Credit: AI-generated image
This week, researchers reported that malaria influenced population distribution in Africa thousands of years ago. Mathematicians at MIT report that classical physics formulations can explain quantum phenomena. And a study found that electron spin causes mirror-image molecules to behave differently from one another.
Also, researchers have discovered that a parasite famous for shutting down cruise ships and water parks is much older than previously believed. A scientist shared findings about the cardiac benefits of pomegranate consumption. And a new retinal implant partly restored vision in blind mice.
Fruit salutary
Heart-healthy pomegranates are known for beneficial effects on the development of atherosclerosis, which underlies heart attacks and strokes. Although the specific mechanisms of this cardiac health association are poorly understood, researchers have singled out pomegranate polyphenols as likely candidates for study. Researcher Dipak P. Ramji contributed a Dialog post about his team’s recent study of a specific pomegranate polyphenol of interest, punicalagin.
Observing that punicalagin is poorly absorbed, the team instead focused on urolithins, the small molecules produced by gut bacteria when they metabolize punicalagin and its breakdown product, ellagic acid; these urolithins are the product of bacterial processing that actually enter the bloodstream. Of four urolithins they studied, urolithin A consistently inhibited reactive oxygen species production, dampened inflammatory gene expression, limited migration of monocytes and suppressed the uptake of LDL cholesterol.
Pathogen ancient
Pottery shards and noseless statues are all well and good, archaeologically speaking, but if you really want to dig into the lived experiences of ancient people, sooner or later you’re going to have to go into a latrine. In a recent study, paleoparasitology researchers collected samples of mineralized urine and feces preserved in Roman toilets dating from the second to the fourth centuries CE—the two sites were near present-day Svishtov in Bulgaria—and used modern analytical tools to determine what, literally, was plaguing these populations.
They found that samples from Marcianopolis were healthy and free of parasites, likely due to the proliferation of fresh water sources. By contrast, samples from the ancient city of Novae were teeming with parasites, including tapeworm eggs, the parasite that causes amoebic dysentery, and a completely unexpected surprise guest, Cryptosporidium, which was believed to have originated much later in Central America.
Implant auspicious
The retina converts visible light to electrical signals that are processed by the brain’s visual system. Researchers in Korea have developed a new implantable device for people with conditions such as retinal degeneration that could partially restore their sight. The device is a thin artificial retina that adheres to the epiretinal surface and converts near-infrared light into electrical stimuli.
In mice bred for blindness, the device had no apparent harmful effects; the behavior and brain activity of the mice indicated that the implant had successfully restored part of their vision. The team writes, “Ex vivo studies demonstrate its biocompatibility, and in vivo studies using healthy and blind mice demonstrate perception of both visible and NIR light, as indicated by cortical recordings and behavioral tests. The retina could, in the future, be used to create an NIR visual channel in patients with photoreceptor degenerative blindness without interfering with their remaining natural vision.”
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Saturday Citations: Cruise ship pathogen spread in ancient Rome; Plus: Pomegranates, retinal implants (2026, April 25)
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