No. 1Vision
Researchers find a hidden drainage route at the back of the eye
A team from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto reports a previously unknown waste-clearing pathway behind the retina, called POLO. In mice, tracer molecules placed at the rear of the eye moved into surrounding tissue and reached nearby lymph nodes within minutes. Imaging also revealed tiny lymphatic vessels in the choroid, a layer beneath the retina, where such vessels were not thought to exist. For over a century, the eye was widely believed to lack lymphatic drainage. The work was done only in mice, so how POLO works in people, and whether it is involved in disease, still has to be tested.
No. 2Medical devices
Seed-sized injectable device stimulates nerves without wires or batteries
Engineers at NYU Abu Dhabi, working with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, have built a nerve stimulator small enough to pass through a standard needle. It sits near a target nerve and delivers programmable electrical signals, powered wirelessly from outside the body. Doctors can find it with ultrasound and CT scans. The team, publishing in Science Advances, reported steady performance in lab testing and successful nerve activation in a living organism. Whether it relieves chronic pain or eases movement disorders in people has not been shown, so human safety and effectiveness are the next hurdles.
No. 3Health
Polyethylene microplastics linked to fatty liver changes in new study
Texas A&M researchers found that polyethylene, which makes up about a third of global plastic production, raised markers of fatty liver disease. Those signs got worse when exposure was paired with a diet high in fat, fructose and cholesterol. Using spatial transcriptomics, which maps gene activity within tissue, the team found that polyethylene activated PPAR-alpha, a protein that helps regulate liver fat metabolism. They also flagged ANXA2, a gene tied to tissue repair. The authors say more work is needed to connect these experimental results to everyday human exposure. They plan to study whether the plastic contributes to scarring, or fibrosis.