What has long been interpreted as permanent and irreversible vascular damage may not be exclusively so. In people with Down syndrome—one of the most robust populations for studying Alzheimer’s disease due to the near-universal presence of the characteristic proteinopathies of this dementia from the age of 40—some lesions visible on magnetic resonance imaging do not follow a linear course. A longitudinal study from the Institut de Recerca Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau), published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, shows that these alterations can fluctuate and even decrease over time in the Down syndrome population. This is especially true once the clinical symptoms ...

Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have developed a novel virtual reality (VR) system that could make the treatment of arachnophobia, also known as spider phobia, more targeted and personalised in the future. The “VRSpi” system is a prototype which analyses the EEG data and heart rate of the participants during a confrontation with spiders in a VR environment. Based on this objective measurement data, it adjusts the intensity of the stimuli in real time to the person’s current level of anxiety. This avoids over- or under-stimulation and optimises ...

Every time a tree trunk is sawn, it creates sawdust. Millions of tonnes of sawdust are produced every year worldwide, with most of it is burned to generate energy. This releases the carbon dioxide stored in the wood back into the atmosphere – which is not ideal from an environmental perspective. Now, a team of researchers at the Chair of Wood Materials Science at ETH Zurich and Empa has developed a process that can convert sawdust into a recyclable and environmentally friendly composite using the mineral struvite, a crystalline, colourless ammonium magnesium phosphate. This, in turn, keeps the sawdust in the material cycle for longer.  Struvite has ...

Thursday, 19 March 2026 – Today, the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) announces the move into full implementation of the 2026 Presidential Task Forces of its Action Plan, from protecting vulnerable groups to accelerating precision psychiatry, under President Professor Andrea Fiorillo. The Plan underpins the scientific sessions of the upcoming 34th European Congress of Psychiatry, held 28–31 March in Prague, marking the first congress of Professor Fiorillo’s presidency. The ...

A research team led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, has, for the first time, successfully decoded leg movements directly from the remaining nerves in people with above-knee amputations. Using novel implantable neurotechnology and an AI method based on the nervous system’s own “language”, the researchers could do what was previously impossible and interpret detailed movements – even the will to wiggle toes. This technology opens the way to future leg prostheses that feel and act more like a natural part of the body. Helping amputees regain a functional and independent ...

Ludwig Kappos, MD, a leading physician-scientist at the University Hospital Basel in Basel, Switzerland has been awarded the 2026 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research – one of the field’s highest honors. Dr. Kappos serves as director of the Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel and has played a central role in advancing MS research and treatment over the past several decades. Dr. Kappos will deliver the Dystel Prize lecture and formally receive the award at the ...

Powerful electronics don’t have to come at an environmental cost.  Scientists at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric thin films directly on standard silicon wafers. Their results mark a significant step toward production of environmentally friendly energy-harvesting devices that are compatible with conventional semiconductor manufacturing.  Piezoelectric materials generate electric charge from mechanical stress and deform when exposed to an electric field. These materials are common, present for example in ...

A report drawing on input from 100+ UK water professionals finds that showering, toilet flushing, and leak reporting are the top behavior change targets - but the sector invests too little in understanding why people do these things the way they do.

Analyzing a decade of Japanese Pacific League data, researchers found that the designated hitter system does not change whether better teams win - it only changes how rosters are built. The finding arrives as Japan's Central League prepares to adopt the DH in 2027.

An international team used AI to simulate hundreds of rule sets on a mysterious Roman-era limestone board from the Netherlands, matching wear patterns to identify it as a blocking-style strategy game - pushing the genre's known history back by centuries.

Researchers at the Ningbo Institute developed a ruthenium-stabilized nickel-iron anode that survives over 2,000 hours in chloride-rich conditions, where conventional anodes fail within 15 hours, bringing seawater hydrogen production closer to industrial reality.

Researchers have used terahertz waves to detect electrical activity inside fully packaged semiconductor devices without physical contact, disassembly, or powering down - a first that could transform how we test and monitor electronic chips.

A study tracking nearly 100,000 people through Swedish national registers found that semaglutide use was associated with 42% fewer psychiatric hospitalizations, 44% lower depression-related care, and 38% lower anxiety-related care compared to periods without GLP-1 medication.

A systemwide medication algorithm deployed across all six University of California medical centers improved blood pressure control for 90,000 patients, translating to an estimated 72 strokes, 48 heart attacks, and 38 deaths prevented in just two years.

A randomized trial of 227 Australian gamblers provides the first causal evidence that direct marketing from betting companies increases both spending and gambling-related harm, with those receiving offers reporting 67% more short-term negative effects.

A UK study of cockapoos, cavapoos, and labradoodles found that all three designer crossbreeds showed more undesirable behaviors than at least one of their purebred parent breeds, with cockapoos scoring worst in 16 of 24 behavioral comparisons.

Medieval chess created a rare social space where intellectual prowess mattered more than race or status. A Cambridge study of manuscripts from Spain to Persia shows players of all backgrounds depicted as equals across the board.

A global study finds that 23 UN biodiversity targets could help reverse insect decline, but current monitoring tools cannot detect changes in insect populations. Researchers propose AI cameras, weather radar, and citizen science to close the gap.

A genome-wide analysis of more than 120,000 East Asian individuals found that genetic variants associated with greater height also increase the risk of atrial fibrillation and endometriosis, suggesting height-based polygenic scores could aid early risk screening.

A cell-inspired sensor using lubricin coating and SERS detection tracked the antibiotic vancomycin in unprocessed blood for over 10 hours without fouling - a world first that could enable real-time drug monitoring in critical care.

An international research team developed a stepwise back-correction algorithm that dynamically adjusts rainfall data in hydrological models, improving accuracy by up to 18% across watersheds in Illinois, Colombia, and Brazil.

A study of 7,676 adults over age 50 found that significant financial deterioration was linked to memory decline equivalent to roughly five extra months of aging per year, while financial improvement did not consistently protect cognition.

Michigan State University researchers discovered that HPV-positive head and neck cancers use a protein called MARCHF8 to destroy immune-signaling molecules, hiding tumors from the body's defenses. Knocking out MARCHF8 made previously untreatable tumors respond to immunotherapy.

People with type 1 diabetes were nearly three times as likely to develop dementia as those without diabetes, exceeding even the twofold risk seen in type 2 diabetes, according to a study of 283,772 people published in Neurology.

New research published in the Academy of Management journal proposes that effective human-AI collaboration requires 'hybrid cognitive alignment' - a gradual process where people and machines develop shared expectations about roles, capabilities, and trust.