Northern Australia's annual monsoon season brings relief to drought-stricken lands and revitalises crops and livestock for farmers. But a study of 150,000 years of climate records shows that the monsoon is likely to intensify — triggering a higher risk of flooding while worsening the impact of droughts in East Asia. Led by Professor Michael Bird, researchers at James Cook University and Flinders University have assessed sediments at Girraween Lagoon near Darwin, revealing a continuous record of monsoon rainfall patterns dating back beyond the last interglacial period. This ...

Retinoids and mineral sunscreen among the most effective for multiple skin complaints Full list of recommended ingredients for each skin concern included in study Nearly 80 dermatologists from 43 institutions participated in a robust national ingredient review CHICAGO --- From drugstore aisles to TikTok trends, consumers are bombarded with skin care products. But how do you know what really works, especially now with summer in full swing? A Northwestern Medicine study offers clarity, identifying the ingredients that dermatologists agree are most effective ...

Bentham Science Publishers is pleased to announce that MicroRNA has been awarded an Impact Factor ranking by Clarivate Analytics. The journal, currently edited by Dr. Alberto Izzoti (University of Genoa), has been providing readers with cutting-edge research on molecular biology and the therapeutic applications of MicroRNAs. Bentham Science extends its heartfelt congratulations to all journal contributors, including editors, authors and staff who have supported the journal since its inception. Impact Factor Update: With MicroRNA’s addition to the Impact Factor list, ...

Got a sore throat and the sniffles? The recent rise of rapid at-home tests has made it easier to find out if you have a serious illness like COVID-19 or just a touch of spring allergies.  But while quick and convenient, these at-home tests are less sensitive than those available at the doctor’s office, meaning that you may still test negative even if you are infected. A solution may come in the form of a new, low-cost biosensing technology that could make rapid at-home tests up to 100 times more sensitive to ...

In this special collection, Aging seeks to bring together cutting-edge research that spans the cellular and molecular underpinnings of cognitive aging with insights into the psychosocial, behavioral, and environmental factors that modulate its course. BUFFALO, NY — July 8, 2025 — As populations worldwide continue to age, understanding the mechanisms and manifestations of cognitive aging is increasingly urgent for science, medicine, and society. Age-related cognitive decline ranges from mild memory lapses to the onset of dementia, and is shaped by a complex interplay of molecular, cellular, systemic, and social ...

OXFORD, Miss. – Despite its name, the young adult genre is increasingly dominated by stories about older teens and even adults. But as protagonists get older, younger readers are getting left behind, a University of Mississippi study indicates.   Ally Watkins, research and instruction librarian at the J.D. Williams Library, published her research into the increasing age of young adult protagonists in the New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship.   “I think it's important for any reader to see themselves ...

ChatGPT works by analyzing vast amounts of text, identifying patterns and synthesizing them to generate responses to users’ prompts. Color metaphors like “feeling blue” and “seeing red” are commonplace throughout the English language, and therefore comprise part of the dataset on which ChatGPT is trained. But while ChatGPT has “read” billions of words about what it might mean to feel blue or see red, it has never actually seen a blue sky or a red apple in the ways that humans have. Which begs the questions: Do embodied experiences — the capacity ...

Quantum computers have operated under a significant limitation: they can run only one program at a time. These million-dollar machines demand exclusive use even for the smallest tasks, leaving much of their expensive and fast-running hardware idle and forcing researchers to endure long queues. Columbia Engineering researchers have developed HyperQ, a novel system that enables multiple users to share a single quantum computer simultaneously through isolated quantum virtual machines (qVMs). This key development brings quantum computing closer to real-world usability—more practical, ...

LOS ANGELES — The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which affects almost two-thirds of the world’s population and is generally associated with oral herpes, may cause painful cold sores or fever blisters around the mouth.    Yet, when genetically engineered to fight cancer, the virus may also play an important role in treating advanced melanoma, skin cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, according to phase 1-2 clinical trial results published in the Journal of Clinical ...

Ecosystems are characterized by interconnected structure and functions. A study published July 8th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Casey Benkwitt at Lancaster University, United Kingdom and colleagues suggests that restoring seabird populations via eradication of rats may help coral reefs by restoring nutrient connectivity in disrupted food chains. Invasive rats in the Seychelles have decreased native seabird populations. However, the mechanism by which seabirds may impact coral reef ecosystem structure ...

In modern devices, such as phone screens or advanced sensors, light is often generated by pairs of organic molecules, where one molecule, known as the donor, transmits electrons, and the other, referred to as the acceptor, receives them. An international team of scientists from Kaunas University of Technology, KTU, Lithuania, has, for the first time, observed the luminescence of an excited complex formed by two donor molecules. This discovery opens new possibilities for developing simpler, more efficient, and more sustainable optoelectronic devices. “Until now, such interactions were considered practically impossible. This discovery challenges the fundamental principles we have used ...

HOUSTON – (July 8, 2025) – Scientists at Rice University and University of Houston have developed an innovative, scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials. The study, published in Nature Communications, introduces a dynamic biosynthesis technique that aligns bacterial cellulose fibers in real-time, resulting in robust biopolymer sheets with exceptional mechanical properties. Plastic pollution persists because traditional synthetic polymers degrade into microplastics, releasing harmful chemicals like bisphenol ...

Itani Studying Translation Potential Of Secure & Efficient Software Updates In Industrial Internet of Things Architectures Wassim Itani, Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the project: “I-Corps: Translation Potential of Secure and Efficient Software Updates in Industrial Internet of Things Architectures (IIoT).” He is addressing several critical challenges, including limited computing and network resources of IIoT devices, lack of operational and security standards, absence of a cryptographic root of trust, unique operational requirements of IIoT ...

Tsukuba, Japan—Tsunami earthquakes are characterized by the generation of disproportionately large tsunamis relative to the observed ground shaking, complicating timely evacuation efforts. Understanding their generation mechanisms and associated risks is therefore critical. One proposed cause is slow, uniform fault slip facilitated by soft sedimentary layers in the source region; however, this mechanism remains poorly understood. Additionally, the seismic signals from tsunami earthquakes are often too complex to be explained by conventional models, and their source processes have not been fully clarified. In this study, the research team analyzed seismic waveform data from ...

Zhu Studying Use Of Big Data In Verification Of Route Choice Models Shanjiang Zhu, Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the study: “Utilizing Big Data to Verify and Enhance Route Choice Models in Travel Demand Modeling.” Connected vehicle data has attracted a lot of interest from transportation professionals, but researchers are still exploring the best way to use it. This research effort will determine the best way to use connected vehicle data to enhance accuracy of travel demand models. It will challenge the conventional ...

A team of researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified a potential new strategy to prevent, and even reverse, immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced type 1 diabetes, a rare but life-threatening side effect of cancer immunotherapy, using an existing class of autoimmune drugs. The study, published in JCI Insight, identifies a new group of immune cells involved in the development immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced type 1 diabetes and shows that JAK inhibitors, which are already ...

Researchers from RMIT University and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, have unveiled a method to significantly extend the lifetime of quantum batteries – 1,000 times longer than previous demonstrations. A quantum battery is a theoretical concept that emerged from research in quantum science and technology. Unlike traditional batteries, which rely on chemical reactions, quantum batteries use quantum superposition and interactions between electrons and light to achieve faster charging times and potentially enhanced storage capacity. In ...

Background and objectives Brain metastases from ovarian cancer (BMFOC) are rare but associated with poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GKSRS) in managing patients with BMFOC. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 22 patients with BMFOC who were treated with GKSRS between January 2015 and May 2019. The median age at the start of treatment was 57.7 years (range, 46–72 years). A total of 70 brain metastases were treated, with ...

Plastics play a fundamental role in modern life, but their resistance to biodegradation makes them very difficult to dispose of. New research reveals how “plastivore” caterpillars can metabolically degrade plastics in a matter of days, not decades, and store them internally as body fat – but at what cost? In 2017, a groundbreaking study demonstrated that the caterpillars of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), known as waxworms, can degrade polyethylene plastic. Polyethylene is the world’s most commonly manufactured plastic, with ...

A new large-scale study spotlights postoperative delirium as a preventable and high-impact complication, which is driven by patient frailty and surgical stress—and one that can be addressed through low-cost, evidence-based interventions. The findings, which appear in JAMA Network Open, provide a call to action for clinicians, health systems, patients, and families to prioritize brain health throughout perioperative care. “Postoperative delirium isn’t a minor complication—it’s analogous to acute brain failure, a medical emergency that should be recognized and addressed,” said Laurent Glance, MD, a professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at ...

New preliminary research suggests that a combination of higher atmospheric CO2 and hotter temperatures contribute to a reduction in nutritional quality in food crops, with serious implications for human health and wellbeing. Most research into the impact of climate change on food production has focused on crop yield, but the size of the harvest means little if the nutritional value is poor. “Our work looks beyond quantity to the quality of what we eat,” says Jiata Ugwah Ekele, a PhD student at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. The ongoing effects of climate change are posed ...

“The findings of this study have practical implications for individuals aiming to improve their physical performance and overall health.” BUFFALO, NY — July 8, 2025 — A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) Volume 17, Issue 6, on May 30, 2025, titled “Impact of waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios on physical performance: insights from the Longevity Check-up 8+ project.” In this study, researchers led by first author Anna Maria Martone and corresponding author Elena Levati from the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “Agostino Gemelli” IRCCS and Università ...

Program provides fracture liaison service to better document, track, and benchmark individualized care New York, NY (July 8, 2025) – The Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has implemented the American Orthopaedic Association’s Own the Bone® program, joining more than 300 health care institutions nationwide to help better identify, evaluate, and treat patients who experience an osteoporosis- or low bone density-related fractures. The program brings attention to the severe health implications of fragility fractures (broken ...

Earth and our entire Milky Way galaxy may sit inside a mysterious giant hole which makes the cosmos expand faster here than in neighbouring regions of the universe, astronomers say. Their theory is a potential solution to the 'Hubble tension' and could help confirm the true age of our universe, which is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old. The latest research – shared at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) in Durham – shows that sound waves from the early universe, "essentially the sound of the Big Bang", support this idea. The Hubble constant was ...

In a discovery that could reshape approaches to regenerative medicine and bone repair, researchers have found that human stem cells can be prompted to begin turning into bone cells simply by squeezing through narrow spaces. The study suggests that the physical act of moving through tight, confining spaces, like those between tissues, can influence how stem cells develop. This could open new possibilities for engineering materials and therapies by guiding cell behaviour using physical, rather than chemical, ...