Science
press releases.

Science3 Nov 2025

Caution advised with corporate virtual care partnerships

Provincial governments that partner with for-profit virtual health care companies need to be cautious to protect public trust in the health care system, according to an analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250639. At least 4 provinces in Canada have partnered with corporate virtual care organizations as part of efforts to deal with challenges in primary care access, offering medical care via video, phone and text messaging. “There are risks associated with direct-to-consumer virtual ‘walk in’ style ...

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Science1 Nov 2025

Keeping pediatrics afloat in a sea of funding cuts

As Medicaid funding cuts enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are expected to reduce health coverage among adults, researchers and clinicians from Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian and Ariadne Labs argue in a New England Journal of Medicine perspective, published Nov. 1, that children are at increasing risk of unintended downstream effects. The bill, which became law on July 4, will cause 10 million people to lose their health insurance by 2034, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates. Children aren’t mentioned explicitly in the bill, but the authors say that many parents who lose coverage ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Synthesis of seven quebracho indole alkaloids using "antenna ligands" in 7-10 steps, including three first-ever asymmetric syntheses

Professor Lijia Wang's group at East China Normal University, in collaboration with Academician Yong Tang of the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a nickel (II)-catalyzed asymmetric [2+2] cyclobutanization reaction. By introducing a flexible "antenna" structure into the traditional chiral BOX ligand, they successfully achieved efficient asymmetric cyclobutanization of indole-derived heterocyclic enamines with methylene malonates. Based on this method, the team completed a concise asymmetric synthesis of seven ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

BioOne and Max Planck Society sign 3-year agreement to include subscribe to open pilot

Max Planck Digital Library and BioOne announced the signing of a three-year agreement to bring the flagship BioOne Complete aggregation to 84 Max Planck Society Institutes. Notably, this agreement includes the full term of BioOne’s Subscribe to Open (S2O) pilot from 2026 through 2028, supporting shared goals of sustainable open access and equitable scholarly communications. BioOne’s Subscribe to Open pilot brings together 71 journals from 54 societies, museums, and research organizations worldwide into a conditional open access framework —representing ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

How the arts and science can jointly protect nature

A new study by a large international team of conservation scientists and artists explores how growing synergies between conservation and the arts can unveil many mutual benefits and fresh approaches to intractable conservation problems. “These collaborations can generate new knowledge, attract funding, boost visibility, and even catalyze behavioural change”, says Ivan Jarić, researcher from the University of Paris-Saclay in France and the Czech Academy of Sciences, and lead author of the study. “By working ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Ominous false alarm in the kidney

Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have discovered how a small, naturally occurring RNA molecule in the kidney activates a mutated immune receptor, triggering a chain reaction. In cooperation with Nanyang Technological University Singapore and the University Hospital Würzburg, among others, the study provides an explanation for how a point mutation in the immune receptor RIG-I transforms the body's defense system into a self-destructive force and causes severe organ-specific autoimmune diseases. The results have now been published in the journal Science Immunology. RIG-I is an important ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

MSK Research Highlights, October 31, 2025

New research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) uncovers unique genetic signatures in cancer patients of non-European ancestry; identifies social adversity as a potential risk factor for higher rates of triple-negative breast cancer among Black women; shows a web-based system could help head-and-neck cancer survivors report their concerns; and finds adding immunotherapy can boost the effectiveness for hard-to-treat follicular lymphomas. Study uncovers unique genetic signatures in cancer patients of non-European ancestry In the era of personalized oncology, it’s becoming increasingly important to ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overview

Hybrid electrocatalysts can produce green hydrogen, for example, and valuable organic compounds simultaneously. This promises economically viable applications. However, the complex catalytic reactions involved in producing organic compounds are not yet fully understood. Modern X-ray methods at synchrotron sources such as BESSY II, enable catalyst materials and the reactions occurring on their surfaces to be analysed in real time, in situ and under real operating conditions. This provides insights ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Small bat hunts like lions – only better

A new international study led by researchers from Aarhus University and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) reveals that small bats can be just as efficient predators as lions – and often more successful. To find out how fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus), miniature carnivores from the forests of Panama, hunt in the wild, the research team equipped 20 of them with miniature “backpacks” – biologging tags that recorded every movement and sound, including those from the surrounding environment. The data revealed something remarkable: these bats hunt large prey such as frogs, birds and ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Bimodal tactile tomography with bayesian sequential palpation for intracavitary microstructure profiling and segmentation

Robotic palpation for in situ tissue biomechanical evaluation is crucial for disease diagnosis, especially in luminal organs. However, acquiring real-time information about the tissue’s interaction state and physical characteristics remains a substantial challenge. While commercial surgical robotic systems have integrated tactile feedback, the absence of tactile intelligence and autonomous decision-making limits the surgeon’s ability to comprehensively assess tissue mechanics, hindering the efficient detection of abnormalities. Endoscopic ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

New method for intentional control of bionic prostheses

Despite enormous progress in the past two decades, the intentional control of bionic prostheses remains a challenge and the subject of intensive research. Now, scientists at the Medical University of Vienna and Imperial College London have developed a new method for precisely detecting the nerve signals remaining after an arm amputation and utilising them to control an artificial arm. The study results, published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, could form the basis for the development of the next generation of prostheses. As ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Researchers discuss gaps, obstacles and solutions for contraception

EMBARGOED by Lancet until 12:01AM on Oct. 31, 2025 Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu Researchers Discuss Gaps, Obstacles and Solutions for Contraception (Boston)—Contraception and family planning are vital aspects of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Despite major advances in modern contraception over the past 60 years, many gaps remain and the rate of unplanned pregnancies and abortions remains high. These issues have given rise to a new era in contraception research with great opportunities and many challenges. In ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

‘Frazzled’ fruit flies help unravel how neural circuits stay wired

Florida Atlantic University neuroscientists have uncovered a surprising role for a protein named “Frazzled” (known as DCC in mammals) in the nervous system of fruit flies, showing how it helps neurons connect and communicate with lightning speed. The discovery sheds light on the fundamental mechanisms that ensure neurons form reliable connections, or synapses, a process essential for all nervous systems, from insects to humans. In the study, researchers focused on the Giant Fiber (GF) System of Drosophila, a neural circuit that controls this fruit fly’s rapid escape reflex. ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

Underweight and unbalanced: Gut microbial diversity in underweight Japanese women

Low body weight in young women has been linked to a range of health concerns, including disrupted menstrual cycles, infertility, weakened immune function, and a long-term decline in bone density. Japan has seen a rising trend in the proportion of underweight women between the ages of 20 and 39, with little to no change over the past two decades. The persistence of this trend raises concerns over the long-term health implications, especially as lean body weight has been correlated with changing dietary habits, diseases like anorexia nervosa, and even imbalances in gut microbiota. ...

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Science31 Oct 2025

New image captures spooky bat signal in the sky

A spooky bat has been spotted flying over the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Paranal site in Chile, right in time for Halloween. Thanks to its wide field of view, the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) was able to capture this large cloud of cosmic gas and dust, whose mesmerising appearance resembles the silhouette of a bat. Located about 10 000 light-years away, this ‘cosmic bat’ is flying between the southern constellations of Circinus and Norma. Spanning an area of the sky equivalent to four full Moons, it looks as if it's trying to hunt the glowing spot above it for food. This nebula is a stellar nursery, a vast cloud of gas and dust from ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

How a chorus of synchronized frequencies helps you digest your food

Synchronization abounds in nature: from the flashing lights of fireflies to the movement of fish wriggling through the ocean, biological systems are often in rhythmic movement with each other. The mechanics of how this synchronization happens are complex. For instance, in the vasculature of the brain, blood vessels oscillate, expanding and contracting as needed. When there is neural activity, the arterioles expand to increase blood flow, oxygen and nutrients. These oscillations are self-sustained, ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

UAlbany researcher partners on $1.2 million NSF grant to explore tropical monsoon rainfall patterns

ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 30, 2025) — A University at Albany researcher is teaming up with scientists from five institutions on a $1.2 million National Science Foundation project to better understand monsoon rainfall patterns across Asia, Indonesia and Australia over the last millennium — and how they might look in the future under a changing climate. For decades, scientists have studied natural records around the Eastern Hemisphere tropics to reconstruct past changes in monsoon rainfall. These records, which include stalagmites, corals, ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

Checkup time for Fido? Wait might be longer in the country

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Most people can get their pets in for veterinary visits relatively quickly, but access to care could use improvement in rural areas, suggests a recent study. “Access to veterinary care appears to be generally pretty good and the wait times aren’t too long, particularly if you compare it to how long people often have to wait to establish primary care, but there’s clearly room for improvement in less populated areas,” said Simon Haeder, the study’s lead author and an associate professor in Ohio State’s College of Public Health. The research appears in ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

National summit of experts charts unprecedented roadmap to reduce harms from firearms in new ways

A safer America will require bold investment in discovering, implementing, and scaling solutions that reduce firearm harms—especially those that center the people and communities most affected. That was the clear message from the JAMA Summit on Firearm Violence, which convened 60 leaders from across the nation to chart a roadmap toward reducing firearm violence, injuries, and deaths in the United States to record lows by 2040. The full report findings of the 2025 Summit are published in JAMA this month. Over two days, experts from public health, medicine, law, economics, and industry participated in sessions focused on: Achieving the safest ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

CTE: More than just head trauma, suggests new study

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – most often found in athletes playing contact sports – is known to share similarities with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), namely the buildup of a protein called tau in the brain. New research published today in Science finds even more commonalities between the two at the genetic level, showing CTE (like AD) is linked to damage to the genome and not just caused by repeated head impact (RHI). The research team, a collaboration between Boston Children’s Hospital, Mass General Brigham, and Boston University, used single-cell genomic sequencing to identify somatic genetic mutations (changes in DNA that ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

Breakthrough in BRCA2 research: a novel mechanism behind chemoresistance discovered

One of the biggest challenges in cancer treatment is chemoresistance: tumors that initially respond well to chemotherapy become resistant over time. When that happens, treatment options are often limited. The research team led by Arnab Ray Chaudhuri has now uncovered a mechanism by which BRCA2-deficient tumors develop this resistance. The proteins BRCA2 and FIGNL1 appear to have a different function than previously assumed. “These findings change the paradigm of thought,” says Ray Chaudhuri. The team also ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

MD Anderson shares latest research breakthroughs

Researchers characterize distinct immune environments in lymphoma, providing a new framework to engage the immune system in treating the disease Study finds U.S. adults have widespread misperceptions of the cancer risks of alcohol Scientists discover new target for pain hypersensitivity Early clinical studies show encouraging results in kidney and prostate cancer HOUSTON, OCTOBER 30, 2025 ― At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, research breakthroughs are made possible through seamless collaboration between ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

Palaeontology: How ammolite gemstones get their vivid colours

The origins of vivid colours within the gemstone ammolite — a rare type of brightly coloured fossilised ammonite shell — are reported in research published in Scientific Reports. The colours of ammolite occur within a preserved layer of nacre — also known as mother-of-pearl — which consists of layered plates of the mineral aragonite and a small amount of organic material such as proteins. Although it is thought that the colours of ammolite arise from the interaction of light with these layers, the origins of these colours have not been evaluated experimentally. Hiroaki ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

Comprehensive molecular profiling of renal medullary carcinoma identifies TROP2 as a promising therapeutic target

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in collaboration with BostonGene, conducted the largest and most comprehensive molecular analysis of renal medullary carcinoma (RMC), a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer, leading to the identification of TROP2 as a promising therapeutic target. What is the key discovery in this research and why is it significant? By evaluating 25 patient samples, the researchers identified overexpression of TROP2 and several other cell-surface proteins in RMC, as well as upregulation of the Hippo pathway. These findings led to the exploration of sacituzumab govitecan, a TROP2-targeted antibody-drug ...

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Science30 Oct 2025

Advanced imaging strategies based on intelligent micro/nanomotors

Recent research led to impactful achievements in advanced imaging strategies using intelligent micro/nanomotors (MNMs), which offer transformative solutions to traditional bioimaging paradigms by enabling enhanced detection sensitivity and real-time tracking of subcellular events and microenvironmental changes. Nevertheless, full realization of deep-tissue imaging and high resolution remains challenging to achieve, often limited by inherent constraints such as poor penetration depth and signal degradation. Based on research experience in this field, the study ...

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