Lasers that are fabricated directly onto silicon photonic chips offer several advantages over external laser sources, such as greater scalability. Furthermore, photonic chips with these “monolithically” integrated lasers can be commercially viable if they can be manufactured in standard semiconductor foundries. III-V semiconductor lasers can be monolithically integrated with photonic chips by directly growing a crystalline layer of laser material, such as indium arsenide, on silicon substrate. However, photonic chips with such integrated laser source are challenging to manufacture due ...

Pain is an important physiological response in living organisms. While physical pain is an outcome of tissue damage, pain can manifest as diverse unpleasant sensory and emotional experiences. Many studies report that emotional or psychological stress enhances pain responses. Furthermore, mice housed with other mice experiencing inflammatory pain exhibit a ‘bystander effect’ with heightened pain sensitivity, or ‘hyperalgesia.’ However, the effects that underpin social pain transmission remain elusive.  Rodents emit ultrasonic vocalizations in the form of high-pitched squeaks in response to various stimuli, including pain, in ...

As millions of people know firsthand, the most common side effect of mRNA vaccines like the COVID-19 shot is inflammation: soreness, redness and a day or two of malaise. But what if mRNA vaccines could be redesigned to sidestep that response altogether? In a new paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania show that tweaking the structure of the ionizable lipid, a key component of the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) that deliver mRNA, not only reduces inflammation but also boosts vaccine effectiveness for preventing or treating a range of diseases, from COVID-19 to cancer. The ...

An experimental mRNA vaccine boosted the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy in a mouse-model study, bringing researchers one step closer to their goal of developing a universal vaccine to “wake up” the immune system against cancer. Published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the University of Florida study showed that like a one-two punch, pairing the test vaccine with common anticancer drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors triggered a strong antitumor response. A surprising element, researchers said, was that they achieved the promising results not by attacking a specific target protein expressed in the tumor, but by simply revving ...

Vitamin D is not only an essential nutrient, but also the precursor of the hormone calcitriol, indispensable for health: it regulates the uptake of phosphate and calcium necessary for bones by the intestines, as well as cell growth and the proper function of muscles, nerve cells, and the immune system. Now, researchers have shown for the first time in Frontiers in Endocrinology that a particular gene, called SDR42E1, is crucial for taking up vitamin D from the gut and further metabolizing it – a discovery with many possible applications in precision medicine, including ...

A study led by a scientist at the University of California San Diego offers new warnings on the dangers of human interactions with wildlife. Assistant Professor Shermin de Silva of the School of Biological Sciences studies endangered Asian elephants and has reported on their shrinking habitats, a downturn that has resulted in territorial conflicts between people and elephants. Along with her study coauthors, de Silva now provides fresh evidence in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence on ...

A major international collaboration between researchers in China and the U.S. has successfully synthesized a novel two-dimensional magnetic material (indium-based chromium telluride, CIT) using chemical vapor transport. A compound that exhibits robust ferromagnetism and magnetocaloric effect at room temperature with intriguing phase transition behavior and complex magnetic interaction. This discovery paves the way for novel applications in high-performance spintronics, magnetic refrigeration, and advanced electronic devices. The realm of 2D materials has intrigued researchers due to their distinctive physical properties and promising technological ...

Bioengineered organs are no longer just structural substitutes. A new review published in Trends in Biotechnology introduces a groundbreaking concept: biohybrid-engineered tissue (BHET) platforms—living constructs integrated with electronics that can monitor, modulate, and even autonomously control their own functions. The review, authored by Dr. Uijung Yong (Future IT Innovation Laboratory, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)), Jihwan Kim (Department of Mechanical Engineering, POSTECH), and Prof. Jinah Jang (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Convergence IT Engineering, and School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, POSTECH), ...

Alliance researchers and partners, including Embrapa, Brazil’s largest agricultural research organization, launched a rapid response plan to slow the spread and mitigate potentially devastating consequences for food security and livelihoods. In 2023, cassava farmers in remote French Guiana watched in shock as their crops withered. They pulled dilapidated stems from the ground. Instead of unearthing massive root bunches, which are cornerstones of diets across South America, they found nothing larger ...

New research has shown that a world-first system of rubber shock absorbers made from recycled tyres can significantly protect railway tracks from damage, addressing the dual challenges of high maintenance costs and national tyre waste. The technology was validated over a two-year period by a collaborative team from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney Trains, Transport for NSW, and industry partners EcoFlex and Bridgestone, following extensive monitoring at a live Sydney Trains freight line in Chullora. Researchers installed track ...

New research from the University of Victoria (UVic) highlights how marine heatwaves can dramatically impact marine ecosystems and offers a stark preview of how future ocean warming will reshape ocean life. From 2014 to 2016, the Pacific coast of North America experienced the longest marine heatwave ever recorded, with temperatures reaching two to six degrees above historical averages over a prolonged period. Researchers from UVic’s Baum Lab have compiled a comprehensive overview of the heatwave’s ecological impacts, reviewing the findings from 331 primary studies and governmental reports. “The marine heatwave resulted in unprecedented ecological disturbance across thousands ...

UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 11.30 PM (BST) ON THURSDAY 17 JULY 2025.   Short-term digital mental health interventions reduces depression and anxiety in Ukrainian children and adolescents displaced by war  In a first of its kind randomised controlled trial, researchers found delivering a problem solving digital mental health intervention to young Ukrainian refugees significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. The findings show that a small, low-cost, scalable intervention delivered in schools through mobile devices may support the ...

New York, NY — July 17, 2025 — In a major advance for patients with Crohn’s disease, a new study led by researchers at Mount Sinai Health System found that guselkumab, a medication with a mechanism of action that is new to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment, outperformed an established standard of care in promoting intestinal healing and symptom relief. These findings from two pivotal phase 3 trials known as GALAXI 2 and 3, published today in The Lancet, provided the basis for the recent Food and Drug Administration approval of guselkumab (brand name Tremfya) for the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn’s ...

As an institution, the U.S. military is the world’s single largest consumer of energy and emitter of climate-altering carbon pollution, on par with the entire nation of Venezuela. Now for the first time, research by a University of Utah sociologist documented how military spending tracks in near lockstep with emissions. Brett Clark and his coauthors conclude that reducing those expenditures can lead to significant reductions of energy use and, thereby, carbon emissions. Can the military play a role in climate ...

DALLAS, July 17, 2025 — In light of reports from the White House that President Donald J. Trump has been diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), the American Heart Association is sharing important information on the condition and its association with cardiovascular risk factors, disease and increased risk of death. According to the Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, chronic venous insufficiency (a form of chronic venous disease) is highly prevalent - especially in older adults. ...

Gene editing technologies - such as those used in agriculture and de-extinction projects - can be repurposed to offer what an international team of scientists is calling a transformative solution for restoring genetic diversity and saving endangered species. In a new Nature Reviews Biodiversity Perspective article published today, the authors explore the promises, challenges and ethical considerations of genome engineering, and propose an approach for its implementation into biodiversity conservation. They argue that gene editing could recover lost genetic diversity in species at risk of extinction using historical samples, such as DNA from museum collections, biobanks ...

Research Highlights: Scar tissue in the heart may be linked  to dangerous heart rhythms in otherwise healthy athletes, according to a U.K. study. The study, VENTOUX, named after Mont Ventoux—one of the most gruelling climbs in the world-renowned Tour de France cycling race—included about 100 male cyclists and triathletes over age 50. Embargoed until 6:01 p.m.  CT/7:01 p.m.  ET, Thursday, July 17, 2025 DALLAS, July 17, 2025  — Scar tissue in the heart was associated with abnormal heart rhythms among healthy, long-time male endurance athletes age 50 or older, potentially increasing ...

When asked to think of a chemical reaction, you might picture bubbling liquids in a beaker, or maybe applying heat to a mixture until something transforms. But some of the most important reactions in nature and industry don’t need heat or solvents. Instead, they need force. Mechanochemistry is where physical pressure or stress triggers chemical reactions. Imagine molecules being rammed together like bumper cars, or shaken up in a giant cocktail shaker. That shaking and colliding happens every day inside ...

Teeth may seem like static fixtures, but a new collaboration between engineers and clinicians is proving just how dynamic, informative and medically significant our teeth can be. In a recent study, published in the American Chemical Society’s ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, engineers and dentists come together to uncover how teeth, as biological material, hold key information for understanding rare craniofacial disorders that develop during childhood. Kyle Vining, Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and in Preventative and Restorative Science at Penn Dental Medicine, leads ...

Most children seeking emergency department (ED) care due to vomiting are discharged home. Although they usually feel better when they leave the ED, the vomiting recurs in nearly one-third of children. Dr. Stephen Freedman, MD, a pediatric ED physician, led a national study to evaluate if sending children who present for care with frequent vomiting from an acute intestinal infection are better off when provided with an anti-vomiting medication to take, as needed, at home. “When children are really sick, it’s ...

The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, hosted from 1976 to 2015, brought together lesbian feminists for a celebration of culture and activism. Today, the festival is perhaps best known for its controversial "womyn-born-womyn” attendance policy, which excluded trans women from participation. A new article in Signs: Journal of Women and Culture in Society examines the fight for trans inclusion at Michfest and positions it within a rich history of activism at the festival, including antiracist activism by women of color. In 1991, a woman named Nancy Jean Burkholder was expelled from the Michfest grounds on the basis ...

A newly discovered pathway in a plant process could help farmers grow more successful crops, particularly in places where harsh, high light stresses plants. The pathway complements the main workflow of photorespiration, indicating photorespiration is more flexible than it seems. Xiaotong Jiang, a post-doctoral fellow in Jianping Hu’s lab at the Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, and colleagues recently published their results in the journal Nature Communications. Photorespiration ...

In a major step forward for sustainable energy technology, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), led by Professor Yan Wang, William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have developed a new, scalable method to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a way that is both efficient and environmentally friendly.  The team’s research, titled Upcycling Mixed Spent Ni-Lean Cathodes into Ni-Rich Polycrystalline Cathodes, was recently published in Energy Storage Materials, a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal focused on the topics of materials and energy. The paper details an innovative hydrometallurgical upcycling approach that offers both environmental ...

July will see the launch of the groundbreaking Solar EruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph mission, or SNIFS. Delivered to space via a Black Brant IX sounding rocket, SNIFS will explore the energy and dynamics of the chromosphere, one of the most complex regions of the Sun’s atmosphere. The SNIFS mission’s launch window at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico opens on Friday, July 18.  The chromosphere is located between the Sun’s visible surface, or photosphere, and its outer ...

Researchers are creating new moiré materials at the nanometer scale using advanced DNA nanotechnology: DNA moiré superlattices form when two periodic DNA lattices are overlaid with a slight rotational twist or positional offset. This creates a new, larger interference pattern with completely different physical properties. A new approach developed by researchers at the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research not only facilitates the complex construction of these superlattices; ...