Americans overestimate online toxicity, believing 43% of Reddit users post severely toxic comments when only 3% actually do, and this misperception inculcates pessimism about society. Angela Y. Lee, Eric Neumann, and colleagues surveyed 1,090 American adults via the online platform CloudResearch Connect to compare people’s perceptions of harmful online behavior with platform-level data from past research. Participants overestimated the prevalence of Reddit users posting toxic content by 13-fold and overestimated the prevalence of Facebook users sharing false news by 5-fold, guessing 47% of users post false news while only 8.5% actually do. Even when participants ...

Researchers develop a theoretical framework that shows how living cell membranes can generate electricity from molecular fluctuations. Pradeep Sharma and colleagues created a model demonstrating that active biological processes, such as protein dynamics and ATP hydrolysis, create membrane fluctuations that could produce transmembrane voltages via flexoelectricity. Such transmembrane voltages can reach 90 millivolts. Voltage changes can happen on millisecond timescales, matching typical action potential curves for neurons. The authors’ framework predicts that active membrane ...

Self-harm refers to intentionally injuring one’s own body as a coping mechanism to emotional distress. It manifests in many forms and has serious consequences not only on physical health but also on mental health. Self-harm among adolescents is becoming a significant public issue. It is more common in adolescence than any other age group, and adolescent self-harm experiences can increase the likelihood of repeated self-harm, suicide risk, substance use in adulthood, and long-term mental health difficulties. Among ...

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), a large class of synthetic chemicals, are valued for their ability to withstand heat, water, and oil. These materials are used in the production of everyday as well as industrial items. PFAS molecules are made up of a chain of carbon and fluorine atoms linked together. The energy required to break the carbon–fluorine (C–F) bond is extremely high, making these compounds durable and highly resistant to biological degradation. However, PFASs are also often called "forever chemicals,” as they do not degrade easily. This persistence leads to ongoing ...

One of the most exciting advances in cancer treatments in the past decade is the development of T cell immunotherapies, in which a patient’s own immune system is trained to recognize and attack dangerous cells. Yet a full understanding of how they actually work has eluded researchers. That’s been a significant limitation, because while T cell immunotherapies are highly effective for certain subtypes of cancers, they’re ineffective for the majority of them—and the reasons why are unclear. Understanding their modus operandi could bring their benefits to a much broader group of cancer patients.   Now ...

PRESS RELEASE MEDIA EMBARGO UNTIL: DEC 16, 2025 (10 am London / 3 am Arizona)   A New Fossil Face Sheds Light on Early Migrations of Ancient Human Ancestor A 1.5-million-year-old fossil from Gona, Ethiopia reveals new details about the first hominin species to disperse from Africa. Summary: Virtual reassembly of teeth and fossil bone fragments reveals a beautifully preserved face of a 1.5-million-year-old human ancestor—the first complete Early Pleistocene hominin cranium from the Horn of Africa. This fossil, from Gona, Ethiopia, hints at a surprisingly archaic face in the earliest human ancestors to migrate ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a new way to stimulate the immune system to attack tumor cells, using a strategy that could make cancer immunotherapy work for many more patients. The key to their approach is reversing a “brake” that cancer cells engage to prevent immune cells from launching an attack. This brake is controlled by sugar molecules known as glycans that are found on the surface of cancer cells. By blocking those glycans with molecules called lectins, the researchers showed they could dramatically boost the immune system’s response to cancer cells. To achieve this, they created multifunctional molecules ...

Lung infections like pneumonia are among the world’s top killers — but diagnosing them is notoriously hard. Now, researchers at UC San Francisco have found a way to identify these infections in critically ill patients by pairing a generative AI analysis of medical records with a biomarker of lower respiratory infections. In an observational study of critically ill adults, the combination made a correct diagnosis 96 percent of the time and distinguished between infectious and non-infectious causes of respiratory failure more accurately than clinicians in the intensive ...

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) found that an increased fMRI signal is associated with reduced brain activity in around 40 percent of cases. At the same time, they observed decreased fMRI signals in regions with elevated activity. First author Dr. Samira Epp emphasizes: “This contradicts the long-standing assumption that increased brain activity is always accompanied by an increased blood flow to meet higher ...

How brain-inspired algorithms could drive down AI energy costs  AI hardware needs to become more brain-like to meet the growing energy demands of real-world applications, according to researchers.  In a study published in Frontiers in Science, scientists from Purdue University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have outlined practical approaches to overcome the limitations of modern computing hardware.   Conventional computers are based on the von Neumann architecture, with separate processors and memory ...

DALLAS, Dec. 16, 2025 — There is increasing evidence that gum disease is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and cardiometabolic health conditions. Effective prevention and treatment of gum disease, also called periodontal disease, could potentially decrease the burden of cardiovascular disease, according to a new scientific statement published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation. The new American Heart ...

Aviation’s climate impact extends beyond carbon dioxide emissions. A new study from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Imperial College, UK, reveals that contrails can represent a significant portion of aviation’s overall climate cost. The study also shows that climate impact can be reduced by optimising flight routes. In a new article in Nature Communications, The social costs of aviation CO₂ and contrail cirrus, the researchers demonstrate that both CO₂ emissions and contrail formation contribute materially to aviation’s climate impact – and that the associated societal costs differ substantially depending on weather ...

Closely related subtypes of dopamine-releasing neurons may play entirely separate roles in processing sensory information, depending on their physical structure.   New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has found that variations in the physical structure of neurons might have a striking impact in the role that they play when processing sensory information.   It identified two different sub-types of interneuron in the olfactory bulb which ...

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered a direct causal effect between social isolation and a faster decline in later- life cognitive function. Pathological cognitive decline is most often driven by Alzheimer’s and related dementias   The study, published today (16 December 2025) in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences  found a consistent pattern of higher social isolation causing faster cognitive decline whether ...

Being more physically active, following a balanced diet, not smoking, and keeping body weight and blood pressure under control: the same habits that protect the heart also prove decisive after a cancer diagnosis. This is the message emerging from a study carried out as part of the UMBERTO Project, conducted by the Joint Platform of Fondazione Umberto Veronesi ETS and the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention of the I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli (IS), in collaboration with LUM “Giuseppe Degennaro” University in Casamassima (BA). Published in the European Heart Journal, the official journal of the European Society of Cardiology, the research is based on data from ...

December 16, 2025 -- Simultaneous use of cannabis with nicotine and tobacco products is common among cannabis users—particularly those who vape—according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The research also shows that both vaped and smoked cannabis use have increased over time, with more participants initiating use than quitting. Until now, the frequency, patterns, and motivations for cannabis use in early adulthood have remained understudied. The findings are published in Tobacco Induced Diseases. The study reveals that young adults in the New York City area—including those who do not ...

CHENGDU, Sichuan, CHINA, 16 December 2025 -- An Thought Leaders Invited Review published today in Genomic Psychiatry by Dr. Peng Lei and colleagues presents a sweeping synthesis of tau protein research that fundamentally reframes our understanding of this molecule's dual identity. What emerges from their analysis is a portrait of a protein far more versatile than its original characterization as a mere microtubule stabilizer suggested, one that participates in processes ranging from iron export to insulin secretion while simultaneously serving as a central player in some of the most devastating ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new book, a team of experts in educational policy, epidemiology and public health chronicles the challenges faced by educators, public health authorities and school officials during the COVID-19 pandemic and offers a guide to some of the lessons learned as K-12 schools weathered that crisis. One key message: Collaboration between schools, public health authorities and community leaders is essential to success. The book, “K-12 Schools and Public Health Partnerships: Strategies for Navigating a Crisis with Trust, Equity, and Communication,” ...

Intense storms that sweep over the Southern Ocean enable the ocean to absorb more heat from the atmosphere. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that today’s climate models underestimate how storms mix the ocean and thereby give less reliable future projections of our climate. The Southern Ocean is a vast expanse of ocean encircling the Antarctic continent, regulating Earth’s climate by moving heat, carbon, and nutrients out in the world’s oceans. It provides a critical climate service by absorbing over 75 per cent of the excess heat generated by humans globally. The Southern Ocean’s capacity to reduce climate warming depends on how efficiently ...

New research led by the University of St Andrews has created the most comprehensive maps to date of the distribution of grey and harbour seals in Northwest Europe, encompassing the majority of seal populations on the continental shelf. The research, published today (16th Dec) in Journal of Applied Ecology, combined GPS data from over 840 seals tracked in the waters of seven European countries (UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark) with counts of seals hauled out on land to generate at-sea density maps for both species. The study, ...

The menstrual cycle is a key physiological process in women: it impacts performance, neuromuscular control, metabolism, and immune response. For professional female athletes, fluctuations in hormones that happen throughout the menstrual cycle could impact risk of injury. Now, researchers in Spain and the UK have set out to examine whether menstruation determined injury incidence or severity in professional female football players. They published their results in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. “We show that menstruation itself does not increase how often injuries happen,” said first author Dr Eva Ferrer, who specializes in sports medicine at Sant ...

Highlights - World's first achievement of 2 Tbit/s free-space optical communication using small optical terminals that can be mounted on satellites and High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) - Maintained stable optical communication between two types of small terminals separated by 7.4 km in an urban environment with atmospheric turbulence - Marked a major step forward in the practical application of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) for Beyond 5G/6G   Abstract The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA ...

With heart disease as the leading cause of death worldwide, there is growing recognition that recovery is not only physical but also emotional and social. A new study shows that strong and supportive relationships can indeed improve heart health for individuals with cardiovascular disease. The work is described in an article in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, which calls for intimate partners to be included in cardiac rehabilitation programs to support long-term heart health and quality of life for both members of the couple. An evaluation ...

As heat waves intensify, keeping people, packages and gadgets cool without extra energy is climbing the global tech wish-list. A Donghua–Jiangnan University team led by Prof. Chao Zhang and Prof. Tianxi Liu now unveils a single-step bicomponent blow-spinning route that delivers kilometre-scale rolls of an ultra-flexible, self-healing micro-fibre textile engineered with two built-in gradients—one in fibre diameter (2.0 → 0.3 µm) and the other in polymer chemistry (PVDF → PMMA). The dual-gradient architecture behaves like a Janus optical engine: the sun-facing side reflects 98.7 % of solar irradiance while beaming 95 % mid-IR radiation to outer space; ...

It’s serious business for the world establishing a framework to limit the impact of climate change, but for some, market responses to the annual United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) climate negotiations are also a chance to make some serious money.  In a paper recently published in the journal Energy Economics, an Australian research team has analysed the activity around COP meetings of “informed traders”, referring to any investor acting on non-public information that enables them to trade ahead of the market.  “We found that fossil ...