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Medicine15 Dec 2025

The role of vaccination in maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with COVID-19 in pregnancy

About The Study: This study found that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 prior to and during pregnancy, before COVID-19 diagnosis, was associated with a lower risk of severe maternal disease and preterm birth regardless of variant time period. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Deborah Money, MD, email deborah.money@ubc.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.21001) Editor’s Note: Please ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Mayo Clinic smartwatch system helps parents shorten and defuse children's severe tantrums early

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a smartwatch-based alert system that signals parents at the earliest signs of a tantrum in children with emotional and behavioral disorders — prompting them to intervene before it intensifies. In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, these alerts helped parents intervene within four seconds and shortened severe tantrums by an average of 11 minutes — about half the duration seen with standard therapy. In this system, a smartwatch worn by the ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Behavioral health spending spikes to 40% of all children’s health expenditures, nearly doubling in a decade

Behavioral health care has surged to represent 40% of all medical expenditures for U.S. children in 2022, nearly doubling from 22% in 2011, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers found that pediatric behavioral health expenditures totaled $41.8 billion in 2022, with families paying $2.9 billion out-of-pocket. Most concerning, out-of-pocket costs for children's behavioral health increased at more than twice the rate of other medical expenses, leaving many families struggling with significant financial burden. The study analyzed data on nationally representative spending patterns for ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Digital cognitive behavioral treatment for generalized anxiety disorder

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial, digital cognitive behavioral therapy provided significant and sustained benefits to adults with generalized anxiety disorder. Given the limitations in access to empirically supported cognitive behavioral therapy, an efficacious digital cognitive behavioral therapy program has clear potential for public health benefit. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, E. Marie Parsons, PhD, email mariepar@bu.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.48884) Editor’s Note: Please ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Expenditures for pediatric behavioral health care over time and estimated family financial burden

About The Study: Behavioral health expenditures nearly doubled to 40% of U.S. child health spending by 2022. Behavioral health spending was associated with high family financial burden, which reflects increased demand and cost for services and supports expanding access through insurance coverage and clinician availability. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ashley A. Foster, MD, email ashley.foster@ucsf.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5181) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional ...

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Science15 Dec 2025

Air conditioning in nursing homes and mortality during extreme heat

About The Study: In this case-crossover study, mortality was lower during extreme heat days in nursing homes with air conditioning (AC) compared to those without AC. These findings suggest that AC provision in nursing homes and other congregate care settings may be important for preventing mortality among older adults during extreme heat days. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nathan M. Stall, MD, PhD, email nathan.stall@sinaihealth.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.6595) Editor’s Note: Please ...

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Environment15 Dec 2025

The Alps to lose a record number of glaciers in the next decade

In brief: In a groundbreaking study, an international team led by ETH Zurich researchers has for the first time calculated how many glaciers worldwide are likely to remain until the end of the century and for how long. Depending on how sharply the planet warms, the study shows that in a scenario with a global temperature rise of +4.0 °C, only about 18,000 glaciers would remain, whereas at +1.5 °C there would be around 100,000. The researchers coined the term, “Peak Glacier Extinction”, the point when annual glacier loss hits its maximum. At +1.5 °C it occurs around 2041 with 2,000 glaciers lost; at +4 °C ...

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Physics15 Dec 2025

What makes a good proton conductor?

A number of advanced energy technologies — including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and an emerging class of low-power electronics — use protons as the key charge carrier. Whether or not these devices will be widely adopted hinges, in part, on how efficiently they can move protons. One class of materials known as metal oxides has shown promise in conducting protons at temperatures above 400 degrees Celsius. But researchers have struggled to find the best materials to increase the proton conductivity at lower temperatures and improve efficiency. Now, MIT researchers have developed a physical model to predict proton mobility across a wide range of metal ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

New science reporting guide published for journalists in Bulgaria

A new guide aimed at helping aspiring science journalists in Bulgaria to cover scientific topics has been published. ‘First steps in science journalism – a practical experience guide’ (Първи стъпки в научната журналистика – практически насоки от опит) was written by three experienced science reporters from Bulgaria, who provide helpful insights from their own experiences and examples of stories they have reported over the years for online, ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

New international study reveals major survival gaps among children with cancer

Every year, more than 200,000 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and nearly 75,000 die from the disease. Most of these deaths occur in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, even though childhood cancer is more common in Europe and North America. In high-income countries, over 80% of children survive, while the global average is just 37%. Why is the gap so large? Striking differences An international study using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), analyzed data from nearly 17,000 children in 23 countries ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

New science reporting guide published for journalists in Turkey

A new guide aimed at helping aspiring science journalists in Turkey to cover scientific topics has been published. ‘Science Journalism in Turkey and Communicating Science to the Public’ (Türkiye’de Bilim Gazeteciliği ve Halka Doğru Bilim İletişimi) is the first Turkish science journalism guidebook for science journalists. It was written by the science journalist and academic Dr. Gülsen Saray, and reviewed by editors and academics Prof. Dr. Akif Özer and Prof. Dr. Sefa Yüce. The ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Scientists develop a smarter mRNA therapy that knows which cells to target

[New York, NY [December 15, 2025] — Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a first-of-its-kind mRNA system that switches on therapeutic genes preferentially inside targeted cells—an advance demonstrated in studies in mice that could lay the groundwork for safer, more precise treatments for cancer and other diseases. The system, called the cell-selective modRNA translation system (cSMRTS), is an engineered form of mRNA designed to activate in specific cell populations. ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Neuroanatomy-informed brain–machine hybrid intelligence for robust acoustic target detection

“Current automated STD methods perform well under controlled conditions but degrade sharply in low SNR or with unseen targets, while standalone BCI systems suffer from high false alarm rates. To overcome these limitations, we proposed a hybrid approach that combines the complementary strengths of neural perception and acoustic feature learning,” explained study author Luzheng Bi, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Technology. The core innovations include (a) Tri-SDANet, an EEG decoding model incorporating neuroanatomical priors from source analysis, (b) a confidence-driven fusion strategy ...

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Energy15 Dec 2025

Eight SwRI hydrogen projects funded by ENERGYWERX

SAN ANTONIO — December 15, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received $1.75 million in funding from the ENERGYWERX program to support a set of hydrogen-related projects. The eight projects focus on testing components for the hydrogen industry to improve energy infrastructure and support the use of this clean-burning fuel. The ENERGYWERX program strives to increase cooperative research activities between the DOE and nonprofits, private companies, utilities, localities and other organizations by accelerating the development of clean energy technologies and ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

The Lundquist Institute and its start-up company Vitalex Biosciences Announces Strategic Advancement of Second-Generation fungal Vaccine VXV-01 through Phase 1 Trials under $40 Million Competitive Con

The Lundquist Institute (TLI) and its start-up company Vitalex Biosciences (Vitalex) are pleased to announce that the second-generation fungal vaccine candidate known as VXV‑01, which was developed using a proprietary TLI vaccine technology platform, is poised to move forward in development up to and including Phase 1 clinical evaluation — enabled by a major contract awarded to a collaboration consortium of Vitalex and Appili Therapeutics (TSX: APLI; OTCPink: APLIF). The contract from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is valued at up to US $40 million. It will support ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Fine particles in pollution are associated with early signs of autoimmune disease

A new study has linked air pollution exposure and immune-system changes that often precede the onset of autoimmune diseases. McGill University researchers analyzing Ontario data found that fine particles in air pollution are associated with higher levels of a biomarker linked with autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus. “These results point us in a new direction for understanding how air pollution might trigger immune system changes that are associated with autoimmune disease,” said Dr. Sasha Bernatsky, a James McGill Professor ...

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Science15 Dec 2025

Review article | Towards a Global Ground-Based Earth Observatory (GGBEO): Leveraging existing systems and networks

A new peer-reviewed article published in Big Earth Data presents a comprehensive roadmap for building an integrated Global Ground-Based Earth Observatory (GGBEO) to better tackle the escalating planetary environmental and climate crisis. The study argues that unifying existing ground-based, in situ, remote sensing, marine, and airborne observation networks is crucial for meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and for advancing climate science and societal resilience. Citation Lappalainen, ...

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Technology15 Dec 2025

Penn and UMich create world’s smallest programmable, autonomous robots

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan have created the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots: microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months and cost just a penny each. Barely visible to the naked eye, each robot measures about 200 by 300 by 50 micrometers, smaller than a grain of salt. Operating at the scale of many biological microorganisms, the robots could advance medicine by monitoring the health of individual cells and manufacturing by helping construct microscale devices. Powered by light, the robots carry ...

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Science15 Dec 2025

Cleveland researchers launch first major study to address ‘hidden performance killer’ in athletes

CLEVELAND—Athletes are 2.5 times more likely than the general public to develop nail fungus, according to a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. A condition that can disrupt training, change performance and end careers. However, until now, no thorough study has examined how nail fungus affects various sports. Today, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals announced the launch of the first large-scale collaborative study focused on onychomycosis, a chronic fungal infection of the nails, among ...

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Social Science15 Dec 2025

To connect across politics, try saying what you oppose

When engaging in a political discussion, talking about what you oppose instead of what you support may make others more open to your views, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “In an era of deepening political polarization, our research offers a counterintuitive insight into how we can better communicate across ideological lines: Talk about what you oppose, not what you support,” said lead author Rhia Catapano, PhD, of the University of Toronto. In a series of experiments involving more than 10,000 participants, the researchers examined how the way people talk about their opinions—specifically, ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Modulating key interaction prevents virus from entering cells

PULLMAN, Wash — Washington State University researchers have found a way to modulate a common virus protein to prevent viruses from entering cells where it can cause illness, a discovery that could someday lead to new antiviral treatments. In the fundamental research, reported in the journal Nanoscale, the researchers in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology were able to find and block an important interaction at the molecular level that allows ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Project explores barriers to NHS career progression facing international medical graduates

There is currently a massive shortage of doctors in the NHS and international medical graduates are critical to addressing that, making up just over 40% of the nation’s medical workforce. Yet compared to those who qualified as doctors in the UK, relatively few international medical graduates rise through the medical ranks to achieve positions as either consultants or GPs. A new three-year project, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), aims to identify the precise reasons behind that, exploring why some international medical ...

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Social Science15 Dec 2025

Jeonbuk National University researchers explore the impact of different seasonings on the flavor perception of Doenjang soup

Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste made from meju—naturally fermented soybean blocks—mixed with salt and aged through long-term fermentation. Unlike Japanese miso, Korean doenjang does not use koji; its flavor develops entirely from the natural fermentation of meju. It is prepared via fermentation and aging with microbial cultures, which produce umami compounds that improve its palatability. While umami is a well-understood concept, kokumi—a term used to describe attributes ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

Two Keck Medicine of USC Hospitals named Leapfrog Top Teaching Hospitals

LOS ANGELES — Two Keck Medicine of USC hospitals – USC Norris Cancer Hospital and Keck Hospital of USC – have each received a Top Teaching Hospital award for outstanding achievement in patient safety and quality from The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit national watchdog organization. It is the first time two hospitals within the health system have received this honor simultaneously. “This award is one of the most competitive and ...

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Medicine15 Dec 2025

World-first discovery uncovers how glioblastoma tumours dodge chemotherapy, potentially opening the door to new treatments

World-first research published today by University of Sydney scientists has uncovered a mechanism that may explain why glioblastoma returns after treatment, offering new clues for future therapies which they will now investigate as part of an Australian industry collaboration. Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest brain cancers, with a median survival rate of just 15 months. Despite surgery and chemotherapy, more than 1250 clinical trials over the past 20 years have struggled to improve survival rates. Published in Nature Communications, the study shows that a small population of drug-tolerant cells known as “persister cells” rewires its metabolism ...

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