Dublin is known as a city where you can enjoy a few pints of Guiness, get a warm welcome from the locals and hear lively traditional music drifting out of pubs and into the city air. But it’s not just music floating on the breeze. The air of Dublin also contains cannabis, poppy, even magic mushrooms — at least their DNA. That’s according to a new study that reveals the power of DNA, vacuumed up from the air, which can track everything from elusive bobcats to illicit drugs. “The level of ...

Infections caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) can lead to HSV-1 encephalitis—a rare but deadly condition that inflames the brain. Despite decades of research, treatment options for this disease remain limited. HSV-1 has evolved alongside human hosts and developed strategies to evade immune responses, particularly in the brain. One key line of defense, the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme (APOBEC), a catalytic polypeptide-like family of proteins, can introduce mutations into viral DNA to prevent infection. However, HSV-1 is able to bypass this mechanism, ...

Algorithmically-driven social media has split red and blue America into separate information environments. But a new online tool, developed at Harvard, can bring citizens back together.  The virtual quiz game Tango pairs Democrats and Republicans on common teams, where bipartisanship quickly emerges as their competitive superpower. “It’s really the opposite of the nasty, divisive posting you find on social media,” offered Tango co-creator Joshua D. Greene, a professor of psychology and co-author of new study measuring the game’s impact. The ...

Plants produce an enormous abundance of natural products. Many plant natural products are ancestry-specific and occur only in certain plant families, sometimes only in a single species. Interestingly, however, the same substances can sometimes be found in distantly related species. In most cases, however, only the end product is known and it is largely unclear how these substances are produced in plants. Ipecacuanha alkaloids occur in two distantly related plant species known as medicinal plants: in ipecac Carapichea ipecacuanha, which belongs to the gentian ...

As psychedelics gain traction as potential treatments for mental health disorders, an international study led by researchers at McGill University, Imperial College London, and the University of Exeter stands to improve the rigour and reliability of clinical research. Up to now, psychedelic clinical trials have had what has been widely acknowledged as a critical flaw: the failure to properly account for how a person’s mindset and surroundings influence the effects of psychedelics such as MDMA and psilocybin. This gap has led to inconsistent study results, making regulatory approval more difficult. To address this, the researchers ...

EBC-129 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that selectively targets a novel, tumour-specific N-glycosylated epitope found on both CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. The expansion cohort for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the ongoing Phase 1 trial has completed enrolment. Notably, 82% of patients had tumours expressing the antigen at levels considered treatable with EBC-129. EBC-129 demonstrated positive overall response rates and prolonged progression-free survival in PDAC patients that have been heavily pre-treated, including those ...

A new study in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the African Swine Fever virus, currently circulating in Europe, is not the result of a recent introduction. Instead, the virus has been present in the region since 2007. Its current dramatic spread appears to be driven largely by people within Europe traveling longer distances. African Swine Fever virus is a highly virulent DNA virus that causes a severe hemorrhagic disease of the same name affecting both domestic pigs and wild boars. The disease is characterized by high mortality rates, leading to significant economic losses in the pork industry. According to estimates ...

The effects of artificial intelligence on adolescents are nuanced and complex, according to a report from the American Psychological Association that calls on developers to prioritize features that protect young people from exploitation, manipulation and the erosion of real-world relationships. “AI offers new efficiencies and opportunities, yet its deeper integration into daily life requires careful consideration to ensure that AI tools are safe, especially for adolescents,” according to the report, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Adolescent Well-being: An APA ...

On the path toward a fusion power plant, stellarators are among the most promising concepts. In the future, they could generate usable energy by fusing light atomic nuclei. This reaction must take place in a plasma — a hot gas of ionized particles heated to many tens of millions of degrees Celsius. Stellarators use magnetic confinement to hold the plasma: the plasma is trapped by a complex and powerful magnetic field, floating inside a donut-shaped vacuum chamber. With Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, with support from the European fusion consortium EUROfusion, is operating the world's ...

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press research article, scientists have uncovered remarkable insights into how the earliest brain connections shape infant emotional development, potentially offering new ways to identify children at risk for future behavioral and emotional challenges. The groundbreaking study, led by Dr. Yicheng Zhang and Dr. Mary L. Phillips at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, examined 95 infant-caregiver pairs using advanced brain imaging techniques. Researchers discovered that the microstructure of white matter ...

ATLANTA, Georgia, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press interview published today in Psychedelics, Dr. Deanna M. Kaplan reveals how her journey from journalism student to clinical psychologist led to revolutionary advances in capturing human experiences through voice technology. As Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of Health Technologies for Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare, Dr. Kaplan has transformed how researchers understand the impact of clinical ...

HEFEI, Anhui, China, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive peer-reviewed Genomic Press Thought Leaders Invited Review, researchers have unveiled critical insights into how the number of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sessions influences treatment outcomes for depression, potentially transforming clinical decision-making for one of psychiatry's most effective yet controversial treatments. The review, published in Brain Medicine, synthesizes decades of research to address a fundamental question that has long puzzled clinicians: How many ECT sessions are optimal for treating severe depression while minimizing cognitive side effects? "ECT is like a powerful ...

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published today, Dr. Erin E. Mauney reveals how her pioneering research brings psychedelic medicine into gastroenterology for the first time, potentially transforming treatment for millions suffering from intractable irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The assistant professor of pediatrics at Tufts University, who maintains a research appointment at Massachusetts General Hospital, leads the first clinical trial examining psilocybin's effects on treatment-resistant IBS. Her work addresses a critical gap in medicine: the substantial population ...

MILANO, Italy, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published in Brain Medicine, Professor Francesco Benedetti shares his transformative journey from confronting childhood awareness of mental illness to becoming a leading figure in psychiatric research. As founder and leader of the Psychiatry & Clinical Psychobiology research unit at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Dr. Benedetti has dedicated decades to reclaiming psychiatry's rightful place within medical science. Professor ...

What happened to all the megafauna? From moas to mammoths, many large animals went extinct between 50 and 10,000 years ago. Learning why could provide crucial evidence about prehistoric ecosystems and help us understand future potential extinctions. But surviving fossils are often too fragmented to determine the original species, and DNA is not always recoverable, especially in hot or damp environments. Now scientists have isolated collagen peptide markers which allow them to identify three key megafauna ...

ing time in or around nature can provide people suffering from chronic lower back pain with a degree of escapism that helps them better manage their physical discomfort, a new study has shown. The research, published in The Journal of Pain, is the first of its kind to ask people experiencing chronic lower back pain – in some cases for almost 40 years – about the role nature plays in any coping strategies they employ to help manage their condition. The researchers found that people able to get out in nature said it enabled them to connect with ...

Brussels, Belgium — 2 June 2025 — A randomized controlled trial (RCT) carried out by researchers from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, has provided new evidence that texture-derived differences in meal eating rate influence energy intake from diets composed of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Over a 14-day period, participants consuming a UPF diet with textures that reduced their eating rate, had an average energy intake reduction of 369 kcal per day, compared to when they followed a 14-day UPF diet with textures that promoted a faster ...

Thousands more UK women who are having children have been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition now compared to the beginning of the millennium. In a paper published in Lancet Rheumatology today, researchers involved in the MuM-PreDiCT project run by the University of Birmingham and funded by the Medical Research Council have found that there has been increase by 4.7% in expectant mothers beginning pregnancy with autoimmune conditions. Analysis of electronic healthcare records (CPRD) taken from 2000-2021 found that there was a ...

Some two-thirds of riders and drivers for food delivery and ride-hailing apps in the UK may work in fear of “unfair feedback” and experience anxiety over sudden changes to working hours, a new survey study led by the University of Cambridge suggests.* Three-quarters of riders and drivers in the study report anxiety over potential for income to drop, with over half (51%) saying they risk health and safety while working. Some 42% of delivery and driver gig workers say they suffer physical pain resulting from work. Riders ...

Between upgrades and breakdowns to cellphones, tablets, laptops, and appliances, so many electronics are getting tossed in the trash that they've taken on a name of their own: e-waste. According to a 2024 report issued by the United Nations, the amount of e-waste worldwide has almost doubled in the past 12 years, from 34 billion to 62 billion kilograms — the equivalent of 1.55 million shipping trucks — and it's estimated to hit 82 billion kilograms by 2030. Just 13.8 billion kilograms — about 20 percent of the total — is expected to be recycled, a number ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 2 June 2025    Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, threads, and Linkedin         Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.    ----------------------------       Cognitive ...

Sarah Wakeman, MD, Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham, is the co-senior author and Will Oles, BS, of Harvard Medical School, is a corresponding author of a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, “Geographic Trends in Opioid and Polysubstance Overdose Deaths in the US, 2014-2023.”  Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?  In May 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a national decline in the ...

Results from a new clinical trial suggest that a high-fiber plant-based diet could benefit patients at risk for developing multiple myeloma, the second most common type of blood cancer. The study showed that the diet was not only feasible and well-received but also improved several factors that could potentially delay the progression of precancerous conditions that can lead to multiple myeloma.     Multiple myeloma is often preceded by early, non-cancerous conditions involving abnormal plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow. Having a high body weight, ...

More than half of older Americans now get their Medicare coverage through an insurance company’s Medicare Advantage plan. But many go on to switch plans or even leave for traditional Medicare when Open Enrollment comes around each autumn. Researchers have had a hard time getting access to data that could help them understand what drives these changes, which have major implications for federal spending on Medicare as well as individuals’ health. Now, a new study in the June issue of Health Affairs peels back the curtain on what motivates people to switch ...

Blastic plasmacytoid dendric cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare, aggressive blood cancer that often involves the bone marrow, skin and, sometimes, lymph nodes. First-in-class antibody-drug conjugate, pivekimab sunirine (PVEK), was safe and effective. PVEK achieved an overall response rate of 85% and complete response rate of 70% as frontline treatment in newly diagnosed patients with BPDCN. Findings suggest this treatment should be considered as a new standard of care for these patients. ABSTRACT: 6502  CHICAGO, JUNE 2, 2025 ― The first-in-class ...