Thousands of young children worldwide are still swallowing magnets despite an increase in regulations, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the journal Injury Prevention. With US children among those seemingly most at risk, it’s time to bolster restrictions and use better evidence to inform policy, say the researchers.  The swallowing of small high powered magnets is a significant issue worldwide, especially among children under the age of 4, note the researchers, because they are commonly found in household ...

Standardising the colour and branding of disposable vaping devices may deter young people who have never smoked or vaped from trying them in the first place, suggests a comparative study, published online in the journal Tobacco Control. But a potential trade-off is that there is a risk it may lead to fewer people switching from smoking to vaping, say the researchers. Vaping has surged in popularity among young people in many countries over the past decade in tandem with the introduction of cheap disposable devices, point out the researchers. Previously ...

New analysis indicates that without targeted action by 2030 at least half of the world’s adolescents (over 1 billion) will still live in countries where they are at risk of experiencing poor health across many indicators, including mental health and overweight.   Over the past decade, progress in adolescent health and wellbeing has been mixed and uneven. While global rates of smoking and alcohol use have declined and educational participation - especially among young women - has increased, obesity-related diseases and mental health disorders are rising in all regions. The second Lancet Commission on adolescent health and wellbeing highlights that today's adolescents, ...

Scientists and medics have developed an ultra-rapid method of genetically diagnosing brain tumours that will cut the time it takes to classify them from 6-8 weeks, to as little as two hours – which could improve care for thousands of patients each year in the UK. The groundbreaking method, which is detailed in a new study published today in Neuro-Oncology, has been developed by scientists at the University of Nottingham along with clinicians at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). In the published work, ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 2:15 p.m. PT, May 20, 2025 PULMONARY EMBOLISM IN CHILDREN MORE COMMON THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT Session: C98 — Palace of Fine Arts: Innovative Therapeutic Approaches and Survival Prediction in Pulmonary Hypertension High Frequency of Pulmonary Embolism in Symptomatic Children in the Emergency Department Date and Time: Tuesday, May 20, 2:15 p.m. PT Location:  Room 2001 (West Building, Level 2, Moscone Center)   ATS 2025, San Francisco – Pulmonary embolism in children has been acknowledged ...

(Wednesday, 21 May 2025, Helsinki, Finland) New research presented today at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC) 2025 revealed that the use of combined oral contraceptives (OCs) is associated with a threefold increase in the risk of cryptogenic ischaemic stroke (CIS) in young women.1 The findings add to a growing body of evidence linking hormonal contraception to vascular risk in women of reproductive age. Cryptogenic ischaemic stroke, which is stroke with no identifiable cause, accounts for up to 40% of all ischaemic strokes in young adults.2 Despite its prevalence, ...

A study carried out at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, presents a new way to mitigate the rapid degradation of perovskite solar cells. The problem, which limits the use of these devices in everyday life, has challenged researchers in the field to find viable solutions. Perovskite solar cells are a very promising photovoltaic technology. They are as efficient as silicon cells and have lower production costs. In addition, they are light, flexible and semi-transparent, which opens up numerous possibilities for applications such as windows, clothing or tents that can generate electricity from sunlight. However, the commercialization of these cells ...

As researchers work to improve treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, new research by UCLA Health identified a candidate drug that reduces levels of a toxic form of a protein in the brain caused by the disease and improved memory in mice by boosting production of a protective protein. In a study published in the Nature journal npj Drug Discovery, UCLA Health researchers targeted the protein clusterin (CLU), which is crucial in preventing the build-up of amyloid-beta plaques and tau proteins that that disrupt ...

Scientists studying a promising quantum material have stumbled upon a surprise: within its crystal structure, the material naturally forms one of the world’s thinnest semiconductor junctions—a building block of most modern electronics. The junction is just 3.3 nanometers thick, about 25,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. “This was a big surprise,” said Asst. Prof. Shuolong Yang. “We weren’t trying to make this junction, but the material made one on its own, and it’s one of the thinnest we’ve ever seen.” The discovery offers a way to build ultra-miniaturized electronic components, ...

URBANA, Ill. – Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a decline in U.S. vaccine uptake, while widespread misinformation and distrust make it challenging to craft effective public health responses. In a new paper, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers discuss three case studies exemplifying different vaccine attitudes and behaviors. Their findings underscore the need for flexible approaches to reach diverse audiences with disease prevention strategies.  The three cases were selected from a larger study of parents and childcare providers, conducted to investigate their experiences during the COVID-19 ...

TUCSON, Arizona — University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers identified a potential way to reduce female post-operative pain by inhibiting pituitary prolactin generated by pre-operative stress. The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, could lead to ways to reduce post-operative pain and decrease the need for opioids for pain relief after surgical procedures in women. Prolactin, naturally found at higher levels in females than in males, is a neurohormone best known for assisting mammary gland development and stimulating milk production. Recent research led by Frank Porreca, ...

Changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) during adolescence play an important role in the association between air pollution exposure and insulin resistance, according to a new study led by investigators from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. The study, funded in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and published in JAMA Network Open, found that children who were exposed to higher levels of traffic-related air pollution—specifically nitrogen oxides—tended to have a higher BMI by age 13, and experienced rapid weight gain from adolescence to young adulthood. This, in turn, was linked to higher levels of insulin resistance in their mid-20s. “We estimated ...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Researchers at Marshall University have developed a promising treatment strategy to address overdoses involving fentanyl and the veterinary sedative xylazine, a combination increasingly linked to severe health complications and reduced effectiveness of standard overdose reversal agents. In a new study published in The Journal of Translational Research, Michael Hambuchen, PharmD, PhD, associate professor at the Marshall University School of Pharmacy, and pharmacy graduate student Jyostna Yalakala, BVSc, MS, in collaboration with Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine clinical researcher Todd Davies, ...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Researchers have discovered the genetic region responsible for blackberries’ deploying of a type of pointy self-protection: thorns. They can scratch pickers and damage fruit, making thornless blackberry varieties the preferred option in the U.S. market. Now, a team of researchers has pinpointed the genetic location behind them, paving the way for plant breeders to speed up development of thornless varieties. Margaret Worthington, associate professor of fruit breeding and genetics for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research ...

The slimy algae topping Florida’s waterways are more than just unsightly. They are often toxic to humans, animals and the environment. To mitigate those risks, University of Florida researchers are collaborating with North Carolina State University and University of South Florida scientists on a next-day prediction model to warn and inform water managers about harmful algal blooms. The research is funded by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grants for two phases, totaling $4.4 million. The project is led by David Kaplan, Ph.D., a professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and ...

NEW ORLEANS, May 20, 2025 – Sound can do more than just provide a nice beat. Sound waves have been used for everything from mapping the seafloor to breaking apart kidney stones. Thanks to a unique material structure, researchers can now move and position objects underwater without ever touching them directly. Dajun Zhang, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present his work on developing a metamaterial for underwater acoustic manipulation Tuesday, May 20, at 3:20 p.m. CT as part of the joint 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and 25th International Congress on Acoustics, running May 18-23. A ...

The ocean runs on size. Until now, we didn’t have the numbers. A new open-access resource, the Marine Organismal Body Size (MOBS) Database, is giving scientists, conservationists, and the public an unprecedented look at the true scale of ocean life—literally. Released this month alongside a peer-reviewed publication, MOBS 1.0 catalogs size data for over 85,000 marine animal species, from microscopic zooplankton to massive whales, offering a vital tool for understanding biodiversity and ecosystem function across the world’s oceans. “Body size isn’t ...

A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine has identified flavonoids, natural compounds found in plants, that are toxic to bladder cancer cells cultured in the lab. The researchers report in the journal Pharmacological Research - Natural Products that Cell Painting technology enables them not only to identify compounds with potential anti-cancer properties but also uncover insights into their mechanism of action. “Cell Painting uses high-throughput microscopy to highlight cellular structures and, via custom image analysis pipelines, quantify changes in cultured cell populations,” said corresponding author  Dr. ...

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has issued guidance to help clinicians and patients use health data collected while wearing Apple Watch to effectively track and manage cardiovascular health. “With the rise in people using Apple Watch to be more proactive in their health, guidance and best practices for clinicians and patients is essential to ensure that data is collected accurately and shared effectively,” said Ami Bhatt, MD, FACC, ACC’s Chief Innovation Officer. “The ACC embraces technologies ...

The Andreas Grüntzig Ethica Award is traditionally given to those who have contributed in an extraordinary way to the PCR mission, that of serving the needs of patients by sharing knowledge, experience and practice in cardiovascular interventional medicine. ______________________________________________________________________ Paris, France, 20 May 2025 – On 22 May, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, Professor Lars Wallentin and Professor Stefan James, both from the Uppsala Clinical Research Centre, Uppsala University, Sweden will receive the Andreas Grüntzig Ethica Award on behalf of a wider team of Swedish cardiovascular ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – May 20, 2025) The fundamental processes that govern neural development are complex and, as findings by scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital demonstrate, the underlying driving forces can even appear conflicting. The TEAD family of proteins is thought to promote self-renewal and proliferation of progenitor cells in the brain. However, St. Jude researchers have discovered that these same proteins can also play a role in differentiation when they have a different binding partner. This discovery sheds light on the intricate mechanisms of neural development and highlights ...

Scientists from The University of Texas at Arlington are among the researchers worldwide recognized with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their contributions to the ATLAS Experiment. The $1 million award honors the team’s groundbreaking work at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization of Nuclear Research, known as CERN—the world’s largest particle physics laboratory—which led to the discovery of the Higgs boson, often called the “God particle” for its key role in explaining the existence of mass in ...

Using the gene scissors CRISPR and stem cells, researchers at Stockholm University and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King’s College London have managed to identify a common denominator for different gene mutations that all cause the neurological disease ALS. The research shows that ALS-linked dysfunction occurs in the energy factories of nerve cells, the mitochondria, before the cells show other signs of disease, which was not previously known. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. “We show that the nerve ...

Sets of metabolites found in blood and urine reliably correspond with how much energy from ultra-processed food a person consumes, according to a new study published May 20th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute, USA, and colleagues. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) account for more than half of calories consumed in the average American diet, yet their impact on human health remains unclear, in part because it is so difficult to accurately track exactly how many UPFs people eat. In the new study, researchers analyzed blood and urine samples from 718 older adults, alongside detailed dietary recalls, to identify chemical fingerprints, ...

Our ability to store information about familiar objects depends on the connection between visual and language processing regions in the brain, according to a study published May 20th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Bo Liu from Beijing Normal University, China, and colleagues. Seeing an object and knowing visual information about it, like its usual color, activate the same parts of the brain. Seeing a yellow banana, for example, and knowing that the object represented by the word “banana” is usually yellow, both excite the ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC). However, ...