CHICAGO – The shape of the gluteus maximus muscle in the buttocks changes in different ways with aging, lifestyle, frailty, osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes, and these changes differ between women and men, according to new research being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The researchers used MRI 3D mapping, a technique that processes a series of MRI images to create a detailed 3D anatomical model, allowing for improved visualization. The 3D mapping revealed distinct, sex-specific patterns in the gluteus maximus that were associated with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that the shape—not the size—of the muscle ...

Four major turning points around age nine, 32, 66 and 83 create five broad eras of neural wiring over the average human lifespan.    Typical adolescent brain development lasts until our early thirties on average, when the adult era of neural wiring finally emerges.  Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge have identified five “major epochs” of brain structure over the course of a human life, as our brains rewire to support different ways of thinking while we grow, mature, ...

Temperature, rainfall, and snowfall patterns are shifting at an accelerated rate in mountain regions  Over one billion people worldwide depend on mountain snow and glaciers for water, including the populations of China and India  As temperatures rise, more snow is changing to rain, decreasing mountain snowfall  Mountains worldwide are experiencing climate change more intensely than lowland areas, with potentially devastating consequences for billions of people who live in and/or depend on these regions, according to a major global review.  The international study, published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, examines ...

Earth's ocean, the planet's life-support system, is experiencing rapid and widespread transformations that extend far below its surface. A promising international study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that vast regions of the global ocean are experiencing compound state change, with simultaneously warming, becoming saltier or fresher, losing oxygen, and acidifying—clear indicators of climate change pushing marine environments into uncharted territory. Led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Mercator Ocean International (MOI, France), and the Laboratoire ...

Autistic people are more likely to report suicide-related behaviours and psychological distress irrespective of previous traumatic experiences, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Additionally, the study shows for the first time that higher levels of trauma are associated with an increased likelihood of reporting suicide-related behaviours and psychological distress in autistic people — as is the case in the general population. Given that autistic people are recognised as a priority group for suicide prevention in the UK, these findings have important implications for national suicide prevention strategies. ...

A hospital-acquired bacterium that causes serious infections can move from the lungs to the gut inside the same patient, raising the risk of life-threatening sepsis, new research reveals. Published today (25 November) in Nature Communications, researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed DNA data taken from hospital patients to understand movement of the bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) within individuals. The research sheds light on how lung infections can result in the spread of a major disease-causing bacterium between multiple parts of the body, increasing the risk of sepsis in vulnerable patients. The insights from the study may inform ...

ALBUQUERQUE, NM and MEMPHIS, TN – November 25, 2025 – Scientists have uncovered a surprising mechanism by which a brain enzyme called OTULIN controls the expression of tau, the protein that forms toxic tangles in Alzheimer's disease. The findings, published today in Genomic Psychiatry, reveal that OTULIN functions not only as expected in protein degradation pathways but also plays a previously unknown role as a master regulator of gene expression and RNA metabolism. The research team, led by Dr. Kiran Bhaskar at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and Dr. Francesca-Fang Liao at the University of Tennessee Health ...

In recent years, governments worldwide have expressed concern over rising inequality, eroding social cohesion, and declining trust in institutions. This study, led by Professor Ken’ichi Ikeda from the Faculty of Social Studies, Doshisha University, Japan, in collaboration with Associate Professor Naoki Akaeda from the Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University, Japan, contributes to that debate. They demonstrate that subjective well-being (SWB) is deeply tied to both a country’s overall risk climate and the configuration of happiness inequality, where society resembles a “weak pyramid” or an “inverted pyramid.” Understanding ...

A joint research team led by Dr. Hee-Eun Song of the Photovoltaics Research Department at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (President Yi Chang-Keun, hereafter “KIER”) and Prof. Ka-Hyun Kim of the Department of Physics at Chungbuk National University (President Koh Chang-Seup, hereafter “CBNU”) has successfully identified, for the first time, the specific types of defects responsible for efficiency loss in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. The findings are expected to significantly contribute to improving solar cell efficiency when combined with defect-suppression (passivation) techniques. * Silicon Heterojunction ...

Superconductive materials can conduct electricity with no resistance, but typically only at very low temperatures. Realizing superconductivity at room temperature could enable advanced, energy-efficient electronics and other technologies. Now, an international research team is one step closer to such an achievement. The researchers made the first observation of a special electronic state known as a “nodal metal,” which provides more insight into electronic behavior at different temperatures, in a multilayer system comprising copper and oxygen. The team, which includes researchers based in Japan, ...

While urbanization has restricted and fragmented the natural ecosystems, it also creates new and diverse environmental conditions within towns. A Kobe University research team now found that a plant species that successfully established itself throughout a megacity exhibited distinct and inheritable characteristics that have adapted to the diverse urban environments. Urbanization has been accelerating since the 1970s, leading to habitat reduction and fragmentation. Many studies have since confirmed a loss in biodiversity and species abundance in urban compared to rural habitats. Kobe University ecologist USHIMARU Atushi has been studying the Asiatic dayflower, scientifically known ...

In the earliest text written in Marathi, a language of millions in western and central India, a 13th-century religious figure named Cakradhara points to an acacia tree as a symbol of the cycle of death and reincarnation. It’s unlikely he imagined he would help today’s scientists understand the history of India’s vast lands. But scholars say that centuries-old literary works like this could help reveal the history of the great expanses of savannas and grasslands that cover nearly 10% of India and more than a third of the land ...

Earthquake forecasting tools powered by AI can forecast the risk of aftershocks seconds after the initial tremor, a study suggests. Machine learning models have been developed that can forecast where, and how many, aftershocks will take place following an earthquake in close to real-time, researchers say. Current methods used to forecast aftershocks – secondary quakes that can prove more deadly than initial earthquakes – can take several hours or days, the team says. The rapid forecasts produced by AI-powered tools could help authorities with decision-making about public safety measures and resource allocation in disaster-hit areas. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, ...

Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is frequently misdiagnosed or insufficiently treated, leading to a diminished quality of life and unnecessary medical intervention. While recent studies have focused on DB in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), its prevalence and contributing factors in the general population remain unclear. Additionally, tobacco use may exacerbate both respiratory symptoms and underlying comorbidities, while potentially contributing to DB. A team led by Osaka Metropolitan University researchers aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of DB, as well ...

Researchers from University of California San Diego have identified 11 genetic regions linked to delay discounting — the tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones — shedding new light on how impulsive decision-making relates to both mental and physical health. The study, published on Nov. 25, 2025 in Molecular Psychiatry, analyzed genome-wide data from 134,935 23andMe participants and found that the same genetic factors that influence impulsive decision-making also overlap ...

Patients with the deadliest form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, who received MRI-guided focused ultrasound with standard-of-care chemotherapy had a nearly 40 percent increase in overall survival in a landmark trial of 34 patients led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. This is the first time researchers have demonstrated a potential survival benefit from using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier to improve delivery of chemotherapy to the tumor site in brain cancer patients after surgery. “Our results are very encouraging. Using focused ultrasound to open the ...

Researchers have developed the world’s first real-world head-to-head testing platform to determine whether commercial artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are fit for NHS use to detect disease in a fair, equitable, transparent and trustworthy way, using diabetic eye disease as the first example. They say that it removes any biases that can come from companies wanting to deploy their AI software in clinical settings, putting all companies on a level playing field. Currently, NHS AI algorithm selection focuses on cost-effectiveness and matching human performance. ...

Special Report Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of Americans each year and can result in long-lasting symptoms. Previously, outpatient TBI care lacked standardized guidance that could not apply uniformly to adults with TBI who could care for themselves after hospital discharge or who did not require hospital admission. The National Academies’ 2022 report on TBI identified this gap and called for coordinated follow-up care, leading to the formation of the Action Collaborative on TBI Care. The collaborative’s Clinical Practice Guideline Working Group synthesized and adapted recommendations from 18 existing evidence-based guidelines ...

The national shortage of primary care physicians has been a concern for years, and a new study in the Annals of Family Medicine underscores how urgent the problem is and where the biggest pain point lies: in rural parts of the country that are seeing the largest population spikes in nearly a century. By studying the location of practicing family physicians across the U.S. from 2017 to 2023, authors found a year-over-year decrease in family physicians practicing in rural areas, with a net loss of 11% nationwide over the 7 years studied. The greatest losses were in the Northeast and fewest in the West.  There were 11,847 ...

Original Research  Background: Researchers examined health care challenges faced by adult adoptees and how being adopted affects relationships with their clinicians. U.S. adult adoptees completed a mixed-methods online survey. A total of 204 participants were included in the final analysis.  What This Study Found: Most participants described multiple types of adoption-related bias by clinicians: More than half of the participants reported clinicians made insensitive or inaccurate statements related to adoption (68%), ignored or dismissed adoption-related concerns (60%), or made them feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsupported ...

Original Research Older Adults Who See the Same Primary Care Physician Have Fewer Preventable Hospitalizations Background: Continuity of care has been linked with fewer hospitalizations. This study examined whether better continuity is helpful for acute, potentially preventable hospitalizations that might be avoided with regular care. Researchers analyzed data for 54,376 adults aged 45 years and older from the long-term “45 and Up Study” in New South Wales, Australia. Survey responses were linked with Medicare general practitioner claims and hospital admission ...

Original Research Background: In this study, researchers aimed to understand how general practitioners experience trust in their patients, and how that trust affects patient care. Researchers interviewed 25 general practitioners across Australia.  What This Study Found: Interviewees ranged from 28 to 65 years old. Three themes described general practitioners’ trust in patients:  General practitioners’ trust in patients was an assumed starting point. General practitioners expressed a lack of trust in some complex ...

Original Research Background: Continuity of care has been linked with fewer hospitalizations. This study examined whether better continuity is helpful for acute, potentially preventable hospitalizations that might be avoided with regular care. Researchers analyzed data for 54,376 adults aged 45 years and older from the long-term “45 and Up Study” in New South Wales, Australia. Survey responses were linked with Medicare general practitioner claims and hospital admission records from 2007 to 2017. Researchers used a double machine learning approach to separate the effect of continuity of care from the ...

Research Brief  Background: In this study, researchers surveyed 134 young family physicians from 20 European countries to understand how ready they are to use AI in primary care. The web survey used the Medical AI Readiness Scale (MAIRS), which rates four areas: cognition (understanding), ability (skills), vision (future value), and ethics. The maximum possible score is 110, with higher scores indicating greater readiness. What This Study Found: Overall readiness was moderate (median 69/110) with wide variation. About one-quarter of participants said they never use AI in family medicine, ...

Special Report Latinos face significant health disparities, especially in chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and cancer. Primary care clinicians play a critical role in managing and preventing these diseases, yet Latinos face multiple barriers to quality care. In April 2024, the Primary Care Latino Equity Research (PRIMER) Center convened the Latino Primary Care Summit on “Chronic Conditions in Latinos: Trends, Innovations and Care for the Future.” This special report summarizes the discussions at the summit and ...