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Fluid restriction in patients with heart failure: a systematic review

Background Fluid restriction is a commonly prescribed non-pharmacological intervention in the management of heart failure (HF). However, data on its efficacy and safety are scarce. Recent randomised clinical trial (RCT) data prompt reassessment of the available evidence.

Methods CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched up to 1 May 2025. RCTs were included if adults with HF were randomised to fluid restriction in comparison to a liberal or unrestricted intake, less strict restriction or usual care. Outcomes of interest were mortality, HF hospitalisation, quality of life (QoL), thirst distress, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and N-terminal pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (CRD42022292319). No meta-analysis was performed due to high heterogeneity of the included trials.

Results In total, four RCTs were included, comprising 682 randomised inpatient, recently discharged and stable outpatient patients (ranging from 46 to 504 patients per trial). Only one study had a low risk of bias. None of the four trials found a significant difference in mortality or HF hospitalisations. For QoL, the results are contradictory, but overall, there is no clear benefit for fluid restriction, but it resulted in more thirst distress. No significant differences in NYHA class or (NT-pro)BNP were observed.

AlphaFold Can Now Predict Protein Complex Structures at Scale

As proteins perform complicated tasks inside a cell, they rarely act alone.

Now, researchers have added structural information for almost 2 million protein complexes to the AlphaFold Database.

In an ambitious collaboration, researchers added 1.8 million high-confidence protein complex structure predictions to the AlphaFold Database, accelerating molecular biology research.

Robots that refuse to fail: AI evolves ‘legged metamachines’ that reassemble and withstand injury

Northwestern University engineers have developed the first modular robots with athletic intelligence. They can be combined and recombined in the wild, recover from injury and keep moving no matter what’s thrown at them.

Called “legged metamachines,” the creations are made from autonomous, Lego-like modules that snap together into an endless number of configurations. Each module by itself is a complete robot with its own motor, battery and computer. Alone, a module can roll, turn and jump. But the real agility and indestructibility emerges when the modules combine.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Space launches are changing the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere, studies warn. Here’s what can be done

Look up on a clear night and you’ll see the streaks of our new space age. What you don’t see is the growing fallout for the atmosphere that keeps us alive.

A wave of satellite launches and reentries is changing the chemistry and physics of the middle and upper atmosphere.

Studies warn of ozone depletion, stratospheric heating and new metal aerosols from burning spacecraft. The pace is accelerating fast and unless we redesign how we use and retire satellites, we risk swapping one environmental problem (congestion in Earth orbit from too many spacecraft) for another (an atmosphere seeded with rocket soot and satellite ash).

Uncovering the embodied dimension of the wandering mind

When at rest, the mind becomes preoccupied with self-generated thoughts, commonly known as mind-wandering. While the social, autobiographical, and temporal features of these thoughts have been extensively studied, little is known about how frequently the wandering mind turns toward the interoceptive and somatic body. To map this underexplored component of “body-wandering,” we conducted a large-scale neuroimaging study in 536 healthy participants, expanding a retrospective multidimensional experience sampling approach to include probes targeting visceral and somatomotor thoughts. Our findings reveal a robust interindividual dimension of body-wandering characterized by negative affect, high autonomic arousal, and a reduction in socially oriented thoughts.

Temporal Dynamics of the No-Reflow Phenomenon on Serial Perfusion MRI After Thrombectomy

Now online! STING signaling modulation by COPII cargo recognition: Lyu et al. identify the STING-ER-exit motif and the mechanism of its recognition by the COPII vesicle cargo-binding protein SEC24C. This study reveals how STING achieves controlled rather than constitutive ER exit and how COPII cargo recognition of STING can be modulated to control STING signaling.

What changes happen in the aging brain?

A new study from the Salk Institute maps how the aging brain changes at the epigenetic level — cell type by cell type.

The researchers created one of the most detailed single-cell atlases yet of the aging mouse brain, spanning 8 brain regions, 36 cell types, and hundreds of thousands of cells. They found major age-related changes in DNA methylation, chromatin structure, and gene activity, with some of the strongest changes appearing in non-neuronal cells.

This kind of work matters because it moves brain aging closer to mechanism — not just describing decline, but identifying the molecular regulatory shifts that may drive vulnerability to neurodegenerative disease.

Highlights Salk researchers create epigenetic atlas of cell type-specific changes in the aging mouse brain The atlas represents eight different brain regions and 36 different cell types, and shows clear epigenetic differences associated with different ages The new resource—available publicly on Amazon Web services—can be used to unravel age-related contributions to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS LA JOLLA—Neurodegenerative diseases affect more than 57 million people globally. The incidence of these diseases, from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to ALS and beyond, is expected to double every 20 years. Though scientists know aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, the full mechanisms behind aging’s impact remain unclear.

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