An often-ignored type of cell in the brain plays a dynamic and surprisingly complex role in our ability to process information, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University. The study, published today in the journal Science, provides direct evidence for the real-time action of a star-shaped type of glial cell, known as astrocytes, in the live brains of fruit flies. The abundant cell type — roughly 35% of all cells in the human brain — appears to be a key part of orchestrating a complex network governing brain function. “We hope this begins to fundamentally change how the field thinks about astrocytes and their role in mediating ...

Did you know that more than 75% of new infectious diseases affecting humans originally come from animals? Bats, in particular, are natural hosts to some of the world’s most dangerous viruses, including those responsible for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), MERS-CoV, influenza A, and hantavirus outbreaks. Yet, despite their importance, scientists have long struggled to study how these viruses behave inside bats, simply because the right biological tools didn’t exist. Until now, most research has used either generalized cell samples or organoids made from just one type ...

Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, the world’s scientific community has been racing to decipher this “book” written in an alphabet of four letters. The applications of these discoveries range from disease detection and the design of personalised treatments to increasing our understanding of human evolution. However, much of the genetic information generated over these decades lacks ethnic diversity. This under-representation limits the benefits of medical genomic research for many populations and leaves much of our evolutionary history in the dark. For the first time, an international ...

Worldwide, an estimated 40 million people live with HIV. Two-thirds of this group on the African continent. In 2023, more than 600,000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.32 million were infected. There is no vaccine against the world's second most deadly infection, after TB. However, researchers from Amsterdam UMC have set an important first step in reaching that goal. The results of their phase one trial are published today in Science. "In short, for a preventative HIV-vaccine to work it should induce broadly neutralising antibodies against all the diverse strains of the virus. We've seen that ...

A decade ago, a clinical trial in the U.K. famously showed that children who were exposed to peanuts in the early months of life had reduced risk of developing a peanut allergy compared with children who avoided peanuts. Now, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have a likely answer as to why that’s the case: Thetis cells. This recently discovered class of immune cells, which were first described by MSK researchers in 2022, plays an essential and previously unknown role in suppressing inflammatory responses to food, according to findings published May 15 in Science, ...

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might contribute to obesity by reducing physical activity – a relationship that can also be mediated by the features of the urban environment in which a person lives. That is the conclusion of a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Complex Systems by Tian Gan, Rayan Succar, and Maurizio Porfiri of the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University, U.S., and Simone Macrì  of the Italian National Institute of Health, Italy. For ...

EMBARGOED: May 15, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET    Grand Rapids, Mich., May 15, 2025 – A new study that is the first to compare inflammation and brain stress responses in long COVID-19 patients with individuals who have fully recovered shows that those with continued brain fog and other cognitive issues have a lower ability to adapt to stress and higher levels of inflammation in their brains. While previous long COVID studies have shown changes in these markers in mice, this study evaluated the ...

What does a climate-neutral, livable city look like – and what concrete actions can help us get there? The new Climate Action Navigator (CAN) from HeiGIT (Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology) offers data-driven answers. This interactive online tool supports cities, NGOs, and community initiatives in identifying and addressing key areas for climate action – scientifically sound, locally adaptable and practical. The tool is funded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation with the aim of harnessing open geodata – such as OpenStreetMap ...

Accurate pointing in virtual spaces is essential for seamless interaction. If pointing is not precise, selecting the desired object becomes challenging, breaking user immersion and reducing overall experience quality. KAIST researchers have developed a technology that offers a vivid, lifelike experience in virtual space, alongside a new tool that assists choreographers throughout the creative process. KAIST (President Kwang-Hyung Lee) announced on May 13th that a research team led by Professor Sang Ho Yoon of the Graduate ...

Recently, a joint Chinese–American research team led by Dr. HU Han from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dr Jingmai O’Connor from the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) announced the discovery and scientific description of the 14th known specimen of Archaeopteryx, known as the Chicago Archaeopteryx. Owing to its exceptional and exquisite preservation, the team was able to use advanced techniques like high-resolution CT scanning and 3D reconstruction to investigate the skeletal, ...

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, announced today that Tarek N. Hanna, MD, FASER, a nationally recognized expert in emergency and trauma radiology, has been named the new Chair of UMSOM’s Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, President of University of Maryland Diagnostic Imaging Specialists and Chief of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine Clinical Service at University of Maryland Medical Center, following a national search. Dr. Hanna, who will begin in the role September 2025, will be installed ...

Recently, a joint Chinese–American research team led by Dr. HU Han from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dr Jingmai O’Connor from the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) announced the discovery and scientific description of the 14th known specimen of Archaeopteryx, known as the Chicago Archaeopteryx. Owing to its exceptional and exquisite preservation, the team was able to use advanced techniques like high-resolution CT scanning and 3D reconstruction to investigate the skeletal, soft tissue, and feather structures in unprecedented ...

‘Rogue’ immune cells explain why a gluten-free diet fails in some coeliac patients Scientists have identified mutated immune cell clones that could point to improved treatment for refractory coeliac disease. Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW Sydney have discovered why some people with coeliac disease continue to suffer debilitating symptoms despite strictly avoiding gluten. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, used cutting-edge single-cell sequencing techniques to reveal that certain immune cells in the gut of these patients carry genetic mutations. The team’s findings suggest these abnormal immune ...

Philadelphia and New Orleans, May 15, 2025 – In a historic medical breakthrough, a child diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder has been successfully treated with a customized CRISPR gene editing therapy by a team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Penn Medicine. The infant, KJ, was born with a rare metabolic disease known as severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency. After spending the first several months of his life in the hospital, on a very restrictive diet, KJ received the first dose of his ...

Infant with rare, incurable disease is first to successfully receive personalized gene therapy treatment NIH-supported gene-editing platform lays groundwork to rapidly develop treatments for other rare genetic diseases A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed and safely delivered a personalized gene editing therapy to treat an infant with a life-threatening, incurable genetic disease. The infant, who was diagnosed with the rare condition carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency shortly after birth, has responded positively to the treatment. The process, from diagnosis ...

A dinosaur’s 40-second journey more than 120 million years ago has been brought back to life by a University of Queensland-led research team using advanced digital modelling techniques. Dr Anthony Romilio from UQ’s Dinosaur Lab analysed and reconstructed the Phoenix Trackway, the longest documented set of footprints made by a predator walking on two legs in East Asia. “For the first time this dinosaur’s movements have been reconstructed step by step, revealing how it walked, ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 14 May 2025 The Geological Society of America Release No. 25-07 Contact: Katie Busser +1-303-357-1044 kbusser@geosociety.org GSA and GSA Foundation Announce Record Support for the Geosciences Joint Action Addresses Funding Shortfalls by Federal Scientific Agencies Boulder, Colo., USA: In an extraordinary demonstration of unity and resolve, The Geological Society of America (GSA) Council and the GSA Foundation (GSAF) Board of Trustees announce the approval today of the record level of support they will provide for the geoscience community. The unprecedented support comes amid a rapidly evolving landscape in science funding, with ...

HOUSTON, MAY 14, 2025 ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital today announced a $150 million gift from Kinder Foundation. The transformational gift creates Kinder Children’s Cancer Center, a joint venture of UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas Children’s Hospital, with a single mission: to end childhood cancer. The gift is one of the largest philanthropic donations made to an American pediatric hospital and one ...

  A team of scientists from Keck School of Medicine of USC and USC Viterbi School of Engineering has been awarded an $8 million, five-year grant from one of the National Institutes of Health to launch a Superfund Research Program Center where they will study environmental contamination from “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, which are used to make multiple household items from cookware to furniture. With the grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the USC scientists are establishing the Southern California ...

An international study led by Paolo Fiorina from Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with researchers from University of Milan highlights the beneficial effect of inhibiting the death receptor TMEM219 to restore mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel diseases. Findings were published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Fiorina and colleagues demonstrated that the pharmacological blockade of TMEM219 signal through a recombinant protein based on the extracellular portion of the TMEM219 receptor is able to preserve self-renewal ability of intestinal stem cells in inflammatory bowel disease, protect intestinal stem cells from cell death induced ...

Join the world’s leading MS experts, clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates as they assemble for the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting, May 28-31 in Phoenix. AZ—North America’s ultimate destination for those dedicated to transforming MS care. This year’s theme, “MS Heroes Unite,” honors the remarkable individuals driving progress across all fronts of MS—from cutting-edge science to compassionate, comprehensive care. Featured Hero Lectures include: June Halper Memorial Lecture; The Evolution ...

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered that Cepheid variable stars in our neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), are moving in opposing directions along two distinct axes. They found that stars closer to Earth move towards the northeast, while more distant stars move southwest. This newly discovered movement pattern exists alongside a northwest-southeast opposing movement that the scientists previously observed in massive stars. These complex bidirectional movements along two different axes indicate that the SMC is being ...

Fukuoka, Japan—From Tama, Japan’s most famous stationmaster calico cat, to the lasagna-loving, ginger Garfield, cats with orange fur are both cultural icons and beloved pets. But their distinctive color comes with a genetic twist—most orange tabbies are male, while calicos and tortoiseshells are nearly always female. This pattern points to an unknown “orange gene” on the X chromosome, but identifying this gene has eluded scientists for decades. Now, researchers from Kyushu University, Japan, have found the X-linked mutation behind orange fur in house cats. This deletion mutation, a type of mutation where ...

Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 16:00hrs BST Thursday 15 May 2025 Peer reviewed Experimental study Cells New stem cell model sheds light on human amniotic sac development Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have developed a new stem cell model of the mature human amniotic sac, which replicates development of the tissues supporting the embryo from two to four weeks after fertilisation. This is the first model of amniotic sac development after two weeks. As described in research published today in Cell, the new model can be used to study the origin ...

For men who undergo a radical prostatectomy for the treatment of prostate cancer, post-surgery radiation therapy can play a vital role in reducing the risk of recurrence. Despite its benefits, many patients decline or defer radiation because it requires daily sessions for several weeks.  Now, a new study published in JAMA Oncology and led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators suggests there may be a faster option. Researchers found that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), a form of high-dose radiation delivered in just five sessions, is as safe as conventional treatment, with similar side effects and a similar impact on ...