Low social support and a tendency to compare yourself to others may be associated with problematic social media use, per study of 403 Italian adolescents

Knee braces, water therapy and exercise are the most promising non-drug therapies for treating knee osteoarthritis, according to a new meta-analysis publishing June 18, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Yuan Luo of the First People’s Hospital of Neijiang, China. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common and often debilitating condition that affects millions of older adults, causing pain and stiffening of the knee joint. Treatment often includes anti-inflammatory drugs, which are linked to gastrointestinal and cardiovascular adverse events. In ...

QUT robotics researchers have developed a new robot navigation system that mimics neural processes of the human brain and uses less than 10 per cent of the energy required by traditional systems. In a study published in the journal Science Robotics, the researchers detail a new system which they call LENS – Locational Encoding with Neuromorphic Systems. LENS uses brain-inspired computing to set a new, low-energy benchmark for robotic place recognition. The research, conducted by first author neuroscientist Dr Adam Hines along with Professor Michael Milford and Dr Tobias Fischer, all from the QUT Centre of Robotics and the QUT School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics, uses ...

A new study from scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reveals that the cells shaping our organs may be far more mobile and coordinated than once believed.  Using fruit flies as a model, researchers discovered that future muscle cells crawl across the surface of the developing testis and actively sculpt it into its final form. These dynamic cells don’t work alone, they coordinate their movements using a communication system previously typically associated with brain development.  “While most organs are thought to be shaped by static, brick-like cells, our study highlights the powerful role of dynamic, migrating cells — and how ...

Wildfires that keep us inside might drive the spread of infectious disease, per study of the U.S. West Coast wildfires of 2020, highlighting indirect health impacts of extreme weather events. ### Article URL: https://plos.io/4mXg1FC Article Title: Disruption of outdoor activities caused by wildfire smoke shapes circulation of respiratory pathogens Author Countries: Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, United States   Funding: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Fritz-Family fellowship program to SB and GP. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation ...

Summary Excitons--bound pairs of electrons and holes created by light--are key to the optoelectronic behavior of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, because excitons are confined to extremely small regions and exist for only fleeting moments, it has been extremely challenging to directly observe their behavior using conventional measurement techniques. In this study, we overcame that challenge by using an ultrafast infrared near-field optical microscope that focuses femtosecond infrared laser pulses down to the nanoscale. This advanced approach allowed us to visualize where excitons ...

A new paper from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Butler Columbia Aging Center, and Columbia Irving Medical Center introduces a scientific framework for understanding the biological foundation of health—what the researchers term Intrinsic Health. Published in Science Advances, the study lays the groundwork for measuring and promoting health itself, rather than merely treating disease. Titled “Intrinsic Health as a Foundation for a Science of Health,” the paper defines intrinsic health as a field-like state that supports the body’s ability to maintain internal balance across dynamic biological ...

Vance Holliday jumped at the invitation to go do geology at New Mexico's White Sands. The landscape, just west of Alamogordo, looks surreal – endless, rolling dunes of fine beige gypsum, left behind by ancient seas. It's one of the most unique geologic features in the world. But a national park protects much of the area's natural resources, and the U.S. Army uses an adjacent swath as a missile range, making research at White Sands impossible much of the time. So it was an easy call for Holliday, a University of Arizona archaeologist and geologist, to accept an invitation in 2012 ...

The gut microbiome, a vast assortment of bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit our digestive system, plays a critical role in converting food into energy. Many of these microbes follow rhythmic cycles of activity throughout the day. However, high-fat diets and other factors can disrupt these rhythms and contribute to metabolic disease. A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego and their colleagues used time-restricted feeding (TRF), an intervention that limits dietary intake to a short time window each day, to restore microbial rhythms in mice fed a high-fat diet. By analyzing ...

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health is pleased to announce funding awards to support the teaching of Public Health Law at U.S. schools of public health.  Part of a CDC-funded initiative designed to improve capacity for local health departments and increase knowledge of law among the next cadre of public health graduates, the “Teaching Public Health Law in Accredited Schools and Programs of Public Health” project is led by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Faculty Magda Schaler-Haynes, JD, MPH, and Heather Krasna, PhD. The project is housed within The Center for Public Health Systems in ...

NEW YORK, NY (June 18, 2025)--Addictive use of social media, video games, or mobile phones—but not total screen time—is associated with worse mental health among preteens, a new study by researchers at Columbia and Cornell universities has found.   The study, published June 18 in JAMA, examined the social media use of nearly 4,300 children, starting at age 8, and how use changed over the next four years.   Addictive use of screens—excessive use that interfered with schoolwork, home responsibilities, or other activities—was ...