UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Though scientists have long understood how lightning strikes, the precise atmospheric events that trigger it within thunderclouds remained a perplexing mystery. The mystery may be solved, thanks to a team of researchers led by Victor Pasko, professor of electrical engineering in the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, that has revealed the powerful chain reaction that triggers lightning. In the study published today (July 28) in the Journal ...

Hybrid water electrolysis (HWE) is an emerging field that aims to overcome some of the limitations of conventional water electrolysis (CWE) for the production of green hydrogen. In CWE, two reactions take place at each of the electrodes (anode and cathode): one reaction produces hydrogen at the cathode (the hydrogen evolution reaction) and the other produces oxygen at the anode (the oxygen evolution reaction, OER). The concept of hybrid water electrolysis revolves around replacing the anode reaction of CWE (the OER), which is inefficient and requires ...

There is broad consensus that the overall body of evidence shows lowering LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol provides both statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefits in treating and preventing cardiovascular disease. Often referred to as the “bad” cholesterol, elevated levels of LDL can clog arteries and significantly increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In an invited editorial published in the current issue of Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, researchers from Florida ...

DALLAS, July 28, 2025 — People in 15 regions across the U.S. will soon benefit from the American Heart Association’s Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health Initiative™, designed to improve treatment of the interconnected conditions that lead to heart disease and stroke. The initiative began with five regions in February and has now expanded to include the final 10 regions. The regions include states, cities and metro areas. The initiative, supported by founding sponsors Novo Nordisk and Boehringer Ingelheim, supporting sponsor Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and champion sponsor DaVita, will enroll 150 health care ...

Alexandria, VA – The AADOCR is now accepting applications for Cohort 6 of the Mind the Future Program, thanks to the generous support of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.  The AADOCR Mind the Future program has been instrumental in fostering five cohorts of early-career investigators in the dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) research workforce. The network's principal purpose has been to establish a robust and enduring national mentoring program centrally managed by AADOCR. The overarching ...

Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a major global health concern, affecting approximately 1.5 billion people. This life-threatening disease often progresses silently, eventually leading to worsened conditions like liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. There is currently no treatment for CLD other than liver transplantation. Vitamin D is commonly consumed for enhanced bone health. This study opens exciting possibilities for repurposing an inexpensive supplement as a complementary therapy for liver diseases. Prof. Hyo-Jung Kwon from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University in Daejeon, Republic of Korea, and his colleagues ...

University research is where innovative technological breakthroughs originate. As a result, a number of proactive universities provide substantial resources and support to their academic researchers to help increase the number of all ventures. However, despite receiving this extensive support and having access to the best scientific knowledge, many academic entrepreneurs are not as successful as their corporate counterparts. While this sounds like a contradiction, there is enough empirical evidence explaining just why this could be happening. With this in mind, Professor Alex Coad from the Waseda Business School, Waseda University, Japan, critically analyzes the differences ...

Consider the delicate web of fat in a Wagyu steak. The “marbling” that makes carnivore connoisseurs swoon is a visual heuristic for quality flavor. Now, a new study suggests the very same marbling of fat inside our own muscles points to trouble. This condition, known as intramuscular adipose tissue, or IMAT, has long been recognized by scientists as a strong indicator of poor health. It’s linked to a wide range of diseases: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, neuromuscular disorders (including Duchenne muscular dystrophy) and neurogenerative conditions such as ALS. In some cases, ...

More than 11,000 additional women opted for the most effective form of birth control—long-acting reversible contraception (LARC)—within just 15 months of B.C. making prescription contraception free. The numbers don’t lie New research from the University of British Columbia and collaborators shows a 49-per-cent jump in LARC dispensations after the province introduced universal, no-cost coverage in April 2023. That’s a seismic shift in how reproductive-aged women are managing their reproductive choice, the researchers say. The study tracked ...

Australian researchers have discovered a promising new strategy to suppress the growth of aggressive and hard-to-treat cancers by targeting a specialised molecular process known as ‘minor splicing’.   Published in EMBO Reports, the study shows that blocking minor splicing can markedly slow tumour growth in liver, lung and stomach cancers, while leaving healthy cells largely unharmed.   The research in animal models and human cells, from Australian medical research institute WEHI, demonstrates ...

Researchers at the University of Michigan have illuminated a complete sensory pathway showing how the skin communicates the temperature of its surroundings to the brain. This discovery, believed to be the first of its kind, reveals that cool temperatures get their own pathway, indicating that evolution has created different circuits for hot and cold temperatures. This creates an elegant solution for ensuring precise thermal perception and appropriate behavioral responses to environmental changes, said Bo Duan, senior author of the new study. "The skin is the body's ...

The largest genetic analysis of stuttering has demonstrated a clear genetic basis for the speech disorder, highlighting neurological pathways of risk. The study, published July 28 in the journal Nature Genetics, used data representing more than 1 million individuals who had their DNA analyzed by the company 23andMe Inc.  The findings point to 57 distinct genomic loci associated with stuttering and suggest a shared genetic architecture of stuttering with autism, depression and musicality. The results provide a foundation for additional research that could lead to earlier identification or therapeutic advances in stuttering. More broadly, improving understanding of the causes ...

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a powerful new method to detect harmful blue-green algae in freshwater lakes. Their method, which involves advanced mass spectrometry technology, can identify toxin producing blue-green algae before they become damaging in recreational waters and pose threat to public health. Blue-green algae (scientifically named as cyanobacteria) are micro-organisms commonly found in ponds, lakes, and oceans worldwide. In optimum growth conditions, they can form huge “blooms” that appear like green slime covering the surface of the water. Although these blooms are extremely ...

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, used artificial intelligence to help plants recognize a wider range of bacterial threats — which may lead to new ways to protect crops like tomatoes and potatoes from devastating diseases. The study was published in Nature Plants.  Plants, like animals, have immune systems. Part of their defense toolkit includes immune receptors, which give them the ability to detect bacteria and defend against it. One of those receptors, called FLS2, helps plants recognize flagellin — a protein in the tiny tails bacteria use to swim. But bacteria are sneaky and constantly ...

Toronto, Canada – A new study of 3,500 Canadians aged 55 and older revealed a strong association between early childhood adversities and depression. Experiencing physical abuse in childhood was linked to a threefold increase in the likelihood of lifetime depression, while exposure to sexual abuse or parental domestic violence more than doubled the risk. The University of Toronto research was published recently in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics Plus. “Our findings shine a light on how trauma in the earliest years can echo through decades, shaping patterns of mental health and well-being,” says the first author, Megha Goel, a doctoral student at the University ...

Immersing in virtual reality (VR) nature scenes helped relieve symptoms that are often seen in people living with long-term pain, with those who felt more present experiencing the strongest effects. A new study led by the University of Exeter, published in the journal Pain, tested the impact of immersive 360-degree nature films delivered using VR compared with 2D video images in reducing experience of pain, finding VR almost twice as effective.   Long-term (chronic) pain typically lasts more than three months and is particularly difficult to treat. The researchers simulated this type of pain in healthy participants, ...

VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE “The value of Canada’s health data is immense,” writes Dr. Kumanan Wilson, CEO, Bruyère Health Research Institute and an internal medicine specialist at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, with coauthors. “The sovereignty risks associated with these data are real. If Canada is to lead in the health AI space, it must move quickly to establish long-overdue privacy and technology safeguards.” The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) ...

VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE He envisions supporting not only clinicians to innovate, but also health care organizations and the larger health system. “Ideally, health care systems will evolve into living laboratories that enable clinician- and patient-driven solutions supported by health care organizations as well as business and health care system leaders. This is not a new proposition; in 2015, an advisory panel on health care innovation previously advocated for this very concept in Canada,” writes Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, director of the Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM) at the University of Toronto and vice president ...

VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE While the virtual delivery of health services expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, many regions have decreased use of these services in recent years. In B.C., however, a unique pan-provincial partnership led by the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia (RCCbc), the First Nations Health Authority, the B.C. Ministry of Health, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Digital Emergency Medicine Unit has worked together to build and grow a network of virtual services to support patients, physicians, and health care providers in rural communities. Initiated in March 2020, the RTVS network is publicly funded and designed to ...

People with dementia are diagnosed an average of 3.5 years after symptoms are first noticed, or even longer (4.1 years) for those with early-onset dementia, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of global evidence examining time to diagnosis in dementia. The researchers reviewed data from 13 previously published studies which took place in Europe, US, Australia and China, reporting data on 30,257 participants. The research team was investigating the average interval between ...

MADISON — When a multimillion-dollar extraterrestrial vehicle gets stuck in soft sand or gravel — as did the Mars rover Spirit in 2009 — Earth-based engineers take over like a virtual tow truck, issuing a series of commands that move its wheels or reverse its course in a delicate, time-consuming effort to free it and continue its exploratory mission.  While Spirit remained permanently stuck, in the future, better terrain testing right here on terra firma could help ...

In the United States, immigration status has long created hierarchies within our society, where some can participate fully in public life, while others are excluded. These divisions have serious consequences for our communities, including when it comes to public health. A research project led by the University of California, Santa Cruz recently uncovered a particularly alarming example of this effect by looking back on excess deaths in California throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Alicia ...

A new material developed by researchers from University of Toronto Engineering could offer a safer alternative to the non-stick chemicals commonly used in cookware and other applications.  The new substance repels both water and grease about as well as standard non-stick coatings — but it contains much lower amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of chemicals that have raised environmental and health concerns.  “The research community has been trying to develop safer alternatives to PFAS for a long time,” says Professor Kevin ...

Most people envision vibration on a large scale, like the buzz of a cell phone notification or the oscillation of an electric toothbrush. But scientists think about vibration on a smaller scale—atomic, even.  In a first for the field, researchers from The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have used advanced imaging technology to directly observe a previously hidden branch of vibrational physics in 2D materials. Their findings, published in Science, confirm the existence of a previously unseen class ...

Indigenous agroforests (food-producing agroecosystems where trees and crops grow together in forest-like environments) may offer valuable insights for addressing two of the world’s biggest challenges: declining biodiversity and rising non-communicable disease, according to research led by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers. Published in July 2025 in Global Food Security, the study found that agroforests with greater ecological diversity also offer a more nutritionally diverse food supply.  The team analyzed 48 Indigenous agroforests in Fiji using a trait-based framework. Focusing on specific plant characteristics important for ecological resilience, such as ...