Thursday, September 18, 2025

Cattle vaccine immunity ‘boost’ tested by new research

Aberystwyth

Scientists at Aberystwyth University are leading research into how a widely used vaccine can boost overall immunity in livestock.

The four-year study will investigate the concept of ‘trained immunity’ – a form of immune memory triggered by a vaccine, which reprogrammes the immune system to respond more effectively to future unrelated infections.

The research team will study the impact of the BCG vaccine, which is hoped to be used to help control tuberculosis in cattle, and has been demonstrated to trigger trained immunity.

Using advanced lab techniques and cattle tissue samples, the team will study the molecular mechanisms that lead to trained immunity in vaccinated livestock.

The study could lead to healthier livestock, reduced reliance on antibiotics, and lower environmental impacts from farming.

Dr Amanda Gibson, Lecturer in Innate Immunology at the Sêr Cymru Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis, is leading the research. She said:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to explore the potential of trained immunity in livestock and to contribute to the development of more sustainable and resilient farming systems. I’m excited to work with colleagues across disciplines and sectors to deliver research that can make a real-world impact on animal health and environmental sustainability.”

Professor Iain Barber, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Sciences at Aberystwyth University, said:

“Dr Gibson’s work addresses some of the most pressing challenges in animal health and sustainable agriculture. We are proud to support her as she leads this exciting and impactful programme, which reflects the world-class research taking place here in Aberystwyth.”

Dr Gibson will collaborate with partners including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales, Arwain DGC (Defnydd Gwrthficrobaidd Cyfrifol/Responsible Antimicrobial Use), and the Roslin Institute.

Dr Camille Harrison, lead scientist for bovine tuberculosis at APHA, said:

“I look forward to working more closely with Dr Amanda Gibson and her team to develop collaborative projects that support TB eradication efforts and deepen our understanding of immunological pathways.”

The work is supported by a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship, awarded to Dr Gibson in recognition of her leadership in the field of immunology and animal health.

UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, said:

“UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships offer long-term support to outstanding researchers, helping them turn bold ideas into innovations that improve lives and livelihoods in the UK and beyond.

“These fellowships continue to drive excellence and accelerate the journey from discovery to public benefit. I wish them every success.”

Dr Gibson joined Aberystwyth University in 2020 from the Royal Veterinary College, London, where she established the innate immunology group. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Immunology from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in Molecular Immunology from the University of London. Her career spans industry (Philips Healthcare), the civil service (Health Protection Agency, now UKHSA), and academia.

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Small nuclear RNA base editing a safer alternative to CRISPR, UC San Diego researchers find

University of California - San Diego

Genetic editing holds promise to treat incurable diseases, but the most popular method — CRISPR — sometimes does more harm than good. A new study from University of California San Diego and Yale University researchers highlights an innovative alternative approach that may be safer.

CRISPR — short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats — is a method of genetic editing that uses RNA and bacterial proteins to edit DNA. It was adapted from a method used by bacteria as an immune defense against the DNA of viruses.

When the method is used by scientists to edit human DNA, however, there can be unintended consequences. These can include accidental edits that can cause life-threatening health conditions in the near term. What’s more, the long-term effects of CRISPR editing are unknown and may include an increased risk of cancer.

Another possible unwanted outcome: an immune response that kills edited cells, undoing any good done by CRISPR and potentially causing more severe health issues, according to Gene Yeo, PhD, corresponding author on the study. Yeo is a professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Sanford Stem Cell Innovation Center and the Center for RNA Technologies and Therapeutics at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute.

On a quest for safer options, Yeo and team tested two types of editing systems that, like CRISPR, use RNA to make revisions to genetic code. Unlike CRISPR, however, the systems make more specific, temporary modifications.

“Human-based editing systems,” as opposed to bacteria-based editing systems, “have less potential for issues,” Yeo said.

Both editing systems used small nuclear RNAs — RNA molecules that don’t make proteins, located inside the nucleus of cells — to swap out certain “letters” in the genetic code. RNA letters are A, U, C and G (adenine, uracil, cystosine and guanine). They were able to change A so that it was read as G and U so that it was read as Ψ.

When compared to the best current RNA editing tools, the small nuclear RNA approach showed clear advantages:

It worked better on complex RNAs, including those with many sections and those that don’t normally code for proteins.
It proved safer, creating far fewer accidental edits in the genome.
And in a model of cystic fibrosis, the method rescued faulty genes more effectively.

The idea for the study originated from a key technological insight from CRISPR.

“The addition of a nuclear localization sequence was instrumental to the early success of CRISPR-Cas9,” said Aaron Smargon, Ph.D., first author and an assistant project scientist in Yeo’s lab. “We wondered similarly whether spatial confinement of engineered RNA base editors to the nucleus — where all known RNA-guided base editing occurs in cells — would be beneficial.

Rewriting the genetic code in a minimally invasive manner could lead to safer, more precise treatments for a variety of diseases, including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and immune. The demonstrated advantages of small nuclear RNA editing will pave the way for new applications that push the boundaries of medicine, Yeo and team predict.

“We are excited about continuing to advance the field of engineered RNA modifiers,” Yeo said.

The study was published in Nature Chemical Biology on Sept. 18, 2025.

Additional co-authors on the study include: Deepak Pant, Trent A. Gomberg, Sofia Glynne, Jonathan Nguyen and Jack T. Naritomi at UC San Diego; and Christian Fagre and Wendy V. Gilbert at Yale University.

The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (grants #S10 OD026929, R01HG004659, U24 HG009889 and R01GM101316), the National Science Foundation (grant 2330451) and the Hartwell Foundation.

Yeo and Smargon have filed for a patent related to this work. Yeo is a cofounder and member of the board of directors, scientific advisory board member, equity holder and paid consultant for Eclipse BioInnovations. Yeo’s interests have been reviewed and approved by UC San Diego in accordance with its conflict-of-interest policies. Gilbert is a co-founder and scientific advisory board member for Cloverleaf Bio. Gilbert’s interests have been reviewed and approved by Yale University in accordance with its conflict-of-interest policies. The authors declare no other competing interests.

# # #

Journal

Nature Chemical Biology

DOI

10.1038/s41589-025-02026-8

Afghanistan: Taliban presiding over genocide of ethnic minority group – report

Ending Hazara persecution would hasten Afghanistan’s reintegration into global system.

THEY WOULD HAVE TO END GENDER APARTHEID

EURASIANET

Sep 12, 2025

A Hazara girl holds a placard during a protest against the September 2022 bombing in Kabul that took the lives of 54 young female students, largely from the Hazara minority community.

(Photo: Paul Becker, CC BY 2.0, n9.cl/0enpm)

Ongoing and systematic persecution of Afghanistan’s Hazara community meets the standard of genocide, according to a report published September 1 by the New Lines Institute (NLI).

The report focuses on documenting violations of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide committed against Hazaras in Afghanistan since August 2021, when the Taliban regime returned to power in Kabul amid the hasty withdrawal of US forces. Hazaras, who adhere to the Shia branch of Islam, may comprise up to 20 percent of Afghanistan’s estimated population of 44 million, although reliable, official demographic data is lacking.

In addition to Taliban elements, Hazaras have also been targeted for attacks by non-state actors, including the militant group Islamic State-Khorasan Province and Kuchis, or ethnic Pashtun nomads predominantly found in eastern and southern Afghan provinces, according to the report. The NLI analysis shows that Hazaras qualify as a distinct ethnic and religious group under Article II of the UN Convention and are thus covered by the treaty’s provisions. The report goes on to call on signatories to the pact to “employ all means reasonably available to them” to protect Hazaras from further persecution and to take action to bring perpetrators to justice.

“Preventing genocide against the Hazara would not only save lives but also help restore the foundations needed for Afghanistan to function as a state,” said Susanna Kelley, the NLI policy analyst who oversaw the production of the report. “Ending persecution would improve humanitarian access, reduce forced migration, and ease regional tensions by stabilizing the refugee situation in Iran and Pakistan. On a broader level, protecting minorities is a prerequisite for Afghanistan’s reintegration into the international system.”

The NLI report lists numerous atrocities against Hazaras going back almost a decade, including mass attacks on schools, markets, public transportation and other civic venues. Among the worst recent instances of violence was an attack carried out by ISIS-K on a mosque in northern Balkh Province in April 2022 that left 31 dead and 87 wounded.

The motive for Hazara persecution appears to be rooted in religion. Most of Afghanistan’s other main ethnic groups, including Pashtuns, Uzbeks and Tajiks, are adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam and are doctrinally hostile to Shia beliefs.

The NLI report stresses that discrimination against Hazaras in Afghanistan dates back at least to the 19th century. It notes that persecution of Hazaras persisted during the Afghan Republic era, the almost 20-year-long period that began in 2002 following the demise of the first Taliban regime and the establishment of representative government. The US-backed Afghan republican government endorsed the 1948 UN Convention in 2003, yet “despite the Afghan Republic delivering on palpable changes in terms of human rights, justice, and accountability, Hazaras, particularly Hazara women, have been targeted with impunity during the times of the Afghan Republic and since the Taliban takeover,” the report states.

To date global bodies, such as the International Criminal Court, have been slow to address the Hazara persecution issue, even though it long predates the return of the Taliban to power in 2021. The international focus has tended to fix on the Taliban regime’s draconian policies concerning women.

“The ICC and other relevant international bodies have been largely silent, and/or acted too late with respect to other long-standing and serious human rights violations in Afghanistan, including deliberate attacks against the Hazara,” the report states.

Kelley argues that dedicated international action to address Hazara persecution would help Afghanistan create a more solid foundation for economic reconstruction and integration into emerging regional trade networks, such as the US-backed Middle Corridor.

“For the United States and Europe, addressing the Hazara genocide is not only a moral obligation but a strategic necessity. The security of vulnerable populations is directly tied to regional and global stability,” she said.

To read the full report, click here.

Eurasianet has an operating agreement with the New Lines Institute, a Washington, DC,-based think tank that fosters “principled and transformative” policy solutions “based on a deep understanding of regional geopolitics and the value systems of those regions.”

HASARA MINORITY IN PAKISTAN, NORTHERN IRAN

Afghanistan’s August 2025 earthquake reveals the cost of international isolation, UN scientists warn

According to a new analysis by the United Nations University, the latest earthquake in Afghanistan was moderate, but the death toll was exceptionally high due to drastic aid cuts by the international community and the gender-based restrictions imposed by

United Nations University

Richmond Hill, Canada, 18 September 2025 – On August 31 at midnight, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province near the Pakistan border. Despite being moderate in magnitude, the earthquake caused extensive destruction and claimed more than 3,500 lives, including many women and children. Now, the United Nations University (UNU) scientists attribute this significant death toll to Afghanistan's decades of conflict and instability, and the nation's increasing diplomatic isolation following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

A new damage assessment of the August 31 earthquake by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) finds that over 13,000 buildings were damaged or collapsed within 50 kilometers of the earthquake’s center in eastern Afghanistan. Some villages experienced up to 90% of their buildings impacted. The publication identifies low-quality construction, poor disaster management, and the broader socio-political context as the key contributors to the earthquake’s impact.

Persistent economic hardship and underdevelopment have forced millions of Afghans to live in houses that stand little chance against earthquakes. Most buildings in the impacted areas were made of mud bricks or rough stone with minimal engineering and collapsed as soon as the earthquake struck. With the country more isolated than ever and international funding for infrastructure and emergency relief declining, similar disasters are expected to happen again if no decisive action is taken.

“The August 31 earthquake in Afghanistan showed how even moderate earthquakes can cause catastrophic losses when fragile infrastructure and weak preparedness leave communities exposed,” said Dr. Manoochehr Shirzaei, the Chief Scientist of the Global Environmental Intelligence Lab at UNU-INWEH. “Our analysis highlights the urgent need in Afghanistan for sustained investment in safer construction and disaster risk reduction. Without these measures, future earthquakes will bring the same devastation at the very least.”

The earthquake’s impact fell especially hard on women and girls, who face strict gender-based restrictions. Many female survivors could not access timely medical care because they were barred from seeing male doctors without a chaperone. Restrictions on women’s mobility and bans on female aid workers also means that relief supplies and assistance often could not reach those most in need. What worsened the shortage of female healthcare workers was the ban on women’s medical education that further limited the nation's treatment capacity for the affected women and girls.

“The recent earthquake in Afghanistan revealed the disproportional impacts of a natural disaster on the women and girls within a restricted society,” said Professor Kaveh Madani, the Director of UNU-INWEH. “Systematic exclusion of women from education, employment, and decision-making make societies weaker and more vulnerable to disasters.”

Other key contributors identified by the analysis include the earthquake’s timing, its shallow depth, and heavy monsoon rainfall in the weeks before the event. Striking just before midnight, most residents were indoors and asleep, leaving them trapped when buildings began to collapse. With an origin only 8 km below the surface, the shaking was concentrated directly beneath the populated areas of Kunar Province, placing structures under severe stress. To make matters worse, weeks of monsoon rain had loosened slopes, and the earthquake triggered landslides that buried roads and hamlets under rubble.

The publication concludes that the increasing international isolation of Afghanistan significantly limited the disaster relief aid and support by the international community, making the Afghan population deeply vulnerable. The authors call for improving the resilience of disaster relief frameworks to ensure that people living under sanctioned governments are not excluded from humanitarian aid and disaster recovery efforts.

Key Findings:  

About 13,241 buildings within 50 km of the affected area — were damaged or destroyed.

In some villages, 90% or more of buildings were destroyed, leaving residents without shelter.

Ground deformation reached up to 23 cm during the 31 August mainshock.

The aftershock on September 4 also caused about 17 cm of ground deformation.

Collapsed buildings were mainly rural mudbrick or adobe houses, along with some small masonry shops and community buildings.

Landslides triggered by rain-soaked slopes buried villages and blocked roads, cutting off aid and delaying rescue efforts.

Afghanistan’s isolation and drastic aid cuts left disaster response under-resourced and slowed international relief.

Poverty, unsafe housing on risky terrain, and lack of preparedness amplified losses and left survivors feeling abandoned.

Gender restrictions and a shortage of female health workers created life-threatening barriers to medical care and aid for women and girls.

The earthquake struck just before midnight, when most residents were indoors and asleep, leaving them trapped in collapsing structures.

At a depth of about 8 km, the earthquake was very shallow, producing intense surface shaking that greatly increased the damage.

Read the publication: Shirzaei, M., Daqiq, M. T., Lucy, J., Werth, S., Sharma, R., Velasco, M. J., Matin, M., Madani, K. (2025). Damage Assessment of Afghanistan’s August 2025 Earthquake. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, doi: 10.53328/INR25MSIR002

Media Contacts: 

Kyra Bowman, UNU Head of Communications, bowman@unu.edu

Shooka Bidarian, Media and Journalism Fellow, Sustainability and Climate, shooka.bidarian@unu.edu

Available for Interview: 

Dr. Manoochehr Shirazi - Chief Scientist, Global Environmental Intelligence Lab, UNU-INWEH – manoochehr.shirzaei@unu.edu

Prof. Kaveh Madani - Director, UNU-INWEH - madani@unu.edu

Dr. Mir Matin – Manager, Geospatial, Climate and Infrastructure Analytics Program, UNU-INWEH – mir.matin@unu.edu

About UNU-INWEH 

The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is one of 13 institutions comprising the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the United Nations. Established in 1996 through an agreement with the Government of Canada, UNU-INWEH, also known as the UN's Think Tank on Water is headquartered in the City of Richmond Hill, Ontario. UNU-INWEH specializes in addressing critical global security and development challenges at the intersection of water, environment, and health. Through research, capacity development, policy engagement, and knowledge dissemination, the institute bridges the gap between scientific evidence and the practical needs of policymakers and UN member states, with particular attention to low and middle-income countries. By collaborating with a diverse array of partners—including UN agencies, governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society—UNU-INWEH develops solutions that advance human security, resilience, and sustainability worldwide. 

DOI

10.53328/INR25MSIR002

Article Title

Damage Assessment of Afghanistan’s August 2025 Earthquake

Article Publication Date

18-Sep-2025

Study unveils novel protein that regulates iron build-up in chiton teeth

Researchers identify a novel eukaryotic protein that drives iron deposition during the maturation of chiton teeth

Okayama University

Chiton Acanthopleura japonica and its teeth with mineralized iron deposits — image:
Researchers identify a new protein—radular teeth matrix protein 1 that regulates the deposition of iron oxide in chiton teeth—an iron-based biomineral with strong magnetic properties.
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Credit: Associate Professor Michiko Nemoto, Okayama University, Japan

“Mineralization” or the structured deposition of biominerals in living organisms is a crucial process in the formation of hard surfaces ranging from shells, skeletons, and armors in invertebrates to mammalian teeth and bones. While silica and calcium are common organic minerals formed in various living organisms, few synthesize magnetite, an iron-based biomineral with strong magnetic properties.

Chitons are marine mollusks that inhabit rocky crevices and use their radula, a tongue-like feeding organ, to scrape off and feed on algae. They deposit magnetite onto their radular teeth, making them tough and wear-resistant, allowing them to grind rock surfaces efficiently. Interestingly, they replace lost teeth through the continuous formation of new teeth within the radular sac. While the mineral assembly and tooth maturation process within the radular sac is tightly regulated, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

To bridge this gap, researchers from Okayama University, Japan, sought to explore the molecular mechanisms and proteins that drive magnetite deposition in chiton teeth. The team, comprising Associate Professor Michiko Nemoto, Koki Okada (Ph.D. student), Professor Akira Satoh, Professor Hisao Moriya, and Associate Professor Kiori Obuse, have recently published their research findings in Vol 389, Issue 6760 of Science on August 07, 2025.

The researchers previously compared the protein expression profiles of tissues isolated from the radular base and the mineralized cusps of the gumboot chiton, Cryptochiton stelleri, and identified 22 proteins specific to the mineralized region. Following this lead, they found that radular teeth matrix protein 1 (RTMP1) and its homologs were chiton-specific and present in three other chiton species—Acanthopleura japonica, Acanthochitona achates, and Placiphorella stimpsoni.

Explaining the rationale behind their work, Dr. Nemoto says, “Owing to its magnetic characteristics, magnetite has been widely applied in hard disk drives, MRI contrast agents, and various biotechnology products used for cell separation and DNA extraction. Current methods of magnetite synthesis typically require high temperatures or hazardous chemicals. However, the protein we discovered, RTMP1, may enable a safer and more environmentally friendly approach to synthesis.”

The researchers examined the expression of RTMP1 across different stages of tooth formation and maturation. Stage 1 comprised transparent teeth primarily composed of chitin, stage 2 featured reddish-brown teeth due to ferrihydrite deposition, and stage 3 involved blackening of the teeth as ferrihydrite was converted to magnetite. They found that the RTMP1 homolog was highly expressed in cells isolated from stage 2, suggesting that RTMP1 was expressed during iron oxide deposition.

Next, localization studies revealed that RTMP1 homologs were uniformly expressed in the epithelial cells around the leading and trailing edges of immature teeth before iron deposition. They were also found to be pre-localized in the interior regions where iron deposition would occur. Subsequently, iron ions were transported by ferritin to the cusp, leading to deposition of iron oxide at the sites where RTMP1 homologs had been localized. As iron was deposited and the teeth matured, RTMP1 homologs became localized in the epithelial cells around the trailing edge of the teeth. Notably, the timing and localization pattern of RTMP1 homologs differed across different chiton species, likely due to their distinct tooth structures.

Further experiments revealed that RTMP1 homologs catalyzed the nucleation of iron oxide, guiding and enhancing the formation of iron oxide on chitin fibers. Finally, suppression of the RTMP1 homolog in A.japonica using RNA interference led to approximately 69% lower expression levels. Furthermore, this reduction correlated with decreased progression of mineralization (reduced coloration) during tooth maturation compared to controls.

Overall, these findings suggest that RTMP1 helps concentrate iron ions on the chitin fibers and regulates iron oxide deposition within chiton teeth, making them ultrahard and durable. While iron is an essential element for organisms, including humans, it can be toxic at higher concentrations and contribute to diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. For decades, the mechanisms that drive iron deposition and its conversion to magnetite in chiton teeth have intrigued researchers. For the first time, this study reports a eukaryotic protein that regulates magnetite formation, opening doors for its use in various applications.

“RTMP1 holds potential for novel technologies requiring the controlled patterning of metal oxides at specific sites, which could be applied to the fabrication of sensors and memory devices. Additionally, because RTMP1 can regulate iron deposition, it may also aid research on iron-related diseases and cellular iron metabolism,” Dr. Nemoto concludes.

About Okayama University, Japan

As one of the leading universities in Japan, Okayama University aims to create and establish a new paradigm for the sustainable development of the world. Okayama University offers a wide range of academic fields, which become the basis of the integrated graduate schools. This not only allows us to conduct the most advanced and up-to-date research, but also provides an enriching educational experience.

Website: https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.html

About Associate Professor Michiko Nemoto from Okayama University, Japan

Dr. Michiko Nemoto is an Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental, Life, and Natural Sciences, Okayama University, and a Visiting Researcher at the National Hospital Organization Nagoya Medical Center. Her research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms underlying biomineralization of magnetite in chitons and silica in diatoms that can be applied in nanobiotechnological processes. She has authored over 35 publications across these research domains in various peer-reviewed journals.

Journal

Science