It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
An approved blood thinning medication can treat osteoarthritis by targeting two molecules that drive the condition’s inflammatory roots, according to new experiments involving mice and nonhuman primates. The results suggest that the drug, dabigatran, could address the lack of treatments that can modify or halt some of the core mechanisms of osteoarthritis, which is a leading cause of pain and disability worldwide. Research has linked the condition’s progression to a chronic state of low-grade inflammation, which arises from inflammatory signaling molecules such as TNF-α and IL-1β. Although there are molecules that can inhibit each of these drivers individually, these single-target treatments have so far led to disappointing results in clinical trials. Wenyu Fu and colleagues theorized that targeting TNF-α and IL-1β in tandem could yield stronger therapeutic effects. They screened a library of FDA-approved drugs for compounds that could suppress both TNF-α and IL-1β signaling in human cartilage-producing cells, and identified the approved blood thinner dabigatran as a promising candidate. When given to mouse and macaque models of osteoarthritis, dabigatran relieved pain and slowed the degeneration of cartilage in the animals’ joints. Follow-up experiments showed that dabigatran bound to a protein named BIG2, which indirectly dampened TNF-α’s activity while boosting the degradation of the receptor for IL-1β. Fu et al. caution that further studies will be needed to establish dabigatran’s safety due to its blood-thinning effects. Nevertheless, “further optimization of such compounds […] may facilitate translation of BIG2-directed modulation into therapeutic strategies for [osteoarthritis] and potentially other chronic inflammatory diseases,” theyconclude.
In three species of monkey, the complex pattern of ridges on the feet and palms vary between individuals, similar to human fingerprints, according to a study publishing November 11, 2026, in the open access journal PLOS One by Juliana Vieira Flores Sales at Universidade de Brasília and colleagues.
The tiny ridges on the surface of our hands and feet help us to grip slippery surfaces, and the unique patterns they form on our fingertips have become an important forensic tool. These friction ridges are also present in other species of primate, and preliminary research has found evidence for variation between individuals that might be useful for identification.
To investigate this phenomenon further, researchers collected foot- and palm-prints from captive owl monkeys (Aotus infulatus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri collinsi) at the National Primate Center in Pará, Brazil, as well as from capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) that were either permanently housed at the Universidade de Brasília Primate Center or had been admitted to the University of Brasília’s Veterinary Hospital. They analysed the pattern of ridges on each palm- and foot-print, identifying arches, loops and whorls, as well as minute details.
They found that none of the 116 individual monkeys had identical foot- or palm-prints. There were also consistent differences between species, which may reflect the species’ different ecologies. For example, owl monkeys, which are nocturnal, had more deltas and whorls and showed less variety in their ridge patterns compared to squirrel monkeys and capuchins, which are diurnal.
The study adds further evidence that palm- and foot-prints vary between individuals in non-human primates, as they do in humans. This variation could prove useful for conservationists, scientists and wildlife forensic investigators, the authors say. However, more research is needed to determine whether non-human primates have unique prints that could be used to reliably identify individuals.
Juliana Vieira Flores Sales adds: “Our findings show that palm and foot ridge patterns vary among non-human primates and reveal differences that may be associated with their ecological characteristics. Beyond their potential applications in individual identification, these patterns offer an opportunity to explore how dermatoglyphic traits develop and vary across primate species. Further research will help us understand their biological significance and potential applications in conservation.”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/4jOMijb
Citation: Sales JVF, de Barros RM, de Castro PHG, Souza AR, Hirano LQL (2026) Taxon-related variation in palmar and plantar friction ridge patterns among Aotus infulatus, Saimiri collinsi and Sapajus spp.: Individual-level variation and implications for identification. PLoS One 21(11): e0360621. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360621
Author countries: Brazil
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
Taxon-related variation in palmar and plantar friction ridge patterns among Aotus infulatus, Saimiri collinsi and Sapajus spp.: Individual-level variation and implications for identification
Article Publication Date
11-Nov-2026
Collection of plantar impressions from a non-human primate.
Apr 1, 2004 · The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs. Free eBook digitized and proofread by volunteers.
Author: Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943
Illustrator:
Friday, November 06, 2026
END ANIMAL TESTING!
KAIST professor Kyung-In Jang selected for ERC Synergy Grant to study how the brain controls movement in freely moving monkeys
An international research team including Professor Kyung-In Jang from KAIST’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has been selected for the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant program, a major European research funding initiative
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
How does the brain process sensory information and use it to control movement when we walk or touch an object? An international research team involving KAIST will investigate this question by monitoring brain activity in freely moving monkeys. The goal is to uncover the principles underlying the brain’s control of movement and, in the long term, lay the foundation for technologies that help patients with injuries to the nervous system return to everyday life.
KAIST (President Choongsik Bae) announced on November 6 that NeuroEthoPrim (“From Neuroethology to Restoring Sensorimotor Function via Stealth Neurotechnologies in Freely Moving Primates”), a project in which Professor Kyung-In Jang from the Department of Mechanical Engineering serves as a co-principal investigator, has been selected for a 2026 ERC Synergy Grant. This is the first time a researcher affiliated with a Korean university has been selected as a principal investigator under this program.
Professor Luca Bonini from the University of Parma in Italy serves as the project’s corresponding principal investigator. He co-leads the project with Professor Silvestro Micera of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA) in Italy and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, and Professor Jang. Over the next six years, the team will receive approximately €9.68 million (approximately KRW 14.4 billion), of which approximately €3.10 million (approximately KRW 4.6 billion) will be allocated to KAIST.
The ERC is the European Union’s funding body for frontier research. The Synergy Grant program supports groups of two to four principal investigators who combine their expertise to tackle research challenges that would be difficult for a single researcher to address alone. The program also funded BlackHoleCam, which contributed to capturing the first image of a black hole in 2019.
The study focuses on how the brain functions as animals move freely. In conventional experiments, an animal’s head is held in a fixed position while it repeatedly performs a prescribed movement. This approach allows precise measurement of brain signals but offers limited insight into the complex movements of everyday life.
The team will simultaneously record brain activity, whole-body movement, and tactile information in NeuroEthoRoom, an experimental space where monkeys can walk freely and search for food. Through this approach, the researchers aim to determine how the brain translates what the animals see and feel into body movements.
The researchers will also study decoding, which uses brain signals to infer the intention to move, and encoding, which converts external sensory information into signals the brain can process. In this way, the team will examine communication in both directions: reading movement commands from the brain and conveying sensory information to it.
The collected data will be used to build a foundation model, an AI model that learns the relationships between different types of sensory input and movement. The goal is to use brain signals and behavioral data to identify the common principles underlying the control of body movement.
Professor Jang will lead the development of wireless neural interfaces. These devices record brain signals or deliver stimulation to the brain. His team aims to reduce the physical mismatch between soft brain tissue and rigid semiconductors so that the devices can maintain stable signal recordings as the animals move freely and stimulate specific brain regions as needed.
Professor Jang’s team plans to use the findings to support the development of ALEX, a next-generation brain chip, and LUCAS, an operating system designed to help patients with neurological disorders operate devices. The team will also pursue commercialization through ENSIDE, a faculty-founded startup. In the long term, the team aims to build on these technologies to develop a Brain-to-X platform that would enable patients with quadriplegia to control devices such as smartphones and wheelchairs using brain signals. Applying the technology to humans will require further research and validation of its safety and efficacy.
“The starting point for this research is to understand how the brain links sensation and movement when we move freely,” said Professor Jang. He added that the team would make every effort to ensure that the findings from this basic research help people with injuries to the nervous system return to everyday life.
Animal experiments in this project will comply with the EU Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (Directive 2010/63/EU) and will be conducted following approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at each participating institution.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Ebola vaccine induces T cell cross-reactivity against Bundibugyo virus in humans
The ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second-largest Ebolavirus outbreak globally, with more than 6,000 confirmed cases and a mortality rate of 48 percent. Currently, no licensed BDBV vaccine is available. The VSV-EBOV vaccine, developed against the related Ebola virus (EBOV) and licensed under the name Ervebo, has shown partial cross-protection against BDBV in non-human primates and induces BDBV-reactive antibodies in vaccinated individuals. However, the extent and potential protective role of this cross-reactivity in humans remain unclear. Now, a study led by researchers of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases shows that a single immunization with the licensed EBOV vaccine can induce T cell responses that recognize BDBV.
T-cell responses contribute to viral control and protection against severe disease for diverse types of viruses. Because T cells can recognize conserved viral epitopes, they may potentially cross-react between related viruses. However, whether VSV-EBOV vaccination also induces T cells that recognize BDBV in humans has remained unknown.
A DZIF research team led by Dr. Leonie Mayer and Prof. Marylyn Addo from the Institute for Infection Research and Vaccine Development at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and Prof. Christof Geldmacher and Dr. Rolanda Londt from the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the LMU University Hospital Munich therefore analyzed and mapped T-cell responses against EBOV, BDBV and Sudan virus (SUDV) in VSV-EBOV-vaccinated individuals. The glycoproteins of the three viruses are phylogenetically distant, with EBOV and BDBV sharing 66.3 percent amino acid identity, compared with 56.3 percent between EBOV and SUDV.
“Using multiple sequence alignments—the parallel comparison of multiple amino acid sequences—we identified several sequences that are highly conserved among the glycoproteins of EBOV, BDBV, and SUDV, and tested these regions for their interactions with the immune systems of vaccine recipients,” says first author Mayer. The researchers then assessed cross-reactive T cell responses in 20 vaccine recipients at day 28 after VSV-EBOV vaccination. Of these vaccine recipients, 16 showed EBOV-glycoprotein-specific T cell responses, 13 showed BDBV-glycoprotein-reactive T cell responses and seven showed SUDV-glycoprotein-reactive T cell responses at day 28 after vaccination. Most vaccinees with a positive EBOV-glycoprotein response also had BDBV-reactive T cells.
The study demonstrates that a single immunization with the available, licensed EBOV vaccine can induce T cell cross-reactivity against BDBV and—to a lesser extent—against SUDV. While it is not known, whether these T cells can contribute to improved clinical outcomes upon infection with BDBV, preclinical studies in non-human primates suggest that T cell responses are required for vaccine-mediated protection.
“Our findings provide the first evidence that VSV-EBOV vaccination against ebolavirus induces BDBV-cross-reactive T cell responses,” says Geldmacher. “While the study has limitations due to its small sample size, in the absence of a BDBV-specific vaccine, the study supports the systematic evaluation of the EBOV vaccine within clinical trials during the current BDBV outbreak,” he concludes.
This study was supported by the DZIF, the European Vaccines Hub for Pandemic Readiness (EVH), and the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center 1648 “Emerging Viruses: Pathogenesis, Structure, Immunity”.
Electron microscope image of an Ebola virus using negative contrast.
Credit
Dr. Martin Schauflinger/Institut für Virologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg
The study, published in Animal Cognition, is the first systematic investigation of intentional gestural communication in wild African savannah elephants. Researchers observed elephants in competitive contexts in Addo Elephant National Park and Marakele National Park in South Africa, carrying out more than 90 hours of observation and recording around 840 individual gesture instances.
The researchers found that elephants were gesturing intentionally in a recipient-directed and goal-directed way. They visually checked whether another elephant was attending to them before and during gesturing, adapted their gesture modality according to the recipient’s visual attention, waited for a response, and produced further gestures when the recipient did not respond in a way that satisfied their apparent goal.
Dr Lucy Batesfrom the University of Portsmouth, co-author of the study, said: "Tracking and understanding that communication is not easy - it takes a lot of painstaking work. So, to have identified so many different gesture types - as ways of communicating clear messages to 'move away', or ‘stop what you are doing’ - is really exciting. We humans use gesture all the time to get our meaning across to people we are talking to. Knowing that elephants also use these signals to communicate with each other suggests gesturing could be a feature of highly intelligent animals that have complex social lives.”
Vesta Eleuteri from the University of Vienna, lead author of the study, said: “If you spend time observing wild elephants, you can’t help but notice their conspicuous gestures. They may fling their trunk or spread their ears wide, and you intuitively understand that ‘they mean business’. But until now, we didn’t know whether wild elephants were using these gestures to communicate intentionally.
Here we find for the first time that, in competitive situations, wild elephants use intentionally over 40 different gesture types made up of 32 gesture actions to achieve two main goals. They ask their recipients to ‘Move away’ or ‘Stop what they’re doing’.”
Of the 33 gesture types recorded in successful communications, 21 (64 per cent) were used for both meanings, suggesting that elephants do not rigidly use gestures with a single goal, but rather communicate flexibly.
Vesta Eleuteri added: "Such extensive, flexible gestural repertoires have previously been shown in apes and a few other primates. Finding the same in elephants is particularly exciting because elephants are so evolutionarily distant from primates. It suggests that sophisticated gestural communication may have evolved convergently in species that share advanced intelligence and complex social lives."
The study compared the gestures used by two South African populations and their findings with the ElephantVoices database based on observations from populations in Kenya and Mozambique.
Vesta said: “The populations shared the same gesture types, suggesting that elephants may share a common gestural ‘vocabulary’ across populations”.
The researchers say the findings provide a foundation for understanding intentional gestural communication in wild elephants and highlight the need for further research into how elephants use gestures in other contexts.
Prof Angela Stoeger from the University of Vienna, senior author of the study who mainly studies vocal communication in elephants said: These findings underscore why studying multiple modalities is essential. In the future, studying the interplay of acoustic, visual, tactile, and seismic signals, together with context, will finally reveal their messages".
Elephants face several conservation challenges, including habitat loss leading to conflict with humans. The findings carry conservation implications.
Dr Bates concludes: “This work is important because humans and elephants increasingly come into contact with each other, as human populations expand in elephant range-states. Understanding how elephants communicate when they’re feeling threatened could help us better read their intentions or recognise when they don’t want us around, giving us the chance to move away before interactions become dangerous”.
