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Did you know DNA repairs itself?

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DNA repair is a central guardian of genome stability. Every cell constantly faces DNA damage from ultraviolet radiation, ionizing radiation, reactive oxygen species, replication errors, alkylating agents, hydrolytic deamination, and endogenous metabolic stress. Without efficient repair, these lesions can block replication, alter transcription, create mutations, promote chromosomal instability, and drive cancer, aging, neurodegeneration, immune dysfunction, and developmental failure. Base excision repair corrects small chemical base lesions. This pathway removes subtle damage such as oxidized bases, deaminated bases, and alkylated bases. DNA glycosylases first recognize abnormal bases and cleave the N glycosidic bond, producing an abasic site. AP endonuclease then cuts the DNA backbone, DNA polymerase fills the gap, and DNA ligase seals the strand. This pathway is crucial for repairing oxidative lesions such as 8 oxoguanine, which can otherwise mispair with adenine and create G to T...
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Why do you feel like shit!

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Some days, you wake up and everything feels heavy. Your body is tired, your mind is foggy, and even small tasks feel like climbing a mountain. Before blaming yourself, pause and ask: What is my body trying to tell me? Maybe you did not sleep well. Maybe you skipped meals, drank too little water, or spent too much time scrolling. Maybe you are emotionally exhausted from pretending to be okay. Feeling “like shit” is often not laziness. It is a signal. Try this quick check-in: 1. Body: Did I eat, sleep, stretch, or drink water today? 2. Mind: Am I overthinking something I cannot control? 3. Emotion: Am I sad, angry, anxious, or just burned out? 4. Environment: Is my room, phone, or routine draining me? Now choose one tiny reset. Drink water. Open a window. Take a shower. Write one sentence about how you feel. Message someone safe. Step outside for five minutes. You do not need to fix your whole life today. You only need to respond kindly to yourself. So, why do you feel like ...
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How do you really digest protein?

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Nutrition Science How Do You Really Digest Protein?  4 min read  May 2026  Verified Protein   Digestion   Gut Health   Muscle & Recovery You eat chicken, eggs, or lentils — and somehow your body turns that into muscle, hormones, and energy. But how, exactly? The journey protein takes through your body is far more fascinating than most people realize. Protein doesn't just get "absorbed." It goes through a remarkable, multi-stage breakdown process before a single amino acid reaches your bloodstream. Here's the real story — from first bite to final cell. You don't just digest protein. You transform it. Credits: AI@ FST The digestion journey 1. It starts in your mouth Chewing physically breaks protein into smaller pieces. Saliva doesn't digest protein directly, but thorough chewing gives your stomach a head start — skip this and everything downstream works harder. 2. The stomach — acid bath Your stomach releases hydrochloric acid (HCl), dropping pH to aroun...
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Why do you still feel sleepy even after 8 hrs of sleep?

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     Sleep Science Why do you still feel sleepy even after  8 hours  of sleep?  4 min read  May 2026  Verified Sleep Quality   Fatigue   Brain Health   Wellness You did everything right — early bedtime, 8 full hours, no alarm disruption. Yet you wake up feeling like you barely slept at all. You're not broken. But something in your sleep is. The number of hours you sleep is only half the story. What matters just as much — arguably more — is the quality of those hours. Here's what science says is really going on. That heavy, can't-lift-my-head feeling after a full night's sleep? It has a reason. And it's not laziness. Credits: AI@ FST The real reasons you wake up exhausted You're skipping deep sleep Your body cycles through light, deep (slow-wave), and REM sleep. If you're not reaching deep sleep — often disrupted by alcohol, stress, or screen light — you miss the stage where physical repair actually happens. Undiagnosed sleep apnea M...
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This is Why You Can’t Sleep at Night

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You toss and turn, stare at the ceiling, and check the clock for the hundredth time. Another sleepless night. You’re not alone. Millions struggle with insomnia or poor sleep quality every single night. The real problem? Modern life has quietly sabotaged your sleep without you realizing it. The biggest culprit is blue light from screens . Your phone, laptop, and TV emit blue light that suppresses melatonin, the hormone that signals your body it’s time to sleep. Scrolling social media or watching Netflix until midnight tricks your brain into thinking it’s midday. Even dim bedroom lights can disrupt your circadian rhythm. Credits: AI@ FST Stress and anxiety come in a close second. Your brain doesn’t switch off when your body does. Worries about work, money, relationships, or tomorrow’s to-do list keep your mind racing. Cortisol levels stay elevated, making deep, restorative sleep nearly impossible. Then there’s caffeine and late eating . That afternoon coffee or energy drink can affec...
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Protein to DNA synthesis using antiphage reverse transcriptase

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Protein-Templated DNA Synthesis: Bacteria totally Just Broke a Fundamental Rule of Molecular Biology Reverse syntthesis of DNA strand from protein' amino acid sequences via action of Drt3b Credits: ai@ FST Title: Protein-templated synthesis of dinucleotide repeat DNA by an antiphage reverse transcriptase Authors: Pujuan Deng et al. (Stanford University / Alex Gao lab) Journal: Science (First Release, April 16, 2026) DOI: 10.1126/science.aed1656 The Big Deal For decades, the central dogma of molecular biology has held that nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) are synthesized using other nucleic acids as templates. DNA polymerases copy DNA from DNA; RNA polymerases copy RNA from DNA; reverse transcriptases copy DNA from RNA. Protein → nucleic acid information transfer? Strictly off-limits in the classic formulation. This new paper shows a bacterial defense enzyme that literally uses its own protein structure as a template to synthesize a specific DNA sequence. It's not full rev...
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Ever Heard of a Cardiac Tumor? Why Are They So Rare?

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Most people have never heard of heart cancer and for good reason. Cardiac tumors are extraordinarily uncommon compared to cancers in other organs. An illustration  by Ali Hajiluyi on Unsplash Primary cardiac tumors (those that originate in the heart itself) occur in roughly 0.001% to 0.3% of autopsy cases, with an incidence around 1.38 per 100,000 people per year in population studies. About 75-90% of these are benign, most commonly myxomas (especially in adults) or rhabdomyomas (in children). Malignant primary tumors, like sarcomas, are even rarer. Secondary (metastatic) tumors—from lung, breast, or melanoma—are 20-40 times more common than primary ones but still uncommon overall. Why So Rare? The heart’s unique biology explains this rarity. Unlike skin, lung, or colon cells, adult cardiac myocytes (heart muscle cells) are largely terminally differentiated . They exit the cell cycle early in life and rarely divide. Cancer typically requires repeated cell division for muta...
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Decoding Acne: Reasons, Remedies, and Prevention That Works

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Decoding Acne: Real Reasons, Proven Remedies, and Prevention That Works By Arya Bandyopadhyay Intro: Something More Than Just Skin Deep A curated chart by us: FST Acne is but your skin reacting to oil, bacteria, hormones, and everyday habits. Once you understand what’s really going on, small changes and the right treatments can make a big difference toward clearer, healthier skin. Acne. A word that can stir up memories of teenage struggles — and for millions around the world, it’s an ongoing battle that shakes confidence and self-esteem. I know because I’ve been there too. And I get it — the frustration when nothing seems to work, the emotional toll of facing another breakout when you thought you’d finally cleared up. But here’s the truth: acne isn’t just about hygiene or bad luck. It’s a complex skin condition with real, biological roots and multiple triggers. In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything I’ve learned — backed by science, shaped by expert advice, and simplified for ...
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E-Cigarette Users Smoke Less and Increase Quit Attempts

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A recent study from 2017 shows that e-cigarettes can help smokers cut down and quit real cigarettes .  Photo by Juan Vallejo on Unsplash Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina gave e-cigarettes with nicotine to 46 smokers , while 22 others got none.   Over four months, the e-cigarette users smoked 37 percent fewer regular cigarettes than the other group. They also tried harder to quit smoking completely.    66.0 E-cigarettes give nicotine without burning tobacco, so they are much safer than normal cigarettes and lower the risk of cancer.  Many people liked them and even bought their own devices. Stronger ones with more nicotine worked best.   But doctors say e-cigarettes are undoubtedly only for adult smokers who want to quit, not for kids or non-smokers.   They are not completely safe and more long-term research is needed.   Overall, anything that helps people stop smoking real cigarettes is good...
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Why you've every reason to eat as much as you like on this day: Bengali New Year 1433 - শুভ নববর্ষ and শুভ পয়লা বৈশাখ!

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There’s something so tender about the first morning of Poila Boishakh (পয়লা বৈশাখ) 1433. The air feels softer, the light a little kinder, and our hearts quietly open to new beginnings. Shubho Noboborsho, dear one. In a bustling city of Kolkata, when it's the New Year, everything seems to as if glow with it's rich history, elegant tales behind bridges behind sunsets and the ever cherishing memories that holds on to us and that we hold on to.  Thankful to the world.  Thankful to West Bengal.  Thankful to Kolkata. Special thanks to - ELEGANT history, the awe-striking sunset :) Picture credit: Arya Bandyopadhyay Thank you for all these years supporting this page and ever-motivated initiative, without you guys, this page would have been NOTHING. Thank you, my family of readers! On this gentle day, let the table become a quiet embrace. The golden ilish (ইলিশ), warm rice, fragrant dal, and that first sweet spoonful of mishti doi (মিষ্টি দই). They’re not just food. They’re memo...
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Bacteria think like humans do

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The researchers engineered a nanopore that mimics synaptic plasticity — it “learns” from repeated voltage pulses, showing basic memory-like behavior similar to neural synapses.   1. Discovery by EPFL scientists : Researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (led by Matteo Dal Peraro and Aleksandra Radenovic) have explained why biological nanopores sometimes behave unpredictably. 2. Focus on aerolysin : The study used the bacterial nanopore aerolysin , a common tool in biotechnology, and created 26 engineered variants by modifying its internal charged amino acids. 3. Two key puzzling behaviors explained:    - Rectification: Ion flow changes depending on the direction (sign) of the applied voltage .    - Gating: Sudden decrease or complete stop of ion flow through the pore . 4. Root cause identified: Both rectification and gating are governed by the electrical charges lining the inside (lumen) of the nanopore and how they interact with p...
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