Mucosal vaccination in mice provides protection from diverse respiratory threats
TL;DR
Imagine a special spray for your nose that teaches your body to fight off all kinds of germs that make you sick, like viruses and bacteria. It's like having a super shield against colds and flus.
Traditional vaccines target specific pathogens, limiting their scope against diverse respiratory threats. We describe an intranasal liposomal formulation combining toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and 7/8 ligands with a model antigen, ovalbumin, that provided broad, durable protection in mice for at least 3 months against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the vaccine protected mice from other viruses (SARS-CoV-2, SARS, SCH014 coronavirus), bacteria (Acinetobacter baumannii), and allergens. Protection was mediated by persistent ovalbumin-specific CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cells that imprinted alveolar macrophages (AMs), enhancing antigen presentation and antiviral immunity. Following infection, vaccinated mice mounted rapid pathogen-specific T cell and antibody responses and formed ectopic lymphoid structures in the lung. These results reveal a class of "universal vaccines" against diverse respiratory threats.
- 1An intranasal liposomal vaccine combining TLR4 (GLA) and TLR7/8 (3M-052) agonists with ovalbumin (GLA-3M-052-LS + OVA) conferred broad, durable protection in mice for at least 3 months against SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV MA15, SCH014 coronavirus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii, as well as allergic asthma.
- 2Protection required both CD4+ and CD8+ antigen-specific tissue-resident memory T cells (TRMs), which epigenetically reprogrammed alveolar macrophages to enhance antigen presentation, phagocytosis, and antiviral immunity via RANKL-mediated signaling, independently of IFN-gamma.
- 3Vaccination induced persistent chromatin remodeling in alveolar macrophages, with sustained accessibility of antigen presentation genes (H2-Aa), interferon-stimulated genes (Ccl5, Ifnar2), and AP-1, STAT, IRF, and NF-kB transcription factor motifs for at least 3 months post-vaccination.
- 4Following pathogen challenge, vaccinated mice rapidly formed tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in the lung within 3 days of infection, enabling accelerated pathogen-specific T and B cell responses and reduced immunopathology including lower proinflammatory cytokine levels.
- 5The vaccine platform is antigen-agnostic in its protective mechanism: the antigen identity is irrelevant for breadth of protection, as TLR agonists combined with any antigen can engage memory T cells to reprogram resident alveolar macrophages and establish organ-level immunity against diverse respiratory threats.
M87's black hole flipped its magnetic field
Imagine a bar magnet with a north and south pole. Now imagine that magnet suddenly flipping so north becomes south and vice versa. That's essentially what happened with the magnetic field around the giant black hole at the center of galaxy M87 — except this black hole is 6.5 billion times heavier than our Sun. Scientists noticed this flip by watching the powerful beam of energy, called a jet, that shoots out from the black hole. The direction and behavior of that beam changed in a way that revealed the magnetic field had reversed. It's a big deal because those magnetic fields are thought to act like the engine that powers and steers these cosmic jets, and we've rarely caught one flipping in action.
Odd shapes hidden in dense Amazon rainforest reveal sprawling ancient civilization
Imagine you're flying over the Amazon rainforest and the trees are so thick you can't see the ground. Now imagine using a laser scanner from an airplane that can 'see through' all those leaves and branches — like X-ray vision for forests. When scientists did this, they found the outlines of huge ancient cities hidden underneath: roads, plazas, earthworks, and buildings that had been swallowed up by jungle for hundreds or thousands of years. It's like finding out there was a giant, bustling city underneath your backyard the whole time. These weren't small villages — we're talking about potentially millions of people living in organized, complex societies in a place we thought was mostly empty wilderness.
Over 20,000 precolonial earthworks in the Southwest Amazonia
Imagine flying a special laser scanner over the Amazon jungle that can 'see through' the treetops, like X-ray vision for the ground. When scientists did this, they found over 20,000 geometric shapes — ditches, mounds, and enclosures — built by ancient people long before Europeans arrived. These aren't small things: they're massive earthen structures, like monuments. This means the Amazon rainforest, which most people picture as empty wilderness, was actually home to millions of people who built cities and shaped the landscape. Think of it like discovering that a forest you thought was wild was actually someone's ancient garden on a continental scale.
The 2026 World Cup's grass is an engineering problem
Imagine you're trying to play soccer in 16 different places across the United States, Canada, and Mexico — some in freezing cold, some blazing hot, some in stadiums with roofs that block sunlight. Half of those stadiums normally use fake grass. Now FIFA, the organization that runs the World Cup, wants every single pitch to feel and play exactly the same way, like a video game where every level has identical physics. To do that, they hired grass scientists — yes, that's a real job — who figured out how to grow special grass on thin mats with plastic underneath so it can be transported like a carpet, stitched with synthetic fibers so it doesn't rip when players sprint and tackle, and tested by literally shooting balls at it with a cannon to make sure it bounces right. Different grass species are used depending on whether a stadium is hot, cool, or dark. It's basically a giant, living, high-tech floor installation that has to survive the world's best athletes running on it.