Measuring elevated levels of insulin in blood, called hyperinsulinemia, is a proven way to measure metabolic health and can show risk of developing future health concerns, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Now, a team of UBC Okanagan researchers has found that measuring insulin levels in saliva offers a non-invasive way to do the same test—without the need for needles or lab-based blood work. Dr. Jonathan Little, Professor with UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, says that a simple spit ...

Rather than completely burning up when a spacecraft reenters Earth’s atmosphere, its heat shield’s outer surface is sacrificed to protect the rest of the vehicle. The carbon fibers decompose, dissipating the heat. It was assumed that this only happens on the surface, but in a recent study, researchers from The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and four other institutions gained new information about how the protective carbon fiber material evolves, not just at the surface, but beneath, where structural failure could occur and threaten the life of the vehicle. According ...

Animals that hibernate are incredibly resilient. They can spend months without food or water, muscles refusing to atrophy, body temperature dropping to near freezing as their metabolism and brain activity slow to a crawl. When they emerge from hibernation, they recover from dangerous health changes similar to those seen in type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. New genetic research suggests that hibernating animals’ superpowers could lie hidden in our own DNA—and provides ...

As early humans spread from lush African forests into grasslands, their need for ready sources of energy led them to develop a taste for grassy plants, especially grains and the starchy plant tissue hidden underground. But a new Dartmouth-led study shows that hominins began feasting on these carbohydrate-rich foods before they had the ideal teeth to do so. The study provides the first evidence from the human fossil record of behavioral drive, wherein behaviors beneficial for survival emerge before the physical adaptations that make it easier, the researchers report in Science. The study authors analyzed ...

In a Policy Forum, Rishi Bommasani et al. argue that successful artificial intelligence (AI) policy must be grounded in solid evidence and scientific understanding rather than hype or political expediency. “AI policymaking should place a premium on evidence: Scientific understanding and systematic analysis should inform policy, and policy should accelerate evidence generation,” write Bommasani et al. Although developing sound AI policy hinges on clearly defining and effectively using credible evidence, the authors ...

In a Review, Tiffany Morrison and colleagues discuss the risks associated with rapidly emerging marine-climate intervention approaches. Because current governance systems are ill-suited to the scale and novelty of these new interventions, the authors argue, new regulatory frameworks are urgently needed to balance risk and reward, avoid harm, and ensure that ocean-based climate solutions are safe, equitable, and effective. Rapid climate-driven changes are occurring in marine ecosystems worldwide. As ...

Aging selectively impairs the production of crucial DNA- and RNA-binding proteins, which contributes to hallmarks of aging in the brains of killifish, according to a new study. The findings advance our understanding of the relationship between aging and the risk of pathologies including neurodegenerative disease. “A critical next step will be to determine whether these mechanisms are conserved in mammals, particularly in humans, where translational control is intricately linked to neurodegeneration and other age-associated diseases,” ...

New isotopic and fossil evidence suggests that early primates, including hominins, began eating grasses long before their bodies evolved the traits needed to process them efficiently – findings that support the long-hypothesized concept of behavioral drive, researchers report. The concept of behavioral drive – the idea that major shifts in animal behavior can lead to new selective pressures and, ultimately, catalyze the evolution of new physical traits – has long shaped evolutionary theory. However, detecting behavioral drive in the fossil record is challenging because behaviors are often inferred from physical traits, making it difficult to assess them independently ...

Climate interventions are accelerating in our oceans – but without responsible governance, they could do more harm than good, according to new research. Coral bleaching, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss are no longer distant threats – they are unfolding now, with profound consequences for marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. In response, scientists, governments, and industries are racing to develop and deploy a suite of interventions to help the ocean respond to climate change. The new study, published today in Science, reviewed the array of novel interventions that are being used in urgent ...

In brief: Using 35 years of satellite data, researchers observed a consistent pattern for ice cloud formation stemming from desert dust in the atmosphere. The way clouds freeze is vital piece of the puzzle for climate models. For the first time, researchers demonstrate that ice formation follows the same pattern at different scales expanding the scope of this type of research. A new study shows that natural dust particles, swirling in from faraway deserts can trigger freezing of clouds in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. This subtle mechanism influences how much sunlight clouds reflect and how they produce rain and snow — with major implications for climate ...

Light can behave in very unexpected ways when you squeeze it into small spaces. In a new paper in the journal Science, Mark Brongersma, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University, and doctoral candidate Skyler Selvin describe the novel way they have used sound to manipulate light that has been confined to gaps only a few nanometers across – allowing the researchers exquisite control over the color and intensity of light mechanically. The findings could have broad implications in fields ranging from computer and virtual reality displays to 3D holographic imagery, optical communications, ...

In a study published today, UNSW Sydney researchers found that the underwater songs of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) in Antarctica share structural similarities with the nursery rhymes often sung by humans to their young. “Leopard seal songs have a surprisingly structured temporal pattern,” says Lucinda Chambers, a UNSW PhD candidate and lead author of the study. “When we compared their songs to other studies of vocal animals and of human music, we found their information entropy — a measure of how predictable or random ...

An international research team has uncovered that natural interbreeding in the wild between tomato plants and potato-like species from South America about 9 million years ago gave rise to the modern-day potato.  In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal Cell, researchers suggest this ancient evolutionary event triggered the formation of the tuber, the enlarged underground structure that stores nutrients found in plants like potatoes, yams, and taros.  “Our findings show how a hybridization event between species can spark the evolution of new traits, allowing even more ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Imagine a ball bouncing down a flight of stairs. Now think about a cascade of water flowing down those same stairs. The ball and the water behave very differently, and it turns out that your brain has different regions for processing visual information about each type of physical matter. In a new study, MIT neuroscientists have identified parts of the brain’s visual cortex that respond preferentially when you look at “things” — that is, rigid or deformable objects like a bouncing ball. Other brain regions are more activated when looking at “stuff” — liquids or granular ...

About The Study: The U.S. Congress enacted the Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act with the goal of improving veterans’ access to health care services. This study found that MISSION Act implementation was associated with substantial decreases in travel times among veterans who became geographically eligible for non-Veterans Affairs care. For these patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting, MISSION Act implementation was also associated with worsened 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events ...

A new study reveals that some men who are diagnosed with “Grade Group one” (GG1) prostate cancer may actually be at higher risk than biopsy results suggest, according to research led by Weill Cornell Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland and Case Western University. The researchers conclude that relying on biopsy grade alone can lead to underestimating disease risk and misclassifying individuals who may benefit from definitive treatment with either surgery or radiation. Biopsies test only small areas of the prostate, so ...

About The Study: This study of Medicare enrollees age 65 or older with type 2 diabetes found an association between semaglutide use and an increased risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. There was risk variation among the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs); semaglutide and liraglutide were associated with higher risks.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kin Wah Fung, MD, email kfung@mail.nih.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2025.2299) Editor’s ...

ALEXANDRIA, VA —The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) published the Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG): Adult Sinusitis Update today in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. The purpose of this multidisciplinary guideline is to identify quality improvement opportunities in managing adult sinusitis and to provide explicit and actionable guidance that can be implemented across all clinical practices. "With sinusitis affecting about one in eight adults in the United States each year, this CPG update empowers both patients and their healthcare providers with ...

Big Data Begins to Crack the Cold Case of Endometriosis Records from millions of patients at UC health centers found correlations between endometriosis, one of the most common diseases in women, and a bounty of other diseases.  Scientists at UCSF have found that endometriosis — a painful chronic disease affecting 10% of women that often goes undiagnosed — often occurs alongside conditions like cancer, Crohn's disease, and migraine. The research could improve how endometriosis is diagnosed and, ultimately, how it is treated; and it paints the sharpest portrait yet of a condition that is ...

Sucralose is a popular sugar substitute for people who are cutting calories or managing blood sugar levels, but new research by the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center suggests that the artificial sweetener may not be the best choice for patients undergoing cancer immunotherapy. Publishing today in Cancer Discovery, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, the study found that patients with melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer who consumed high levels of sucralose had worse ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have created a microphone that listens with light instead of sound. Unlike traditional microphones, this visual microphone captures tiny vibrations on the surfaces of objects caused by sound waves and turns them into audible signals. “Our method simplifies and reduces the cost of using light to capture sound while also enabling applications in scenarios where traditional microphones are ineffective, such as conversing through a glass window,” said research team leader Xu-Ri Yao from Beijing ...

(WASHINGTON, July 31, 2025) — In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), regular treatment with immunoglobulin replacement therapy was not associated with a reduced risk of serious infections requiring hospitalization, according to a study published in Blood Advances. “This is the first large, real-world study to follow patients with CLL who are regularly receiving immunoglobulin replacement,” said lead study author Sara Carrillo de Albornoz, health economist and a PhD candidate at Monash University in Australia. “Given its high cost and variable use in clinical ...

AURORA, Colo. (July 31, 2025) – The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will lead a groundbreaking national clinical trial—supported by a $29 million grant from Octapharma—to evaluate whether early replacement of fibrinogen, a critical blood clotting mechanism in the body, can improve outcomes for trauma patients experiencing life-threatening bleeding. This investigator-initiated study is one of the largest clinical trial grants in campus history. The EFFECT Trial (Early ...

It was a single lightning flash that streaked across the Great Plains for 515 miles, from eastern Texas nearly all the way to Kansas City, setting a new world record. “We call it megaflash lightning and we're just now figuring out the mechanics of how and why it occurs,” said Randy Cerveny, an Arizona State University President’s Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Cerveny and colleagues used space-based instruments to measure the megaflash, which took place during a major thunderstorm in October 2017. Its astonishing horizontal reach surpasses by 38 miles the previous record of 477 miles recorded during ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Even a toddler knows that plants need water. It’s perhaps the first thing we learn about these green lifeforms. But how plants budget this resource varies considerably. The kapok trees of the Amazon have adopted vastly different strategies than the switchgrass of the American plains. Unfortunately, it’s hard to directly measure which ones prevail in different ecosystem types and how they shift under changing conditions. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State University recently developed a metric ...