Researchers at the University of Tokyo developed an experimental method to induce a strong physiological response linked to psychological pressure by making participants aim for a streak of success in a task. Their findings suggest this approach reproduces pressurelike conditions in a laboratory setting more effectively than traditional methods, affording easier access to the study of this state. That in turn could open up research into how pressure influences human performance in physical and intellectual tasks. Whether in an exam hall or on the field, to “crack” under pressure is a common trope. But what’s the reality behind this idea? It’s easy to assume ...

Children have 20 milk teeth, 10 in each jaw. This set of teeth is important for chewing and speaking, and helps to keep space open for the subsequent set of 32 permanent teeth. Milk teeth begin to develop in the womb around the sixth week of gestation, and gradually come out ('erupt') between six months and three years after birth. However, there is considerable variation in this timing, due to genetics, geography, and an infant's overall health and nutritional status. Now, researchers from the US have shown for the first time that another factor can speed up the timing of teeth eruption: maternal ...

Nigella sativa (black cumin), the spice that boosts the flavor of curries like korma and paneer also has another use: its seeds have long been used as a medicinal plant in traditional medicine for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Now, a clinical trial led by Osaka Metropolitan University suggests that they also have anti-obesity benefits. To investigate these effects, a team led by Associate Professor Akiko Kojima-Yuasa of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology used cellular experiments and human clinical trials. In ...

A research team in South Korea has developed a novel gasket technology that enhances both the safety and efficiency of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and water electrolyzers (PEMWEs, AEMWEs)—core devices for hydrogen production and utilization—by simultaneously improving mechanical strength and gas-tight sealing. Dr. Keun-Hwan Oh and his colleagues at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) have successfully applied functionalized two-dimensional boron nitride nanoflakes (BNNFs) to silicone and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM)-based sealing gaskets. The newly developed nanocomposite gasket demonstrates excellent ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — [November 18, 2025] —Nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) are worried they won’t be able to afford necessary healthcare in the coming year, the highest level of concern recorded since West Health and Gallup began tracking in 2021. The share of Americans reporting that they or someone in their household were not able to pay for prescription medications in the past three months has reached a record high of 20%, or one in five Americans. These trends are clear: millions of Americans are facing growing challenges ...

Vaccination rates are falling in many communities due to widespread misinformation and previously eliminated or controlled illnesses like measles are surging across the United States and Canada.   Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a new approach that could help public health officials predict where outbreaks might occur. By analyzing social media posts, the method identifies early signs of increasing vaccine skepticism — a warning signal that could emerge before any disease begins to spread.  “In nature, we have contagious ...

The rapid development of humanoid robots necessitates environmental perception for autonomous locomotion and dexterous manipulation. As one of the most fundamental perceptual modalities, tactile sensing provides critical physical feedback during contact-rich interactions. However, this sensing capability introduces a fundamental trade-off between compliance in physical interactions and high-fidelity response to mechanical stimuli.   The biomechanical intelligence of human fingertips offers a compelling paradigm ...

A University of Sydney-led study published today has found 42 percent of Australian adults — more than eight million people — experienced a traumatic event as children. Those affected have a 50 percent higher risk of developing a mental health or substance use disorder than the wider population, the research found. They are more likely to experience anxiety, depression or panic disorder later in life, with more than one in ten projected to attempt suicide. The findings highlight a need for urgent investment in trauma-informed support to better protect children and prevent lifelong mental health impacts, the authors say. Led by Dr Lucy Grummitt and Associate ...

A world’s most comprehensive meta-analysis in depression and mortality, led by the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has found that people with depression have twice the risk of death than those without depression, and a nearly 10-fold increased risk of suicide. However, timely and effective treatment can significantly reduce these risks and improve survival rates. This study analysed data from 268 cohort studies, covering over 10 million people living with depression and nearly 2.8 billion controls, making it the largest research of its kind to date. The ...

A research team led by the Faculty of Dentistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a novel vascularised tumour model using a non-surgical injectable hydrogel system. This innovative approach provides a powerful new platform for researching cancer and testing immune cell therapies. The breakthrough has been published in Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, representing a significant advancement in modelling the complex nature of tumours for oncology. This study, led by Professor Sang Jin Lee, Assistant Professor in Biofunctional ...

Floating solar panels are emerging as a promising clean energy solution with environmental benefits, but a new study finds those effects vary significantly depending on where the systems are deployed. Researchers from Oregon State University and the U.S. Geological Survey modeled the impact of floating solar photovoltaic systems on 11 reservoirs across six states. Their simulations showed that the systems consistently cooled surface waters and altered water temperatures at different layers within the reservoirs. However, the panels also introduced increased variability in habitat suitability for aquatic species. “Different reservoirs are going to respond differently based ...

In a surprising discovery, a ‘sticky molecule’ that occurs naturally in our blood vessels could be both a culprit behind blood clots and organ failure during COVID and long COVID and the key to new treatments to counter COVID-related viruses. Researchers say the molecule, called P-selectin, could turn the tide to develop a new generation of mRNA therapies to combat not just COVID variants, but also other viruses in the same family. The study, co-led by the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, was ...

Successful root canal treatment could reduce inflammation linked to heart disease and improve levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. In the first of its kind research, a clinical study by King’s College London tracked changes in blood chemistry following root canal treatment for a common dental infection (apical periodontitis). The infection can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream and increase inflammation, associated with risks to cardiac health and reduced ability to control blood sugar levels. Despite the link between the infection and wider health impacts, the association between successful root ...

Summary: Researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) have definitively resolved a two-decade-long controversy regarding the direction of electron spin on the surface of gold. Using a state-of-the-art Photoelectron Momentum Microscope (PMM) at the UVSOR synchrotron facility, the team captured complete two-dimensional snapshots of the Au(111) Shockley surface state, mapping both the electron's spin (its intrinsic magnetic property) and its orbital shape in a projection-based measurement. The experiment unambiguously confirmed the Rashba effect--where an electron's motion is coupled to its spin--by assigning a clockwise ...

EMBARGO: Monday 17th November 2025 – 18:00 CT   ECMWF and European Partners win prestigious HPCwire Award for "Best Use Of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications” – for AI Innovation in Weather and Climate St. Louis, Missouri, 17th November 2025 - The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and several National Meteorological Services across Europe (AEMET, DMI, DWD, FMI, GeoSphere, KNMI, Meteo-France, MeteSwiss, MET No, RMI, SMHI and UKMO) have been honoured with the 2025 HPCwire Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Award for “Best Use of AI Methods for Augmenting HPC Applications”. ...

The remains of an extensive Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe that was likely once a major regional hub for large-scale bronze production more than 3,500 years ago, have been revealed by an international team of archaeologists co-led by researchers from UCL. Published in Antiquity Project Gallery and co-led by Durham University and Kazakhstan’s Toraighyrov University, the paper presents the first detailed archaeological survey of Semiyarka—a vast, 140-hectare planned settlement and the ...

An international team of scientists, including a senior researcher at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, has uncovered new evidence of ancient wildfires that reshapes our understanding of Earth’s turbulent Early Triassic epoch, about 250 million years ago.   The findings, reported in Communications Earth & Environment, published by Nature Portfolio under the title Wildfire, ecosystem and climate interactions in the Early Triassic, challenge the long-standing belief in a global “charcoal gap”, a time interval with little or no evidence of fire following the world’s ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, November 17, 2025 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu  Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu ## In the United States, child firearm violence prevention focuses largely on school shootings, even though the majority of child gun injuries occur outside of schools. A new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) provides additional insight into this gun violence threat, showing that children’s risk of being shot rises as soon as the school day ends. The risk of child firearm ...

Following an extensive worldwide search, Dr. Leanne Redman has been appointed Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney’s first and largest multidisciplinary research initiative.  A Professor of Clinical Science, Dr. Redman currently holds a number of positions at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center including the LPFA Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Associate Executive Director ...

Forced displacement has surged in recent years, fueling a global crisis. Over the past decade, the number of displaced people worldwide has nearly doubled, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency. In 2024 alone, one in 67 people fled their homes. A new study co-authored by University of Notre Dame researcher Helge-Johannes Marahrens shows that analyzing social media posts can help experts predict when people will move during crises, supporting faster and more effective aid delivery. The study ...

When current flows through a wire, it doesn’t always have a perfect path. Tiny defects within the wire mean current must travel a more circuitous route, a problem for engineers and manufacturers seeking reliable equipment.  Through a partnership with industry, researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and Florida State University’s Center for Advanced Power Systems and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have supported the development of a design that uses multiple strands of superconducting tape to create a cable, minimizing ...

Traditional Hawaiian fishponds (loko iʻa) are emerging as a model for climate resilience, according to a study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). The research, published in npj Ocean Sustainability, revealed Indigenous aquaculture systems effectively shield fish populations from the negative impacts of climate change, demonstrating resilience and bolstering local food security. "Our study is one of the first in academic literature to compare the temperatures ...

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures — even while running, riding in a car or floating on turbulent ocean waves. The system, published on Nov. 17 in Nature Sensors, combines stretchable electronics with artificial intelligence to overcome a long-standing challenge in wearable technology: reliable recognition of gesture signals in real-world environments. Wearable technologies with gesture sensors work fine ...

A transformative approach to clean hydrogen production is set to take center stage in an upcoming international webinar that bridges molecular innovation with industrial-scale decarbonization. On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at 18:00 Beijing Time (CST), Dr. Muhammad Aziz, Associate Professor and Lab Head at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, will present his cutting-edge research on chemical looping-based hydrogen production, a technology that simultaneously generates high-purity hydrogen, captures CO₂, and ...

A decade ago, at age 55, Don Lewis suffered a stroke in his sleep. When he woke up, he couldn’t move his left arm or leg. Lewis’ neighbor realized his truck hadn’t moved in two days and called 911 for a welfare check. When paramedics found him, he was paralyzed on one side. “At the hospital, they told me an aneurysm caused my stroke,” he said. He would remain there for two months, and after extensive physical therapy, Lewis regained use of his left leg. His left arm remains paralyzed. “I ...