Research announcements from universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Explore the stories, people and discoveries behind the headlines.
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Dr. Mary L. Phillips, elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2024, has spent decades mapping prefrontal-striatal-limbic circuits to identify biomarkers for bipolar disorder before onset - a career that began with a sea slug's neural network in a Cambridge zoology lab and now spans three research centers at the University of Pittsburgh.
Read the releaseResearchers at Korea's KIER developed a dual-electrode seawater electrolysis system that dissolves mineral deposits using naturally acidified seawater, eliminating the need for acid washing while achieving 15 times better performance than single-electrode designs over 400 hours.
Read the releaseA Children's Hospital of Philadelphia study found that an automated tobacco treatment system embedded in pediatric electronic health records drove a 3.9% absolute increase in smoking cessation among mothers - a modest-sounding figure that, scaled to the millions of parents who smoke and attend pediatric visits annually, could translate to tens of thousands of additional quitters per year.
Read the releaseA University of Waterloo study testing 11 large language models across 44 tasks found that even top commercial AI models achieved only 75% accuracy on structured outputs like JSON and XML, while open-source models managed 65% - raising questions about AI reliability in professional software development.
Read the releaseA nationwide Japanese registry study found that serum bicarbonate - a cheap, widely available blood test - is measured in fewer than 10% of CKD patients per year. Among those actually tested, nearly half met criteria for metabolic acidosis, yet only 8.6% were diagnosed and 7.5% treated.
Read the releaseThe largest systematic review of cannabinoids for mental health conditions - covering 54 randomized controlled trials over 45 years - found no evidence that medicinal cannabis effectively treats depression, anxiety, or PTSD, while noting limited potential benefits for cannabis dependence, insomnia, and tics.
Read the releaseModeling data from 156 countries projects that climate-driven heat could cause 0.47 to 0.70 million additional premature deaths annually by 2050, as rising temperatures push populations - especially in Central America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia - into dangerous levels of physical inactivity.
Read the releaseA transdisciplinary review in The Lancet draws on biological, behavioral, and social sciences to show that fathers' health - including weight, substance use, mental health, and even childhood adversity - independently influences pregnancy outcomes and child health, challenging the exclusive focus on mothers in preconception care.
Read the releaseA Lancet study surveying over 5,000 people from 13 countries identified the health and social indicators needed for the first global system to monitor preconception health, finding remarkable cross-country consensus that mental health, physical health, supportive relationships, and finances matter most before pregnancy.
Read the releaseA study in The Lancet Global Health found that climate action consistent with a 2-degree-Celsius target could prevent 13.5 million premature deaths from air pollution by 2050, but equity-based policies that shift mitigation costs to rich nations inadvertently reduce those health gains in developing countries - unless paired with targeted air pollution controls.
Read the releaseA six-year study of 184 bull sharks at Fiji's Shark Reef Marine Reserve found that these predators form selective social relationships, preferring partners of similar size and actively avoiding certain individuals - upending the long-held view of sharks as solitary hunters.
Read the releaseA study of 919 autopsy-confirmed dementia patients found that people carrying both Alzheimer's and frontotemporal lobar degeneration show a distinct cluster of neuropsychiatric symptoms - including anxiety, delusions, and personality change - that could allow clinicians to diagnose the combination during life rather than only after death.
Read the releaseBy simulating the formation of a large crater near asteroid 16 Psyche's north pole, University of Arizona researchers generated predictions about the asteroid's interior structure that NASA's arriving spacecraft can test in 2029 - with porosity emerging as a surprisingly important variable.
Read the releaseResearchers developed a biochar-enhanced photocatalyst that degraded more than 98% of sulfadiazine in water within one hour under simulated sunlight - over three times faster than conventional catalysts - and maintained strong performance through five reuse cycles.
Read the releaseThe American College of Physicians is supporting the AAP's independently developed 2026 childhood vaccine schedule over the CDC's newly issued guidance, which ACP says abandons long-standing science-based standards by adopting a more limited approach modeled on the Danish schedule.
Read the releaseOne in four University of Hawaii students experienced period poverty in the past year, but the rate reached 51% among Native Hawaiians and 41% among Filipina students, with those affected reporting high levels of food insecurity (42%), housing insecurity (45%), and depressive symptoms (23%).
Read the releaseThe American College of Cardiology will host a free community health fair at the Treme Recreation Center on March 21, offering cardiovascular screenings, health education, and resources - prioritizing early detection in a community with elevated heart disease risk.
Read the releaseMice exposed to both stress and heavy alcohol use in early adulthood showed persistent oxidative damage in the locus coeruleus and reduced cognitive flexibility at middle age, even after prolonged abstinence - mirroring markers seen in early Alzheimer's disease.
Read the releaseNYU researchers found that early life stress alters gut-brain communication through multiple pathways, with mouse experiments showing sex-specific motility changes and human studies of 52,000+ children linking maternal depression and childhood adversity to increased digestive disorders.
Read the releaseResearchers identified a single odorant receptor, OR49, that allows Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to detect and avoid borneol, a plant-derived repellent compound. Knocking out the gene eliminated both the neural response and avoidance behavior, opening a path to designing more effective repellents.
Read the releaseThe Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will generate datasets so massive that traditional analysis cannot keep up. A first-of-its-kind workshop at Rice University mapped out how AI and machine learning will be integrated into DUNE's computing ecosystem.
Read the releaseA study of nine Amazonian cocoa clones found that fermentation reduces sugars by 95% and tannins by nearly 50% while boosting amino acids and minerals, leading researchers to propose fermented-unfermented blends that balance flavor with nutritional value.
Read the releaseColorado State University plant pathologists identified four Fusarium species responsible for potato dry rot in the San Luis Valley, including one not previously found in the U.S., providing critical data for targeted disease management in one of the nation's top potato-producing regions.
Read the releaseUCLA researchers developed a universal CAR-NKT cell therapy targeting mesothelin that achieved complete tumor elimination in mouse models of endometrial cancer, can be manufactured at roughly $5,000 per dose, and may work against breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and lung cancers using the same product.
Read the releaseMontana State University microbiologists will use a $1.9 million USDA grant to develop organoid models of the chicken intestine, examining how highly pathogenic avian influenza damages cells at a level of detail that could reveal new prevention strategies.
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