(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — UC Santa Barbara researchers and collaborators from campus biotech spinoff Integrated Biosciences, as well as Harvard, MIT and genomics company Illumina Ventures are using optogenetics — the use of light to probe the functions of living tissue — to find compounds to help our bodies more effectively help themselves in times of physiological stress. Using an optogenetic platform developed in synthetic biologist Max Wilson’s lab at UCSB, they have already discovered dozens of molecules that can act as pan-antivirals and, specifically, two chemical scaffolds that could serve as promising development candidates ...

NIMS has developed a new theory that explains why tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) —used in magnetic memory and other technologies— oscillates with changes in the thickness of the insulating barrier within a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). This oscillation was clearly observed when NIMS recently recorded the world’s highest TMR ratio. Understanding the mechanisms behind this phenomenon is expected to significantly aid in further increasing TMR ratios. This research was published as a letter article in Physical ...

A new study led by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) found that early-life exposure to antibiotics can impair an infant's developing immune system, and that a naturally occurring metabolite may hold the key to reversing that damage.  Published in Cell, the study uncovered how antibiotic exposure during pregnancy and infancy may permanently weaken the immune system's ability to fight respiratory infections like the flu. By analyzing both mouse models and human infant lung tissue, the researchers discovered that early antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiome's ability to produce inosine, a molecule that serves as an important signal ...

Tumor cells carry specific genetic mutations that actively drive the growth and spread of cancer. When mutations in particular genes are present, standard treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation often become significantly less effective, requiring more targeted therapeutic approaches instead. One of these genes is called KEAP1. Mutations in the E3-ligase KEAP1 are the focus of a new research project at Julius-Maximilians-Universität of Würzburg (JMU). José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, Professor of Translational Cell Biology at the Rudolf Virchow Center – Center for ...

    Photo of U-M smart manufacturing lab   Aiming to overcome barriers that prevent digital twins from delivering on their promise to improve manufacturing, the University of Michigan and Arizona State University are inviting industrial partners to participate in a new Center for Digital Twins in Manufacturing.    "Everyone's building digital twins, but we're trying to build the glue or connectivity that enables digital twins to work together—to be composable, ...

An effective measure to fight nutrient deficiency is to increase the nutrient content of food, particularly staples that are cheap to produce and widely consumed. Scientists do this by breeding crop varieties that are higher in iron, zinc, vitamins and other nutrients, a process called biofortification. But many factors must align for biofortified crops to be successful. They need to grow at least as well as conventional varieties, seeds need to be produced and distributed at scale, and producers require incentives to adopt new varieties. Most importantly, consumers need to actually want to eat the new ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2025 CONTACT: Camille Jewell cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460   NASHVILLE — At the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting today, researchers presented findings about how pregnancy can worsen the rupture risk for brain arteriovenous malformations, abnormal connections between arteries and veins whose rupture can result in serious brain injury or death.      During pregnancy, hormonal shifts and the increased demand ...

In the fall of 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeastern U.S., later downgrading to a tropical storm causing strong winds, flooding and major destruction throughout Appalachia. Now, researchers and public health officials in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters provide a debrief about how their mapping of key locations, including private wells, septic systems and service facilities, helped distribute disaster relief in North Carolina — a part of Appalachia hit particularly ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Prediabetes affects a third of people in the United States and most of them will develop Type 2 diabetes, yet effective dietary intervention strategies remain limited. Pistachios have shown promise in improving markers of diet quality, yet little is known about how they influence the gut microbiome — a key player in glucose regulation and inflammation. A new study led by Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State, determined that nighttime pistachio ...

How does friendship affect the human brain and influence behavior? In a new JNeurosci paper, Jia Jin and colleagues, from Shanghai International Studies University, present their work examining how close relationships influence consumer behavior and neural activity. Through a combination of long-term behavioral experiments with 175 participants and neuroimaging data from 47 participants, the researchers shed light on how friendships promote neural and behavioral similarity.  Participants evaluated products more similarly to their friends than strangers. As friends grew closer over time, this similarity ...

Because unpleasant withdrawal symptoms fuel nicotine addiction’s high relapse rate, targeting their underlying mechanisms with treatments may promote continued abstinence from the drug. In a new JNeurosci paper, Alexis Monical and Daniel McGehee, from the University of Chicago, explored a neural pathway for nicotine withdrawal symptoms stemming from the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) to the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDTg).  The researchers previously found that high doses of nicotine interact with the IPN to cause unpleasant effects that reduce intake of the drug in mice. Other researchers have linked the IPN to nicotine withdrawal symptoms. This nucleus inhibits ...

Researchers at the Hebrew University have developed an exceptionally accurate method for predicting chronological age from DNA, based on two short genomic regions. Using deep learning networks analyzing DNA methylation patterns at a single-molecule resolution, they achieve age predictions with a median error as low as 1.36 years in individuals under 50. The method is unaffected by smoking, BMI, and sex, and has potential applications in forensics, aging research, and personalized medicine. A team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, led by Bracha Ochana and Daniel Nudelman, ...

In a milestone for scalable quantum technologies, scientists from Boston University, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University have reported the world’s first electronic–photonic–quantum system on a chip, according to a study published in Nature Electronics . The system combines quantum light sources and stabilizing electronics using a standard 45-nanometer semiconductor manufacturing process to produce reliable streams of correlated photon pairs (particles of light)—a key resource for emerging quantum technologies. The advance paves the way for mass-producible “quantum ...

Kenneth Merz, PhD, of Cleveland Clinic's Center for Computational Life Sciences and a team are exploring how quantum computers can work with supercomputers to better simulate molecule behavior.   Simulating large molecule stability and behavior requires more time and power than is possible on even the most advanced supercomputer. Dr. Merz and his team developed a strategy for overcoming this barrier by combining the power of a quantum computer with the accuracy of a supercomputer in a study published ...

High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy makes it possible to study complex enzymatic processes in detail. With this method, a research team of the University of Potsdam and Humboldt-Universität Berlin succeeded in characterizing the CODH/ACS enzyme complex in detail. They discovered that the complex moves in the course of chemical reactions and thus determines the reaction sequence. Their results have been published in the journal Nature Catalysis. Before the start of photosynthesis in Earth's history and accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, anaerobic microorganisms lived here, which do not need oxygen for their metabolism. ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. EAST LANSING, Mich. – A new study led by Michigan State University found that as people get better at handling stress on a daily basis, they also become more extroverted, agreeable and open to new experiences over a nearly 20-year period. Likewise, the worse they manage daily stressors, the more introverted, unfriendly and closed off from new experiences they become. The study, published in Psychology and Aging, is the largest and longest study to look at how managing stress on a daily basis may translate to personality. The study ...

They’ve barely opened their eyes, but newborn babies already seem to prefer nice behaviours. New research reveals that infants just five days old can tell the difference between two distinct forms of prosocial and antisocial behaviour—and they prefer the prosocial. This suggests that some parts of how humans understand and evaluate the social world may be built into the brain from birth. “These babies have almost no experience with the social world, and yet they’re already picking up on friendly versus unfriendly interactions, on helping versus hindering. That could be telling us something ...

SAN FRANCISCO—Endocrine Society experts encouraged more widespread screening for a common hormonal cause of high blood pressure known as primary aldosteronism in a new Clinical Practice Guideline released today. “Primary Aldosteronism: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline” was published online and is being presented at ENDO 2025, the Society’s annual meeting. A significant minority of people who are diagnosed with hypertension, or high blood pressure, actually have undiagnosed primary aldosteronism. An estimated 5% to 14% of people with high blood pressure seen in primary care and up to 30% seen in referral centers have primary ...

Gene therapy has emerged as a revolutionary approach to treating genetic disorders by directly addressing underlying genetic abnormalities. However, the success of gene therapy hinges on the efficient and safe delivery of therapeutic genes to target cells. Traditional viral vectors, despite their high transfection efficiency, face limitations such as immunogenicity, limited cargo capacity, and risks of insertional mutagenesis. Non-viral gene delivery systems, particularly those based on macromolecular carriers, have gained prominence as safer and more versatile alternatives. This review explores the advancements in synthetic and natural polymer-based gene delivery systems, highlighting ...

New study redefines healthy aging as an environmental, social, and political phenomenon, and calls on public health strategies to expand beyond lifestyle prescriptions to address structural inequalities and governance deficits A groundbreaking international study of 161,981 participants across 40 countries published in Nature Medicine today, [Monday , 14th July 2025] reveals that air pollution, social inequality, and weak democratic institutions substantially accelerate aging. The collaborative study involves leading researchers from the Global Brain Health Institute in Trinity ...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified over 250 proteins that are strongly affected by malaria, which could help predict the severity of the disease and thus enable faster treatment for the most critical patients. The study, published in the journal Immunity, was conducted on 72 adult travellers diagnosed with malaria at Karolinska University Hospital after returning from tropical regions. By analysing blood samples from these individuals, who were followed for a year, the researchers were able to identify around ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that delays in hypertension diagnosis were common and significantly associated with delays in treatment initiation and adverse cardiovascular outcomes, underscoring the need for earlier identification and intervention.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, John E. Brush Jr, MD, email jebrush@sentara.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.20498) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional ...

About The Study: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) therapy in idiopathic intracranial hypertension is associated with significant reductions in medication use, symptoms/signs, and procedural interventions, suggesting its potential as a management strategy. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dennis J. Rivet II, MD, email dennis.rivet@vcuhealth.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.2020) Editor’s Note: Please ...

About The Article: This article provides practical strategies for symptom management for patients receiving glucagon-like peptide-1 and dual receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) to manage weight and suggests interventions supporting muscle and nutrient preservation during GLP-1 RA treatment.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, email jmanson@bwh.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.1794) Editor’s ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2025 CONTACT: Camille Jewell cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460   NASHVILLE — Research presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting included three studies that explored the differences in treatment and recovery options for patients across racial, gender and socioeconomic lines in a large telestroke network in Pennsylvania and a university medical center in Rhode Island.   Telestroke treatment aims to improve care for people with stroke symptoms who live far from comprehensive stroke centers — hospitals that offer a full ...