4 in 10 mpox social media memes spread misinformation or stigmatize minorities

(Saunderstown, RI — May 7, 2025) In a groundbreaking study published today in Science Advances, researchers from Ocean Discovery League reveal that only a minuscule fraction of the deep seafloor has been imaged. Despite covering 66% of Earth's surface, the deep ocean remains largely unexplored. The study, "How Little We've Seen: A Visual Coverage Estimate of the Deep Seafloor," is the first to document that, in decades of deep-sea exploration, humans have observed less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor. This total area is roughly the size of Rhode Island or one-tenth the size of ...

Current treatments to prevent organ transplant rejection focus mainly on suppressing T cells, part of the adaptive immune system. However, the innate immune system—the body’s first line of defense that triggers early inflammation after transplantation—has largely remained untargeted by modern therapies. In a new study, researchers from Mass General Brigham identified a natural “brake” within the innate immune system: the inhibitory receptor Siglec-E (SigE) and its human counterparts, Siglec-7 and Siglec-9. This receptor helps prevent overactivation of immune cells that drive rejection. When this brake ...

A majority of individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss face significant communication barriers when accessing care through the National Health Service (NHS), with nearly two-thirds of patients missing half or more of vital information shared during appointments. A team of patients, clinicians, researchers and charity representatives, led by the University of Cambridge and the British Society of Audiology, surveyed over 550 people who are deaf or have hearing loss about their experiences with the NHS – making it the largest study of its kind. Their findings, reported in the journal PLOS ...

A team of researchers at Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia (UGA) has received more than $4 million from federal and non-governmental organizations to support research on Chagas disease prevalence, diagnostics and treatment to benefit both dogs and humans. Chagas disease is a tropical illness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is most commonly spread by the fecal matter of triatomine bugs — also known as “kissing bugs” because they bite their hosts to feed on blood. The disease — common in humans and dogs — often goes unnoticed in early stages, but ...

Imagine concrete healing its own cracks like human skin recovering from a cut. That’s the vision behind the latest research of Dr. Congrui Grace Jin, published in Materials Today Communications.  Addressing one of the most persistent and expensive problems in construction, Jin, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, has taken inspiration from nature to develop a synthetic lichen system to enable concrete to self-repair. Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth, yet it suffers from the dangerous flaw of cracking easily. These cracks, big or small, can lead to catastrophic structural failure, ...

Tens of millions of people in Africa are infected by parasitic worms that cause lymphatic filariasis (also called elephantiasis), a disease that leads to severe swelling and deformities of the limbs and genitals. Despite widespread treatment programs that have successfully reduced the risk of contracting lymphatic filariasis, hundreds of millions of people remain vulnerable to the infection. A small clinical trial in Cote d’Ivoire, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, shows that the anti-parasitic drug moxidectin – currently approved to ...

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (May 7, 2025)  -- An observational study among 2,272 mother-child pairs in Finland found that infants had 44% lower odds of developing food allergies at 12 months if their mother consumed fresh avocado during pregnancy, after adjusting for other lifestyle, delivery, and maternal health factors. Decades of research have explored the relationship between maternal diet and allergic outcomes in infants, but this is the first published study to link avocados in the maternal diet to ...

An inexpensive paper sensor along with a smartphone-based reader developed by a Washington State University-led team can rapidly provide information on a person’s personal smoke exposure during wildfire season. The sensor can provide valuable information for firefighters and others to clarify just how much harmful pollution they might inhale during smoky conditions. The researchers, including from University of Washington and University of Georgia, report on their work in the journal, ACS Applied ...

About The Study: In this phase 3 study, mRNA-1083, an investigational, multicomponent vaccine against seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2, met noninferiority criteria and induced higher immune responses than recommended standard care influenza (standard and high dose) and COVID-19 vaccines against all 4 influenza strains (among those ages 50-64), the 3 clinically relevant influenza strains (among those age 65 and older), and SARS-CoV-2 (all ages), with an acceptable tolerability and safety profile. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amanda K. Rudman Spergel, MD, email Amanda.RudmanSpergel@modernatx.com. To ...

Life depends on genes being switched on and off at exactly the right time. Even the simplest living organisms do this, but usually over short distances across the DNA sequence, with the on/off switch typically right next to a gene. This basic form of genomic regulation is probably as old as life on Earth.  A new study published today in Nature by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the Centre Nacional d’Anàlisi Genòmica (CNAG) finds that the ability to control genes from far away, over many tens of thousands of DNA letters, evolved between 650 and 700 million years ...