Autistic and non-autistic people express emotions differently through their facial movements, according to a new study, which may help to explain why emotional expressions are sometimes misinterpreted between the two groups.   In a landmark study mapping facial expressions among autistic and non-autistic individuals, researchers at the University of Birmingham used detailed facial motion tracking to create an extensive library of facial expressions linked to major emotions such as anger, happiness and sadness, with more than 265 million data points.   The study, published in Autism Research, involved 25 autistic and 26 non-autistic adults, who produced nearly 5000 expressions ...

There is no clear evidence that cannabis-based medicines provide pain relief for chronic neuropathic pain, an updated Cochrane review finds. Chronic neuropathic pain is caused by nerve damage. Existing medications help only a minority of patients, driving interest in alternatives, such as cannabis-based medicines. These can include herbal cannabis or isolated ingredients of the cannabis plant such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by inhalation, mouth sprays, tablets, creams, and patches placed on the skin. Researchers reviewed 21 clinical trials involving more than 2,100 adults, comparing ...

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the diffraction limit of light. Here, we overcame this limitation by utilizing a highly confined near field within a plasmonic nanogap and successfully extended the SFG spectroscopy into nanoscopic regime with ~10-nm spatial resolution. We also established a comprehensive theoretical framework that accurately describes the microscopic mechanisms of this near-field SFG process. These experimental and theoretical achievements ...

A recent study from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University found that while hydrogen production, storage and fuel cell technologies are advancing rapidly, the hydrogen distribution infrastructure is developing at half the speed, creating a critical bottleneck that could put billions in clean energy at risk.   The findings, published in the journal Sustainable Futures, are an important milestone in recognising that, while other hydrogen technologies improve and costs fall, distribution expenses could take up a large share of hydrogen system budgets, significantly limiting overall efficiency and growth of ...

After increasing for more than 25 years, lung cancer death rates are finally levelling off among women in European Union (EU) countries apart from Spain, according to predictions of mortality rates from the disease for 2026. In the UK, death rates from lung cancer have been falling among women for several years, although from a higher peak than those seen in the EU, but they have continued to rise among EU women during this time.   Now, in a new study published in the leading cancer journal Annals of ...

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how polymer-coated fertilizer (PCF) applied to fields ends up on beaches and in the sea. They studied PCF deposits on beaches around Japan, finding that only 0.2% of used PCFs are washed into rivers and returned to the coastline. When there are canals connecting fields to the sea, this rises to 28%. Their findings highlight a potentially significant “sink” in the global circulation of plastics.   Plastic marine pollution poses a serious threat to wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. It is estimated that around 90% of the plastic that has flowed out to sea has disappeared from ...

There is no evidence that paracetamol use during pregnancy increases the risk of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or intellectual disability among children, finds most rigorous synthesis of the current evidence to date published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health journal. In September 2025 the U.S. administration suggested that taking paracetamol during pregnancy might increase the risk of autism among children. Earlier meta-analyses suggested small associations between ...

Under embargo until Friday 16th January 2026, 23:30hrs UK time City St George’s, University of London press release Peer-reviewed / Systematic review + meta-analysis / People   Taking paracetamol during pregnancy does not increase the risk of autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or intellectual disability among children. That is according to the most rigorous analysis of the evidence to date published today in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, and led ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Two studies led by an opioid treatment program run by the University at Buffalo and UBMD Emergency Medicine have found that harm reduction vending machines installed across New York State are well utilized and provide critical, lifesaving services to high-risk individuals who might not otherwise have access. The studies, published late last year, evaluate the performance of the 15 harm reduction vending machines installed throughout New York State by the MATTERS Network, based at UBMD Emergency Medicine and UB. MATTERS (Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals) now operates 30 harm reduction vending machines in New York State ...

University of Phoenix announced the publication of a new white paper, “Untapped Potential: How Credit for Prior Learning Can Redefine Employer Outlook on Professional Development,” by Devin Andrews, MBA, M.Ed., Vice President of Admissions and Evaluation. The report draws on a national University of Phoenix employee engagement and retention survey of 610 human resources (HR) managers and 1,195 employees conducted by The Harris Poll that examined how credit for prior learning (CPL) impacts internal mobility, employee retention and skills development. The analysis finds 98% of HR managers are aware of CPL—and ...

Canada is failing in a decades-old pledge to monitor the health of Pacific salmon, according to new research from Simon Fraser University.   At a time when government policy is geared towards accelerating industrial development across sensitive B.C. watersheds, an SFU study published today in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences reports that monitoring of salmon spawning populations has dropped 32 per cent since Canada adopted its Wild Salmon Policy 20 years ago.   The decline in publicly-available data means that scientists are ...

Professor Qiming Sun of Soochow University and Researcher Manyi Yang of Nanjing University successfully achieved confined loading of highly dispersed Pt-FeOx nanoparticles within nanosheet molecular sieves. This catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane and the hydrogenation of toluene, realizing hydrogen energy storage and release mediated by the "methylcyclohexane-toluene" reaction. The study shows that the Pt-FeOx catalyst possesses excellent ...

CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR RELEASE: Jan. 16, 2026 Kaitlyn Serrao 607-882-1140 kms465@cornell.edu Investment in farm productivity tools key to reducing greenhouse gas ITHACA, N.Y. - A new study from Cornell University researchers finds improved farm productivity has been the driving force in keeping greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in check. In the study, published Jan. 16 in Science Advances, researchers analyzed worldwide data from 1961-2021 to determine why agricultural production has far outpaced emissions. They found consistently that farmers’ ability to produce more output per unit of input, ...

As the global demand for clean and low-carbon energy grows, nuclear power is expected to play an increasingly important role. Yet the expansion of nuclear energy brings a persistent environmental challenge: the release of uranium into wastewater, mining effluents, and even the ocean. A new review paper published in Science of Carbon Materials provides the most comprehensive overview to date of how electrochemical technologies could help solve this problem by selectively capturing uranium in its most mobile and hazardous form. Uranium in water typically exists as uranyl ions, a highly soluble and toxic species that can spread easily through natural and ...

Shale gas has become a cornerstone of the global energy transition, supplying large amounts of natural gas through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. But a new scientific review warns that the extraction process also generates vast quantities of waste that carry a complex mixture of emerging contaminants, many of which pose potential risks to ecosystems and human health. In a comprehensive review published in New Contaminants, researchers systematically examined the sources, characteristics, and environmental risks of emerging contaminants released throughout the shale gas lifecycle. The study ...

Every year, billions of cigarette butts are discarded worldwide, creating one of the most pervasive and persistent forms of environmental litter. Now, researchers have demonstrated that this problematic waste can be converted into advanced carbon materials capable of powering next generation energy storage devices. In a new study published in Energy & Environmental Nanotechnology, scientists report a method to transform waste cigarette butts into nitrogen and oxygen co doped nanoporous biochar with exceptional performance ...

In an important new study, Chinese researchers have discovered the previously unrecognized role of alternative splicing of the DOC2A gene in schizophrenia. The research was conducted by scientists led by LI Ming from the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Science Advances on January 16. Splicing is a process in which RNA is cut and recombined into the final RNA strand that determines how a protein—encoded by DNA—is formed. Different splicing ...

An international team of scientists, led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has discovered a new way that could speed up the healing of chronic wounds infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Worldwide, chronic wounds represent a major health challenge, with an estimated 18.6 million people developing diabetic foot ulcers[1] each year. Up to one in three people with diabetes are at risk of developing a foot ulcer during their lifetime. These wounds are a leading cause of lower-limb ...

Mass shootings in white-majority neighborhoods received roughly twice the news coverage of mass shootings in neighborhoods where a majority of residents were people of color, while coverage of police-involved shootings was disproportionately high in majority-minority communities, according to new research. This study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, Northwestern University and the University of Washington is thought to be the first to systematically document bias on gun-violence reporting in a large-scale, nationally representative sample of news media coverage, researchers said.  Researchers analyzed nearly ...

An international group of researchers led by Pompeu Fabra University has discovered the nanomachine that controls constitutive exocytosis: the uninterrupted delivery of spherical molecular packages to the cell surface. This is an essential activity present in virtually all organisms to preserve cell fitness and other vital functions such as communication with the cell’s exterior, cell growth and division. According to Oriol Gallego, who has led the research, “despite being one of the largest nanomachines in ...

About The Study: This case-control study found that a Medicaid policy that incentivized high nursing home staffing levels was associated with modest improvement in some dimensions of patient health. However, even modest effects are extremely meaningful at scale: these estimates suggest that if a similar reform were adopted nationally, there would be 6,142 fewer hospitalizations each year. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Andrew Olenski, PhD, email ano223@lehigh.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.6272) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this 2025 survey study, U.S. adults viewed opioid overdose as a serious problem. Different views on the degree to which individuals who use opioids, pharmaceutical companies, and governments are responsible for reducing overdose suggest that preferences for future actions to address overdose may vary among conservatives, moderates, and liberals. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Emma E. McGinty, PhD, MS, email emm4010@med.cornell.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

“Research findings suggest that advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.” BUFFALO, NY — January 16, 2026 — A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 12 of Aging-US on December 29, 2025, titled “Age-specific DNA methylation alterations in sperm at imprint control regions may contribute to the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.” The study – selected as our Editors’ Choice for January, 2026 – was led by first authors Eugenia Casella and ...

An ambitious effort to create a neurophysiological paradigm to explain near-death experiences has failed to capture many fascinating and often perplexing aspects of people’s brushes with death, top University of Virginia experts argue. UVA near-death researchers Bruce Greyson, MD, and Marieta Pehlivanova, PhD, laud the international team of scientists who developed the model, called Neurophysiological Evolutionary Psychological Theory Understanding Near-Death Experience, or NEPTUNE. The NEPTUNE team aimed to bring scientific rigor to understanding near-death experiences (NDEs) – a goal shared by Greyson and Pehlivanova. ...

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) is known to be a significant driver of local economic development, especially in fostering entrepreneurship. Current studies have conducted in-depth investigations into the impact of IFDI on the survival, productivity, and innovation of established firms. Recently, a growing body of work has started to examine its influence on entrepreneurship and new venture creation. Notably, most of these studies leverage a broad, country-level perspective and often yield inconsistent findings. This represents a notable gap in existing literature on IFDI, particularly in the context of large emerging economies where ...