Agricultural waste from the global sugar industry could become a powerful tool for clean energy, pollution control, and sustainable materials, thanks to new research showing how microwave technology can dramatically improve biochar production. In a study published in Sustainable Materials and Chemicals, researchers report that microwave-assisted pyrolysis can be precisely optimized to convert sugarcane bagasse, the fibrous residue left after sugar extraction, into highly porous biochar with exceptional surface ...

Mannan rich palm handicraft waste, such as tagua nuts and bodhi roots, can be turned into valuable green chemicals instead of being burned or discarded, according to a new study. “In many parts of the world, polished palm seeds are carved into jewelry and religious beads, but the cutting and drilling leave behind piles of fine powder that usually end up as waste,” said first author Bin Hu of North China Electric Power University. “Our work shows that this overlooked by product can become a promising feedstock for clean chemical production.” The researchers examined two popular palm based handicraft materials: tagua nuts from Ecuador, sometimes called “vegetable ...

“A lot of governments are spending serious money on farm conservation, yet the rivers are not getting cleaner as fast as people expect,” said lead author Yi Pan of Zhejiang University in China. “Our work shows that the problem is not that best management practices are useless. It is that our planning tools have been aiming at the wrong processes, the wrong places, and the wrong time scales for nitrogen.”​ The new review pulls together advances in hydrology, computer modeling, and social science to propose a practical optimization framework tailored specifically to agricultural nitrogen, one of the ...

An estimated 4.2 million people die within 30 days of surgery worldwide each year. A new study, published in the European Heart Journal [1] today (Thursday), suggests that deaths and serious heart disease might be prevented if some patients see a specialist heart doctor as part of their post-surgery care.   In this observational study, researchers studied a group of patients who had suffered heart damage during or immediately after non-cardiac surgery. A proportion were evaluated by a cardiologist, but the rest were not. Patients who saw a cardiologist were less likely ...

A new machine learning tool has identified more than 250,000 cancer research papers that may have been produced by so-called “paper mills”. Developed by QUT researcher Professor Adrian Barnett, from the School of Public Health and Social Work and Australian Centre for Health Services and Innovation (AusHSI), and an international team of collaborators, the study, published in The BMJ, analysed 2.6 million cancer studies from 1999 to 2024. It found more than 250,000 papers with writing patterns similar to articles already retracted for suspected fabrication. “Paper mills are companies that sell fake or low-quality scientific studies. They are producing ‘research’ ...

For Immediate Release Friday, January 30, 2026   Contact: NIH Office of Communications   National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators have developed a blood test to find pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The new test could improve survival rates from pancreatic cancer, which tends to be diagnosed at late stages when therapy is less likely to be effective. The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.   Overall, only about 1 in 10 pancreatic cancer patients survive more than five years from diagnosis. However, experts expect that when ...

New research by UCLA Health and UC San Francisco has uncovered why certain brain cells are more resilient than others to the buildup of a toxic protein that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, potentially leading to new targets for therapies or treatments. The study, published in the journal Cell, used a novel CRISPR-based genetic screening approach on lab-grown human brain cells to determine the cellular machinery that controls the accumulation of tau protein in the brain. These proteins can build up as toxic clumps in the brain, killing ...

First full results of a randomised trial investigating the use of AI in a national breast cancer screening programme finds AI-supported mammography screening is more effective across many measures than standard mammography.  AI-supported breast cancer screening identified more women with clinically relevant cancers during the screening without a higher rate of false positives.  Additionally, women who underwent AI-supported screening were less likely to be diagnosed with more aggressive and advanced breast cancer in the two years following. Authors say these findings could justify implementing AI in mammography screening programmes, particularly in the context of health ...

Cancer patients who suffer a heart attack face a dangerous mix of risks, which makes their clinical treatment particularly challenging. As a result, patients with cancer have been systematically excluded from many clinical trials and available risk scores. Until now, doctors had no standard tool to guide treatment in this vulnerable group. International study leverages population data An international team led by researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) has now developed the first risk prediction model designed specifically for cancer patients who have had a heart attack. The study, published in The Lancet, analyzed more than one million heart attack patients in England, Sweden ...

Neurological disorders contribute to nearly nine million deaths globally each year, and an estimated 22.6 million new cases require neurosurgical attention annually, of which approximately 13.8 million require surgical intervention. Despite this burden, access to safe and timely neurosurgical care remains limited for more than two-thirds of the world’s population, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This gap has increasingly been recognized as a major global public health concern. A new article, published on November 20, 2025, in the ...

John F. Kelly, PhD, of the Recovery Research Institute and Department of Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham, is the lead author of a paper published in Frontiers in Public Health, “Long-term relapse: markers, mechanisms, and implications for disease management in alcohol use disorder.”  Q: What challenges or unmet needs make this study important? Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of leading causes of preventable death in the United States and worldwide, and leads to substantial disease and medical complication. While treatments are available that can help ...

As the world shifts toward renewable energy sources, some experts warn that a lack of planning for the retirement of fossil fuels could lead to a disorderly and dangerous collapse of existing systems that could prolong the transition to green energy. In a study published in the journal Science, University of Notre Dame researchers Emily Grubert and Joshua Lappen argue that fossil fuel systems might be far more fragile than current energy models assume. “Systems designed to be large and growing behave differently when they shrink,” said Grubert, associate professor of sustainable energy policy at ...

The lower hinge of immunoglobulin G (IgG), an overlooked part of the antibody, acts as a structural and functional control hub, according to a study by researchers at Science Tokyo. Deleting a single amino acid in this region transforms a full-length antibody into a stable half-IgG1 molecule with altered immune activity. The findings provide a blueprint for engineering next-generation antibody therapies with precisely tailored immune effects for treating diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.   Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that help the immune system recognize and eliminate foreign threats such as bacteria and viruses. ...

NEW ORLEANS — January 29, 2026 — At the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting, investigators will present a late-breaking study focused on surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) following prior transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a clinical scenario increasingly encountered as TAVR use expands. The analysis draws on data from the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database to characterize risk over time and to validate a dedicated STS risk model designed to support decision-making for patients requiring surgery after TAVR. The study, to be ...

A new peer-reviewed study evaluating climate policies in 40 countries over a 32-year period finds that carbon pricing and taxation—combined with investments in renewable energy and research—are among the most effective tools governments can use to reduce CO₂ emissions. Drawing on successful examples such as Sweden and Norway, which have implemented a broad mix of climate policies at varying levels of stringency, the authors conclude that countries benefit most from a comprehensive and diverse policy toolkit rather than reliance on a single measure. The research team—comprising experts from the University of Barcelona, ...

Using data collected by NASA's Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to the sun, a University of Arizona-led research team has measured the dynamics and ever-changing "shell" of hot gas from where the solar wind originates. Published in Geophysical Research Letters, the findings not only help scientists answer fundamental questions about energy and matter moving through the heliosphere – the volume of space controlled by the sun's activity – which affects not just the Earth and moon, but all ...

The fight against climate change relies heavily on finding better ways to capture carbon dioxide before it escapes into our atmosphere. While carbon nanotubes have long been seen as a "wonder material" for this task, their internal structures are often locked away like a closed pipe. Now, a research team from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) has pioneered a deceptively simple way to pop those caps open and supercharge their adsorption capacity. In a study published in Carbon Research, the team reveals that a straightforward thermal treatment, essentially "baking" single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in ambient air, can ...

Researchers have developed a powerful machine learning framework that can accurately predict and optimize biochar production from algae, offering a faster and more sustainable path toward carbon rich materials for climate mitigation, soil improvement, and environmental applications. Biochar is a solid, carbon rich product created when biomass is heated in low oxygen conditions. It has attracted global attention for its ability to store carbon long term, improve soil health, and support renewable energy systems. While most biochar is made from wood or agricultural residues, algae are emerging as ...

Antibiotic resistance is often framed as a hospital problem, but a growing body of evidence shows that rivers, soils, wastewater, and other natural environments are quietly becoming major reservoirs of resistant bacteria. A new review highlights a critical obstacle standing in the way of effective global surveillance: the lack of a unified standard for interpreting antibiotic resistance data. In a comprehensive review published in New Contaminants, researchers analyze how antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is monitored in the environment and why inconsistent interpretation of laboratory results may be distorting our understanding of the scale of the problem. The authors ...

UBC Okanagan researchers have advanced their work on developing a non-invasive, accessible way to reduce uncontrolled hand tremors. In a newly published study, the team has demonstrated how a new wearable device may reduce involuntary hand tremors linked with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Hand tremors affect millions of people worldwide and can interfere with everyday activities such as eating, writing and personal care, explains Dr. Hadi Mohammadi, Professor in UBCO’s School of Engineering. Current treatments often involve medication or surgery, while existing wearable devices can be costly, bulky or cause unwanted side effects. “Hand ...

Researchers from Drexel University who discovered a versatile type of two-dimensional conductive nanomaterial, called a MXene, nearly a decade and a half ago, have now reported on a process for producing its one-dimensional cousin: the MXene nanoscroll. The group posits that these materials, which are 100 times thinner than human hair yet more conductive than their two-dimensional counterparts, could be used to improve the performance of energy storage devices, biosensors and wearable technology. Their finding, which was recently published in the journal Advanced Materials, offers a scalable method for producing the nanoscrolls from a MXene precursor with precise control over their shape ...

A preclinical study published in Nature has found evidence that the hippocampus, the brain region that stores memory, also reorganizes memories to anticipate future outcomes. The findings, from researchers at the Brandon Lab at McGill University and their collaborators at Harvard University, reveal a learning process that had not been directly observed before. “The hippocampus is often described as the brain’s internal model of the world,” said senior author Mark Brandon, Associate Professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. “What ...

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have developed a new light-based nanotechnology that could improve how certain cancers are detected and treated, offering a more precise and potentially less harmful alternative to chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. The study advances photothermal therapy, a treatment approach that uses light to generate heat inside tumors and destroy cancer cells. The NYU Abu Dhabi team designed tiny, biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles that carry a dye activated by near-infrared light. When exposed to this light, the particles heat up damaging tumor tissue while minimizing harm to healthy cells. ...

An analysis of twin cohort data suggests that human life span is far more heritable than previously believed. The findings of the analysis show that once deaths from external factors, such as accidents or infectious disease, are accounted for, genetics may explain ~50% of how long we live. “[T]he study … has important consequences for aging research,” write Daniela Bakula and Morten Scheibye-Knudsen in a related Perspective. “A substantial genetic contribution strengthens the rationale for large-scale efforts to identify longevity-associated variants, refine polygenic risk scores, and link ...

By tracking anglers during real-world ice fishing competitions in Finland, a new study shows that human foragers – previously thought to be solitary decision makers – rely heavily on social information in shaping decisions. When anglers discovered where competitors fished, how long they stayed, and when they moved on, they were strongly influenced in their own behaviors. The findings offer an empirical framework for understanding how groups collectively adapt to changes in environmental conditions and changes in resource availability. Humans occupy an unusually demanding foraging niche compared with other species – one shaped by unique ecological ...