Scientists at IOCB Prague are uncovering new details of gene transcription. They have identified a previously unknown molecular mechanism by which the transcription of genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into ribonucleic acid (RNA) can be initiated. The researchers focused on a specific class of molecules known as alarmones, which are found in cells across a wide range of organisms and whose levels often increase under conditions of cellular stress. The results were published in the prestigious ...

Research Highlights: Electromagnetic network-targeted field (ENTF) therapy, which targets specific connections in the brain, combined with physical therapy, significantly reduced disability in stroke survivors after 90 days. An analysis of two small clinical trials suggests that ENTF therapy is safe and works well in reducing overall disability after stroke. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed, and the findings are considered preliminary until published as a full ...

Research Highlights: Female stroke survivors were more than twice as likely as their stroke-free counterparts to have another stroke while pregnant and in the six weeks after childbirth, according to an analysis of a large national database of electronic health records. In addition, the risk of ischemic stroke during pregnancy and the early postpartum period was 82% more likely among pregnant women who had a previous heart attack and 25% more likely in women with obesity. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s ...

Research Highlights: A study of over 200 adults followed for five years found that greater white matter damage in the brain was linked to decreased driving, fewer trips, repetitive routes and having more driving errors, especially in those who later developed dementia. In contrast, adults ages 65 and older who were taking blood pressure medicines, particularly ACE inhibitors, were less likely to show risky driving behaviors, even when brain damage was present (evidence of white matter damage caused by reduced ...

Research Highlights: Based on an analysis of a decade of hospital stroke registry data, people who had brain bleeds were more likely to die in the hospital if they were taking multiple antiplatelet medications, or medications stronger than aspirin, before the bleed. People who were taking only aspirin before the brain bleed had the same risk of death as those not taking any antiplatelet medications. The results open the door to research on how to improve care for people hospitalized with a brain bleed who have been taking antiplatelet medications. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American Heart Association/American ...

Research Highlights: Adults who had a dissecting aneurysm in the neck artery wall (a cervical artery dissection or CeAD) did not have a higher risk of stroke compared to those with cervical artery dissection without a dissecting aneurysm in the first six months after diagnosis, according to data analysis from a global registry. The findings should offer reassurance and much-needed information about how best to diagnose and treat people with dissecting aneurysm and CeAD, researchers said. Note: The study ...

Research Highlights: A new risk prediction tool was able to accurately identify stroke survivors with the highest risk for developing dementia within a decade of having a stroke, according to a large study in Canada. Factors linked with a higher risk of developing dementia after a stroke included being older, having any disability before the stroke, having a higher level of disability after the stroke, having an intracerebral hemorrhage (compared to an ischemic stroke), having diabetes, experiencing cognitive symptoms during hospitalization ...

Research Highlights: Stroke survivors who felt they could not talk about their feelings or fears about their health with close friends or family reported feeling lonelier and had worse physical and mental recovery when assessed one year after the stroke. Difficulty sharing their feelings with family/friends was as important as the severity of the stroke for identifying patients who would experience greater disability and poorer physical function one year after the stroke. Supporting caregivers, family and health care professionals ...

Research Highlights: A smartwatch used a machine learning algorithm to detect social interactions through sounds in the environment. This technology was able to measure how much social interaction occurred among stroke survivors in the hospital. Social interaction is known to support brain health and recovery after neurological injury; so, this technology could support strategies focused on strengthening social ties, which, in turn, may lead to improved physical recovery and quality of life, even among stroke survivors with language difficulties. Note: The study featured in this news release ...

Research Highlights: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a condition caused by the buildup of amyloid (proteins) in brain blood vessels, was associated with increased risk of developing dementia within 5 years, in a study of nearly 2 million adults in the U.S. with health insurance coverage through Medicare. There was a strong association between blood vessel protein buildup and increased dementia risk for all study participants with or without a history of stroke. Researchers say these findings highlight the need to proactively screen for cognitive changes after a diagnosis of cerebral ...

New results from a clinical trial co-led by UCLA investigators demonstrate how treating desmoplastic melanoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, with immunotherapy before surgery can dramatically shrink or even eliminate tumors, sparing patients from more aggressive surgeries and preserving their quality of life.  The findings, published in Nature Cancer, show that 71% of patients who received the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor that stimulates the body’s immune system to fight ...

Key findings Arabian Sea was better oxygenated 16 million years ago than it is today, despite warmer climate conditions. Monsoons, ocean circulation, and ocean gateways play an important role, adding complexity as we try to predict future ocean oxygenation. In the very long-term, future sea oxygenation may improve, with unknown consequences for marine biology. A new study suggests the world’s oxygen depleted seas may have a chance of returning to higher oxygen concentrations in the centuries to come, despite our increasingly warming climate. Researchers at the University of Southampton (UK) and Rutgers University ...

Every year, Australia experiences a summer monsoon characterized by the reversal of winds, heavy rainfall and flooding. In 2024-2025 however, the Australian summer monsoon (ASM) was the latest on record since measurements began in 1957. The monsoon's timely arrival is critical for Northern Australia. It dictates water security for communities, drives pasture growth for the vital cattle industry and signals the end of the high bushfire risk period. The start of the ASM is defined by the change in prevailing dry southeasterly trade winds that occur most of the ...

A team led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has succeeded in identifying biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease in its earliest stages, before extensive brain damage has occurred. The biological processes leave measurable traces in the blood, but only for a limited period. The discovery thus reveals a window of opportunity that could be crucial for future treatment, but also for early diagnosis via blood tests, which could begin to be tested in healthcare within five years. Parkinson’s is an endemic disease with over 10 million people affected globally. As the world’s population grows older, this ...

by Ric Treble and Caroline Copeland The illicit drug trade is international, and different countries have developed different strategies intended to minimize its negative effects, most commonly through controls on, or prohibition of, specified substances. But which approaches to banning substances are actually most effective in reducing harm?  The advent of NPS, and the range of subsequent legislative controls introduced by different countries, has created a natural experiment. Using data from the UK’s National Programme on Substance Abuse Mortality ...

Blue carbon refers to organic carbon captured and stored by the marine and vegetated coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. These ecosystems act as powerful carbon sinks, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere efficiently like terrestrial forests. Recent focus on marine conservation has identified the blue carbon concept as an important factor, contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation. While there is a rising interest in blue carbon among businesses and ...

Woods Hole, Mass. (January 28, 2026) — A new study led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), along with international partners, finds that proposed commercial fishing in the deep ocean could have serious consequences for bigeye tuna, one of the world’s most valuable and widely consumed fish. The study in Fisheries Management and Ecology shows that large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic fish –small, deep-sea species that live hundreds of meters below the surface –could reduce the food available to bigeye tuna, ultimately harming tuna populations ...

Education systems need to focus more on independent critical thinking and rational, evidence-based learning and problem-solving to find answers to many of the unprecedented environmental, social and economic challenges facing humanity, experts say.     Scientists from around the world, including Flinders University microbiologist Dr Jake Robinson, have called for a radical refocus of school curricula from early years to high school to include more critical thinking and learning skills to empower students to ‘think outside the box’. “Cultivating deep, critical and systems-oriented thinking is no longer optional (but) ...

The study, published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, resolves longstanding questions about when, and why, these iconic Australian marsupials diversified. First author PhD researcher Clelia Gauthier, from QUT’s School of Biology and Environmental Science, said the researchers found that the kangaroo family tree expanded in two major bursts over the past nine million years. “The first was during a late Miocene period of increasing dryness around 7-9 million years ago, and again in the Early Pliocene as grasslands began to emerge across the continent around 5-4.5 million years ago,” Ms Gauthier said. “Our ...

In a study published in Nature, a team led by Prof. SU Yewang from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Dr. LI Shuang from Tsinghua University and Prof. YU Xinge from the City University of Hong Kong, developed a soft, biodegradable, wireless sensing device which can monitor multiple signals from inside the body over long distances (e.g., 16 cm), while maintaining accuracy across varying positions and angles. Monitoring internal physiological signals is essential for effective ...

By combining developmental assessments with advanced metabolomic profiling, the study reveals how early-life chemical stress rewires metabolism, disrupts growth programs, and leaves a hidden legacy of skeletal deformities. Benzo[a]pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon widely detected in aquatic environments worldwide. Although its toxicity to developing fish has been documented, most studies focus on immediate or single-generation effects. In natural ecosystems, however, early-life exposure often coincides with sensitive developmental windows, raising concerns about inherited impacts ...

By integrating long-read and short-read transcriptomics with whole-genome resequencing, the team uncovered specific transcript variants and genetic variations linked to superior feed utilization, providing new molecular targets and more efficient ways for fish breeding. Feed is the largest cost component in aquaculture and also a major source of environmental pressure, making improvements in feed efficiency is a central goal for sustainable fish production. Feed efficiency describes an animal’s ability to convert dietary nutrients into body mass, and even modest gains generating substantial economic ...

By identifying and characterizing three key autophagy genes and tracking their responses under environmental stress, the study could help improve fish health management and support sustainable aquaculture. Human activities and climate deterioration are increasingly altering aquatic ecosystems, leading to frequent disease outbreaks and heavy economic losses in fish farming. Takifugu fasciatus is prized for its high nutritional value and medicinal compounds, including tetrodotoxin and collagen. However, the species is highly sensitive to copper contamination and cold stress. Copper concentrations in summer waters can reach levels harmful ...

Australian and New Zealand scientists have unearthed the remains of ancient wildlife in a cave near Waitomo on Aotearoa's North Island, the first time a large number of million-year-old fossils have been found – including an ancestor of the large flightless kākāpō parrot. The discovery of fossils from 12 ancient bird species and four frog species has opened a rare window into how New Zealand looked about 1 million years ago. It indicates that New Zealand’s ancient wildlife was significantly impacted by catastrophic climate changes and volcanic eruptions. This resulted in frequent extinctions and species replacements well before human arrival, according to new ...

On Hainan Island, centuries-old masonry supports an unexpectedly rich diversity of epilithic, or rock-dwelling, plants, highlighting a close intersection between cultural heritage and natural biodiversity. By integrating island-wide field surveys with statistical modeling, the team demonstrates how geographic gradients, architectural features, and human activities jointly shape these often-overlooked plant communities, offering new scientific evidence to support more balanced and ecologically informed strategies for heritage conservation. Rapid urbanization across China has placed increasing pressure on historic architecture, particularly in tropical ...