Kyoto, Japan -- Toward the right side of the periodic table below oxygen you'll find the chalcogens, or "ore-forming" elements. The chalcogens that occur naturally, including sulfur, selenium and tellurium, are all somehow involved in biological processes. Molecules containing sulfur, like the antioxidant glutathione, play a central role in redox regulation, the balance between oxidation and reduction that is essential for maintaining cellular health.

Recent studies have suggested that the heavier selenium and tellurium are active in biological redox systems as well, but the instability of molecules containing chains of different chalcogen atoms has made structural analysis difficult. Traditional methods have largely relied on mass spectrometry, which cannot be used to directly observe molecular bonds. This limitation motivated a team of researchers at Kyoto University to develop a method that would allow them to more clearly observe chains of chalcogens.

"We have long been interested in understanding how subtle atomic substitutions can alter biological function," says corresponding author Kazuma Murakami. "Chalcogen chemistry offers a unique window into redox biology that remains largely unexplored."

Researchers at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine have shown that caffeine can restore social memory impaired by sleep deprivation by acting on a specific brain circuit. The findings provide new insights into how sleep loss affects memory-related brain pathways and may inform future strategies to address cognitive impairment.

Their study shows that MFSD2A transports key lipids (fat molecules) from the blood into the skin, a process critical for maintaining a healthy skin barrier. The discovery raises the possibility that targeted lipid supplementation could eventually be investigated as a novel approach for inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) are pleased to announce that Anil Parsram Bidkar, PhD, assistant professional researcher in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has been selected as the recipient of a $225,000 Young Investigators Award. The grant, which is cosponsored by the SNMMI Mars Shot Fund and PCF, was awarded based on his proposal, "CD46-targeted dual-isotope and hybrid pre-targeted radiotherapy platform to overcome tumor heterogeneity in prostate cancer."

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that Kiran Solingapuram Sai, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been selected as the recipient of the Steven Larson Named Lecture on Advanced Nuclear Medicine Research award from the 2026 Mars Shot Fund. Sai's grant was awarded based on his proposal, "Microtubule PET imaging in healthy older adults."

ROS serve as crucial mediators of redox homeostasis, playing decisive roles in diverse pathological processes. While inorganic sonosensitizers for SDT represent significant advances in ROS-based therapeutics, developing US-responsive sonosensitizers with optimal biocompatibility, and initiating innovative treatment strategies remains a substantial translational challenge. In this work, researchers demonstrate that FeOOH nanorods function as exceptional tribocatalysts capable of efficiently converting vibrational mechanical energy into therapeutic effects through sono-tribocatalytic activation.