MADISON — An international team of astronomers has trained a neural network with millions of synthetic simulations and artificial intelligence (AI) to tease out new cosmic curiosities about black holes, revealing the one at the center of our Milky Way is spinning at nearly top speed.  These large ensembles of simulations were generated by throughput computing capabilities provided by the Center for High Throughput Computing (CHTC), a joint entity of the Morgridge Institute for Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The astronomers published their results and methodology today in three papers in the journal Astronomy ...

New genetic research is shedding light on why some children benefit more than others from orthokeratology lenses—an increasingly popular method to slow the progression of myopia. In the largest genome-wide study of its kind, scientists discovered that children who responded better to treatment carried a higher number of nonsynonymous mutations in genes associated with retinal diseases. Among the key players identified were RIMS2 and LCA5, genes involved in retinal function and visual processing. These insights not only reveal a biological basis for the variability in treatment outcomes but also pave the way for using genetic screening to personalize ...

While kelp forests persist along northern Maine’s rocky coast, kelp abundance has declined by as much as 80% on the southern coast in recent decades. In its stead, carpet-like turf algae have moved in. A team, led by scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, are examining the broad consequences of this shift. Their recently published research in Science Advances shows that predator-prey interactions and the flow of energy are fundamentally different on turf-dominated reefs compared to the remaining kelp forests. Using ...

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Adding IL-12, a cytokine produced by various immune cells, to mRNA vaccines improves T cell responses This could make the benefits of vaccines last longer This is also a promising approach for reducing the risk of cancer In the quest to design vaccines that better help the body’s immune system fight disease, scientists are always looking for more tools for their arsenal. The strong antibody responses generated by vaccines provide an important first round of defense, but “you always want to have a backup plan,” says Biomedical Graduate Studies Ph.D. student Emily A. Aunins, considering viruses mutate to evade antibody responses that ...

PHILADELPHIA (June 6, 2025) – A new Penn Nursing Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research (CHOPR) study sheds light on the critical factors that help or hinder hospital nurses in providing quality care to socially disadvantaged populations. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, offer vital insights to inform hospital strategies for advancing high-quality, equitable care. The study, which analyzed open-text responses from 1084 direct care hospital nurses across 58 New York and Illinois hospitals, identified six key themes impacting care delivery: Profits ...

Fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) have been touted as a potential treatment for a variety of conditions, from inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and type 2 diabetes to autism. New research from the University of Chicago, however, cautions against widespread use of FMT because of the potential for long-lasting, unintended health consequences for recipients. FMT involves transferring microbes in the stool from a healthy person to a sick one, in hopes of restoring a healthy equilibrium in the gut microbiome. Since stools contain primarily anaerobic microbes from the colon (i.e. they can’t tolerate oxygen), FMT can cause mismatches in the gut ecosystem when those bacteria colonize the ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, poor mental health among workers varied significantly by sociodemographic categories; significant differences among industry and occupation groups remained after adjustment. More research is needed on the effects of work-related factors on mental health, which may inform tailored treatment and prevention strategies. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Aaron L. Sussell, PhD, email als7@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that, despite some differences by political affiliation, there is high support of policies to support the adult care economy, suggesting a policy window to advance legislation and executive action to address the care needs of aging populations and populations with disabilities. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Katherine E. M. Miller, PhD, email kmill177@jh.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1204) Editor’s ...

Real-world study found self-collection tests were effective at increasing cervical cancer screening participation in underserved U.S. populations   Women who received the self-collection kits were more than twice as likely to participate in screening compared to those who received only a telephone reminder    These results could inform cervical cancer screening health policy  HOUSTON, JUNE 6, 2025 ― Mail-in self-collection tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) more than doubled cervical cancer screening participation among never- and under-screened ...

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) today announced it has awarded its 1,000th AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation. Since 2005, on-air meteorologists have displayed the AMS CBM seal to denote their expertise not only in weather-related communication but also in meteorological science and forecasting.  “The CBM indicates that your weather broadcaster is a scientist who understands meteorology and forecasting, and who has achieved our standard of excellence in communicating technically sound knowledge to the public in a clear and responsible manner,” says Kelly Savoie, Director of Career Development ...

Hypertension or high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack and stroke, the two top causes of death in the United States, is one of the most widespread chronic illnesses in America, afflicting nearly half of adults. In a recent Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) health survey, 35% of respondents report having been diagnosed with high blood pressure and two-thirds of this group say they’re somewhat or very worried about having high blood pressure.   But the survey finds that ...

Co-packaged optics (CPO) technology can integrate photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with electronic integrated circuits (EICs) like CPUs and GPUs on a single platform. This advanced technology has immense potential to improve data transmission efficiency within data centers and high-performance computing environments. CPO systems require a laser source for operation, which can be either integrated directly into the silicon photonic chips (integrated laser sources) or provided externally. While integrated laser sources allow for dense CPO integration, ensuring ...

Boron, though required only in minimal amounts, is vital for plant development. It strengthens cell walls and supports the growth of roots and shoots. Normally, boron, in the form of boric acid, is passively absorbed by plant roots and transported throughout the plant via diffusion. However, boron is often scarce in soil, particularly in arid regions, making passive absorption impossible. To combat this, plants have evolved proteins that actively transport boron from the soil into the plant. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the protein AtNIP5;1—a boric acid channel ...

We have all heard of antibodies – proteins produced by our bodies to bind to viruses or bacteria, marking them for elimination by the immune system. But not all of us are familiar with aptamers: short segments of DNA or RNA that are designed to bind, like antibodies, to specific targets. Synthetic and inexpensive to produce, aptamers are attractive alternatives to antibodies for biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics. When new aptamer binders are needed, for example to detect a new virus, they are developed from libraries of millions of nucleic acid sequences from which the best matches for a given target are selected and amplified. ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When navigating a place that we’re only somewhat familiar with, we often rely on unique landmarks to help make our way. However, if we’re looking for an office in a brick building, and there are many brick buildings along our route, we might use a rule like looking for the second building on a street, rather than relying on distinguishing the building itself. Until that ambiguity is resolved, we must hold in mind that there are multiple possibilities (or hypotheses) for where we are in relation to our destination. In a study of mice, MIT neuroscientists have now discovered that these hypotheses are explicitly represented in the brain ...

A new AI tool to predict the spread of infectious disease outperforms existing state-of-the-art forecasting methods. The tool, created with federal support by researchers at Johns Hopkins and Duke universities, could revolutionize how public health officials predict, track and manage outbreaks of infectious diseases including flu and COVID-19. “COVID-19 elucidated the challenge of predicting disease spread due to the interplay of complex factors that were constantly changing,” said author ...

During the first meeting of the Global Think-tank on Steatotic Liver Disease, supported by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and held in the Palau Macaya of Barcelona on 5–6 June, more than 100 international experts issued a stark warning: millions of people will continue to go unseen by healthcare systems unless early detection and person-centred care for liver disease are prioritised without delay.   A common but invisible disease Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects around 33% of adults globally. Its more aggressive form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), is estimated to affect 5% of the general ...

Tokyo, Japan – Hailed as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, transistors are integral components of modern electronics that amplify or switch electrical signals. As electronics become smaller, it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue scaling down silicon-based transistors. Has the development of our electronics hit a wall? Now, a research team led by the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, has sought a solution. As detailed in their new paper, to be issued in 2025 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits , the team ditched the silicon and instead opted to create a transistor made from gallium-doped ...

Highlights - Development of the world's first practical surface-emitting laser suitable for optical fiber communications systems. - Utilization of quantum dots as an optical gain medium, enabled by NICT's high-precision crystal growth technology and Sony's advanced processing technology. - A significant advancement toward miniaturization, reduced power consumption, and cost efficiency of light sources used in optical fiber communication systems. Abstract The National Institute of Information ...

Sepsis is when the immune system overshoots its inflammatory reaction to an infection, so strongly that the vital organs begin to shut down. It is life-threatening: each year in the US alone, approximately 750,000 patients are hospitalized for sepsis, of which approximately 27% die. In about 15% of cases, sepsis worsens into septic shock, characterized by dangerously low blood pressure and reduced blood flow to tissues. The risk of death from septic shock is even higher, between 30% and 40%. The earlier patients with sepsis are treated, the better their prospects. Typically, they receive ...

Dual Breakthroughs in Diabetes Cure and Organ Regeneration Redefine Medical Frontiers   NANJING, China – In a revolutionary one-two punch, Chinese research teams have successfully engineered the human spleen into a living bioreactor capable of curing diabetes and growing functional organs – achievements published back-to-back in Science Translational Medicine and Diabetes this month. This convergence of discoveries positions the long-underestimated spleen as a game-changing platform for regenerative medicine.   ​The Spleen Solution: From Biological Filter to Life-Saving Factory Once considered expendable, the spleen now emerges as the body’s ...

A Cambridge criminologist has uncovered new evidence in the killing of a priest, John Forde, who had his throat cut on a busy London street almost seven centuries ago. The case is among hundreds catalogued by the Medieval Murder Maps project at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology, a database of unnatural death in England during the 14th century. This one, however, has a few twists.   Records traced by Prof Manuel Eisner suggest that John Forde’s slaying in 1337 was a revenge killing orchestrated by a noblewoman ordered to enact years of degrading penance after the Archbishop of Canterbury discovered the clergyman was her lover – possibly from ...

Dust particles thrown up from deserts such as the Saraha and Gobi are playing a previously unknown role in air pollution, a new study has found.   The international study published in National Science Review has revealed that contrary to long-held scientific assumptions, aged desert dust particles which were once considered too big and dry to host significant chemical reactions actually act as "chemical reactors in the sky"—facilitating the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA), a major component of airborne particles.   Published in a collaborative effort led by scientists ...

The bioarchaeological investigation of the Bronze Age cemetery of Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom has shed new light on an important period in Central European history. An international research team – led by Tamás Hajdu, associate professor at the Department of Anthropology at ELTE and Claudio Cavazzuti, senior assistant professor at the University of Bologna, has shown that around 1500 BC, radical changes occurred in people’s lives: they ate and lived differently, and the social system was also reorganized. The ...

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated in an intact plant a long-contested process that allows some plants to rebound from extended drought. The team of Colorado State University, University of Colorado and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists says understanding this special trait could improve agricultural productivity and food security.   Drought costs the United States billions in agricultural losses and increased irrigation. Lost productivity lowers food availability and raises prices for ...