As renewable energy expands worldwide, one challenge remains stubbornly unresolved: how to store heat efficiently and sustainably when the sun is not shining or demand fluctuates. A new study shows that agricultural waste, specifically discarded neem seeds, can be transformed into a powerful and environmentally friendly thermal energy storage material. Researchers have developed a biochar based phase change material that can capture, store, and release heat with high efficiency while also locking carbon away. The work demonstrates how the temperature used to produce biochar strongly ...

Biochar, a carbon rich material made by heating biomass under low oxygen conditions, has long been known for its ability to store carbon in soils and improve environmental quality. Now, a new comprehensive review introduces a powerful way to understand and design biochar by mapping what the authors call its “physical genome”, a framework that links biochar’s internal structure to how it performs across a wide range of applications Published online on January 29, 2026, the review brings together decades of research on biochar’s physical properties, including porosity, mechanical strength, ...

A study led by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Global Surgery Program, in partnership with George Regional Hospital in South Africa, reported that a traveling mobile endoscopy team performed more than 500 procedures across five rural hospitals in South Africa’s Western Cape. The study was published in BMJ Open Gastroenterology in December 2025. Between January and November 2024, the team performed procedures on adults at district hospitals where endoscopy is not routinely available. The findings highlighted both the heavy burden of treatable gastrointestinal disease in rural communities and ...

A groundbreaking study from Brown University Health researchers has identified a crucial factor that may help improve treatment for glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and common forms of adult brain cancer. The findings, published November 10 in Cell Reports, reveal how differences among cells within a single tumor influence the cancer’s response to chemotherapy, and introduce a promising new therapy designed to tip the odds in the patients’ favor. Glioblastoma is notoriously difficult to treat.  One of the key ...

Researchers are continually looking for new ways to hack the cellular machinery of microbes like yeast and bacteria to make products that are useful for humans and society. In a new proof-of-concept study, a team from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology showed they can expand the biosynthetic capabilities of these microbes by using light to help access new types of chemical transformations. The paper, published in Nature Catalysis, demonstrates how the bacteria Escherichia coli can be engineered to produce these new molecules in ...

In 2023, more than half of all suicide deaths in the United States involved firearms. “Red flag” laws—also called Extreme Risk Protection Orders or ERPOs—are designed to reduce these deaths by authorizing temporary firearm removal from individuals deemed at high risk of harming themselves or others. ERPO laws had been implemented in 21 states and the District of Columbia as of February 2025.  But the laws’ effectiveness in preventing suicides was still unclear.   However, a new analysis ...

It’s common to wonder as tax season ramps up: Are taxes too high? According to a new study by University of Cincinnati economics professor David Brasington, the answer is no, at least when it comes to Ohio’s city service taxes. These taxes go toward local services such as funds for the fire department, road repair and park upkeep.  “It seems like public services are not over-provided at the local level in Ohio,” Brasington said. “Because good things seem to happen when people renew these taxes instead of cut them.” Brasington, PhD, published a new study in Regional Science and Urban Economics called “Effect ...

Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition that occurs in about 1 in 1,000 newborns and is often treated with invasive surgery. Now, a new study offers hope of preventing hydrocephalus before it even occurs. Also known as water on the brain, hydrocephalus is caused by a surplus of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) that increases pressure inside the skull and can damage brain tissue. About 40 per cent of hydrocephalus cases are caused by single gene mutations which impact the brain’s ability to reabsorb CSF ...

Tampa, FL, USA, January 30, 2026:  The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and pandemic preparedness, is monitoring reports of a  Nipah virus outbreak in India and emphasizes that such cases, while very concerning and serious, are not unexpected or unprecedented. Sporadic Nipah virus infections have occurred almost annually in parts of South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh, and do not indicate a new or escalating global threat. Nipah ...

Tau protein aggregation is a shared feature in over 20 neurodegenerative diseases (collectively referred to as “tauopathies”). New research led by Boston Children’s Hospital challenges the current "one-size-fits-all" approach to diagnosing and treating these tauopathies. The team, led by senior authors Judith A. Steen, PhD, and Hanno Steen, PhD, and executed by co–first authors Mukesh Kumar, PhD, Christoph N. Schlaffner, PhD, Shaojun Tang, PhD, and Maaike A. Beuvink, analyzed brain tissue from 203 patients spanning several tauopathies, including ...

About The Study: This analysis documents a major demographic transition; non-Hispanic white births now constitute less than half of U.S. births, while Hispanic births exceed one-fourth. These shifts reflect declining fertility across most groups, contrasted with immigration trends and younger ages among Hispanic women that sustain overall birth rates. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amos Grünebaum, MD, email agrunebaum@northwell.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.56659) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of 47,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, after accounting for demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race and ethnicity), behavioral factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use), and chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), males had a 63% greater risk of all-cause mortality than females. These findings suggest that there may be intrinsic biological factors (sex hormones, chromosomes, or immune response) associated with sex differences in mortality. Further research should investigate the effects ...

News Release | Washington University in St. Louis NEWS RELEASE Embargoed until 11 a.m. ET Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 MEDIA CONTACT Abeeha Shamshad · abeeha@wustl.edu · 925-998-0775 Since it was first detected in the U.S. in 2014, H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has jumped from wild birds to farm animals and then to people, causing more than 70 human cases in the U.S. since 2022, including two fatalities. The virus continues to circulate among ...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major unrecognized cause of deadly sepsis among people with HIV in Africa, a sweeping new study reveals. Beginning treatment for TB immediately – even before sepsis patients are diagnosed with TB – could save countless lives, the researchers say. The ATLAS study, conducted over five years at hospitals in Tanzania and Uganda, has found that more than half of the hundreds of patients enrolled in the study had TB and that immediate treatment increased their chances of survival significantly.  The ...

New York, Jan. 30, 2026 — More than 4 in 10 women in the U.S. have some form of cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease or stroke — a figure that is only expected to grow. Each year, heart disease and stroke kill more women than all forms of cancer combined. To help reverse that trend, leading global fashion, beauty and lifestyle retailers joined the American Heart Association volunteers at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell and sound an alarm — launching the inaugural Go Red. Shop with Heart. campaign to raise funds and awareness of the growing burden of heart disease ...

Korea University College of Medicine (Dean Sung Bom Pyun; Principal Investigator Byung Chul Chun, MD, PhD, MPH) successfully concluded the 2025 Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship on Infectious Disease Specialists Program on October 17. The program is jointly organized by Korea University College of Medicine and GC Labs under the auspices of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH).   The Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship was established in honor of the late Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, the 6th Director-General of the World Health ...

A new survey shows that there is a clear difference between girls and boys when it comes to well-being at school. "Girls are happier than boys. This applies both in class and at school in general," says Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Department of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology  (NTNU). The researchers questioned 1620 children aged 6 to 9 years in Norway. The average age was 7.5 years old, meaning these were youngest children in primary school. The gender differences are clear. Safety ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 9 am Friday, Jan. 30, 2026                                                                                                                    Researchers ...

The globe may be running out of sand suitable for concrete. Researchers are therefore testing a possible solution for using desert sand as a material. The world's most important building material Concrete is the world's most widely used building material – second only to water. Globally, more than four billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. Concrete consumption is so enormous that it accounts for around eight percent of the world's CO₂ emissions. To make concrete, sand is needed, and not just any sand: it must be of the right size and shape. Therefore, rock is crushed into gravel and sand, and river sand is excavated ...

Fukuoka, Japan—University campuses are often places of learning and discovery, but rarely do researchers find a new species living right on their doorstep. However, that is exactly what happened when a research team from Kyushu University discovered a new species of ladybird beetle, Parastethorus pinicola, on a pine tree at Kyushu University’s Hakozaki Satellite. The discovery, published in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, was part of a three-year study that revises the classification of the tribe Stethorini —a group of tiny ladybirds known for preying on spider mites—in Japan for the first time ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — The class of anti-inflammatory drugs known as TNF-inhibitors has brought relief to many sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, but they don't work for up to 4 of every 10 patients. New research led by Washington State University may have discovered why: a “backdoor” pathway of inflammation that sidesteps medicines that lock the front door. The findings, published in the journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology, suggest new avenues for improving the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own joints. The disease affects roughly 1% of the world’s population, and the discovery could have positive ...

The precise control of tiny droplets on surfaces is essential for advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and next-generation lab-on-a-chip diagnostics. However, once droplet volume reaches pico- and nanoliter scales, the droplets become extremely sensitive to microscopic surface irregularities, and friction at the solid–liquid interface becomes a major obstacle to smooth transport. Against this backdrop, a study led by Dr. Mizuki Tenjimbayashi and his colleagues at Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA) proposed a novel strategy that involved coating the droplet with a repellent material instead of engineering a perfectly smooth surface. This study published in the journal ACS Nano has ...

The demand for energy is ever-increasing across various industries. In recent decades, scientists have explored the electrostatic potential of particulate matter as a highly promising avenue for energy harvesting. However, this technology poses ignition risks that can cause significant harm owing to uncontrolled electrical discharge. While some studies have attempted to mitigate this issue by introducing additional particles or water, these approaches lead to restricted applicability and also ignore the high electric potential. In previous research, a team of researchers from South Korea, including Professor Sangmin Lee from the School ...

A large share of medicines developed today may never reach patients for a surprisingly simple reason: they cannot dissolve well enough in water. For most treatments, the oral route remains the gold standard because it is convenient and familiar. However, for a pill to work, its active ingredients must first dissolve in the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. If a drug dissolves too slowly or incompletely, its therapeutic effect can be compromised. This so-called ‘solubility crisis’ has become one of the main bottlenecks in modern drug development, affecting as much as 90% of active compounds currently under ...

Babies and very young sauropods – the long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters that in adulthood were the largest animals to have ever walked on land – were a key food sustaining predators in the Late Jurassic, according to a new study led by a UCL (University College London) researcher. The study, published in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, used data from fossils laid down 150 million years ago in the Morrison Formation*, in the United States, to map out a “food web” of the time – a gigantic network of who ate what and who ate whom. The research team found that very young sauropods, relatively defenceless ...