Chocolate infused with prebiotics, probiotics and flavorings could have enhanced health benefits. Image Credit: Smriti Gaur

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Science Reports
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Chocolate’s Surprising Health Benefits Uncovered

Many people will soon load up Easter baskets with chocolate candy for children and adults to enjoy. On its own, dark chocolate has health benefits, such as antioxidants that neutralize damaging free radicals. And a report in ACS Food Science & Technology suggests that packing the sweet treat with pre- and probiotics could make it more healthful. Flavoring agents, however, can affect many properties, including moisture level and protein content of the chocolate product. Probiotics, found in fermented foods such…

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An artistic depiction of a chromosome that is missing some of its "lights," representing rare diseases where people are missing relatively large portions of their genome from one parent. Image Credit: Duke University
Studies and Analyses

Unlocking Genomic Potential for Rare Disease Treatment

Researchers find a master epigenetic switch that activates silenced genes to compensate for their missing counterparts in a rare genetic disease called Prader-Willi syndrome  Biomedical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a promising new approach that could be used to treat a rare and complex class of genetic diseases caused by defects in a relatively large region of the genome. By identifying and activating a master epigenetic switch using CRISPR, the researchers showed they can turn on many naturally suppressed…

Studies and Analyses

PKM2 Phosphorylation Role in Endometriosis Glycolysis

Endometriosis, a prevalent gynecological condition, is characterized by the growth of endometrial-like tissues outside the uterus, leading to severe pain and infertility in affected women. The pathogenesis of endometriosis remains elusive, and effective treatments are limited, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of its molecular mechanisms. A pivotal role of P21-activated kinase 5 (PAK5) in endometriosis progression has been uncovered, revealing that PAK5-mediated phosphorylation of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is critical for anaerobic glycolysis in endometriotic cells. This discovery…

Figure: Translocation pathway and substrate binding site of SPNS1. (A) Surface representation of outward-facing cavity with lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is shown as sticks. (B) Interaction details of LPC with residues in the binding site. Image Credit: NUS Medicine
Studies and Analyses

Cells That Can’t Recycle Fats Linked to Disease Risk

Accumulation of fat molecules is detrimental to the cell. Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have made a breakthrough in understanding how our cells manage to stay healthy by recycling important fat molecules. Their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals how a protein called Spinster homolog 1 (Spns1) helps transport fats out of cell compartments known as lysosomes. Led by Associate Professor Nguyen…

Jane Lombard, MD, medical director of the Women’s Heart Center at El Camino Health. Image Credit: El Camino Health
Science Reports

Women Seek Female Doctors for Heart Health: Survey Insights

El Camino Health successfully pilots an innovative Women’s Heart Center  According to the U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard, only about 17% of cardiologists are women, ranking as one of the lowest specialties among female physicians, yet heart disease remains the number one killer of women, accounting for one in five female deaths. El Camino Health is innovating a solution to address the unique symptoms and risk factors of heart disease in women. A new national survey conducted by El Camino…

Studies and Analyses

High-Tech Video Optimization: Enhancing Brain Functionality

ISTA scientists uncover how the brain unblurs vision during movement  Why do our mental images stay sharp even when we are moving fast? A team of neuroscientists led by Professor Maximilian Jösch at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has identified a mechanism that corrects visual distortions caused by movement in animals. The study, conducted in mice, identifies a core function that can be generalized across the vertebrate visual system, including primates such as humans. The findings are…

Adults with high levels of playfulness are more resilient than those with lower levels of playfulness, research by Oregon State University shows. Image Credit: Oregon State University
Social Sciences

Pandemic Resilience: How Playfulness Boosted Well-Being

Adults with high levels of playfulness showed strong resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to less playful individuals, new research shows. The study led by Xiangyou “Sharon” Shen of Oregon State University is important because playfulness is a vital but underappreciated resource for building resilience and maintaining well-being during difficult periods such as the pandemic, Shen said. And it’s a resource that individuals can cultivate. “Understanding how playful people navigate adversity can inform interventions and strategies to help people cope…

A new method predicts rents with high accuracy by adding variables of streetscape components and neighborhood perceptions to an existing hedonic price model. Image Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University
Social Sciences

Understanding Neighborhood Perception’s Impact on Housing Rents

A hedonic price model incorporating street view images processed by machine learning and existing property data achieves nearly 75% accuracy for rent prediction in Osaka City  Housing rents usually correlate with factors such as the building’s age, facilities, and location. Yet not all rentals with similar physical factors charge the same rent. Psychological factors such as the subjective perceptions of the neighborhood matter as well. Considering these perception variables, an Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed a method with almost…

The Late Cretaceous modern (crown) bird, Vegavis iaai, pursuit diving for fish in the shallow ocean off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula, with ammonites and plesiosaurs for company. Credit: ©Mark Witton, 2025
Studies and Analyses

Meet Vegavis: The Bird That Outlasted Tyrannosaurus Rex

Cretaceous fossil from Antarctica reveals earliest modern bird New clues delve into the age-old question: Does a duck always look like a duck and quack like a duck? Sixty-six million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, an asteroid impact near the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico triggered the extinction of all known non-bird dinosaurs. But for the early ancestors of today’s waterfowl, surviving that mass extinction event was like… water off a duck’s back. Location matters, as Antarctica…

Distance learning can improve women’s access to vocational training as animal health care practitioners in Nepal. Image Credit: Heifer International
Science Education

Hybrid Job Training Boosts Women’s Participation in Nepal

Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. Vocational training can increase employment opportunities, but women may not be able to attend training programs that require them to be away from home. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with an international research team, explored whether hybrid distance learning can improve accessibility to job training for rural women in Nepal. “We had been working in…

Example images of 20 different fruit fly species. Image Credit: Prof Darren Obbard
Studies and Analyses

Study Reveals Species Vulnerable to Various Viruses

A study of fruit flies shows some species are highly susceptible to a wide range of viruses. In the study – by the University of Exeter – 35 fruit fly species were exposed to 11 different viruses of diverse types. As expected, fly species that were less affected by a certain virus also tended to respond well to related viruses. But the findings also show “positive correlations in susceptibility” to viruses in general. In other words, fly species that were…

Multiple forms of double-stranded RNA (blue, magenta, orange structures) cross cell membranes with the help of a conserved protein located in novel sites (colored by depth) throughout the roundworm's body. Image Credit: Antony Jose, University of Maryland Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics
Studies and Analyses

RNA’s Journey: How It Controls Genes Across Generations

UMD researchers uncover key mechanisms in gene regulation that may lead to better design of RNA-based medicines.  RNA-based medicines are one of the most promising ways to fight human disease, as demonstrated by the recent successes of RNA vaccines and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) therapies. But while health care providers can now successfully develop drugs that use dsRNA to accurately target and silence disease-causing genes, a major challenge remains: getting these potentially life-saving RNA molecules into cells efficiently. A new study published in…

Marco Capogrosso, Ph.D. Image Credit: UPMC and Pitt Health Sciences
Studies and Analyses

Spinal Cord Stimulation Boosts Neural Function in Disease Treatment

A new drug-free, minimally invasive intervention targets the root cause of progressive loss of neural function in spinal muscle atrophy (SMA), an inherited neuromuscular disease. An intervention, which involves electrical stimulation of the sensory spinal nerves, can gradually reawaken functionally silent motor neurons in the spinal cord and improve leg muscle strength and walking in adults with SMA. The findings were reported by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers in Nature Medicine today. Early results from a pilot clinical…

In the Kigezi highlands of Uganda, some African farmers are diversifying their livelihoods using small tea plantations and wood lots, pictured here, to adapt to climate change. Photo by Aida Cuni-Sanchez. Image Credit: Aida Cuni-Sanchez
Social Sciences

African Farmers Adapt to Climate Change in Mountain Regions

A new international study highlights the severity of climate change impacts across African mountains, how farmers are adapting, and the barriers they face – findings relevant to people living in mountain regions around the world. “Mountains are the sentinels of climate change,” said Julia Klein, a Colorado State University professor of ecosystem science and sustainability and co-author of the study. “Like the Arctic, some of the first extreme changes we’re seeing are happening in mountains, from glaciers melting to extreme…

A positive emotional experience during learning enhances perceptual memory. Image Credit: Masanori Murayama | RIKEN
Science Education

Positive Emotions and Deep Sleep Enhance Memory Retention

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) have uncovered how perceptual memories linked to positive emotions, such as joy or happiness, are strengthened during sleep. The study, published in the scientific journal Neuron, could help scientists understand the neurological basis for overcoming conditions like drug or sexual addiction. Why do emotional events, whether positive or negative, create strong, long-lasting memories of external information such as music, scene smells and textures received at the events? We know that sleep is…

Kidney disease, Chronic kidney disease ckd, Doctor with human model to study and treat in hospital.
Studies and Analyses

New Study Offers Hope for Chronic Pain Relief in Dialysis Patients

People undergoing hemodialysis treatment for kidney failure often experience chronic pain related to their condition, but it can be difficult to manage with opioid medication and other conventional treatments. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that offering these patients pain coping skills training (PCST) significantly reduced their suffering and improved their quality of life. “This is particularly important for these patients, since the therapeutic choices for pain management are limited and the use of opioids has been…

Risk Perception How Information Arrangement Affects Speed
Studies and Analyses

Risk Perception: How Information Arrangement Affects Speed

Insights into human perception might prove vital for clinical environments  Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how nurses perceive words showing high and low risk ailments. They looked for directional bias, e.g. whether words denoting lower (higher) risk led to a quicker response when placed on the left (right) side or vice versa. They found faster response for significantly higher or lower risk, but different people had different directional biases. Their findings might inform better ways…

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