Smriti Mallapaty
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smritimallapaty.bsky.social
Smriti Mallapaty
@smritimallapaty.bsky.social
Reporter for Nature news, covering the Asia-Pacific region, including infectious diseases, biological and environmental sciences, and community stories (smritidotmallapatyatnaturedotcom) Find me on Signal at sfm.100
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Tie, who has called herself Biotech Barbie, focuses her entrepreneurial ambitions on a controversial goal: altering the genome of human embryos to prevent genetic disorders

go.nature.com/3JJBrY1
‘Biotech Barbie’ says the time has come to consider CRISPR babies. Do scientists agree?
A company’s plan to edit the genomes of human embryos worries some researchers — but it might reflect the changing attitudes towards the controversial approach.
go.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Australian government: "Suspected H5 bird flu in elephant seals at Australian sub-Antarctic Island". If this is correct, then highly pathogenic avian influenza will have invaded Oceania, the last continental region that was still free of the disease.
www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/s...
October 24, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Nobel Prize 2025: Three scientists share Physiology or Medicine award; honored for discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries on peripheral…
Nobel Prize 2025: Three scientists share Physiology or Medicine award; honored for discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries on peripheral immune tolerance, a mechanism that prevents the body’s immune system from attacking its own cells.Announced on Monday by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, the award recognises decades of research that deepened understanding of autoimmune diseases and paved the way for new treatments in immunology and cancer therapy.
ashanewsnetwork.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Why yes.. someone has studied the defecation patterns of seabirds while in flight...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
September 3, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
If the legislation passes, the Australian CDC will start as a standalone agency on 1 January 2026, building on the groundwork and achievements of the interim Australian CDC.
www.cdc.gov.au
September 3, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Talent recruitment programmes have enticed many researchers to return to China. But how successful have they been? I spoke with several researchers who have analysed these trends and assessed their impact on China's research ecosystem 🧪
How China’s bold talent recruitment has shaped science
Many Chinese researchers have received enviable benefits and positions after returning from training abroad.
www.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
My latest for Nature: AI model Aeneas predicts where ancient Latin texts come from, estimates how old they are and can restore missing parts.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Meet Aeneas: the AI that can fill in the gaps of damaged Latin texts
The best results come when a human and the model work together.
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Switching to anonymous applications gave postdocs more access to research facilities 🧪
Postdocs get more equipment time when applications are anonymized
Early-career researchers’ access to neutron-beam instruments jumped from 61% to 78% at one Australian facility.
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
A controversial paper claiming that an extraordinary microorganism can thrive on the toxic element arsenic has been retracted by the journal Science, nearly 15 years after its original publication -- but the paper's authors say the retraction is unwarranted.

go.nature.com/44MQsQI
Controversial ‘arsenic life’ paper retracted after 15 years — but authors fight back
The journal Science retracts a headline-grabbing study, but the authors vigorously defend their data and say the retraction is unwarranted.
go.nature.com
July 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Gavi, the vaccine provider for the world’s poorest people, needs an extra US$3 billion to protect infants and other vulnerable groups. More donors must step up

go.nature.com/4m0xFqG
Help save 2 million lives: close the vaccine funding gap
Gavi, the vaccine provider for the world’s poorest people, needs an extra US$3 billion to protect infants and other vulnerable groups. More donors must step up.
go.nature.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
In families with several children of the same sex, the odds of having another baby of that sex are higher than of having one of the opposite sex

go.nature.com/45caBj4
Sex at birth is not always random — mum’s age and genetics can play a part
Families with three or more boys, for example, are more likely to have another boy than a girl as the next child.
go.nature.com
July 21, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Two low-cost techniques to revive the hearts of people who wish to donate their organs after they die could increase the number of hearts available for organ donation, particularly for children.🧪
Heart from organ donor restarted outside the body — technique offers new source of organs
Current procedures for reviving a heart for transplant are ethically fraught or expensive.
www.nature.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
‘Landmark’ study: three-person IVF leads to eight healthy children: Long-awaited results suggest that mitochondrial donation can prevent babies from inheriting diseases caused by mutant mitochondria | Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Landmark’ study: three-person IVF leads to eight healthy children
Long-awaited results suggest that mitochondrial donation can prevent babies from inheriting diseases caused by mutant mitochondria.
www.nature.com
July 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Researchers have mined a massive new protein database for age-related brain diseases and found some interesting things. Among them - people with a gene linked to Alzheimer's produce lots of inflammatory proteins, making them vulnerable to other brain diseases 🧪
One potent gene raises risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain diseases
Massive proteomics database links gene variant APOE4 to chronic inflammation.
www.nature.com
July 16, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Researchers are making ever more sophisticated mini organs in the lab — and now they can grow their own blood vessels

go.nature.com/3IkDNf5
Mini hearts, lungs and livers made in lab now grow their own blood vessels
Nature - These sophisticated models will be used for human-development studies and drug testing.
go.nature.com
July 14, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
💬 As we unite at #IAS2025, let's commit to #PutPeopleFirst in our language!

Choose your words with care:

✅ "People living with HIV"
❌ "Infected people"

✅ "HIV acquisition"
❌ "Infection"

✅ "Acquired HIV"
❌ "Caught HIV"

🌐 Learn more & join us: zurl.co/hHvo1
July 14, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Viruses and bacteria jumping from animals to people became a real problem when humans started keeping livestock, according to a massive genomic analysis of ancient pathogens 🧪
Animal diseases leapt to humans when we started keeping livestock
When hunter-gatherers began living close to animals, the pathogens that cause the plague and leprosy got closer too.
www.nature.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Brain–computer interface systems similar to Neuralink’s implants are being trialled in China, giving people with paralysis the ability to play computer games, communicate in Mandarin and restore hand movement. “BCI research in China is developing very fast” says electrical engineer Zhengwu Liu. 🧪
China pours money into brain chips that give paralysed people more control
Brain–computer interfaces being trialled in China offer some advantages over Neuralink and other leading US devices.
www.nature.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Japan is the only country that legally requires married couples to share the same family name, creating problems for scientists, especially women. "For the sake of the next generation, I hope that a system of selective surnames will be enacted immediately,” says marine geophysicist Kyoko Okino.🧪
Japan requires name change after marriage — with big effects on female scientists
Survey finds law requiring married couples to share the same family name causes havoc for researchers.
www.nature.com
July 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Around one in seven biomedical-research abstracts published last year was probably written with the help of AI, according to a massive analysis. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Signs of AI-generated text found in 14% of biomedical abstracts last year
Abstracts included telltale words, such as ‘unparalleled’ and ‘invaluable’, that are common in text generated by large language models.
www.nature.com
July 3, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
11th case of H5N1 in Cambodia has now been reported. Known exposure to sick poultry. This is the 7th case in June, and the 4th in Siem Reap. Continued vigilance, active surveillance, and a strong One Health response remain critical. #BirdFlu 🦠🔬🧪🐓💉😷🥼
July 1, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
The decades-old limit on how long human embryos can be grown in culture is under debate

https://go.nature.com/448yuYw
Human embryo research: how to move towards a 28-day limit
The decades-old limit on how long human embryos can be grown in culture is under debate. A new road map outlines how to extend the length of culture responsibly.
go.nature.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Smriti Mallapaty
Cambodia has confirmed its 9th and 10th human cases of H5N1 bird flu this year. 6 of these cases occurred in June alone. Sadly, 6 people have died in 2025. 🧪🧬🦠🔬🥼😷🐓💉
June 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Axolotls can rebuild limbs and parts of their brains, green lizards can regrow tails, and zebrafish can fix broken spinal cords - Researchers are trying to harness these regenerative powers for human health🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Super-healing’ animals inspire human treatments
Studies of the regenerative powers of worms, zebrafish and lizards suggest ways to improve recovery in people.
www.nature.com
June 23, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Researchers have grown pig embryos with beating human heart tissue for the first time 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Tiny human hearts grown in pig embryos for the first time
The hearts started to beat in the pig–human hybrids, which survived for 21 days.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 4:16 AM