Biological pathway in the brain could help explain why teenage girls are more depressed than boys

 

Date:

March 25, 2025

Source:

King's College London

Summary:

Research has shown that a biological brain mechanism called the 'kynurenine pathway' is imbalanced in adolescents with depression, and this imbalance is more pronounced in teenage girls than boys.

Depression is a mental health condition that affects 280 million people worldwide. It is twice as common in women than men and this pattern starts to develop during adolescence. Researchers have studied the biological processes that drive depression in adults and shown a potential role for the kynurenine pathway, but this is the first time it has been investigated in adolescents in relation to biological sex.

The study was published in Biological Psychiatry and funded by MQ Mental Health Research and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

The 'kynurenine pathway' is a series of chemical reactions that processes tryptophan, an amino acid found in foods. When tryptophan is broken down, it can take two routes in the brain: one that produces neuroprotective (brain-protecting) chemicals and another that produces neurotoxic (brain-damaging) chemicals. This process involves several byproducts including kynurenic acid (neuroprotective) and quinolinic acid (neurotoxic).

Senior author Professor Valeria Mondelli, Clinical Professor of Psychoneuroimmunology at King's IoPPN and theme lead for Mood Disorders and Psychosis at NIHR Maudsley BRC said: "Adolescence is a time when many changes occur in the brain and body but we still know very little about the possible biological drivers for depression and how this might affect the difference between teenage boys and girls. Our study indicates the 'kynurenine pathway' plays a role in development of depression during the teenage years which may help us to understand why there is a higher incidence amongst girls. During adolescence there are a wide range of social and individual factors that influence mental health and by identifying the biological pathways involved we hope we can help build a clearer picture of how we can help teenagers manage depression."

Using blood tests, the study assessed the levels of kynurenic and quinolinic acids in a group of 150 teenagers from Brazil aged between 14 and 16. The teenagers belonged to one of three groups -- those with low risk of depression, those with high risk of depression and those who had been diagnosed with depression. Risk was assessed using a measure that had been developed as part of the Identifying Depression Early in Adolescence (IDEA) project and considers a range of factors1. There were 50 adolescents in each group and they were evenly divided by biological sex to explore differences between male and female adolescents. The adolescents were tracked over three years to assess if their depression symptoms persisted or improved.

King's College London researchers found that adolescents with a higher risk for depression or who have a current diagnosis of depression had lower levels of kynurenic acid, the neuroprotective compound. This reduction was most evident in female adolescents, suggesting that girls might be more vulnerable to the harmful effects of an imbalanced kynurenine pathway during adolescence, potentially explaining why females experience depression at higher rates.

The study also measured specific proteins in the blood that indicate the body is in an inflammatory state, and are released during infection, stress, or illness. It found that higher levels of these inflammatory markers were linked to increased production of neurotoxic chemicals in the kynurenine pathway. Notably, this association was found in adolescents at high-risk or with depression, but not in low-risk adolescents. This suggests that inflammation might drive the kynurenine pathway toward producing neurotoxic chemicals, increasing the risk of depression.

In the follow-up three years later, the study showed that female adolescents with persistent depression had higher levels of neurotoxic metabolites than those who recovered over time, suggesting that increased neurotoxic activity in the kynurenine pathway could make depression harder to overcome for some adolescents

First author and Senior Research Associate at King's IoPPN Dr Naghmeh Nikkheslat said "Our study indicates that the measurement of chemicals involved in the kynurenine pathway could potentially help identify those who at risk of persistent depression, particularly amongst females, as well as inform the approaches we take to providing support. This insight could help develop more targeted support for teenagers with depression through interventions that work in a range of ways on the kynurenine pathway from medication to lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise."

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Webb telescope captures its first direct images of carbon dioxide outside solar system

 

The images suggest key giant exoplanets likely formed like Jupiter and Saturn

Date:

March 17, 2025

Source:

Johns Hopkins University

Summary:

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies.

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies.

The observations provide strong evidence that the system's four giant planets formed in much the same way as Jupiter and Saturn, by slowly building solid cores. They also confirm Webb can do more than infer atmospheric composition from starlight measurements -- it can directly analyze the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres.

"By spotting these strong carbon dioxide features, we have shown there is a sizable fraction of heavier elements, such as carbon, oxygen, and iron, in these planets' atmospheres. Given what we know about the star they orbit, that likely indicates they formed via core accretion, which for planets that we can directly see is an exciting conclusion," said William Balmer, a Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist who led the work.

An analysis of the observations, which also included a system 96 light-years away called 51 Eridani, appears in The Astrophysical Journal.

HR 8799 is a young system about 30 million years old, a fraction of our solar system's 4.6 billion years. Still hot from their violent formation, HR 8799 planets emit large amounts of infrared light that give scientists valuable data on how their formation compares to that of stars or brown dwarfs.

Giant planets can take shape in two ways: by slowly building solid cores that attract gas, like our solar system, or by rapidly collapsing from a young star's cooling disk into massive objects. Knowing which model is more common can give scientists clues to distinguish between the types of planets they find in other systems.

"Our hope with this kind of research is to understand our own solar system, life, and ourselves in comparison to other exoplanetary systems, so we can contextualize our existence," Balmer said. "We want to take pictures of other solar systems and see how they're similar or different when compared to ours. From there, we can try to get a sense of how weird our solar system really is -- or how normal."

Very few exoplanets have been directly imaged, as distant planets are many thousands of times fainter than their stars. By capturing direct images at specific wavelengths only accessible with Webb, the team is paving the way for more detailed observations to determine whether the objects they see orbiting other stars are truly giant planets or objects such as brown dwarfs, which form like stars but don't accumulate enough mass to ignite nuclear fusion.

"We have other lines of evidence that hint at these four HR 8799 planets forming using this bottom-up approach" said Laurent Pueyo, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute who co-led the work. "How common is this for long period planets we can directly image? We don't know yet, but we're proposing more Webb observations, inspired by our carbon dioxide diagnostics, to answer that question."

The achievement was made possible by Webb's coronagraphs, which block light from bright stars as happens in a solar eclipse to reveal otherwise hidden worlds. This allowed the team to look for infrared light in wavelengths that reveal specific gases and other atmospheric details.

Targeting the 3-5 micrometer wavelength range, the team found that the four HR 8799 planets contain more heavy elements than previously thought, another hint that they formed in the same way as our solar system's gas giants. The observations also revealed the first-ever detection of the innermost planet, HR 8799 e, at a wavelength of 4.6 micrometers, and 51 Eridani b at 4.1 micrometers, showcasing Webb's sensitivity in observing faint planets close to bright stars.

In 2022, one of Webb's key observation techniques indirectly detected carbon dioxide in another exoplanet, called WASP-39 b, by tracking how its atmosphere altered starlight when it passed in front of its star.

"This is what scientists have been doing for transiting planets or isolated brown dwarfs since the launch of JWST," Pueyo said.

Rémi Soummer, who directs the Optics Laboratory at the Space Telescope Science Institute and previously led Webb's coronagraph operations, added: "We knew JWST could measure colors of the outer planets in directly imaged systems. We have been waiting for 10 years to confirm that our finely tuned operations of the telescope would also allow us to access the inner planets. Now the results are in, and we can do interesting science with it."

The team hopes to use Webb's coronagraphs to analyze more giant planets and compare their composition to theoretical models.

"These giant planets have pretty big implications," Balmer said. "If you have these huge planets acting like bowling balls running through your solar system, they can either really disrupt, protect, or do a little bit of both to planets like ours, so understanding more about their formation is a crucial step to understanding the formation, survival, and habitability of Earth-like planets in the future."

Other authors include Jens Kammerer of the European Southern Observatory; Marshall D. Perrin, Julien H. Girard, Roeland P. van der Marel, Jeff A. Valenti, Joshua D. Lothringer, Kielan K. W. Hoch, and Rèemi Soummer of the Space Telescope Science Institute; Jarron M. Leisenring of University of Arizona; Kellen Lawson of NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center; Henry Dennen of Amherst College; Charles A. Beichman of NASA Exoplanet Science Institute; Geoffrey Bryden, Jorge Llop-Sayson of Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Nikole K. Lewis of Cornell University; Mathilde Mâlin of Johns Hopkins; Isabel Rebollido, Emily Rickman of the European Space Agency; Mark Clampin of NASA Headquarters; and C. Matt Mountain of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

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New AI model reveals your true biological age from 5 drops of blood

 

Date:

March 14, 2025

Source:

Osaka University

Summary:

A research team has developed a new system to estimate a person's biological age -- a measure of how well their body has aged, rather than just counting the years since birth. Using just five drops of blood, this new method analyzes 22 key steroids and their interactions to provide a more precise health assessment. The team's breakthrough study offers a potential step forward in personalized health management, allowing for earlier detection of age-related health risks and tailored interventions.

We all know someone who seems to defy aging -- people who look younger than their peers despite being the same age. What's their secret? Scientists at Osaka University (Japan) may have found a way to quantify this difference. By incorporating hormone (steroid) metabolism pathways into an AI-driven model, they have developed a new system to estimate a person's biological age a measure of how well their body has aged, rather than just counting the years since birth.

Using just five drops of blood, this new method analyzes 22 key steroids and their interactions to provide a more precise health assessment. The team's breakthrough study, published in Science Advances, offers a potential step forward in personalized health management, allowing for earlier detection of age-related health risks and tailored interventions.

Unlocking the Body's Aging Signature

Aging isn't just about the number of years we've lived -- it's shaped by genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Traditional methods for estimating biological age rely on broad biomarkers, such as DNA methylation or protein levels, but these approaches often overlook the intricate hormonal networks that regulate the body's internal balance.

"Our bodies rely on hormones to maintain homeostasis, so we thought, why not use these as key indicators of aging?" says Dr. Qiuyi Wang, co-first author of the study. To test this idea, the research team focused on steroid hormones, which play a crucial role in metabolism, immune function, and stress response.

A New AI-Powered Model

The team developed a deep neural network (DNN) model that incorporates steroid metabolism pathways, making it the first AI model to explicitly account for the interactions between different steroid molecules. Instead of looking at absolute steroid levels -- which can vary widely between individuals -- the model examines steroid ratios, providing a more personalized and accurate assessment of biological age.

"Our approach reduces the noise caused by individual steroid level differences and allows the model to focus on meaningful patterns," explains Dr. Zi Wang, co-first and corresponding author of this work. The model was trained on blood samples from hundreds of individuals, revealing that biological age differences tend to widen as people get older -- an effect the researchers liken to a river widening as it flows downstream.

Key Insights and Implications

One of the study's most striking findings involves cortisol, a steroid hormone commonly associated with stress. The researchers found that when cortisol levels doubled, biological age increased by approximately 1.5 times. This suggests that chronic stress could accelerate aging at a biochemical level, reinforcing the importance of stress management in maintaining long-term health.

"Stress is often discussed in general terms, but our findings provide concrete evidence that it has a measurable impact on biological aging," says Professor Toshifumi Takao, a corresponding author and an expert in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry.

The researchers believe this AI-powered biological age model could pave the way for more personalized health monitoring. Future applications may include early disease detection, customized wellness programs, and even lifestyle recommendations tailored to slow down aging.

Looking Ahead

While the study represents a significant step forward, the team acknowledges that biological aging is a complex process influenced by many factors beyond hormones. "This is just the beginning," says Dr. Z. Wang. "By expanding our dataset and incorporating additional biological markers, we hope to refine the model further and unlock deeper insights into the mechanisms of aging."

With ongoing advancements in AI and biomedical research, the dream of accurately measuring -- and even slowing -- biological aging is becoming increasingly feasible. For now, though, the ability to assess one's "aging speed" with a simple blood test could mark a game-changing development in preventive healthcare.

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'Low-sugar' vaccine can provide broad immunity against coronavirus variants

 

Date:

March 25, 2025

Source:

American Chemical Society

Summary:

Early animal studies show that a single vaccine could protect the recipient from different variants of the coronaviruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and the common cold. In addition to creating antibodies that target a specific region of the spike protein that doesn't mutate, the vaccine removes the sugar coat from the virus that allows it to hide in the body.

Sugar coatings aren't only for candies; they also help viruses, like the ones that cause COVID-19, hide from their hosts' immune system. Now, researchers have developed a universal vaccine that targets coronaviruses and the sugars that they use as cover. As demonstrated in animal studies, the vaccine removed sugar molecules from an area of a coronavirus spike protein that rarely mutates and created effective and plentiful antibodies to inactivate the virus.

Chi-Huey Wong, a chemistry professor at Scripps Research, will present results from his team's studies today at the ACS Spring 2025 Digital Meeting, a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Wong says that the premise of this research is simple: It's an effective vaccine that targets more than one coronavirus at a time, which will allow individuals to receive a single shot for protection against multiple infectious agents.

An ongoing Phase I clinical trial led by Rock Biotherapeutics has completed enrollment and dosing and will be discussed by Wong during his ACS Spring 2025 Digital Meeting presentation.

"For a lot of vaccines, like smallpox and tetanus, we only have to be immunized once," Wong says.

"But we have to take a flu shot every year." He adds that the high rate of mutation seen in the SARS-CoV-2 virus -- specifically, the receptor binding domain on the virus' spike protein -- has led to an unprecedented number of COVID-19 vaccine updates.

The low-mutation region that Wong's team chose to target for the new vaccine is within the stalk region of the virus' spike protein.

However, this stalk is coated with chains of sugar molecules called glycans from the host's cells.

And the sugar coating keeps antibodies from recognizing, and therefore inactivating, the virus.

So, the researchers devised a "low-sugar" vaccine that removes the protective glycans through enzymatic digestion and creates antibodies that specifically target the low-mutation stalk region of the virus' spike protein, should the actual virus enter the body.

In animal studies with hamsters and mice, the universal vaccine created more diverse antibodies with higher titers (concentrations in the blood, where immune system cells travel throughout the body) compared to individual vaccines against variants of SARS-CoV, as well as MERS-CoV, the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome.

This improved and broadened the vaccine's protection. Wong says the team's new vaccine could also provide protection against coronaviruses that cause influenza and the common cold.

In addition to vaccines for viral infections, Wong's team is using the technique to develop vaccines for the treatment of various cancers. They recently published two studies on glycan targets on cancer cells and enzymes linked to the synthesis of glycans on cancer cells in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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Chimpanzees act as 'engineers', choosing materials to make tools based on structural and mechanical properties

 

Date:

March 24, 2025

Source:

University of Oxford

Summary:

Researchers have discovered that chimpanzees living in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania employ a degree of engineering when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide materials that produce more flexible tools for termite fishing.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania, the University of Algarve and the University of Porto in Portugal, and the University of Leipzig, have discovered that chimpanzees living in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania employ a degree of engineering when making their tools, deliberately choosing plants that provide materials that produce more flexible tools for termite fishing.

These findings, published in the journal iScience, have important implications for understanding the technical abilities associated with the making of perishable tools -- a topic which remains a highly unknown aspect of human technological evolution.

Termites are a good source of energy, fat, vitamins, minerals and protein for chimpanzees. To eat the insects, chimpanzees need to use relatively thin probes to fish the termites out of the mounds where they live. Given that the inside of the mounds is made up of winding tunnels, the scientists hypothesized that using flexible tools would be more effective for chimpanzees at fishing out the insects than using rigid sticks.

To test this, first author Alejandra Pascual-Garrido took a portable mechanical tester to Gombe and measured how much force it took to bend plant materials used by the apes compared to plant materials that were available but never used. Findings showed that plant species never used by chimpanzees were 175 percent more rigid than their preferred materials.

Furthermore, even among plants growing near termite mounds, those that showed obvious signs of regular use by the apes produced more flexible tools than nearby plants that showed no signs of use.

"This is the first comprehensive evidence that wild chimpanzees select tool materials for termite fishing based on specific mechanical properties," says Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, who has been studying the raw materials used in chimpanzee tools in Gombe for more than a decade.

Notably, certain plant species, such as Grewia spp., also constitute tool material for termite fishing chimpanzee communities living up to 5,000 kilometres away from Gombe, implying that the mechanics of these plant materials could be a foundation for such ubiquitous preferences, and that rudimentary engineering may be deeply rooted in chimpanzee tool-making culture.

Wild chimpanzees may therefore possess a kind of "folk physics" -- an intuitive comprehension of material properties that helps them choose the best tools for the job.

Their natural engineering ability is not just about using any stick or plant that is available; chimpanzees specifically select materials with mechanical properties that can make their foraging tools more effective.

Dr Alejandra Pascual-Garrido, Research Affiliate at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, said: 'This novel approach, which combines biomechanics with animal behaviour, helps us better understand the cognitive processes behind chimpanzee tool construction and how they evaluate and select materials based on functional properties'.

The findings raise important questions about how this knowledge is learned, maintained and transmitted across generations, for example, by young chimpanzees observing and using their mothers' tools, and whether similar mechanical principles determine chimpanzees' selection of materials for making other foraging tools, such as those used for eating ants or harvesting honey.

'This finding has important implications for understanding how humans might have evolved their remarkable tool using abilities,' explains Adam van Casteren, Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, a specialist in biomechanics and evolutionary biology. 'While perishable materials like wood rarely survive in the archaeological record, the mechanical principles behind effective tool construction and use remain constant across species and time'.

By studying how chimpanzees select materials based on specific structural and/or mechanical properties, we can better understand the physical constraints and requirements that would have applied to early human tool use. Using such a comparative functional framework provides new insights into aspects of early technology that are not preserved in the archaeological record.

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