A new study published in Science is challenging long-held assumptions about how we measure genetic risk in endangered species. Researchers analysed whole genomes from hundreds of koalas, finding that populations previously considered most at risk are now showing early signs of genetic regeneration. Conservation biologists have long assumed that when a population crashes, known as a bottleneck, genetic diversity declines and extinction risk increases through inbreeding and the build-up of harmful mutations. This study provides world-first evidence that the story is more complex. A large-scale ...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researchers have used a form of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze anatomical changes in the brain and predict Alzheimer’s disease with nearly 93% accuracy. Their research, published in the journal Neuroscience, also revealed that the anatomical changes, involving loss of brain volume, differ by age and sex. “Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can be difficult because symptoms can be mistaken for normal aging,” says Benjamin Nephew, assistant research professor in the Department ...

Three new studies from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) highlight the use and advantages of osseointegration (OI) for individuals with an amputation, in some instances challenging prevailing beliefs about which patients would benefit. Osseointegration is a surgical procedure that enables a prosthetic limb to be attached directly to the bone of someone who has had an amputation, eliminating the need for a traditional socket prosthesis. The studies, which looked at safety and outcomes in both femur-level (above-the-knee) and tibia-level (below-the-knee) OI, were presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in New Orleans this week. “Osseointegration ...

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging today announced the launch of Healthspan Horizons, a new initiative designed to address one of the most urgent challenges in modern medicine: how to measure, understand, and extend healthspan—the years of life spent in good health. People are living longer—but too many of those added years are spent managing chronic disease. In other words, healthspan—the years of life lived in good health—hasn’t kept pace. A growing body of evidence suggests that many aspects of ...

Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the University of Ottawa and McGill University have launched ARCHIMEDES (Advanced Research Collaboration for Health Integration, Medical Exploration, and Data Synthesis), a national platform designed to give Canadian health researchers secure access to diverse health data, enable responsible data sharing across institutions and health data types, and support the development of advanced analyses, including AI algorithms.  Health research in Canada is often slowed by fragmented data systems, lengthy approval processes to transfer data, and limited mechanisms for secure cross-institutional collaboration. As a result, valuable ...

The Brain Prize 2026 is awarded to Professors David Ginty (US) and Patrik Ernfors (Sweden) for their pioneering discoveries on how the nervous system detects and processes touch and pain. Their work has rewritten textbooks and opened new avenues for the development of targeted treatments for conditions such as chronic pain and hypersensitivity to touch. Copenhagen, March 5, 2026 The somatosensory system provides us with the sense of our own body and its physical interactions with the world. Our sense ...

In left atrial appendage occlusion, traditional interventional techniques are confronted with challenges such as poor adaptability between metallic devices and the left atrial appendage, incomplete postoperative endocardialization, and long-term complications including device-related thrombosis and peri-device leaks. Although liquid materials can adapt to the chamber geometry and avoid myocardial injury, traditional liquids are unable to withstand the impact of high-speed blood flow and disturbances from vigorous heartbeat within the left atrial appendage, making ...

Accumulation of the protein tau in the brain is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. In a paper publishing March 5 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue, researchers report a previously unknown mechanism that appears to enable the build-up of tau. The study, which employed animal and cellular models as well as patient tissues, suggests a key role for tanycytes—specialized brain cells that regulate brain-body signaling.  “Our ...

Researchers have found that targeted delivery of messenger RNA (mRNA) can restore sperm production and fertility in genetically infertile male mice. The findings, published today in Stem Cell Reports, demonstrate that transient mRNA treatment restored sperm production and enabled the birth of healthy offspring. Up to 10% of couples worldwide are affected by infertility, according to World Health Organization estimates, and male factors are the primary cause in about half of those cases. In many instances, ...

A study published today in Stem Cell Reports demonstrates that genetically engineered human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) can overcome immune rejection in mice with humanized immune systems, surviving for five months in a stringent transplantation model. The findings provide proof-of-principle for the development of a potential universal donor hPSC line designed to resist immune attack. Led by Danny Chan, University of Hong Kong, China, and Andras Nagy, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health, Toronto, Canada, the research team inserted eight immunosuppressive genes into a single hPSC line to render the cells resistant to immune rejection. When transplanted under ...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health specialists started using telemedicine much more frequently. Despite many benefits, a new study finds that virtual visits did not make it easier for psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists to reach significantly more people in areas where access to care has long been limited. By analyzing Medicare billing records from providers practicing across the country, researchers from the Brown University School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital showed that greater use of telemedicine among mental health specialists did not substantially change whether they were seeing ...

PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2026 – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have developed an early-stage, experimental “living eye drop” that uses naturally occurring eye bacteria to support corneal wound healing. The proof-of‑concept study, published today in Cell Reports, demonstrates that the harmless eye-dwelling microbe Corynebacterium mastitidis can be genetically modified to secrete an anti-inflammatory therapeutic that promotes healing following corneal injury in a mouse model. “This is the first demonstration that a microbe that lives on the ocular surface could ...

About The Study: In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, fewer than 1 in 10 older adults with advanced cancer participating in the trial prioritized extending survival over maintaining quality of life. Patient preference for extending survival or maintaining quality of life was not associated with up-front treatment modifications or downstream outcomes, suggesting a possible lack of responsiveness of the current oncology care delivery system to patient preference.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

About The Study: In this comparative effectiveness study, reducing music volume in group fitness classes did not lead to meaningful reductions in perceived exertion and may reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. These findings support implementing safer sound practices in fitness environments and underscore the need for increased awareness and education on hearing protection. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Janet S. Choi, MD, MPH, email janet.choi@med.usc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2026.0028) Editor’s ...

Growth marks are like “’tree rings” “Many vertebrates grow in a cyclical manner. This leaves definable growth marks in their bones, and is similar to tree rings,” explains Prof Chinsamy-Turan, an expert on deciphering biological signals in the bone microstructure of extinct and extant vertebrates.  Researchers have used these rings to estimate the minimum age of extant and extinct amphibians, mammals, birds and reptiles; a study termed skeletochronology. Using this information, they deduce growth ...

Washington, March 5, 2026—The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the winners of its 2026 awards for excellence in education research. “We are honored to recognize the recipients of the 2026 awards, an outstanding and inspiring group of education researchers and leaders,” said AERA Executive Director Tabbye Chavous. “Their contributions continue to advance education research and positively impact countless students, educators, and the environments in which they live, learn, and work.” AERA will honor the recipients at the Awards ...

Japanese red elder plants safeguard their own survival when they drop fruits infested by Heterhelus beetle larvae, as well as the survival of these larvae. The Kobe University study changes the narrative on how a plant and its pollinator can keep benefits balanced. When an insect pollinates a plant and then uses the fruit as a nursery for its young, biologists speak of “nursery pollination mutualism.” Kobe University botanist SUETSUGU Kenji says, “These interactions are fascinating because they sit on the boundary between cooperation and conflict.” Famous examples ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed photonic computing chips that overcome key limitations for a type of neural network known as a photonic spiking neural system. By enabling fast learning and decision making using purely light-based processes — no electronics-based computation required — the new chips could improve autonomous driving technologies and enable robotic systems that learn through real-world interactions. “Photonic spiking neural systems use brief optical pulses, or spikes, to emulate ...

Bonn / Campo Grande – An interim update to the landmark State of the World’s Migratory Species of 2024 warns that 49% of migratory species populations protected under a global treaty are declining, up 5% in just two years, and 24% of species face extinction, up 2%. The new warnings will be presented to the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP15), a legally-binding UN treaty, in Campo Grande Brazil March 23-29. The week-long COP is one of the most important global meetings for wildlife conservation. With high-level political attention from host-country ...

About one in 20 infants worldwide is subjected to physical abuse by a caregiver in their first two years of life. That’s the central finding of a new study co-led by researchers from the UBC faculty of medicine and Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), the first to bring together anonymous reports from caregivers about behaviours like spanking, slapping, shaking and hitting. “About four to five per cent of parents are behaving in physically aggressive ways toward their babies,” said Dr. ...

Touching your tongue to frozen metal must be a rite of passage if you’re a five-year-old boy from a cold place. It’s possibly more irresistible than hopping in mud puddles or sampling a newly frosted cake. But it is dangerous? Anders Hagen Jarmund knows all about this particular temptation. Yes, he’s gotten his tongue stuck. “I’m from a small place called Hattfjelldal, which is quite cold in the winter,” he said. “I don’t remember if it was a signpost or a lamppost behind the school, but I remember licking it and my tongue got stuck.” Turns out he wasn’t alone. “This ...

Affecting roughly half a million Americans each year, bacterial infections caused by Clostridioides difficile—commonly known as C. diff—are a serious and persistent problem for patients and hospitals alike. The bacterium can cause severe diarrhea, life-threatening inflammation of the colon, and recurring illness that dramatically reduces quality of life—especially for older adults, who face the highest risk of complications and death. C. diff remains difficult to control for a combination of factors. The bacterium survives many disinfectants, allowing it to easily spread in health care settings, where ...

As the U.S. plans to return to the moon with the upcoming Artemis II mission, a question endures: What will future lunar explorers eat? According to new research from The University of Texas at Austin the answer might be chickpeas.  Scientists have successfully grown and harvested chickpeas using simulated “moon dirt,” the first instance of this crop produced in this medium. The research, which was conducted in collaboration with Texas A&M University, is described in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.   Sara Santos, the principal investigator of the project, said that the work ...

Teens who frequently lash out at others may face lasting physical health consequences later in life, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The study found that aggressive behavior in early adolescence is linked to faster biological aging and higher body mass index (BMI) by age 30. “This study highlights the potential lasting health consequences stemming from social challenges that emerge in early adolescence,” said lead author Joseph Allen, PhD, of the University of Virginia. “Accelerated aging has been linked to an increased risk ...

A comprehensive new systematic review published in The Journal of Nutrition provides the latest evidence that large-scale food fortification is a highly cost-effective intervention for reducing global malnutrition. The research team, made up of scientists from Cochrane Collaboration, the Food Fortification Initiative, Emory University, and TechnoServe, examined 56 studies presenting over 200 economic analyses from 63 countries, including more than 40 low- and middle-income economies and found that the vast majority of food fortification programs deliver substantial health benefits relative to costs. Hidden ...