Medicine: Publication in Science Advances Damage to the mitochondria, the “power plants” of the cells, contributes to many diseases. Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of Cologne led by HHU professor of medicine Dr David Pla-Martín, now describe in the scientific journal Science Advances how cells with defective mitochondria activate a special recycling system to eliminate damaged genetic material. Damage to the genetic material of mitochondria – the mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA for short – can…
The UMass Amherst-led team challenges the conventional wisdom that perfect fillers are better for making thermally conductive polymers The UMass Amherst-led team challenges the conventional wisdom that perfect fillers are better for making thermally conductive polymers In the quest to design the next generation of materials for modern devices – ones that are lightweight, flexible and excellent at dissipating heat – a team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst made a discovery: imperfection has its upsides. This…
The DAM-Decision and Memory group studies the cognitive and neural computations that guide decision-making and long-term memory, as well as the mnemonic processes of social behaviour The DAM-Decision and Memory group at Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, led by Raphael Kaplan and composed of researchers from Spain, Italy and the United States, has recently published the results of two studies that provide new insights into human brain behaviour in everyday activities such as decision-making and social interaction. In a new line…
Images taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle, processed with free software, help assess water stress parameters in corn experiments and select varieties that are better adapted to water shortages. A method using free software and a drone with a low-cost camera has made it possible to select drought-tolerant corn plants. The tool contributes to the selection of plants that can better withstand water stress, one of the impacts of climate change on agriculture. The results of the experiments were published in an…
Study reveals new information about how to prevent chronic inflammation from zombie-like cells that accumulate with age In humans and other multicellular organisms, cells multiply. This defining feature allows embryos to grow into adulthood, and enables the healing of the many bumps, bruises and scrapes along the way. Certain factors can cause cells to abandon this characteristic and enter a zombie-like state known as senescence where they persist but no longer divide to make new cells. Our bodies can remove…
University of Arizona neuroscientists studying the brains of songbirds have found that aging alters the gene expressions that control the birds’ song. The finding could lead to earlier diagnoses and better treatments for human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, which are known to hinder vocal production in their early stages. The study, published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, found that networks of interacting genes, in a region of the bird’s brain involved with singing, dramatically…
A new type of antibody which stimulates the immune system to target cancer cells slows tumor growth, according to new research Antibody treatment which activates the patient’s own immune system against cancer, known as immunotherapy, is increasingly being investigated as an alternative for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is because it specifically targets the cancer cells, which reduces the side effects seen with more conventional therapies. Tumours, such as some breast and ovarian cancers, can express the marker HER2. HER2 is…
Gemini North’s MAROON-X instrument finds evidence for four mini-Earth exoplanets around our famous cosmic neighbor Barnard’s Star For a century, astronomers have been studying Barnard’s Star in the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by E. E. Barnard at Yerkes Observatory in 1916, it is the nearest single star system to Earth [1]. Barnard’s Star is classified as a red dwarf — low-mass stars that often host closely-packed planetary systems, often with multiple rocky planets. Red dwarfs are extremely numerous in the Universe, so scientists…
Study links genetics, vision and neural processing to mating behavior in Heliconius butterflies A simple neural change alters mating preferences in male butterflies, aiding rapid behavioral evolution, Nicholas VanKuren and Nathan Buerkle at the University of Chicago, US, and colleagues, report March 11th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Heliconius are a group of tropical butterflies known for their wide variety of wing patterns and colors, which act as a warning to predators. Because wing coloration is crucial for their…
Understanding children’s subjective experiences through color As a child, did it ever occur to you that your perception of color differed from that of others? It’s quite common to have this thought, but it turns out that the human color experience may be more universal than we previously believed. In psychology and neuroscience, the relationship between subjective experience, such as how we perceive color, and physical brain activity has remained an unresolved problem. Furthermore, due to their limited language abilities,…
University of Arizona astronomers have learned more about a surprisingly mature galaxy that existed when the universe was just less than 300 million years old – just 2% of its current age. Observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the galaxy – designated JADES-GS-z14-0 – is unexpectedly bright and chemically complex for an object from this primordial era, the researchers said. This provides a rare glimpse into the universe’s earliest chapter. The findings, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, build…
Physics professor J. Ping Liu helps boost nation’s energy security and advance toward a world-class magnet research hub University of Texas at Arlington physics Professor J. Ping Liu has won the 2025 Hill Prize in Physical Sciences for pioneering new ways to design magnets that power high-tech devices. Awarded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the prize recognizes groundbreaking innovations with the potential for real-world impact. Dr. Liu shares the award as co-principal…
A metamaterial with potential applications in sensor technology A flower-shaped structure only a few micrometres in size made of a nickel-iron alloy can concentrate and locally enhance magnetic fields. The size of the effect can be controlled by varying the geometry and number of ‘petals’. This magnetic metamaterial developed by Dr Anna Palau’s group at the Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) in collaboration with her partners of the CHIST-ERA MetaMagIC project, has now been studied at BESSY…
Cedars-Sinai-led study of AI-enabled virtual visits found that AI recommendations were graded higher than physician decisions Do physicians or artificial intelligence (AI) offer better treatment recommendations for patients examined through a virtual urgent care setting? A new Cedars-Sinai study shows physicians and AI models have distinct strengths. The late-breaking study presented at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting and published simultaneously in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared initial AI treatment recommendations to final recommendations of physicians who…
The German Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT has launched the “lokalRAIN” research project in collaboration with Pan Acoustics GmbH from Wolfenbüttel. The goal of the project is to develop an acoustic rain sensor and a cost-efficient sensor network for the precise real-time detection and transmission of precipitation data. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and runs from October 2024 to June 2026. Accurately measuring precipitation remains a major challenge,…
New machine learning model cuts fluid simulation time from 45 minutes to 3 AI has created a sea change in society; now, it is setting its sights on the sea itself. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a machine learning-powered fluid simulation model that significantly reduces computation time without compromising accuracy. Their fast and precise technique opens up potential applications in offshore power generation, ship design and real-time ocean monitoring. Accurately predicting fluid behavior is crucial for industries relying…
A machine-learning algorithm to study the behavior of proteins within cells and to predict their ability to trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. The study published in Genome Biology A research group led by Gian Gaetano Tartaglia, Principal Investigator at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), developed a machine-learning algorithm to study the behavior of proteins within cells and to predict their ability to trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s,…
As discussed in the paper, the fear of public speaking is widely cited as being the most common fear. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the prevalence of social anxiety and a fear of public speaking are both on the rise. This is concerning when one considers the range of known subsequent negative impacts on mental health, physical health, academic attainment, and career progression. To address this, Dr Chris Macdonald created an online platform where users transform into skilled…
Groundbreaking research by physicists at The City College of New York is being credited for a novel discovery regarding the interaction of electronic excitations via spin waves. The finding by the Laboratory for Nano and Micro Photonics (LaNMP) team headed by physicist Vinod Menon could open the door to future technologies and advanced applications such as optical modulators, all-optical logic gates, and quantum transducers. The work is reported in the journal Nature Materials. The researchers showed the emergence of interaction…
Warwick astronomers discover the first double white dwarf binary, destined to explode as type 1a supernova University of Warwick astronomers have discovered an extremely rare, high mass, compact binary star system only ~150 light years away. These two stars are on a collision course to explode as a type 1a supernova, appearing 10 times brighter than the moon in the night sky. Type 1a supernovae are a special class of cosmic explosion, famously used as ‘standard candles’ to measure distances…
The research team now believes that Aguas Zarcas is strong because it avoided collisions in space and did not have the cracks that weaken many meteorites. In the Pinball World of Asteroids, a Mudball Meteorite Avoided Collisions March 31, 2025, Mountain View, CA — In April 2019, rare primitive meteorites fell near the town of Aguas Zarcas in northern Costa Rica. In an article published online in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, an international team of researchers describe the…
As part of its commitment to unraveling the universe’s mysteries through sustained support of the astrophysics community, the Flatiron Institute is securing the future of MESA (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics), an open-source software suite that has transformed how researchers model the evolution of stars. As MESA’s creator, Bill Paxton, steps down, the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics (CCA) is stepping up to support MESA’s need for ongoing maintenance and continued development. CCA has hired Philip Mocz as…
From seat cushions to mattresses to insulation, foam is everywhere — even if we don’t always see it. Now, researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have fused chemistry with technology to create a 3D-printed foam that is more durable and more recyclable than the polymer foam found in many everyday products. The research, which appears in the March 1 print edition of RSC Applied Polymers, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, focused on creating a sturdy but lightweight foam…
A collaboration between chemical engineers and animal scientists has created a system for recovering valuable industrial chemicals from animal waste, representing a major step towards circularity and environmental sustainability. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a nanofiltration system for separating volatile fatty acids (VFAs) – organic molecules that are critical in fine chemical production across many sectors – from cattle manure fermented in bioreactors. Thanks to the incorporation of selective ion-exchange membranes into an electrochemical separation system,…
Findings show that radiation-induced chemistry may mitigate metal alloy corrosion in nuclear reactors cooled by molten salts High temperatures and ionizing radiation create extremely corrosive environments inside a nuclear reactor. To design long-lasting reactors, scientists must understand how radiation-induced chemical reactions impact structural materials. Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory recently performed experiments showing that radiation-induced reactions may help mitigate the corrosion of reactor metals in a new type of reactor…
Research hints at calcium’s potential role in enforcing a specific molecular handedness among primitive polyesters and early biomolecules A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo has uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping life’s earliest molecular structures. Their findings suggest that calcium ions can selectively influence how primitive polymers form, shedding light on a long-standing mystery: how life’s molecules came to prefer a single “handedness” (chirality). Like our left…
The UMass Amherst-led team challenges the conventional wisdom that perfect fillers are better for making thermally conductive polymers The UMass Amherst-led team challenges the conventional wisdom that perfect fillers are better for making thermally conductive polymers In the quest to design the next generation of materials for modern devices – ones that are lightweight, flexible and excellent at dissipating heat – a team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst made a discovery: imperfection has its upsides. This…
Researchers can pull carbon directly from the air using changes in humidity, now with materials at a fraction of the cost EVANSTON, Ill. — Researchers at Northwestern University have expanded the potential of carbon capture technology that plucks CO2 directly from the air by demonstrating that there are multiple suitable and abundant materials that can facilitate direct air capture. In a paper to be published on Thursday (April 3) in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the Northwestern researchers present…
Bilayer device can control many forms of polarized light Almost a decade ago, Harvard engineers unveiled the world’s first visible-spectrum metasurfaces – ultra-thin, flat devices patterned with nanoscale structures that could precisely control the behavior of light. A powerful alternative to traditional, bulky optical components, metasurfaces today enable compact, lightweight, multifunctional applications ranging from imaging systems and augmented reality to spectroscopy and communications. Now, researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are doubling down, literally, on metasurface…
Researchers have discovered an unexpected superconducting transition in extremely thin films of niobium diselenide (NbSe₂). Published in Nature Communications, they found that when these films become thinner than six atomic layers, superconductivity no longer spreads evenly throughout the material, but instead becomes confined to its surface. This discovery challenges previous assumptions and could have important implications for understanding superconductivity and developing advanced quantum technologies. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have made a surprising discovery about how superconductivity behaves…
Study shows contrast between wet and dry areas increases rain by up to 30% Storm forecasting is traditionally based on studying atmospheric conditions but ground-breaking research that also looks at land surface conditions is set to transform early warning systems in tropical regions. This will enable communities to better adapt to the destructive impacts of climate change. The new study led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has shown that a large contrast in soil moisture levels…
Plate temperature and water release can explain the occurrence of different types of earthquakes in Guerrera, Mexico. The Kobe University simulation study also showed that the shape of the Cocos Plate is responsible for a gap where earthquakes haven’t occurred for more than a century. The results are important for accurate earthquake prediction models in the region. Where one tectonic plate is pushed down by another, the resulting stress is released in various tectonic events. There are catastrophic megathrust earthquakes,…
Deep below Earth’s surface, rock and mineral formations lay hidden with a secret brilliance. Under a black light, the chemicals fossilized within shine in brilliant hues of pink, blue and green. Scientists are using these fluorescent features to understand how the caves formed and how life is supported in extreme environments, which may reveal how life could persist in faraway places, like Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The researchers will present their results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical…
Recent studies have shown that carbon stocks in terrestrial ecosystems are increasing, mitigating around 30% of the CO2 emissions linked to human activities. The overall value of carbon sinks on the earth’s surface is fairly well known—as it can be deduced from the planet’s total carbon balance anthropogenic emissions, the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere and the ocean sinks—yet, researchers know very little about carbon distribution between the various terrestrial pools: living vegetation—mainly forests—and nonliving carbon pools—soil organic matter,…
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