The New York Genome Center (NYGC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bing Ren, PhD, as its new scientific director and chief executive officer. Dr. Ren will also join Columbia University as a professor in the Departments of Genetics and Development, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Systems Biology and as the associate director of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science within the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Ren is renowned for his pioneering research in genomics and epigenetics, with a focus on the regulatory processes that control gene expression. His work has advanced our understanding of how genetic ...

Advancements in healthcare and technology have significantly increased the average human lifespan. However, with longer life comes a higher prevalence of age-related disorders that affect overall well-being. One such condition is hearing loss in older adults, which can severely impact communication, social interactions, and daily functioning. Hearing relies on the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear that converts sound waves into neural signals. Any structural or functional impairment of the cochlea ...

A recent study published in Engineering has shed new light on the mechanisms underlying the metastasis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The research identified enolase 2 (ENO2), a crucial glycolytic enzyme, as a significant factor associated with lymphatic metastasis in HNSCC. HNSCC is an aggressive cancer with a relatively low 5-year overall survival rate. Cervical lymph node metastasis is a major cause of cancer-related death in HNSCC patients, and effective therapies for metastatic HNSCC are currently lacking. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of HNSCC metastasis ...

In a recent development published in Engineering, researchers have introduced a novel hybrid keratin (KE) hydrogel integrated with liquid metal (LM), offering new possibilities for monitoring the health of marine inhabitants. This innovation addresses the limitations of traditional wearable electronics in terms of biocompatibility, mechanical strength, and conductivity. Monitoring the health and migration of marine organisms is crucial for maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems, advancing climate change studies, and safeguarding human health. However, developing sensors for marine organisms is challenging due to the complex ...

To encourage scientists to speak up when people misuse science to serve political agendas, biology professor Mark Peifer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that eugenics should be included in college genetics curriculums. In an opinion paper publishing March 27 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics, Peifer explains how he incorporated a discussion of eugenics into his molecular genetics course last year and why understanding the history of the field is critical for up-and-coming scientists.  “Eugenics is not dead but continues to influence science and policy today,” writes Peifer ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that semaglutide use was associated with an increased risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in patients with diabetes. However, the study’s retrospective design presents limitations, as it can only infer associations rather than establish causality; further studies are needed.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Chun-Ju Lin, MD (doctoraga@gmail.com) and James Cheng-Chung ...

About The Study: Daily screen use was associated with later bedtimes and approximately 50 minutes less sleep each week in this study. Associations were greater among those with evening chronotypes, who are at risk for poor sleep due to social jetlag (i.e., misalignment between circadian rhythms and social commitments). These findings confirm disruptions to sleep from electronic screens are not limited to children and adolescents. Further work is needed to understand the best mechanisms for intervention. Corresponding Author: To ...

About The Study: In this pooled cross-sectional study, findings suggest that state legislatures that elected to increase their state minimum wage may have also improved state food security rates among households with children at risk for economic hardship. The findings provide policymakers with actionable evidence to consider in setting minimum wages that could reduce the burden of food insecurity among U.S. children and families. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Megan R. Winkler, PhD, RN, email megan.winkler@emory.edu. To ...

A study published in Engineering introduces an innovative approach to address the issue of perchlorate (ClO4−) contamination in water. Perchlorate is a harmful oxo-anion found in aquatic environments. It can enter the human body through drinking water and inhibit iodine absorption in the thyroid gland, potentially causing various thyroid-related diseases. Given the strict perchlorate limits in drinking water worldwide, such as 70 μg/L in China and 15 μg/L in the United States, developing efficient methods for its removal is crucial. The research team, hailing from Hunan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, prepared an adsorbent ...

WASHINGTON — For the first time, researchers have shown that terahertz imaging can be used to visualize internal details of the mouse cochlea with micron-level spatial resolution. The non-invasive method could open new possibilities for diagnosing hearing loss and other ear-related conditions. “Hearing relies on the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear that converts sound waves into neural signals,” said research team leader Kazunori Serita from Waseda University in Japan. “Although conventional imaging methods often struggle to visualize this organ’s fine details, ...

(WASHINGTON—March 27, 2025) — A machine learning model generated by a team from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) outperformed standard statistical models in identifying and stratifying transplant risk for patients with myelofibrosis, according to new research published today in Blood, the American Society of Hematology’s flagship journal. “Although there are many models available to identify patients with high-risk myelofibrosis, we are still lacking ...

 Accurate and robust 3D imaging of specular, or mirror-like, surfaces is crucial in fields such as industrial inspection, medical imaging, virtual reality and cultural heritage preservation. Yet anyone who has visited a house of mirrors at an amusement park knows how difficult it is to judge the shape and distance of reflective objects. This challenge also persists in science and engineering, where the accurate 3D imaging of specular surfaces has long been a focus in both optical metrology and computer vision research. While specialized techniques ...

Noted Maya archaeologist Julie Hoggarth, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology at Baylor University, has been elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow, a lifetime honor announced today by the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals. Hoggarth is among the 471 scientists, engineers and innovators who have been elected 2024 Fellows for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements throughout their careers. The new Fellow class hails from academic institutions, ...

DALLAS, March 27, 2025 — Recent analysis by the National Health Institute indicates that telehealth now accounts for 23% of all health care encounters nationwide, with some clinical specialties reporting virtual visit rates now exceeding 50%.[1] To help ensure quality care in this rapidly expanding field, the American Heart Association Center for Telehealth and the National Institutes of Health-funded University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Center for Virtual Care Value and Excellence (UNC-Chapel Hill ViVE), are building ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Raluca Cadar The Protein Society Phone: (844) 377-6834 E-mail: rcadar@proteinsociety.org LOS ANGELES, CA – The Protein Society, the premier international society dedicated to supporting protein research, announces the winners of the 2025 Protein Society Awards, which will be recognized  at the 39th Annual Symposium, June 26 – 29, 2025, in San Francisco, USA. Plenary talks from award recipients will take place throughout the 3.5-day event. The winners’ scientific accomplishments, described by their nominators below, demonstrate their profound impact on protein science. The Christian B. Anfinsen ...

A machine learning algorithm developed by Cambridge scientists was able to correctly identify in 97 cases out of 100 whether or not an individual had coeliac disease based on their biopsy, new research has shown. The AI tool, which has been trained on almost 3,400 scanned biopsies from four NHS hospitals, could speed up diagnosis of the condition and take pressure off stretched healthcare resources, as well as improving diagnosis in developing nations, where shortages of pathologists are severe. Digital ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) could help sonographers identify any abnormalities at the 20-week pregnancy screening scan almost twice as quickly, without reducing the accuracy or reliability of diagnoses, a new study has shown. This will help improve patient care by allowing sonographers to focus on other aspects of the scan, such as communicating with parents or spending more time looking at any areas of concern. The trial is the first of its kind to use AI for the 20-week pregnancy scan on real patients, and is ...

Dartmouth researchers conducted the first clinical trial of a therapy chatbot powered by generative AI and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants' symptoms, according to results published March 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine AI. People in the study also reported they could trust and communicate with the system, known as Therabot, to a degree that is comparable to working with a mental-health professional. The trial consisted of 106 people from across the United States diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder. ...

It’s been five years since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. As SARS-CoV-2 shifts to endemic status, questions about its future evolution remain. New variants of the virus will likely emerge, driven by positive selection for traits such as increased transmissibility, longer infection duration and the ability to evade immune defenses. These changes could allow the virus to spread among previously immunized populations, potentially triggering new waves of infection. Predicting new mutations in viruses is crucial for advancing life science research, particularly when trying to understand how viruses evolve, ...

New York, N.Y., and Princeton, N.J. (March 27, 2025)—With a mission to understand how nutrition and metabolism impact the body’s ability to control cancer, four leading research institutions have united under the Weill Cancer Hub East, an innovative, collaborative partnership that aims to transform cancer treatment. The initiative connects world-class experts from Princeton University, The Rockefeller University, Weill Cornell Medicine and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research to enhance a ...

Tokyo, Japan – One of the simplest and most beautiful naturally occurring patterns can be observed when light is shined through a pair of slightly misaligned periodic structures. This phenomenon, known as the moiré effect, is not only pretty to look at, but also has important consequences for the properties of materials. In an article published in ACS Nano, a team led by researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, announced the discovery of a previously unseen moiré pattern: a series of periodic one-dimensional bands in tungsten ditelluride bilayers. In nanomaterials, moiré patterns ...

DALLAS, March 27, 2025 — More than 56 million people globally live with heart failure (HF), which prevents the body from getting enough of the oxygen-rich blood it needs to work properly.[1] While there is no cure for HF, many people with this condition can live full, enjoyable lives and disease progression can be slowed with the right treatment. Research shows that outcomes for patients with HF improve when health care professionals and hospitals provide guideline-directed medical therapies. A new Heart Failure Center ...

The MIT Press is proud to release our 2025 Impact Report for Direct to Open (D2O), our sustainable framework for open access monographs that shifts publishing from a solely market-based purchase model where individuals and libraries buy single eBooks, to a collaborative, library-supported open access model.   The continued growth in the reach of open access publishing couldn’t be more timely. In 2025, access to truth and facts are under attack, and democratizing access to trustworthy, peer-reviewed information has never been more important. In the face of so many forces working against the spread of knowledge, Direct to Open continues to be a critical tool. To date, ...

Congenital hearing loss refers to impaired auditory function that occurs due to genetic causes. GJB2 is the gene responsible for approximately half of all cases of hereditary hearing loss. Connexin 26 (CX26), which is encoded by GJB2, helps in the formation of intercellular gap junctions—channels that allow for the movement of ions and chemical messenger molecules between adjacent cells, where it regulates auditory function.   GJB2 mutations often lead to fragmentation of gap junctions and gap junction plaques (GJPs) which are composed ...

Molecular biologist Yali Dou, PhD, holder of the Marion and Harry Keiper Chair in Cancer Research and professor of medicine and cancer biology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She is one of seven USC faculty members in the 2025 cohort of new fellows. The AAAS is the world’s oldest and largest general science organization and the publisher of Science, a top peer-reviewed academic journal. Election as a fellow is a lifetime honor — one of the AAAS’s ...