A new study spanning eleven years of data has revealed a clear link between wildfire smoke pollution and an increase in violent assaults in Seattle. These findings represent the first direct causal evidence that short-term exposure to wildfire-driven air pollution can increase interpersonal violence in an urban environment.  As wildfires intensify around the world due to climate change, Lion Kircheis, the author of the study warns that air-quality deterioration may be driving ...

An international team of scientists led by the University of Bath has developed a new catalyst – a substance that speeds up chemical reactions – that uses sunlight to break down so-called ‘forever chemicals’ prevalent in the environment and known to accumulate in the human body with unknown long-term health effects. They hope this technology could in the future be scaled up and used to detect or remove these persistent chemicals from the environment. Published today in ...

Green hydrogen is considered an indispensable component of the global energy transition, but its production still faces massive economic and environmental hurdles. For example, the promising PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis process, which is particularly suitable for producing green hydrogen when the supply of electricity from wind power and photovoltaic systems fluctuates, is still very expensive compared to production using fossil fuels. Sustainability also needs to be scrutinised here. This is because it relies on environmentally hazardous ...

The construction sector is currently responsible for 37 percent of global CO2 emissions and therefore holds enormous potential in the green transition. It requires new knowledge to change the way we build and maintain the existing building stock if resource consumption and climate footprint are to be reduced. This is the background for a new research program called Civil Engineering and the Green Transition in the Built Environment (CEBE), which will research new solutions to promote sustainability in the built environment. As ...

Small household solar power systems have been gaining traction—and investment—as means to provide affordable and sustainable energy to those living without access to electricity.  But new research led by the University of Michigan shows that simply having access to solar technology does not mean people will adopt it and realize access to meaningful energy services. In a series of three peer-reviewed articles, researchers led by Pamela Jagger published results from a two-year study that involved surveying more than 1,000 households in Malawi, an African nation with one of the world's lowest energy access rates.  The study, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, ...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – ‘forever chemicals’ in common parlance – are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals often used in non-stick coatings, water-resistant fabrics, fire-fighting foams, food packages, cleaning products, and plastics. They contain exceptionally strong molecular bonds, which makes them hard to break down. PFAS pollution is increasingly detectable in water, soil, and tissues of organisms, and some have been implicated in human cancers, obesity, infertility, and hormonal imbalances. A ...

Synovial sarcoma is an aggressive malignant tumor that primarily affects the limbs of teenagers and young adults. While it can be cured if completely removed by surgery, recurrence or metastasis, the spread of cancer to organs such as the lungs, can make treatment difficult and life-threatening. This may also render radiation and chemotherapy ineffective. Therefore, current treatments alone are insufficient, and new treatments are needed. Fortunately, cancer research has changed focus and now theorizes new solutions in energy metabolism, asking “What nutrients do ...

February 26, 2026 – While heart disease in younger populations is rising globally, there have been virtually no studies examining parenting while navigating an early-onset cardiovascular condition. To address this gap, new focus group research has pinpointed the main concerns of parents with an early-onset cardiovascular condition facing the complex task of managing their own recovery while raising younger children. The study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, highlights the need for developmentally appropriate communication ...

New research has revealed that the Old Irish Goat shares a 3,000-year genetic link with goats living in Ireland during the Late Bronze Age. The findings suggest the rare indigenous breed represents a continuous Irish lineage stretching back millennia. Led by University College Dublin, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast and international partners, the new biomolecular and archaeological study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science reshapes the understanding of Ireland’s agricultural past and supports conservation of the Old Irish Goat as a living link to ancient farming communities. Oldest goat remains in Ireland Researchers analysed ...

Researchers from the University of Sydney and the Centenary Institute have discovered how a promising class of experimental antibiotics disrupts the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), paving the way for urgently needed new treatments. Globally, TB remains a major health crisis, claiming around 1.2 million lives each year and ranking among the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. The rise of drug-resistant strains, including in the Asia-Pacific region, has made the search for new treatment strategies increasingly urgent. In a study published in Nature Communications, the team investigated how three naturally occurring antibiotic compounds – ecumicin, ...

A battery's positive end (cathode) and negative end (anode) are two vital components that largely define how well it can perform. In particular, researchers have focused on improving the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of cathode design, since they can account for a significant amount of the costs for producing lithium batteries. Lithium-manganese-rich oxides are promising cathode candidates, because they don't use cobalt - which is expensive, scarce, and fraught with issues around non-ethical mining operations. However, Jahn-Teller (CJT) distortions of Manganese ions pose a major drawback to their use. Counteracting ...

SINGAPORE, 26 FEBRUARY 2026—Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School, working with collaborators at Imperial College London and partners in Europe and the United States, have uncovered new insights into how an additional copy of chromosome 21 alters brain development in Down syndrome. Down syndrome is caused by an additional copy of chromosome 21, but for decades, scientists have struggled to understand how this extra chromosome leads to intellectual disability. The new study, published in Nature Medicine, helps open this long standing “black box” by identifying ...

Liverwort uses hair-like rhizoids to collect phosphorus from its surroundings and deliver it to where it is needed. This Kobe University discovery sheds light on the evolution of one of the most essential features of land plants: roots for nutrient acquisition. For plants to survive on land, they need a mechanism to absorb water and nutrients from their surroundings. While many land plants have evolved structures such as roots and vascular tissue to fill this role, simple land plants like mosses and liverwort, collectively known as bryophytes, are able to grow and reproduce ...

Daily aspirin use does not offer a quick or reliable way to prevent bowel cancer in the general population and carries immediate risks of serious bleeding, a new Cochrane review finds. Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Prevention typically involves following a healthy lifestyle and periodically undergoing routine screening tests. In recent years, researchers have also explored the role of off-the-shelf medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), in reducing the incidence of bowel cancer. NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen and aspirin, ...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is associated with a significantly reduced risk of invasive cervical cancer, with no indication of waning protection up to 18 years after vaccination, finds a study from Sweden published by The BMJ today. HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections and many countries offer vaccination to protect girls against cervical cancer, and other related cancers, in later life. But evidence on the long term durability ...

Many post-authorisation studies registered with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) fail to comply with legal requirements and recommendations to make their findings public, finds a study published by The BMJ today. Post-authorisation studies (PAS) are carried out after a medicine is approved to collect further “real-world” data about its safety and effectiveness. The results show that only 6 of every 10 finalised and ongoing post-authorisation studies had uploaded a protocol and less than 7 of every 10 finalised post-authorisation studies had uploaded results to the EMA’s database. Making post-authorisation study protocols and ...

Embargoed for release: Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 6:30 PM ET Key points: In a study of heart health among adults living with type 2 diabetes (T2D), the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in combination with adherence to healthy lifestyle habits was linked with reduced risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), including heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular disease death. Those who used a GLP-1 RA and adhered to six to eight healthy habits had a 43% lower risk compared to those who did not use a GLP-1 RA and adhered to three or fewer healthy habits. The study also found that GLP-1 RA usage and healthy habits independently benefited heart health, though ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:00 GMT THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY (19:00 ET WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY) 2026 Researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, have resolved a long-standing debate about the strength of the Moon’s magnetic field. For decades, scientists have argued whether the Moon had a strong or weak magnetic field during its early history (3.5 - 4 billion years ago). Now a new analysis – published today (26 February) in Nature Geoscience – shows that both sides of the debate are effectively ...

The University of Birmingham has secured £18 million of funding to create a cutting-edge national computing centre that will help accelerate research and innovation across the UK.  Hosted at the University, the Baskerville National Compute Resource (NCR) will benefit researchers in every discipline - from climate science and healthcare to engineering, social sciences, and the arts.   Funded by ...

Play nicely: Children who are not friends connect better through play when given a goal Getting children to play together cooperatively depends less on their personal social skills and more on what they are doing – especially if they are not friends – a study shows. “Play nicely, children,” has been a familiar plea of stressed-out parents and teachers since time immemorial. Now, new research suggests that getting children to play together cooperatively may depend less on their social skills than the type of play involved – and who they are playing with. In a new study, researchers at the Universities ...

People spend 90% of their lives in buildings, which act as a protective ‘third skin’ from the elements, but climates are becoming more extreme and so the design of places we live and work in must be radically overhauled to keep people at safe temperatures indoors. Many homes and workplaces are not designed to withstand the extreme weather fluctuations we will increasingly experience in a hotter future. The good news is that a new generation of architects and engineers are now creating the climate-ready buildings that can keep occupants thermally safe and comfortable ...

An important new study has found that the wild can be a “death trap” for animals that are released from captivity after previously being rescued. The research, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, involved Anglia Ruskin University primatologist Professor Anna Nekaris OBE and colleagues from the NGO Plumploris e.V. and the University of Western Australia, who studied the outcome of Bengal slow lorises (Nycticebus bengalensis) released in Bangladesh. Slow lorises, with their large eyes and “cute” appearance, are one of the world’s ...

Key takeaways     A new randomised, double-blind crossover study of 74 healthy participants shows that a single night of road traffic noise can have measurable impacts on health. Participants exposed to nighttime traffic noise, typical of those living in a city, experienced impaired blood vessel function, raised heart rate, and blood protein changes linked to inflammation and stress responses.  The findings, published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, could help explain why people exposed to long-term traffic noise have higher rates of high blood pressure and heart disease. The findings support calls for stricter noise regulation to improve cardiovascular ...

DENVER, Wednesday 25 February 2026) Contrary to existing evidence from observational studies, the meningococcal B vaccine (4CMenB) has no effect on preventing the acquisition of gonorrhoea, according to the results of the world’s largest randomised control trial (RCT) into possible efficacy, conducted by Griffith University’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics and the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney. The results were presented today by Professor Kate Seib from Griffith University at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Denver, Colorado. Gonorrhoea is a considerable public health challenge, with particular concern around the rise in antibiotic-resistant ...

The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) has been selected by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation, to receive a grant through the Expanding Age-Friendly Approaches to Specialty Ambulatory Care program. The AAO-HNSF is one of a select group of specialty societies awarded funding to develop, implement, and evaluate age-friendly care practices tailored for older adults in outpatient specialty settings. The 18-month ...