1 in 8 Italian cetacean strandings show evidence of fishery interactions, with bottlenose and striped dolphins most commonly affected, according to analysis across four decades of data and more than 5

The first-ever measurements of the ethanol content of fruits available to chimpanzees in their native African habitat show that the animals could easily consume the equivalent of more than two standard alcoholic drinks each day, according to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. It's not clear whether they actively seek out fruit with high ethanol levels, which are typically riper fruit with more sugars to ferment. But the availability of ethanol in many species of fruit that they normally eat suggests that alcohol is a regular part of their diet and likely was a part of the diets of our human ancestors. "Across all sites, male and female chimpanzees ...

Permafrost, ground frozen for at least two years underlying the cold Arctic and alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, covers about 17% of the global land surface and stores an estimated one-third of the world's soil organic carbon. As climate change causes this permafrost to thaw, the potential release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) has raised concerns about passing a tipping point, triggering an irreversible positive feedback loop that accelerates warming. A critical unanswered question has been whether these ecosystems can ...

Embargoed until 7pm BST (2pm ET USA) on Wednesday 17 September 2025 – PLOS One embargo -With pictures- Farmers in the Middle East were more committed to wine production over olive growing during times of climatic change in the Bronze and Iron Ages, according to new research. Archaeologists who analysed the charred remains of ancient plant samples found that irrigation was used to maintain grape cultivation as people prioritised viticulture. Their findings provide evidence of the importance of wine production for cultural and economic purposes during that period. The ...

Indian adolescents are mostly starting their periods at an earlier age than 25 years ago - likely because of demographic factors such as improved education, and possibly even climate change.   Article URL: https://plos.io/4nqfag7   Article Title: Understanding age at menarche: Environmental and demographic influences over a quarter century in India Author Countries: Bangladesh Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Temporary medical centers in Gaza known as "Medical Points" (MPs) treat an average of 117 people daily with only about 7 staff per MP, filling a critical role despite severe staffing and supply shortages (with insulin and cancer treatments unavailable in over 90% of cases, for instance).   Article URL: https://plos.io/4nn4PRX Article Title: Resilience amid chaos: The role of Gaza medical points Author Countries: Jordan, Palestine, United States Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

In an analysis by race, sex, age, and geography, alcohol-induced death rates in 2024 are nearly double those in 1999, with a sharp increase at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although rates are higher for men, the largest increase in alcohol-induced deaths over the full 25-year period occurred in females aged 25-34, according to a study published on September 17 by Dr. Tony Wong and colleagues at UCLA in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health. Alcohol-induced deaths have been increasing over the past two decades. Particularly concering are increases between 2019 ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — People with substance use disorder who participate in recovery running programs have shown improved success in maintaining their sobriety and reducing their risk for relapse. Those observations led Panayotis Thanos, a University at Buffalo neuroscientist who studies the brain’s reward system, to try to figure out the brain mechanisms behind that phenomenon. In a new study published today in PLOS One, Thanos, PhD, senior research scientist in the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, and co-authors reveal that ...

Two healthcare workers get COVID-19 vaccinations on the same day. Both show strong antibody responses initially, but six months later one stays healthy while the other contracts the virus. A new study published in Science Translational Medicine could help explain this difference. Researchers tracked individuals’ antibody levels after vaccinations and identified four distinct patterns of immune response after the first booster vaccination. Notably, the group that started with the highest antibody levels but experienced a faster decline were infected earlier. People with lower blood levels of IgA(S) antibodies, ...

A newly developed molecule brings together two powerful immunotherapy strategies in one treatment. Researchers at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, have demonstrated that this fusion protein can both block the “do not attack” signal used by cancer cells and selectively activate tumor-fighting immune cells. This dual action could pave the way for more effective cancer therapies with fewer side effects. Back in the early 1980s, Linda Taylor, just 33 years old, was diagnosed with advanced skin cancer and faced a grim prognosis. Luckily, she met Dr. Stephen Rosenberg from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, who treated ...

People with temporal lobe epilepsy in particular often wander around aimlessly and unconsciously after a seizure. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have identified a neurobiological mechanism that could be responsible for this so-called post-ictal wandering and potentially other postictal symptoms. According to their hypothesis, epileptic seizures are not directly responsible for post-ictal symptoms, but rather seizure-associated depolarization waves, also known as spreading depolarization (SD). The results ...