The percentage of women who went without a Pap smear for cervical cancer screening increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, from 19% in 2019 to 26% in 2022

The accuracy of machine learning algorithms for predicting suicidal behavior is too low to be useful for screening or for prioritizing high-risk individuals for interventions, according to a new study published September 11th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Matthew Spittal of the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues. Numerous risk assessment scales have been developed over the past 50 years to identify patients at high risk of suicide or self-harm. In general, these scales have had poor predictive accuracy, but the availability of modern machine ...

From pollinating flowers to enabling decomposition and supporting nutrient cycles, insects’ abundance and biodiversity are critical for maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, recent studies showing population declines have raised alarm about how insects are coping with the modern world. Understanding whether recent observations are part of longer timescale trends can help inform global conservation efforts, and identify the reasons behind the so-called “Insect Apocalypse”.  Published in Science, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology ...

A new study of ants in Fiji – involving genomic sequencing of over 4,000 ant specimens from museum collections – shows that most native species have been in decline since humans first arrived in the archipelago 3,000 years ago. Meanwhile, recently introduced ant species have expanded. The findings underscore how human activity has and continues to reshape fragile island ecosystems. Insects, which make up much of Earth’s biodiversity, provide crucial ecosystem services, including pollination, soil ...

According to a new study, most climate models exploring wildfires’ impacts on air quality overlook the effect of heat from a fire in one location on altering weather patterns – and in turn air quality – in locations farther afield. The authors of this study report that wildfires in the western United States are worsening air quality in the West but, paradoxically, may be improving it in the East. Over recent decades, wildfires in the western United States have become more frequent and intense, releasing vast amounts of smoke, which can greatly degrade air quality both locally and in regions far downwind. Often assumed to worsen when wildfire smoke drifts eastward from the ...

In a Policy Forum, Natalie Ram and colleagues discuss the concerning gaps in robust regulatory protection on direct-to-consumer genetic data and biospecimens. After declaring bankruptcy in March 2025, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company, 23andMe, sold the genetic data of over 15 million people worldwide to a nonprofit founded by 23andMe’s own CEO. Although the nature of the sale meant the data remained under familiar leadership, it was controversial and highlighted critical gaps in legal ...

New Haven, Conn. — The movement of protons through electrically charged water is one of the most fundamental processes in chemistry. It is evident in everything from eyesight to energy storage to rocket fuel — and scientists have known about it for more than 200 years. But no one has ever seen it happen. Or precisely measured it on a microscopic scale. Now, the Mark Johnson lab at Yale has — for the first time — set benchmarks for how long it takes protons to move through six charged water molecules. The discovery, made possible with a ...

We take our understanding of where we are for granted, until we lose it. When we get lost in nature or a new city, our eyes and brains kick into gear, seeking familiar objects that tell us where we are. How our brains distinguish objects from background when finding direction, however, was largely a mystery. A new study provides valuable insight into this process, with possible implications for disorientation-causing conditions such as Alzheimer’s. The scientists, based at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University and the University Medical Center Göttingen, ran an experiment with mice using ultrasound imaging to measure and record brain ...

Genoa (Italy), 11 September 2025 - Researchers from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Genoa (Italy) and Brown University in Providence (USA) have discovered that people sense the hand of a humanoid robot as part of their body schema, particularly when it comes to carrying out a task together, like slicing a bar of soap. The study has been published in the journal iScience and can pave the way for a better design of robots that have to function in close contact with humans, such as those used in rehabilitation. The project, led by Alessandra Sciutti, IIT Principal ...

Images A new nanostructure acts like a wire and switch that can, for the first time, control and direct the flow of quantum quasiparticles called excitons at room temperature.    The transistor-like switch developed by University of Michigan engineers could speed up information transfer or even enable circuits that run on excitons instead of electricity—paving the way for a new class of devices.   Because they have no electrical charge, excitons have the potential to move quantum information without the losses that come with moving electrically charged particles like electrons. ...

In 1959, Lucy Shapiro, a freshman honors student at Brooklyn College majoring in arts and literature, had signed up for a course in inorganic chemistry on a lark. It didn’t interest her, and she stopped attending. But at the end of the term, having failed to officially drop the class, she was notified she had to take the final exam. “It was a multiple-choice test, so I just circled all the B's,” recalled Shapiro, PhD, professor emerita of developmental biology and director of Stanford Medicine’s Beckman Center recalled. She received a D. Three years later, the budding artist met physical ...