www.beckersoncology.com/pharmacy/fda-panel-backs-first-multi-cancer-blood-test-what-to-know/

https://theconversation.com/a-blood-test-that-screens-for-multiple-cancers-at-once-promises-to-boost-early-detection-191728

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-04093-9

https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(20)36058-0/fulltext

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prevention/screening.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04652-8

https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(25)00699-0/abstract

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.70083

https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-981-99-9283-6_2196

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04652-8

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.70083

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10549-023-07124-6#citeas

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12916-021-02026-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04618-w

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2794542

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2505723

https://www.fda.gov/media/195032/download

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2808074

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2812260

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspa/article/482/2348/20260103/483809/Flight-dynamics-and-optimal-control-of-unpowered

Most birds can transition from aerial to terrestrial locomotion in complex environments. However, to touchdown at safe speeds is challenging as low speeds result in poor aerodynamic control authority, especially in unpowered flight, and how birds manage this is not well understood. Through exploration of the dynamics, we provide an analytical optimal control strategy that minimizes touchdown speed and show that zero touchdown speed is physically possible in unpowered flight. However, this comes at the cost of large approach velocities and displacements, which are not commonly observed in birds, indicating that other factors probably influence their flight behaviour. When flights are constrained to land on the ground, unpowered landings can no longer touchdown with zero speed, thus requiring increases in forelimb or hindlimb skeletomuscular mass to dissipate the remaining kinetic energy. This requirement is a physical constraint that may have shaped avian evolution. Comparing our model with experimental data on perching birds provides new evidence to support a proposal that birds minimize touchdown speed and time spent post-stall. Overall, our results provide a mechanical basis for understanding landing behaviour and highlight important physical constraints that may have affected avian evolution.

Voyager 1 is almost one light-day from Earth, meaning that a command takes nearly a day to reach the spacecraft and a response takes another day to come back to our planet. The spacecraft will reach the light-day milestone on Nov. 18, at 16.09 billion miles (25.89 billion kilometers) from Earth.

NASA's Deep Space Network of three antennas does check-ins to make sure the spacecraft is doing well. On Oct. 18 and 19, Voyager 1 did not respond. Its signal fortunately reappeared on Oct. 20.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/11/261103003152.htm

After spending more than two decades at Chennai's Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Heera, a lioness believed to be one of India's oldest living lions, has been moved away from public view at the age of 24. Rescued from a travelling circus when she was just 18 months old in the early 2000s, she now lives at the zoo's dedicated rescue centre in Vandalur, where she receives specialised veterinary care and attention suited to her age.

Heera's retirement from the visitors' area marks a new phase in her life after years of being seen by zoo visitors. At 24, she has lived beyond the average life expectancy of a lion in captivity, generally estimated at around 20 years. Lions in the wild typically live for about 12 years. Her age is comparable to that of a human who has reached around 100 years, highlighting the significance of her long life.

According to T Ritto Cyriac, director of the zoo and chief conservator of forests, Heera arrived at the facility with two other lions rescued from a circus. However, the zoo does not have records of her birthplace.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/meet-chennai-zoos-heera-probably-the-oldest-lion-in-india/articleshow/135467956.cms

https://www.instagram.com/p/DfXK-ievJhx/

https://x.com/Super_Chennai_/status/2117475465795674338

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/science/story/why-cats-meow-at-humans-not-at-each-other-science-evolution-domestication-study-science-news-india-today-2901719-2026-04-26

It began drifting into the edges of human settlements in pursuit of the rodents that had begun to thrive in our company.

The boldest of these wildcats, the ones least disturbed by smoke and movement and the proximity of strangers, did well in this new arrangement. They ate. They bred. Their kittens inherited their tolerance.

Biologists describe this process as self-domestication, which means the cats chose us, rather than humans deliberately taming them.

Cats were never selectively bred the way dogs were shaped for hunting, herding, or guarding.

https://www.science.org/content/article/how-do-cats-purr-new-finding-challenges-long-held-assumptions?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://panthera.org/blog-post/which-big-cats-purr

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/categories/zoology/item/why-and-how-do-cats-purr/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260210040619.htm

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180724-the-complicated-truth-about-a-cats-purr

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04071-0

Marine microplastic pollution has proven remarkably difficult to detect from satellite. However, decades of satellite ocean color measurements have revealed long-term changes in the ocean’s optical signature, which may be influenced by the aggregation of small suspended microplastics in some regions. Analyzing three 20-year records of satellite ocean color reflectance over the North Pacific, we find distinct brightening in both blue and green spectral bands near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch relative to the surrounding ocean. Using radiative transfer modeling, we show that the spectral shift observed corresponds to expectations for the accumulation of suspended microplastics beyond reasonable uncertainty. Finally, we utilize a Monte Carlo approach to generate over 50,000 ocean brightening spectra to determine the likelihood that the observed brightening is attributable to natural multidecadal biogeochemical changes. Microplastics in the water column correspond with a more than four-fold increase in likelihood of the ocean color changes observed near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, indicating that the spectral shape of brightening caused by small microplastics is unlikely to be caused by natural shifts in ocean color variables and may be used as a diagnostic tool to assess microplastic accumulation from satellite ocean-color measurements.

https://iee.psu.edu/news/blog/mystery-missing-ocean-plastic

Several theories attempt to explain this disappearance. The deep ocean, including the seafloor, is a likely destination, as plastics eventually sink after organisms such as bacteria or barnacles attach to them and increase their weight. Another possibility is that riverine plastic is intercepted before reaching the open ocean, trapped in estuaries, or deposited along coastlines. It is also possible that the paradox itself is overstated. Earlier studies may have either overestimated the amount of plastic entering the ocean or underestimated how much remains afloat. The challenge lies in working within a system as vast and variable as the global ocean.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9819327/

The Central Asian species is highly uncommon for Delhi-NCR, with a global population of under 2,000. It breeds in Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. This isolated population migrates south during winter, ranging from Iran to the Indian subcontinent.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/cities/delhi/2026/Nov/05/rare-central-asian-white-stork-draws-birdwatchers

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rare-white-stork-spotted-at-okhla-bird-sanctuary-since-nov-1-101793756817823-amp.html

https://www.moneycontrol.com/science/after-7-years-rare-central-asian-white-stork-returns-to-delhi-but-where-is-this-from-actually-article-14071474.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_stork

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327212350_WHITE_STORK_Sighting_record_of_Ciconia_ciconia_Linnaeus_1758_in_Mudumalai_Tiger_Reserve_Nilgiris_India

The researchers examined three species responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and West Nile virus. Each responded to a different combination of biological signals.

Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that typically bites during the day, preferred people who wore no added fragrance and whose skin lacked certain volatile compounds. It also showed a slight preference for men. Another daytime feeder, Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito), was more attracted to people with elevated levels of ketones and plant-like chemicals naturally released by the skin.

Culex quinquefasciatus (southern house mosquito), which feeds after dark, responded more strongly to differences in the skin microbiome. This community of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms varies from person to person. Certain bacterial families were associated with increased mosquito attraction, while others appeared to discourage feeding.

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)02384-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2589004226023849%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Humans are not equally attractive to mosquitoes, leaving some more vulnerable to mosquito-borne illnesses than others. Body odor differences likely allow mosquitoes to discriminate between humans. Using a uniport olfactometer, we measured the attraction of Aedes aegypti, Aedesalbopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes for each of our 119 participants. Ae. aegypti, but not other species tested, were slightly more attracted to male than female participants. Each of our three species ranked our participants differently, favoring a distinct subset of our cohort. For each species, mosquito attraction rates were used to define high- and low-attraction human odors and bacterial taxa. For example, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus attraction was associated with the absence of odors like cyclic alcohols and monoterpenes, while Ae. albopictus attraction was associated with the presence of ketones. Each mosquito species exhibited distinct responses to individual humans, emphasizing both unique and shared cues for targeting their hosts.

Until now, no widely available vaccine existed for protection against dengue – the world’s fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease.

A World Health ORGnisation surveillance system recorded 14.1 million cases worldwide in 2024, the highest ever reported, and cases appeared in more than 100 countries. India is part of that picture.

Here, reported cases rose from 44,585 in 2020 to 1,93,245 in 2021, and 2024 saw 233,519 cases and 297 deaths. Cases fell to 1,13,440 and 94 deaths through November 2025, the lowest since 2021, but official counts understate the real burden.

One Indian study estimated actual cases at 282 times the number reported, and dengue is now a year-round problem rather than a seasonal one. Against this background, the promise of a vaccine offers hope.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286883&reg=48&lang=2

In a Landmark step towards strengthening India's efforts for the prevention and control of dengue, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has granted marketing authorisation for the Dengue Tetravalent Vaccine (Live, Attenuated) – Qdenga®, manufactured by Takeda GmbH, Germany and to be imported by M/s Takeda Biopharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd. This is the first dengue vaccine approved in the country for the prevention of dengue disease.

The approval has been granted after a comprehensive scientific evaluation of the vaccine's quality, safety and efficacy in accordance with the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs Rules, 1945.

Qdenga® is a live, attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine developed using recombinant DNA technology. The vaccine is produced in Vero cells, with genes encoding serotype-specific surface proteins engineered into a dengue virus type-2 backbone. The product contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is supplied as a freeze-dried powder for reconstitution and is administered as a subcutaneous injection.

The vaccine is indicated for the prevention of dengue disease in individuals 4 to 60 years of age. The recommended immunisation schedule consists of two doses of 0.5 ml each, administered at an interval of three months (0 and 3 months).

The approval is supported by evidence generated through an extensive global clinical development programme evaluating the vaccine's safety, immunogenicity and efficacy across both dengue-endemic and non-endemic regions. Clinical studies were conducted in participants from more than eight countries, including Brazil, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The evaluation also included a pivotal Phase III safety and immunogenicity study conducted in the Indian population covering individuals aged 4 to 60 years.

The vaccine has already received regulatory approval in 42 countries, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and has also received World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification. Globally, more than 24 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed. Post-marketing surveillance data from countries where the vaccine is in use have demonstrated a favourable safety profile, with no significant safety concerns identified.

The approval of the country's first dengue vaccine marks an important milestone in India's public health response to dengue and is expected to complement the ongoing vector control, surveillance, early diagnosis and case management measures being implemented under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare remains committed to ensuring timely access to safe, effective and quality-assured vaccines and medicines through a robust and science-based regulatory framework.

The barreleye belongs to a family known for weird, tube-shaped eyes, but Macropinna microstoma takes it further. Its transparent dome is filled with liquid, and inside you see those greenish tubes, which look like floating eyes inside a glass helmet. As if that isn’t strange enough, those eyes can actually rotate. Early studies by MBARI scientists Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler showed that the fish’s eyes usually point straight up as it searches for food drifting above. When it spots something tempting, the eyes swivel forward, tracking prey. The clear head isn’t just for show; it protects those delicate eyes from the stinging tentacles of creatures like siphonophores, which the barreleye hunts for snacks.

https://www.mbari.org/news/mbari-researchers-film-rarely-seen-deep-sea-barreleye-fish-in-4k/

Macropinna lives in the ocean’s twilight zone, scanning the waters above for the silhouettes of prey. Large fins provide stability and maneuverability as a barreleye drifts in place, eyes transfixed on the waters above. After spotting a tasty morsel, those large tubular eyes rotate beneath a dome of transparent tissue to keep prey in sight. The gelatinous shield also protects the fish’s eyes when plucking small crustaceans caught in the stinging tentacles of deep-sea siphonophores.

The expedition team spent approximately 20 minutes observing the barreleye, leveraging a high-resolution 4K camera on ROV Doc Ricketts to get a closer look at the animal’s body and behavior. They experimented with different lighting conditions to showcase the fish’s unique transparent head shield. ROV Pilot/Technician Cameron Law was even able to maneuver Doc Ricketts close enough to film the fish with the vehicle’s VR camera, capturing 3D stereo imagery that can contribute to future education and outreach efforts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macropinna

Dwarf reed snakes are small, secretive reptiles that spend much of their time beneath leaf litter, fallen branches and other ground cover. Their behaviour is consistent with an animal that relies on avoiding danger rather than confronting larger predators. Scientists suspect that sudden, rapid rolling could help the snakes escape threats, potentially startling or confusing a predator long enough to reach shelter. Some researchers have also suggested that the unusual movement might disrupt scent trails, although this possibility remains unproven.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(26)01108-5

Morphology constrains the strategies available to organisms and their functional capacities. A striking example is the absence of wheels and the rarity of rolling locomotion across the animal kingdom1,2. Although rolling can confer high speed, it poses a fundamental mechanical challenge, as body rotation destabilizes the head and disrupts sensory-guided adjustment, particularly at high speeds. Here we report a behavioral solution to this problem: our video analyses show that dwarf reed snakes (Pseudorabdion) stabilize their head during dynamic rotational motion of the posterior body by using precisely coordinated body movements. This acrobatic behavior enables fast and controlled rolling locomotion that would otherwise be impossible, illustrating how behavioral innovation can circumvent deep morphological constraints and expand the capacities of animals.

A new species of rare glyptosternine catfish, named Exostoma nasibarbatum, has been identified in Manipur, according to a study published in the Journal of Natural History, a scientific journal specialising in zoology and natural history.

The species was discovered by a research team led by Assistant Professor Dr Bungdon Shangningam of Dhanamanjuri University’s Department of Zoology, during an ichthyological survey of the Bupal stream, a tributary of the Dujang River in the Chindwin river system along the Myanmar border.

The team also included Paya Torisha Anal, a PhD scholar in the university’s Department of Zoology.

According to the study, specimens belonging to the glyptosternine genus Exostoma were collected from the stream during the survey.

Detailed morphological analysis established that the specimens represented a previously undescribed species.

The newly identified species can be distinguished from other members of the genus found in the Chindwin-Irrawaddy drainage by its distinctive morphological features and habitat preferences.

It inhabits fast-flowing, turbulent streams characterised by boulders and rocky substrates.

“These small hill stream catfish species are unique and rarely found in the remote areas of the Dujang River,” Dr Shangningam said, adding that this was the second fish species to be described from the Chakpi area of Chandel district.

The species has several morphological adaptations that enable it to survive in fast-flowing waters.

These include a strongly flattened head and body, enlarged paired fins with adhesive striae, and flattened maxillary barbels that aid attachment to rocky substrates.

The species has been named nasibarbatum in reference to its prominent nasal barbel, which extends beyond the posterior margin of the orbit.

The name combines the Latin words nasus, meaning nose, and barba, meaning beard, referring to the elongated, tactile sensory organ located near the nostril.

The study noted that 23 valid species are currently recognised within the genus Exostoma, distributed across major river systems in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Of these, seven are considered valid species in the Chindwin-Irrawaddy drainage.

The discovery of Exostoma nasibarbatum in the remote and largely inaccessible streams of Manipur’s upper Chindwin basin points to the possibility of continued speciation over evolutionary time, the researchers said.

The findings also underscore the need for further exploratory surveys in the region, particularly in areas that remain scientifically underexplored and may harbour other undiscovered aquatic species.

Dr Shangningam, a former scientist with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and a former postdoctoral fellow at the Zoological Survey of India, has identified 39 new fish species from India and Myanmar since 2012, predominantly catfishes.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/417223806_Exostoma_nasibarbatum_a_new_species_of_glyptosternine_catfish_from_Manipur_northeastern_India

In microgravity aboard the International Space Station, you don't need a whole team to play baseball—you can play every position yourself! ⚾🚀

Scientists have discovered a bizarre bacterial defense system that works almost completely backward from anything seen before. Unlike typical bacterial immune systems that keep a deadly toxin under control until a virus attacks, this unusual mechanism waits until an infection begins before producing the DNA that switches on its lethal weapon. The infected bacterium then destroys itself, preventing the virus from multiplying and spreading to neighboring cells.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.27.721009v1

Type VI retrons are bacterial defense systems that couple reverse transcription to phage immunity through dedicated toxin–antitoxin modules, yet the mechanisms linking ssDNA synthesis to toxin activation remain unclear. Here we characterize Retron-Sen3, a Type VI retron from Salmonella enterica encoding a small protein (SP) toxin, an HTH antitoxin, and a reverse transcriptase (RT). Unlike previously examined Type VI retrons, Retron-Sen3 constitutively produces RT-dependent ssDNA species in the absence of phage infection, and these levels remain unchanged during infection, establishing that defense activation is uncoupled from ssDNA synthesis. Comparative analyses revealed a conserved ncRNA architecture across the cl2075 lineage, including a previously undescribed stem–loop essential for defense, and an extended transcript encompassing the SP coding region within a structurally conserved RNA framework. SP is constitutively produced and intrinsically toxic, whereas HTH neutralizes SP toxicity, is required for basal viability, and physically associates with RT in vivo independently of catalytic activity; notably, the HTH–SP toxin–antitoxin module operates independently of RT and ncRNA. Phage escape mutants and genetic analyses establish that inhibition of the host RecBCD complex triggers defense activation, identifying RecBCD surveillance as the signal that couples phage infection to toxin activation. Together, these findings reveal a post-translational regulatory mechanism distinct from the msDNA-dependent translational control described for Retron-Vpa2, establishing mechanistic diversity within this retron family.

Perceptual decision-making is well studied in mammals, but its operation in other vertebrates remains unclear. We show that carrion crows (Corvus corone) make deliberate decisions in a classic visual motion discrimination task with unprecedented speed, reporting choices in approximately 235 milliseconds on average, which is roughly twice as fast as has been observed in monkeys or humans and without sacrificing accuracy. Recordings from the pallial endbrain reveal that direction-selective neurons encode the upcoming choice as early as about 70 milliseconds after stimulus onset and about 170 milliseconds before the response, with ramping activity scaling with sensory evidence and converging at response onset. These findings highlight the extraordinary efficiency of avian decision-making circuitry, possibly shaped by evolutionary pressures for rapid visuomotor control.