Researchers have introduced a new blockchain-enabled framework that could significantly advance dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) in future 6G wireless networks, addressing long-standing challenges in latency, security, and high-density spectrum coordination. Published in Blockchain, this work presents HierSpectrumChain, a hierarchical blockchain architecture that integrates smart-contract–driven Stackelberg auctions to coordinate spectrum access efficiently and securely among diverse wireless users. Dynamic spectrum sharing is essential for next-generation ...

In hydrogen production catalysts, water droplets must detach easily from the surface to prevent blockage by bubbles, allowing for faster hydrogen generation. In semiconductor manufacturing, the quality of the process is determined by how evenly water or liquid spreads on the surface, or how quickly it dries. However, directly observing how such water or liquid spreads and moves on a surface ('wettability') at the nanoscale has been technically almost impossible until now, forcing researchers to rely mostly on conjecture. KAIST announced on ...

For many of us, any kind of shopping is stressful enough. The anxiety, however, really kicks in when you must purchase something you’re going to share with another person. Such are the findings of a UC Riverside School of Business study published in the Journal of Marketing Research that compared consumer anxiety levels stemming from different shopping circumstances. Shopping for goods or services that you will share is significantly more stressful than shopping for yourself or for something to be given to another person, explained study co-author Margaret Campbell, an associate dean, professor, and chair of the school’s ...

As CO2 accumulates in crewed spacecraft, submarines and disaster shelters, life-support systems demand sorbents that combine high capacity, ultralow regeneration energy and compact form factors. Now, researchers from Guangxi University, led by Prof. Hui He, unveil micro/nano-reconfigurable robots (MNRM) that harvest sunlight to capture 6.19 mmol g-1 CO2 and release it at only 55 °C—while actively swimming to prevent overheating. In a sealed-mouse model the robots prolonged survival by 54.61 %, offering a self-powered route to carbon-metabolism ...

Long-term antidepressant use in Australia has risen steadily over the past decade, with the largest increase seen in young people aged 10-24, where rates have more than doubled. The finding is from a new study undertaken by University of South Australia researchers, who analysed dispensing data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) covering more than 300,000 antidepressant users between 2014 and 2023. The most comprehensive study of its kind, published in the Pharmacaoepidemiology and Drug Safety Journal, reveals that 45% of young people on antidepressants are staying on ...

HONOLULU, Dec. 2, 2025 — Some music is for grooving: It evokes spontaneous dancing, like head bopping, jumping, or arm swinging. Other music is for swaying, or for crying, or for slow dancing. Music makes people move, but whether musicians intentionally induce specific movements with their compositions, such as vertical bouncing or horizontal swaying, or what musical features would contribute to these distinctions, is more complex. Shimpei Ikegami, an associate professor at Showa Women’s University, sought to understand how musicians express intended bodily movement ...

HONOLULU, Dec. 2, 2025 — Wildlife poaching remains a major conservation concern. Technological advancements have enabled webs of acoustic sensors to be deployed throughout rainforests, creating the possibility of real-time alerts to the sounds of gun-based poaching. But the belly of the rainforest is loud, and sorting through a constant influx of sound data is computationally demanding. Detectors can distinguish a loud bang from the whistles, chirps, and rasps of birds and bugs. However, they often conflate the sounds of branches cracking, trees falling, or water dripping ...

An updated Cochrane review has found that calcium supplementation has no effect on pre-eclampsia, challenging long-held assumptions about the role of calcium in preventing hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Researchers from Stellenbosch University have found strong evidence from large trials that calcium supplementation during pregnancy does not reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a life-threatening condition that can affect women in the second half of their pregnancy. It can be fatal or cause lifelong complications for both mother and baby. Pre-eclampsia is characterised by new onset high blood pressure with end-organ injury. The only ...

HOUSTON – (Dec. 2, 2025) – Tracking how genes switch on and off in the brain is essential for understanding many neurological diseases, yet the tools to monitor this activity are often invasive or unable to capture subtler changes over time. One emerging alternative is to use engineered serum markers ⎯ small proteins produced by targeted brain cells that can travel into the bloodstream, where they can be measured with a simple blood test. Referred to as released markers of activity, or RMAs, ...

About one third of lung transplant recipients have a genetic variant that makes them more likely to develop chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), the primary cause of mortality after lung transplantation. However, it is unclear why some lung transplant recipients progress to CLAD while others do not. A study led by UCLA Health found that the cause could be a variant in the C3 gene, which makes it harder for the body to regulate the complement system, the part of the immune system that helps the body recognize and clear infections and debris, such as those occurring in the transplanted lung.    “Lung transplantation has the poorest long-term survival ...

Atmospheric dust plays an important role in the way Earth absorbs and reflects sunlight, impacting the global climate, cloud formation, and precipitation. Much of this dust comes from the continuous reshaping of Earth’s surface through the erosion of rocks and sediments, and understanding how this process has shaped landscapes can help us decipher our planet’s history – and its future. Although an ephemeral phenomenon by nature, dust emissions through ...

Creating a safe, gender-specific, supportive environment—one that is free of body shaming and idealised female forms, for example—is key to minimising female athletes’ future risks of injury and protecting their health, emphasises the Female/woman/girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) Consensus Statement—the first of its kind—published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   Women and girls have increasingly been taking part in sports, which has led to a concomitant rise in their risk of injury. But how best to minimise this risk has been hampered by a lack of comprehensive and practical gender-specific evidence.   In a bid ...

Overreliance on generative AI risks eroding new and future doctors’ critical thinking skills, while potentially reinforcing existing data bias and inequity, warns an editorial published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.   GenAI tools are already being widely used amid few institutional policies and regulatory guidance, point out the authors, who urge medical educators to exercise vigilance and adjust curricula and training to mitigate the technology’s pitfalls.   The use of AI is now used in a vast array of different tasks, but along with its burgeoning potential comes an increasing risk of overreliance on it and a host of potential issues ...

Eating disorders in mums-to-be are linked to a heightened risk of asthma and wheezing in their children, irrespective of the type of disorder, presence of co-existing depression/anxiety, or the timing of their child’s exposure, finds research published online in the journal Thorax.   The findings prompt the researchers to call for the inclusion of dedicated support in the healthcare of pregnant women with eating disorders to improve the respiratory health of their children.   To date, research on the effects of maternal mental health on children’s respiratory health has focused predominantly on depression, anxiety, and broadly defined stress, ...

Routine strength exercise warm-ups should be mandated to reduce leg injuries in female athletes across all ages and levels of competitive sport, according to a new set of global recommendations co-led by La Trobe University, the University of Calgary and supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).   Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the Female, woman, girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) Consensus ...

SEATTLE, Wash. Dec. 2, 2025 – Nearly one million children around the globe fail to reach their fifth birthday every year due to devastating health consequences linked to child growth failure, making it the third leading risk factor for mortality and morbidity in children under five. That’s among the new findings in the latest Global Burden of Disease 2023 study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health today. Estimates show the number of deaths associated with child growth failure (CGF) declined from 2.75 million in 2000 to 880,000 in 2023; however, the adverse health effects remain substantial ...

New research shows how the combination of extreme climate events, sea-level rise and land subsidence could create larger and deeper floods in coastal cities in future.    The study focused on Shanghai, in China, which is threatened with flooding by large and strong typhoons, or tropical storms, producing storm surge and waves.    When these events coincide with other causes of flooding, such as high water flows in the Yangtze River, they can combine to create even more catastrophic floods, as happened with Typhoon Winnie in 1997.    The study was carried ...

The UK’s Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), based at Heriot-Watt University, is excited to embark on a new strategic initiative, supported by £2 million from UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), to continue its vital work in catalysing industrial decarbonisation to support clean industrial growth. This funding represents a significant step forward in advancing the transition to a clean industrial future in the UK and builds on five successful years of IDRIC’s impact in driving industrial decarbonisation at pace and scale. Activity will centre ...

A major new study by UCL researchers has revealed the challenges faced by London’s 1.3m night workers, including pay inequality, health problems, transport difficulties, safety concerns and a lack of workplace dignity. Night workers, those who typically work between 6pm and 6am, make up around a quarter of London’s 5.3m workforce and 16% of the UK’s night workforce.* They include nurses, bus drivers, security guards, waiters, performers, cleaners and delivery riders and drivers. More than 220,000* commute from outside the capital, and are disproportionately from ethnic minority groups, and/or not born in the UK. Many are women and LGBTQ+. The Data after Dark ...

A new study published in New Contaminants reveals that black carbon formed during wheat straw burning can significantly reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in soil and soybean crops, offering a promising strategy for safer and more sustainable farming in regions burdened by plastic mulch debris. Every year, millions of hectares of farmland accumulate fragments of polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films. These residues gradually break down into microplastics that reshape soil chemistry, disrupt microbial communities, and accelerate ...

WASHINGTON—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) and Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) today announce a new collaboration to elevate the field of interventional cardiology through shared education programming, legislative activities, and future research initiatives. As part of the collaboration, CRT is offering SCAI members discounted registration for CRT 2026, where the two organizations will also offer joint education. Supporting SCAI and CRT’s strong advocacy focus, SCAI ...

With more than four billion people around the globe owning a smartphone, researchers are now looking at ways to reduce a growing public health concern—problematic smartphone use. Dr. Susan Holtzman teaches psychology in UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She recently published a study in Mindfulness examining the overuse or dependence on smartphones and how it might be curbed with mindfulness techniques. She discusses the issue and provides a few tips for people who might be “addicted to their devices”. Can you explain problematic ...

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will host the world’s first academic symposium dedicated to addressing the impact of “brain rot” and “AI slop”. Taking place on Friday, 5 December, the event builds on research from ARU’s Centre for Media, Arts, and Creative Industries, and delegates from 23 countries will take part either online or in person at ARU in Cambridge, England. Brain rot, named Oxford’s Word of the Year in 2024, refers to the “deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When University at Buffalo chemists analyzed samples of water, fish, and bird eggs, they weren’t surprised to find plenty of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). After all, these “forever chemicals” turn up nearly everywhere in the environment.  But they were intrigued that one of the most hazardous PFAS — perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), once used in nonstick pans and firefighting foam — appeared in slightly different structural forms, known ...

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) presents a roundup of six research articles recently published across its esteemed journals. Widely recognized for fostering innovation and advancing ecological knowledge, ESA’s journals consistently feature illuminating and impactful studies. This compilation of papers explores urban pollinator navigation, the relationship between aging tree roots and soil fungi, sea urchin “halos”, gaps in international agreements for migratory birds, the impacts of an introduced prawn and the power of environmental education.   From Ecological Applications: A long and winding road for ...