In the context of the continuous development of high-speed optical communication, on-chip optical information processing is regarded as the core of next-generation computing architectures. Integrated photonics, as the cornerstone of this transformation, will strongly drive the advent of the all-optical computing era. Among various photonic integration platforms, lithium niobate (LiNbO₃, LN) is hailed as the "optical silicon" due to its unique nonlinear optical properties. However, traditional LN waveguides are limited by low refractive index contrast, weak optical field confinement, and large device size, making it difficult to achieve high integration and limiting further applications. ...

When people learn that surrounding visuals and sounds may signify specific choice outcomes, these cues can become guides for decision making. For people with compulsive disorders, addictions, or anxiety, the associations between cues and choice outcomes can eventually promote poor decisions as they come to favor or avoid cues in a more biased manner. Giuseppe di Pellegrino, from the University of Bologna, led a study to explore associative ...

Every cell depends on proteins to function and stay healthy. These proteins are made inside the cell from amino acids but cannot simply accumulate inside the cell forever. Once they have done their job or become damaged, the cell needs to clear them out. Cells do this by breaking proteins down and recycling them, a process summarily referred to as “protein removal”. But this ongoing and vital "dance" of protein making and protein removal takes energy and coordination, and the cell must constantly strike the ...

About The Study: Compared with maternal vaccination with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F protein (RSVpreF) vaccine, passive infant immunization with nirsevimab was associated with lower risks of RSV-related hospitalization and severe outcomes. These findings reflect the first RSV season with use of these immunization strategies in mainland France; their use should be reevaluated in future studies. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Marie-Joelle Jabagi, PharmD, PhD, email marie-joelle.jabagi@ansm.sante.fr. To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

About The Study: According to the results of this population-based surveillance study, during 2024-2025, both maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and nirsevimab were estimated to be effective at protecting infants from RSV-associated hospitalizations in their first RSV season, and RSV-associated hospitalization rates in newborns and infants ages 0 to 11 months were reduced by up to half compared to seasons before these products were introduced.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Heidi L. Moline, MD, MPH, email ick6@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5778) Editor’s ...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- After ChatGPT became available to the public in late 2022, scientists began talking among themselves about how much more productive they were using these new artificial intelligence tools, while scientific journal editors complained of an influx of well-written papers with little scientific value. These anecdotal conversations represent a real shift in how scientists are writing up their work, according to a new study by Cornell researchers. They showed that using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT boosts paper production, especially for non-native English speakers. But the overall increase in AI-written papers is making it harder for many people – from ...

Forests and plantations play a vital role in carbon sequestration, yet accurately monitoring their growth remains costly and labor-intensive. Researchers have developed an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) model that produces high-resolution canopy height maps using only standard RGB imagery. By integrating a large vision foundation model with self-supervised enhancement, this method achieves near-lidar accuracy, enabling precise, low-cost monitoring of forest biomass and carbon storage over large areas. Monitoring forest canopy structure is essential for understanding global carbon cycles, assessing tree growth, and managing plantation resources. Traditional lidar ...

Key Takeaways: Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) were found by Mass Eye and Ear researchers to occur in only 28% of people who carry IRD genetic variants. Findings challenge conventional models of rare disease genetics, with implications for genetic testing and treatment.   A new study challenges what’s long been assumed about genetic variants thought to always cause inherited blindness. Investigators from Mass General Brigham used large public biobanks to determine that genes thought to cause inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) with 100% certainty only led to disease in fewer than 30% of cases.  ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA - One of the biggest risk factors for developing liver cancer is a high-fat diet. A new study from MIT reveals how a fatty diet rewires liver cells and makes them more prone to becoming cancerous. The researchers found that in response to a high-fat diet, mature hepatocytes in the liver revert to an immature, stem-cell-like state. This helps them to survive the stressful conditions created by the high-fat diet, but in the long term, it makes them more likely to become cancerous. “If ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of the U.S. Medicare population, specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5) components (sulfate, elemental carbon, and soil dust) were associated with increased depression risk in older adults, particularly those with preexisting comorbidities. These findings underscore the importance of targeted regulation of harmful PM2.5 components to protect vulnerable populations. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Yang Liu, PhD, email yang.liu@emory.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...

About The Study: This cohort study found that the U.S. health care system imposes cost burdens on a larger share of the population than suggested by cross-sectional analyses, and most individuals in the U.S. will experience such burdens during their lifetimes. Policies that reduce out-of-pocket costs might improve the well-being of individuals in the U.S.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Adam Gaffney, MD, MPH, email agaffney@challiance.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.6948) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional ...

About The Study: In this meta-analysis, nirsevimab was associated with reduced lower respiratory tract infection-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits in infants and young children. These findings support nirsevimab’s potential to reduce respiratory-related morbidity in young children and health care utilization.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Seyed M. Moghadas, PhD, email moghadas@yorku.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5280) Editor’s ...

Abstract: A research group led by Professor Hiroaki SUZUKI and Takeshi HAYAKAWA from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Chuo University, graduate student Zhitai HUANG, graduate students Kanji KANEKO (at the time) and Ryotaro YONEYAMA (at the time), together with Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Tomoya MARUYAMA from the Research Center for Autonomous Systems Materialogy (ASMat), Institute of Integrated Research (IIR), Institute of Science Tokyo, and Professor Masahiro TAKINOUE from ...

A research team at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and the Faculty of Medicine at Kanazawa University has developed a new class of engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) capable of inducing antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs), the immune cells that play a central role in suppressing excessive immune responses. The findings, now published in Drug Delivery, may pave the way for next-generation therapies for autoimmune and allergic diseases, where unwanted immune activation must ...

(Toronto, December 22, 2025) A new study published by JMIR Serious Games reports that popular video games, such as the Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi games, may offer meaningful emotional benefits for young adults. The research, titled “Super Mario Bros. and Yoshi Games’ Affordance of Childlike Wonder and Reduced Burnout Risk in Young Adults: In-Depth Mixed Methods Cross-Sectional Study,” found that these lighthearted, familiar games can spark a sense of childlike wonder that boosts overall happiness, which in turn reduces burnout risk. The research team conducted in-depth interviews with university ...

Deepest Gas Hydrate Cold Seep ever discovered in the Arctic: international research team unveils Freya Hydrate Mounds at 3,640 m Depth.   A multinational scientific team led by UiT has uncovered the deepest known gas hydrate cold seep on the planet.  The discovery was made during the Ocean Census Arctic Deep – EXTREME24 expedition and reveals a previously unknown ecosystem thriving at 3,640 metres on the Molloy Ridge in the Greenland Sea. The groundbreaking findings regarding the Freya Hydrate Mounds, which hold scientific significance and implications for Arctic ...

Accurate classification of wetland vegetation is essential for biodiversity conservation and carbon cycle monitoring. This study developed an adaptive ensemble learning (AEL-Stacking) framework that combines hyperspectral and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data captured by UAVs to precisely identify vegetation species in karst wetlands. The approach achieved up to 92.77% accuracy—substantially outperforming traditional models—and revealed how spectral and structural features jointly improve ecosystem mapping and restoration strategies. Karst wetlands are globally significant ecosystems that regulate ...

A new study introduces ACA-SIM (atmospheric correction based on satellite–in situ matchup data), a neural-network-based atmospheric correction algorithm that uses real satellite–Aerosol Robotic Network-Ocean Color (AERONET-OC) matchups to improve the accuracy of atmospheric correction over coastal waters. By learning from real-world satellite radiance and in-situ reflectance data, ACA-SIM significantly reduces errors and striping artifacts in ocean color products, outperforming existing models in turbid water and complex-aerosol conditions such as the Bohai Sea, North Africa dust ...

Washington, D.C.—In recent years, scientists have learned that key beneficial infant gut bacteria Bifidobacterium infantis are disappearing from infants in high-resource areas such as the United States and Europe. Now, a new study published in the journal mSphere found that supplementing exclusively breastfed infants with a probiotic, B. infantis EVC001, between 2 and 4 months of age can successfully restore beneficial bacteria in their gut. “The REMEDI study shows that it’s not too late to restore a healthy gut microbiome in breastfed infants. B. infantis can successfully take hold even after the newborn period,” ...

New York, NY [December 22, 2025]—A new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could help predict which critically ill patients on ventilators are at risk of underfeeding, potentially enabling clinicians to adjust nutrition early and improve patient care. Details of the study were published in the December 17 online issue of Nature Communications. The first week on a ventilator is especially important for providing proper nutrition, since patients’ needs often shift ...

Fifty years since the federal earned income tax credit went into effect and a team of researchers from UConn and City University of New York have identified an unintended benefit of the antipoverty program – a significant reduction in rates of intimate partner violence among unmarried women. “There’s been enough literature to show that good things happen because of the earned income tax credit, but what was surprising to us is the relatively large effect it has on intimate partner violence,” says UConn’s David Simon, an associate professor of economics and study co-author. ...

Attention disorders such as ADHD involve a breakdown in our ability to separate signal from noise. The brain is constantly bombarded with information, and focus depends on its ability to filter out distractions and detect what matters. Stimulant medications improve attention by boosting activity in circuits known to govern attention, such as the prefrontal cortex. But a new study reveals a surprising alternative: reduce background activity as a way of turning down extraneous noise.  In a paper published in Nature Neuroscience, ...

In a breakthrough that defies nature, Northwestern University and Stanford University synthetic biologists have created a new artificial metabolism that transforms waste carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful biological building blocks. In the new study, the team engineered a biological system that can convert formate — a simple liquid molecule easily made from CO2 — into acetyl-CoA, a universal metabolite used by all living cells. As a proof of concept, the engineers then used the same system to convert acetyl-CoA into malate, ...

One of the biggest quests in biology is understanding how every cell in an animal’s body carries an identical genome yet still gives rise to a kaleidoscope of different cell types and tissues. A neuron doesn’t look nor behave like a muscle cell but has the same DNA. Researchers think it comes down to how cells allow different parts of the genome to be read. Controlling these permissions are regulatory elements, regions of the genome which switch genes on or off. A detailed overview of how they do this is largely restricted to a handful of classic model organisms like mice and fruit flies. For the first time, researchers have created ...

Is complex social behaviour genetically determined? Yes, as a team of biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) together with colleagues from Bochum and Paris discovered while studying bees. They identified a genetic factor that determines the begging behaviour of drones, which they use to obtain food socially. They are now publishing their findings in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Male bees, or “drones”, do not have an easy time obtaining essential proteins. This ...