The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and complex as we peer into the mysterious world of viruses. Said to have existed since living cells first appeared, these microscopic entities differ greatly from other forms of life. Composed of only genetic material, they lack the ability to synthesize proteins, which are essential for carrying out cellular activity and, ultimately, for life by itself. As a result, scientists have long sought to unravel virus origins, how they evolve, and how they fit into the conventional tree of life. Professor Masaharu Takemura from ...

Cells have a remarkable housekeeping system: proteins that are no longer needed, defective, or potentially harmful are labeled with a molecular “tag” and dismantled in the cellular recycling machinery. This process, known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system, is crucial for health and survival. Now, an international team of scientists led by CeMM, AITHYRA and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund has identified a new class of small molecules that harness this natural system to accelerate the removal of an immune-modulating enzyme called IDO1. The findings, published in Nature Chemistry (DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-02021-5), introduce a new concept in ...

Research Highlights: Light physical activity was associated with lower risk of death for adults in stages 2, 3 and 4 of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a health condition that includes heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity. A one hour increase in light physical activity each day was associated with a 14% to 20% lower risk of death. The association between light physical activity and lower risk of death was most pronounced for people with advanced CKM syndrome. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, January 7, 2026 DALLAS, ...

WASHINGTON – Researchers have developed a new computational approach that uncovers possible drugs for specific cellular targets for treating glioblastoma, a lethal brain tumor.  This approach enabled them to predict more effective treatment combinations to fight the disease on an individualized basis. This laboratory and computational research effort was led by scientists at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.  “The cellular targets we identified could be key to effectively fighting a disease that has seen only one new targeted drug approved in the last two decades,” says Nagi G. Ayad, PhD, senior author, associate director for translational ...

An evidence-based web-app helped children with epilepsy to fall asleep on average 16.5 minutes earlier.   A new UK-wide clinical trial led by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has evaluated a self-guided behavioural sleep programme for the parents of children with epilepsy.  The programme, which is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is called COSI (CASTLE Online Sleep Intervention) and consists of online videos and written guides based on clinically informed sleep intervention behavioural techniques.  “Sleep problems affect more than 80% ...

Higher consumption of food preservatives, widely used in industrially processed foods and beverages to extend their shelf life, has been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings are the result of work carried out by researchers from Inserm, INRAE, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and Cnam, within the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (CRESS-EREN). They are based on health and dietary data from more than 100,000 adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé cohort study, and ...

For the first time, an international research team led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has recorded a tiny mechanical “twitch” in living human and rodent eyes at the exact moment a rod photoreceptor detects light. The research breakthrough could provide a new, non-invasive way to assess retinal health and enable earlier diagnosis of blinding eye diseases, according to the research team, which involves multiple institutions including the University of Washington (UW), Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), and Duke-NUS Medical School. Rod photoreceptors ...

A new study co-led by the University of Oxford has found that global aviation emissions could be reduced by 50-75% through combining three strategies to boost efficiency: flying only the most fuel-efficient aircraft, switching to all-economy layouts, and increasing passenger loads. Crucially, the study shows that around a 11% reduction in global aviation emissions is achievable immediately, by using the most efficient aircraft that airlines already have more strategically on routes they already fly. Published today (7 January) in Nature Communications Earth ...

Waiting in an airport for a connecting flight is often tedious. A new study by MIT researchers shows it’s bad for business, too.  Looking at air travel and multinational firm formation over a 30-year period, the researchers measured how much a strong network of airline connections matters for economic growth. They found that multinational firms are more likely to locate their subsidiaries in cities they can reach with direct flights, and that this trend is particularly pronounced in knowledge industries. The degree ...

Metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions in our society, driven by a sedentary lifestyle coupled with circadian misalignment - a desynchrony between our intrinsic biological clocks and environmental signals. Furthermore, we spend almost 90% of our time indoors, with a very limited exposure to natural daylight. To investigate the specific role of daylight in human metabolism, particularly in glycaemic control, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), Maastricht University, and the German Diabetes Center ...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that the nervous system's own immune cells help protect the spinal cord from age-related damage. The results, which may contribute to new knowledge about how certain neurological diseases arise, are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.  Ageing affects the entire body, including the spinal cord, which transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The negative consequences of ageing are well known, but could there be positive, protective mechanisms activated?  The researchers ...

Bethesda, MD (Dec. 26, 2025) — A new update from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is calling for greater caution before surgery is considered for patients with refractory constipation, a severe, chronic form of constipation that does not respond to standard treatments.  Chronic constipation affects 8–12% of Americans. While most patients improve with conventional treatments, a small but challenging subset remains refractory. These patients often undergo extensive ...

A research team led by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have presented a new way to produce hydrogen gas without the scarce and expensive metal platinum. Using sunlight, water and tiny particles of electrically conductive plastic, the researchers show how the hydrogen can be produced efficiently, sustainably and at low cost. Hydrogen plays a key role in the global pursuit for renewable energy. Although its use produces only water as a by-product, significant challenges remain before hydrogen can be produced both on a large-scale and in an environmentally friendly way. A major challenge is the use of the metal platinum as a co-catalyst when sunlight and water ...

Sleeping in on the weekend to catch up on sleep lost during the week may be good for adolescents’ mental health, according to new research by the University of Oregon and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. The study found that a group of young people, age 16 to 24, who caught up on sleep on the weekend had a 41 percent lower risk for symptoms of depression than a group who didn’t. The findings, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, highlight the important ...

U.S. adolescents spend more than one hour per day on smartphones during school hours, with social media accounting for the largest share of use, according to research published Jan. 5, 2026, in JAMA. The findings have relevance for educators, parents and policymakers.  The study reflects the behavior of 640 adolescents ages 13-18 who were enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. They and their parents had consented to have software placed on their Android cellphones ...

More than two years of war in Gaza have left many Palestinian children too weak to learn or play and convinced they will be “killed for being Gazans”, a new report warns. The University of Cambridge-led study also includes the first analysis of education in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October, 2023. The study says there is an urgent need for more international aid for education across Palestine, whether or not the present ceasefire in Gaza holds. In Gaza itself, it adds, conflict has come close to erasing children’s right to education, and with it, their very identity. The report, which follows ...

New research from the University of East Anglia (UK) reveals the hidden struggles experienced by the brothers and sisters of people with Prader-Willi syndrome. Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes growth and learning challenges and requires lifelong care to prevent serious health issues. It is known for causing constant hunger, which can lead to over-eating and obesity. But until now, little has been known about how the condition impacts families. A new study published today reveals the emotional challenges faced by siblings ...

Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhoea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people. The WEHI-led study has revealed a genetic shortcut that may help Giardia duodenalis and many other parasites jump to new hosts at the cost of long-term survival. The findings may also help explain how parasites evolve drug resistance, with implications for treatment strategies worldwide. Understanding these dynamics could inform public health surveillance and guide efforts to anticipate zoonotic ...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2026 — Generative AI is becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. Large language models like ChatGPT can help answer questions, write emails, and solve problems at seemingly lightning speed, pulling from enormous datasets to engage in conversations with their users. Generative AI tools are increasingly used in classrooms, too, sometimes to supplement learning and sometimes to cut corners. Because of this, many teachers have expressed concerns about this powerful tool’s impact on student learning and development. In The Physics Teacher, a journal co-published by AIP Publishing and the American Association of Physics Teachers, a physics professor-turned-AI-researcher ...

Two things are clear from a University of Michigan analysis of nearly 200,000 Twitter posts between 2012 and 2022.  One, people are really good at identifying peak pollen season: The largest volume of tweets about pollen often lined up with pollen counters hitting their biggest numbers. And two, liberal users on Twitter were more likely than conservatives to ascribe shifting pollen seasons over the years to climate change. "There is a partisan gap in how we perceive the pollen seasons that are very relevant to our day-to-day life and even our health," said Yiluan Song, the lead author of the new report in ...

At first glance, artificial intelligence looks like a software developer’s dream. A recent McKinsey & Company report found that programmers generated code up to 45% faster with the help of generative AI. But if it’s not used strategically, AI can become a developer’s nightmare. So says Edward Anderson Jr., professor of information, risk, and operations management and Betty and Glenn Mortimer Centennial Professor in Business at Texas McCombs. The problem arises when AI ...

Beijing, China — Biological invasion has become one of the most significant drivers of global ecological disruption, causing billions of dollars in economic losses annually. Yet, for decades, our response to these "alien" species has been largely reactive-acting only after a species has already established itself and caused damage. In a major review published in the journal Biological Diversity, Professor Aibin Zhan from the Research Center for Eco - Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, proposes a paradigm shift. The study introduces a "proactive, predictive, and integrative" framework driven by multi - omics technologies, offering a high - resolution ...

LUCKNOW, India — For centuries, Borago officinalis - commonly known as Borage or the Starflower - has been a staple of traditional medicine. Now, a comprehensive review published in the journal Biological Diversity reveals the scientific "blueprint" behind this plant's diverse therapeutic effects, positioning it as a powerful candidate for modern drug development. The study, led by researchers at the Department of Pharmacology, Integral University, provides an exhaustive analysis of how Borage interacts with the human body at a molecular level. By synthesizing data from both preclinical trials and human clinical ...

Date: January 6, 2026 Source: Editorial Office of Biological Diversity Contact: bd.admin@scbg.ac.cn Biological Diversity, a premier international journal dedicated to the holistic study of life on Earth, has officially launched its global recruitment drive for both the Editorial Board (EB) and the Youth Editorial Board (YEB). To address the complexity of the global biodiversity crisis, the journal is seeking experts across a systematic spectrum of disciplines. This recruitment aims to create a "dual - tier" leadership structure-combining the strategic wisdom of established world - class scientists with the innovative energy ...

Antibiotics that escape into the environment are widely recognized as a growing threat to ecosystems, wastewater treatment performance, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. A new study shows that certain microbes can act as community protectors by breaking down antibiotics and stabilizing entire microbial ecosystems, offering a new way to rethink environmental risk assessment and pollution management. Researchers investigated how microbial communities respond to sulfamethoxazole, a commonly detected antibiotic in wastewater and natural waters. Their findings reveal that the ability of a community to degrade antibiotics can be more important than the antibiotic ...