A study of fruit flies shows some species are highly susceptible to a wide range of viruses. In the study – by the University of Exeter – 35 fruit fly species were exposed to 11 different viruses of diverse types. As expected, fly species that were less affected by a certain virus also tended to respond well to related viruses. But the findings also show “positive correlations in susceptibility” to viruses in general. In other words, fly species that were resistant to one virus were generally resistant to others – including very different ...

One leading theory on the origins of life on Earth proposes that simple chemical molecules gradually became more complex, ultimately forming protocells—primitive, non-living structures that were precursors of modern cells. A promising candidate for protocells is polyester microdroplets, which form through the simple polymerisation of alpha-hydroxy acids (αHAs), compounds believed to have accumulated on early Earth possibly formed by lightning strikes or delivered via meteorites, into protocells, followed by simple rehydration ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. have risen 140% over the past three decades with heart disease a major cause, according to the American Heart Association. A new national survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that many Americans are not aware of the long-term risks of heart disease with pregnancy and the critical care needed before, during and after pregnancy.  “During pregnancy there are a lot of different hormone shifts that happen to accommodate growth of the baby and health of the mom. The result is that the mom’s heart rate increases along with the amount ...

For the first time astronomers have succeeded in observing the magnetic field around a young star where planets are thought to be forming. The team was able to use dust to measure the three-dimensional structure “fingerprint” of the magnetic field. This will help improve our understanding of planet formation. Planets form in turbulent disks of gas and dust called protoplanetary disks around young stars. It is thought that the first step in planet formation is dust grains colliding and sticking together. The movement of ...

Relief could be on the way for UTI sufferers dealing with debilitating pain New insights into what causes the painful and disruptive symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs) could offer hope for improved treatment. UTIs are one of the most prevalent bacterial infections globally, with more than 400 million cases reported every year.  Nearly one in three women will experience UTIs before the age of 24, and many elderly people and those with bladder issues from spinal cord injuries can experience multiple UTI’s in a single year. Findings from a new study led by Flinders University’s ...

Using a pioneering artificial intelligence platform, Flinders University researchers have assessed whether a cardiac AI tool recently trialled in South Australian hospitals actually has the potential to assist doctors and nurses to rapidly diagnose heart issues in emergency departments. “AI is becoming more common in healthcare, but it doesn’t always fit in smoothly with the vital work of our doctors and nurses,” says Flinders University’s Dr Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza, who led the research. “We need to confirm these systems are trustworthy and work ...

PORTLAND, Ore. – A new drug delivery system shows promise for treating a rare, aggressive form of cancer affecting pregnant women and new mothers, and it has potential with other cancers as well. Scientists led by Olena Taratula, a nanomedicine researcher at Oregon State University, have found a way to better ensure the drug used to combat the disease reaches tumor cells without damaging healthy tissue. Findings of the study into choriocarcinoma, which occurs in the United States at a rate of about four cases per 100,000 pregnancies, ...

A new study of the Great Barrier Reef has revealed that the network of no-take marine reserves supplies nearly half of the region’s coral trout fishery catch. The research, led by Professor Michael Bode from the QUT School of Mathematical Sciences and published in Science Advances, revealed that despite covering only 30 per cent of the reef’s habitat, these protected areas account for 47 per cent of the coral trout catch in fishing areas and contribute 55 per cent of the species’ reproduction. The Great Barrier Reef is protected by a network of marine reserves designed to conserve ...

McDonald's is overturning council attempts to prevent new fast food outlets by claiming they will encourage healthier lifestyles, reveals an investigation published by The BMJ today. Based on Freedom of Information requests, it shows that the firm has won planning appeals against local authorities in some of the most deprived areas of England, where around 1 in 4 children are obese by the time they leave primary school. Its tactics include arguing that customers can order salad from its drive-through branches, that they could cycle or walk there, and that its sponsorship ...

Cannabidiol (CBD), the component in cannabis often used for therapeutic treatments, is increasingly being used during pregnancy as a means of managing symptoms such as nausea, anxiety and sleep. Though the public perception is that CBD – particularly when consumed orally – is safer and helpful for symptom management, little is known about the impact of CBD on pregnancy. A new study from McMaster University researchers fills that gap in knowledge and has uncovered potential risks, including impaired fetal growth, associated with the use of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ...

Niigata, Japan - The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by microbial decomposition of soil organic carbon on a global scale is approximately five times greater than the amount of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Thus, it is essential to clarify the impact of climate change on soil CO2 release dynamics. A collaborative research group consisting of Dr. Hirohiko Nagano and Ms. Yuri Suzuki of Niigata University with researchers of Kyushu University and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency conducted incubation experiments on forest and pastureland soils at 10 locations across Japan. The research group revealed ...

URBANA, Ill. – Globally, women’s workforce participation is about 25% lower than men’s, often due to barriers such as domestic responsibilities and cultural norms. Vocational training can increase employment opportunities, but women may not be able to attend training programs that require them to be away from home. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with an international research team, explored whether hybrid distance learning can improve accessibility to ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — People’s bodies can be old or young for their chronological age, depending, in part, on the amount and types of stressors they have experienced. Scientists can estimate people’s biological age, but whether they use oral tissue or blood to make the measurement matters, according to a new study led by researchers in the Penn State Department of Biobehavioral Health.  Biological age — a measure of how well one’s body is functioning — differs from chronological age — the amount of time since someone was born. While chronological age can be correlated to disease risk, researchers and medical ...

After combing through 4,000 existing medications, an artificial intelligence tool helped uncover one that saved the life of a patient with idiopathic multicentric Castleman’s disease (iMCD). This rare disease has an especially poor survival rate and few treatment options. The patient could be the first of many to have their lives saved by an AI prediction system, which could potentially apply to other rare conditions. Detailed in a new paper published in NEJM, a group led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania used an AI technique called machine learning to determine that adalimumab—a ...

How do bacteria — harmless ones living in our bodies, or those that cause disease — organize their activities? A new study, combining powerful genomic-scale microscopy with a technical innovation, captured which genes bacteria turn on in different situations and in different spatial environments. The technology, described January 23 in Science, promises to take the study of bacteria to the next level. Jeffrey Moffitt, PhD, and colleagues in the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCMM) at Boston Children’s Hospital applied MERFISH, a molecular ...

February 5, 2025, Mountain View, CA -- The SETI Institute announced the Davie Postdoctoral Fellowship in Artificial Intelligence for Astronomy, inviting researchers to refine and expand ML-driven pipelines for exoplanet discovery. The successful candidate will join the SETI Institute researcher Dr. Vishal Gajjar and his team and collaborators at the SETI Institute and IIT Tirupati in India. This project will focus on enhancing supervised CNN architectures and integrating anomaly-detection techniques to uncover subtle or unconventional signals hidden within massive datasets. The application deadline is March 15, 2025. Information about how to apply is here. “Machine ...

University of Delaware Associate Professor Teomara Rutherford, along with UD co-authors Hye Rin Lee, Austin Cory Bart and Andrew Rodrigues and Megan Englert of the University of Colorado Boulder, investigated changes in student motivation in first-year university CS courses. Although students’ perception of the value of CS declined over the semester, their sense of belonging and beliefs in their ability to succeed increased. Rutherford and her co-authors also found that students’ beliefs in their ability to succeed, their view of the course’s importance and their perception of its emotional cost ...

Research Highlights: Mechanically retrieving a blood clot blocking a medium- or small-sized brain artery was no better at reducing disability 90 days after a stroke than standard care alone (including clot-busting medication if indicated). While researchers say using thrombectomy devices to remove blood clots is increasingly performed, this research suggests that it may not be needed in all cases. However, because endovascular therapy seemed to be safe, it might still be used on select patients. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts ...

CHICAGO, IL USA – 5 February, 2025 – Following a five-year hiatus, the world’s only registry of patients with durable mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices is re-launching and will begin collecting data from institutions around the globe in early 2025.   The International Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (IMACS) registry is operated by the International Society for Health and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), a global multidisciplinary professional organization ...

The study is an international collaboration based on previous research that has suggested a possible connection between trauma and endometriosis. Endometriosis is tissue resembling the uterine lining that grows outside the uterus. The condition is very common among women and can cause significant pain and fertility problems for many. – The motivation for the study was to better understand this potential link between traumatic experiences and the development of endometriosis. Specifically, we wanted to explore whether certain types of trauma were more strongly associated with endometriosis than others, and whether this potential interaction is independent ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS – Children and young people who are Black or Hispanic are less likely to be diagnosed with migraine than those who are white when being seen for headache in a pediatric emergency department, according to a study published in the February 5, 2025, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found they received fewer tests and less intensive treatment. “Migraine is disabling and can significantly impact ...

An analysis of more than 4 million Facebook posts created by news outlets and political parties in 2024 highlights global social media engagement trends and political polarization during a year which included elections for many countries. Giulio Pecile and colleagues at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on February 5, 2025. Prior research has suggested that the tailored content presented on social media platforms may reinforce political polarization ...

Facial appearance dissatisfaction is associated with virtual meeting (VM) fatigue, which prompts the use of impression management behaviors and results in lower intention to adopt VM technologies, according to a study published February 5, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Chaeyun Lim from Michigan State University, U.S., and colleagues. The increasing reliance on VMs has led to a pervasive experience of VM fatigue, commonly referred to as Zoom fatigue. This phenomenon has significant implications for workplace productivity and individual well-being. Despite VM fatigue’s critical role in shaping workplace interactions and digital inclusion in emerging ...

An international survey study involving more than 23,000 higher education students reveals trends in how they use and experience ChatGPT, highlighting both positive perceptions and awareness of the AI chatbot’s limitations. Dejan Ravšelj of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on February 5, 2025. Prior research suggests that ChatGPT can enhance learning, despite concerns about its role in academic integrity, potential impacts on critical thinking, and occasionally inaccurate responses. However, ...

Labor market immigrants moving to Germany are less likely to make their first choice of residence in regions where xenophobic attitudes, measured by right-wing party support and xenophobic violence, are stronger, per 2004-2017 data     Article URL: https://plos.io/4g9rxcy Article title: Do xenophobic attitudes influence migrant workers’ regional location choice? Author countries: Germany Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...