Research announcements from universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Explore the stories, people and discoveries behind the headlines.
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A Columbia University study of 104,231 U.S. adults found benzodiazepine use fell from 4.7% in 2018 to 3.4% in 2022, with the sharpest drop among adults 56 and older. But 41.6% of current benzodiazepine users also received another CNS depressant - rising to 72% among those in poor health.
Read the releaseA JAMA Surgery study found that opening a trauma center in a Chicago neighborhood with high rates of violent injury and limited trauma access was associated with significantly reduced firearm mortality in the surrounding service area, supporting geography-conscious trauma system planning.
Read the releaseA study from Washington State University and Auburn University finds that labeling wine as made by a female winemaker, combined with feminine visual cues, significantly increases purchase intent and willingness to pay among women consumers, who account for 59% of all US wine purchases.
Read the releaseThe largest-ever review of opioids for acute pain, published in Drugs and covering 59 systematic reviews across more than 50 conditions, finds that opioids provide only modest, time-limited relief compared to placebo for most indications and are ineffective or harmful for several others.
Read the releaseThe 2026 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK awarded 100,000 pounds each to three researchers: molecular biologist Kelly Nguyen for atomic-level telomerase imaging, chemist Maxie Roessler for electron spectroscopy, and astrophysicist Paola Pinilla for protoplanetary disc research.
Read the releaseA study combining lower-limb immobilization trials in young adults with aged rat models finds that skeletal muscle retains molecular memory of disuse. Young muscles develop protective resilience; aged muscles show worsening atrophy and suppressed aerobic metabolism with each repeat episode.
Read the releaseButterfly caterpillars that rely on ants for protection don't just mimic their chemistry - they replicate rhythmic vibrational signals too. Warwick researchers find the most ant-dependent species produce isochronous beat patterns indistinguishable from ant colony signals.
Read the releaseA bottlenose dolphin named Mimmo has been thriving in Venice's lagoon since June 2025, feeding on mullets and displaying normal behavior. University of Padova researchers say the animal needs no special protection - only better management of the humans around it.
Read the releaseAustralian chemists embedded a nano-sized molecular cage into mesoporous silica to create an adsorbent that captures short-chain PFAS - the most mobile and hardest-to-remove forever chemicals - removing up to 98% from model tap water and remaining effective after five reuse cycles.
Read the releaseField urine sampling in Uganda's Kibale National Park found alcohol byproducts in 85% of chimpanzee samples, confirming that wild chimps regularly ingest significant ethanol from fermenting fruit and providing the strongest evidence yet for the 'drunken monkey' hypothesis.
Read the releaseA UK longitudinal study of 1,933 children finds each extra BMI unit in either parent raises the child's fatty liver disease risk by 9-10%, with both-parent overweight tripling the odds - most of which is mediated by the child's own BMI between ages 7 and 17.
Read the releaseAn analysis of U.S. and U.K. census data estimates that about 1 in 5 adults in both countries has sleep apnea, costing up to $180 billion annually in U.S. productivity - more than the $1,661 annual CPAP treatment cost per patient.
Read the releaseAnalysis of 250,000+ Swedish students aged 15-18 over 33 years finds that cannabis use follows the same population-level distribution pattern as alcohol: when average use rises, all user groups shift together, including those at risk of heavy use.
Read the releaseA new academic volume on comics from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania argues that Western definitions of the medium have long distorted how global comics are read and valued - and that the artform belongs to communities who use it to contest power.
Read the releaseCarl Bergstrom and Kevin Gross used mathematical models to show that declining peer review quality and rising submission volumes form a self-perpetuating cycle. Paying reviewers, reducing submission incentives, and restructuring academic promotion criteria are among the interventions they identify as potentially stabilizing.
Read the releaseA new mathematical model from the University of Illinois shows how microbial communities built on mutual nutrient dependence become more stable in fluctuating environments - and correctly predicted which three of four E. coli strains would survive to form a stable community in an independent lab experiment.
Read the releaseColumbia University received an ARPA-H award to identify measurable biological signals of aging deceleration from existing clinical trial data. Early findings suggest rapamycin may slow ovarian aging by roughly 20 percent - potentially extending fertility by up to five years.
Read the releaseSubmission rates to scientific journals are rising faster than available peer reviewers can absorb. New mathematical modeling in PLOS Biology maps the feedback cycles driving this deterioration and identifies which interventions could actually stabilize the system.
Read the releaseAnalyzing all professional recordings of a rediscovered 19th-century Ethel Smyth piano miniature, a Surrey researcher found that performers diverged radically with no shared tradition to guide interpretation - a problem that will grow as more marginalized composers are brought back into the repertoire.
Read the releaseNYU chemists published in Chem a one-pot method using light-sensitive photoacid molecules to control when and where colloidal crystals form - creating, destroying, and reshaping structures on demand with a simple change in illumination, without redesigning particles.
Read the releaseThe COINS trial at Deakin University found that daily natural peanut butter supplementation significantly improved lower-body muscle power in adults aged 66-89 at fall risk, with gains on a five-repetition sit-to-stand test compared to a calorie-matched control group.
Read the releaseA Perspective by Michael Lynch and Andrew Ellington argues the ribosome likely began as a viral-like parasite in proto-cells, assembling short peptides before the host became dependent on its products - joining the spliceosome and possibly mitochondria as structures with antagonistic origins.
Read the releaseAnalysis of decades of survey data by James Druckman and colleagues shows individual economic satisfaction and happiness have remained relatively stable since the 1970s, while institutional confidence and democratic satisfaction have declined sharply - with partisan divides in trust now far wider than in 1974.
Read the releaseA study of 50 Tour de France editions found that dangerous heat conditions have become increasingly common at race locations since 2014. Southwestern cities including Toulouse, Pau, and Bordeaux carry the highest risk; Paris and Lyon are emerging as new hotspots.
Read the releaseA study from Earth-Life Science Institute finds that enhanced enzyme diffusion after catalysis functions as molecular 'memory,' allowing enzymes to bias reaction outcomes beyond simple catalysis - a biological realization of the Maxwell's Demon thought experiment.
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