We don't see institutional neonatal care as a cold triumph of modern technocracy, but as the peak of an ancient human evolutionary strategy - biosocial cooperation and alloparenting. We trace care for vulnerable newborns from the evolutionary roots and selfless altruism seen in higher primates, through the deconstruction of myths about ancient eugenics with modern paleopathological findings in Greece, all the way to today's neonatal intensive care units. Using the example of kangaroo care and the neurobiological response of medical staff to newborn crying, we show that modern high-tech medicine basically revives evolutionarily natural mechanisms of empathy. Institutional neonatal care for babies with extremely low birth weight is thus an example that humanity isn't about the survival of the strongest, but about the collective ability to protect the weakest.

The packaging of RNA in lipid nanoparticles for protection and delivery was key for the development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Formulation requires the addition of a variety of lipids (including cationic) in high amounts to form complexes with the negatively charged RNA. While this approach was successful for the development of RNA vaccines, it represents a major challenge for future developments. Increasing the lipophilicity of RNA is one possible approach to reducing the amount of lipid required. In nature, geranyl-2-thiouridine occurs at the "Wobble" position 34 of certain bacterial tRNAs. This work details investigations into geranylated oligonucleotides and their interactions with lipids. We developed an efficient post-synthetic procedure for oligonucleotide geranylation in aqueous solutions using a geranyl-sulfonium salt. We discovered that the geranyl-modification can be replaced by thiol-nucleophiles, enabling a reversible switch of the hydrophobic character of the oligonucleotides. We show that the geranyl-modified oligonucleotides anchor onto neutral membrane structures and oil droplets. Oligonucleotides bound to the outer surface of neutral liposomes can flip to the inner membrane surface by freeze-thaw cycles, leading to a protective effect against enzymatic or chemical degradation. Our work expands the scope of oligonucleotide lipidation strategies, which are of great interest in RNA delivery systems.

Orthognathic surgery has increasingly incorporated digital workflows and patient-specific surgical guides to enhance accuracy and predictability. While these technologies offer improved planning and execution, their intraoperative application in segmented maxillary osteotomies remains technically demanding. Limited literature exists describing the practical challenges encountered during guide-assisted osteotomy, particularly in anatomically constrained regions. This case report describes the use of a patient-specific cutting guide in a 24-year-old male patient undergoing anterior two-piece maxillary osteotomy for correction of skeletal Class II malocclusion with gummy smile. Virtual surgical planning was performed using cone-beam computed tomography and digital dental models to simulate a 7 mm maxillary setback and 4 mm superior impaction. A custom osteotomy guide and surgical splint were fabricated using computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technology. Intraoperatively, the guide was positioned following mucoperiosteal flap elevation and used to perform vertical and horizontal osteotomy cuts. The maxillary segment was mobilized, repositioned using a prefabricated occlusal splint, and stabilized with titanium miniplates. The use of the osteotomy guide facilitated accurate transfer of the planned osteotomy lines and segment repositioning. However, intraoperative challenges were encountered, including increased operative time due to guide positioning and verification, limited access during osteotomy cuts, and difficulty in executing palatal osteotomy. Initial instability of the guide due to soft tissue interference required intraoperative adjustment. A minor palatal mucosal tear occurred, which was managed conservatively. Despite these challenges, satisfactory occlusal alignment and postoperative stability were achieved.

Radiography education requires repeated practice in positioning, exposure selection, image evaluation, communication, and radiation protection. Virtual simulation can provide safe rehearsal before clinical exposure, but virtual reality, conventional digital simulation, and artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced simulation are distinct technologies and their evidence should not be conflated. This commentary examines how AI-enhanced virtual simulation could complement, rather than replace, physical skills laboratories and supervised clinical training in Somalia and other resource-constrained educational settings. Evidence from radiography education supports virtual simulation for positioning, exposure-factor selection, image appraisal, and preparation for clinical practice, while emerging AI-specific studies suggest potential roles for adaptive case generation, automated feedback, and assessment support. However, AI-generated educational content may be inaccurate, biased, overly recall-focused, or clinically unrealistic; expert validation and psychometric evaluation are therefore required before curricular or high-stakes assessment use. Somalia has emerging undergraduate radiography programs and heterogeneous imaging capacity, but national data describing teaching-laboratory infrastructure, digital radiography vs computed radiography availability, faculty capacity, and clinical placement resources remain limited. Accordingly, country-level scarcity claims should be treated as hypotheses for local needs assessment rather than established facts. We propose a three-layer model: AI-enhanced preparation, focused physical laboratory practice, and supervised clinical placement. The educational goal should be development of capability - the ability to adapt knowledge and skills to uncertain clinical situations - rather than completion of isolated technical competencies alone. This model offers a testable framework for context-sensitive implementation and future evaluation.

The taxonomic position of an actinomycete, strain 15-116AT, isolated from a blood culture of a 31-year-old male from the United States was determined using polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Genome-based phylogeny showed that the strain was closely related to Streptomyces composti, Streptomyces thermocarboxydovorans, and Streptomyces thermospinosisporus species. Digital DNA-DNA (dDDH) relatedness and average nucleotide identity (ANI) between the draft genome sequence of the strain and those of its closest phylogenomic neighbors listed above were between 35.9% and 37.3% (< 70%) and 88.5%, 88.1%, and 88.6% (95%-96.7%), respectively. However, the dDDH and ANI values between the genome sequence of S. thermocarboxydovorans JCM 10367T and S. thermospinosisporus JCM 11756T were 72.3% and 96.7%, respectively. These values are above the defined thresholds for prokaryotic species demarcation (70% dDDH and 95%-96.7% ANI) and fall within the dDDH range of 70%-79% for subspecies designation. Based on these findings and in accordance with the priority rule in nomenclature, S. thermospinosisporus is considered a later heterotypic synonym of S. thermocarboxydovorans and is classified as a subspecies of S. thermocarboxydovorans, for which the name S. thermocarboxydovorans subsp. thermospinosisporus subsp. nov. is proposed. Consequently, S. thermocarboxydovorans subsp. thermocarboxydovorans is created. Strain 15-116AT was characterized by the presence of LL-diaminopimelic acid in its peptidoglycan; diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylinositol as the major phospholipids; MK-9(H8) and MK-9(H6) as the predominant menaquinones (> 10%); and iso-C15:0, anteiso-C15:0, iso-C16:0, and anteiso-C17:0 as the major fatty acids (> 10%). Morphological, phenotypic, and genomic traits distinguished strain 15-116AT from its closest phylogenetic neighbors and highlighted the assignment of strain 15-116AT (= DSM 106436T = ATCC BAA-2935T) to a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces sanguinis sp. nov. is proposed. Genome screening for virulence factor-associated genes showed that the strain harbored a gene encoding isocitrate lyase, which is required for persistent infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (YP_177728), as well as gene clusters associated with phenazine biosynthesis (NP_252902), unlike its close relatives. Moreover, strain 15-116AT possessed a gene encoding elongation factor Tu (WP_003028672), which plays an important role in the bacterium's ability to adhere to host cells. However, further experimental studies are required to evaluate the pathogenic potential of this strain.