Devotees gathered at Bhaktapur’s Hanumanghat for the Madhav Narayan festival, performing ritual bathing, fasting and prayers. Participants dressed in white, slept along the riverbank and followed month‑long traditions including daily worship, magesnan rituals and the recitation of the Swasthani story. The festival began with purification rites on Poush Shukla Chaturdashi and continues with a strict fasting regimen observed throughout the month.

The study focuses on redesigning the herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM) interface to achieve selective binding to its ligands LIGHT, BTLA, and CD160. Using a residue-specific pharmacophore approach, the researchers introduced mutations in HVEM to enhance binding specificity. The redesigned interfaces demonstrated selective binding in cell-based assays, offering potential therapeutic applications in modulating immune responses. The research highlights the importance of HVEM in immune regulation and its potential as a target for treating autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and cancer.

CNN's weekly photo gallery for July 30 – August 6, 2020 captures 40 significant global events. The dominant story is the catastrophic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed at least 137 people and injured thousands, triggered by approximately 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate stored at a port warehouse; French President Emmanuel Macron visited the devastated Gemmayzeh neighbourhood days later. Other major events include SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley; Tropical Storm Isaias battering the US East Coast, killing at least five; the Apple Fire forcing evacuations in Banning, California; and the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress on the COVID-19 crisis, while pandemic-related images included mass graves in South Africa and curfews in Melbourne, Australia. Protests over racial inequality continued in Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis marked the reopening of Cup Foods where George Floyd's fatal arrest began. Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen was left in a coma after a crash at the Tour of Poland, and Arsenal won a record 14th FA Cup. Indian PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and NHL player Matt Dumba knelt during the national anthem on the league's return day.

The article reports on the Janai Purnima Festival, also known as the Sacred Thread Festival, which took place at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 3, 2020. During this festival, Hindu men, particularly from the Brahman and Chettri communities, participate in the annual tradition of changing their sacred thread, known as Janai. The Janai is either worn across the chest or tied around the wrist. This ritual signifies the renewal of their spiritual and physical vows.

The article discusses the computational redesign of the PD-1 interface to selectively bind to PD-L1 while avoiding interaction with PD-L2. Using the ProtLID method, residue-specific pharmacophores were generated to identify mutations that enhance PD-L1 selectivity. Experimental validation of 32 single-point mutations revealed several mutants with increased selectivity for PD-L1. The study highlights the potential of these redesigned PD-1 variants as therapeutic leads for modulating the PD-1 pathway in cancer treatment.

The article covers three distinct stories. The first is about a devastating explosion in Beirut, which resulted in over 150 deaths and 5,000 injuries, with significant damage to the city's port and commercial district. The cause is linked to a warehouse fire that ignited a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate. The second story features Henrik Fisker, a car designer who is launching a new electric vehicle called the Ocean through his company Fisker Inc., using lessons learned from his previous company's failure. The third story discusses the plight of U.S. farmers like Lynn Hicks, who are facing bankruptcy despite federal payments, as they struggle with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and a prolonged downturn in the agricultural economy.