Traditional polymers such as plastics are widely utilized for their chemical inertness and durability. However, these very properties make them non-degradable in nature and cause long-term environmental damage due to their persistence. In this light, biodegradable polymers that can be broken down by microbes have gained a lot of attention and scientists have turned towards cyclic ketene acetals (CKAs), a group of organic compounds containing carbon atoms and oxygen arranged in a ring-like structure, to develop biodegradable polymers. CKAs ...

SDE BOKER, Israel, September 3, 2025 — A groundbreaking study from researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that desert soils can emit powerful greenhouse gases within minutes of being wetted—even in the absence of microbial life. Published by Dr. Isaac Yagle and Prof. Ilya Gelfand at BGU's Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research in Scientific Reports, the study challenges long-standing assumptions that soil microbes are solely responsible for post-rain “pulse emissions” of gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and nitric oxide (NO). ...

Scientists studying ways of improving motion sickness have found that playing different types of music may help people recover more effectively. Using a specially calibrated driving simulator, they induced car sickness in participants and then played different types of music while they tried to recover. Soft and joyful music produced the best recovery effects, while sad music was less effective than doing nothing at all.   “Motion sickness significantly impairs the travel experience for many individuals, and existing pharmacological interventions often carry side-effects such as drowsiness,” explained Dr Qizong Yue of Southwest University, China, corresponding author ...

Experts have uncovered the earliest known example of a fish with extra teeth deep inside its mouth - a 310-million-year-old fossilised ray-finned fish that evolved a unique way of devouring prey. Platysomus parvulus had a unique way of eating never seen in ray-finned fish from that time – a ‘tongue bite’, using a special set of teeth on the floor and roof of the mouth to help it crush and chew tough food like shells or insects. Most fish today use their jaws to bite and chew, but some also have tongue bites, which work like a ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Sept 3, 2025) – Given the seriousness and increased frequency of strokes, many studies have been conducted to assess the relationship between hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy and the risk of stroke with varying results. A new study suggests women having a hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy have higher risks of stroke compared with those who did not have surgery. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. Stroke is the third dominant cause of death and the fourth dominant cause of disability around the world, representing a significant public health challenge. Therefore, ongoing prevention ...

A new study from the University of Sydney has revealed how type 2 diabetes directly alters the heart’s structure and energy systems, offering vital insights into why people with diabetes are at greater risk of heart failure.   Published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, the research was led by Dr Benjamin Hunter and Associate Professor Sean Lal from the School of Medical Sciences. The researchers analysed donated human heart tissue from patients undergoing heart transplantation in Sydney and found that diabetes causes distinct molecular changes to heart cells and structural changes to the muscle, especially in patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy, ...

A research team led by Si Cheng from Soochow University and collaborators have provided a comprehensive review of electrospun nanofiber-based composite materials for wearable electronic skin (E-skin) applications. Published in Nano-Micro Letters, the study highlights how electrospinning technology and composite design strategies are shaping next-generation flexible sensors for monitoring human physical, physiological, and body fluid signals. Why Electrospun Nanofibers Matter Electrospun nanofibers combine high surface area, tunable porosity, mechanical flexibility, and breathability, making ...

Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU HK) have developed novel artificial bone scaffolds with a high deformation recovery capability of 6% –7%, compared to 2% – 4% for natural bone and less than 1% for conventional metallic scaffolds. Additionally, these scaffolds allow for flexible adjustments of properties like strength, modulus, and permeability to meet specific implantation site requirements. Reported in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, this work provides valuable insights into developing high-performance artificial bone scaffolds and ...

A research team led by Professor Chuncai Kong from Xi’an Jiaotong University has designed boron-bridge regulated asymmetric dual-atomic catalysts (NiFe-BNC) that deliver exceptional bifunctional activity for volatile organic compound (VOC) degradation and electrochemical CO2 reduction. Published in Nano-Micro Letters, this work demonstrates a sustainable platform for converting waste gases into valuable resources through synergistic catalysis. Why This Catalyst Matters Unprecedented Performance: NiFe-BNC achieves 99% continuous styrene degradation in 2 hours with stable mineralization above 60%. Simultaneously, it enables CO2 electroreduction with a Faradaic ...

Background and Motivation As the world accelerates its transition towards renewable and sustainable energy, the pivotal role of finance in driving this transformation is clearer than ever. From wind and solar to hydropower and biomass, rapid advances in new energy technologies are only possible with robust financial support. Understanding how finance interacts with new energy development—and how financial innovation can promote sustainability—has become a top priority for researchers, investors, and policymakers worldwide.   Methodology and Scope This special issue brings together eight cutting-edge studies ...

A new study led by Professor Jonghun Kam's team at POSTECH(Pohang University of Science and Technology) has uncovered a shocking forecast for Pakistan's future. Using a cutting-edge AI model, the research predicts that the country will face unprecedented "super floods" and "extreme droughts" on a periodic basis. This dire prediction is a direct result of accelerating global warming, which is causing more frequent and severe extreme weather events around the world, particularly in vulnerable high-altitude ...

**EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL TUESDAY, SEPT. 2, AT 7:30 P.M.** Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and four other institutions have devised a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. This approach could significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, they say. By analyzing urine samples from prostate cancer patients before and after prostate-removal surgery, as well as from healthy individuals, ...

A father’s exposure to passive smoking as a child may impair the lifelong lung function of his children, putting them at risk of COPD—a risk that is heightened further if they are childhood passive smokers themselves—finds research published online in the respiratory journal Thorax. The findings highlight the intergenerational harms of smoking, say the researchers, who urge fathers to intercept this harmful legacy by avoiding smoking around their children. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ...

People with learning disabilities progress faster to severe type 2 diabetes and are at greater risk of dying from their condition than people without these disabilities, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Control. This is despite having better overall blood glucose control and similar risks of vascular complications, the findings indicate. Around 1.5 million people (950,000 adults) in the UK have a learning disability, which includes conditions such as Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, note the researchers.  Type 2 ...

New research to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September) and published in the journal Diagnostics shows that people with hepatitis B immunity induced by vaccination have a lower risk of developing diabetes of any kind. The study is by Dr Nhu-Quynh Phan, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues, under the supervision of Professor Chiehfeng Chen. The liver plays an important role in glucose metabolism, specfically maintaining the balance of glucose levels (glucose homeostasis) and it is thought HBV infection may affect liver functions and ...

Medicaid plays a key role for giving people with opioid-use disorder access to treatment, according to a Rutgers Health study. Progress in life-saving treatment for opioid-use disorder with the medication has stalled in the past several years, according to a Rutgers Health study. However, researchers added that while some states were able to achieve substantial improvement, others lost ground.  Specifically, states that have expanded access to Medicaid insurance coverage since 2018 saw increases in prescriptions for opioid-use disorder treatment, according to the study, while states that haven’t ...

Duluth, MN - In the world’s cold and snowy regions, shorter and warmer winters are one of the most conspicuous consequences of climate change. For freshwater lakes, this means later freezing, earlier thawing, and thinner ice. A new study, published in Ecology Letters, shows that the ecological impacts of these winter changes may be most dramatic in high-latitude lakes. “The ecology of ice-covered lakes is a bit of a black box for lake scientists,” said Ted Ozersky, a University of Minnesota Duluth biologist who led the research. “For a long time, we assumed that nothing interesting happened under the ice, so few studies looked at what goes on in ...

It's hard to believe that there is anything positive that could come out of wildfires. They have devastated homes, taken lives, erased memories, leveled cities and destroyed our forests and wildlands. But a University of Delaware professor has found that there is something of value to be learned from what’s left behind in the remnants. The charred debris left in the wake of wildfires, such as those currently burning in Colorado, Canada and Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, is known as wildfire char. UD’s Pei Chiu, professor of civil, construction ...

Immersing oneself in the virtual and augmented reality world is not only awesome for entertainment, it helps industries like manufacturing and medicine operate more efficiently. Nevertheless, as fast as the technology brings you into the world, the weight and stiffness of its hardware can just as easily remind you that you aren’t really golfing on the PGA tour or preparing for a surgery. Inspired by Softbotics, researchers in the Soft Machines Lab at Carnegie Mellon University are developing wearable electronics to augment our senses with ...

Heart rate is one of the most basic and important indicators of health, providing a snapshot into a person’s physical activity, stress and anxiety, hydration level, and more.  Traditionally, measuring heart rate requires some sort of wearable device, whether that be a smart watch or hospital-grade machinery. But new research from engineers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shows how the signal from a household WiFi device can be used for this crucial health monitoring with state-of-the-art accuracy—without the need ...

Faced with a worsening drug crisis, policymakers in recent years have made it much easier for doctors to prescribe the highly effective opioid addiction treatment buprenorphine. However, many patients may still struggle to find pharmacies carrying the treatment, finds new research led by the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. Buprenorphine was available at just 39% of U.S. retail pharmacies in 2023, a modest increase from 33% in 2017, according to the study published Sept. 2 in Health Affairs. But disparities in who can access the treatment have persisted. Pharmacies in predominantly Black neighborhoods (18%) and ...

A comprehensive study shows that California's CA Bridge program has successfully implemented opioid use disorder treatment services across more than 80% of the state's emergency departments, reaching over 165,000 patients and providing nearly 45,000 instances of buprenorphine treatment from July 2022 through December 2023 alone. The initiative proves that emergency departments can serve as a critical entry point for addiction care when provided with proper funding, training, and patient navigation support. Why it matters The opioid crisis ...

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have discovered a potentially powerful weapon in the fight against head and neck cancers. The new drug, still in preclinical studies, attacks cancer cells from within by damaging their mitochondria, the cells’ energy factories. The study, published in Cancer Research, was led by Besim Ogretmen, Ph.D., associate director of Basic Science at Hollings and director of Hollings' Lipidomics Shared Resource. The multidisciplinary research team aimed to suppress tumor growth ...

Clinicians’ ability to diagnose and treat chronic diseases is limited by scientific uncertainty around factors contributing to disease risk. A study published September 2nd in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Drs. Emily Van Syoc, Emily Davenport, and Seth Bordenstein at The Pennsylvania State University, United States, uncovers evidence of the first ternary relationships between human genetic variation, variation in gut mycobiome, and risk of developing chronic disease. Some gut fungi are implicated in intestinal diseases. However, ...

Medicines containing a type of PFAS or ‘forever chemical’ called fluorine are not leading to higher numbers of adverse drug reactions according to new data analysis.   In a new paper published in PLOS ONE today, researchers from the University of Birmingham studied data from the MHRA’s Yellow Card system on 13 drugs containing carbon-fluorine bonds as well as six drugs which were structurally similar but not containing this forever chemical.   Using five years of data from 2019-2024, the research team analysed the number of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) per 1 million medicines ...