Hydrogels are polymeric materials with three-dimensional network structures containing large amounts of water. They serve as sustained-release drug delivery systems as they can encapsulate various bioactive substances, including drugs, antigens, and even cells. Hydrogels are better drug delivery alternatives than conventional systems, as they are more biocompatible, biodegradable, and easily administered as an injectable scaffold. DNA has gained significant attention as a promising hydrogel material thanks to its customizable physicochemical properties, leading to the development of various DNA ...

Paramedics in England are experiencing wide-ranging challenges in responding to the increasing number of end-of-life care patients they are being called out to, according to a study from the University of Southampton. The study published in BMC Palliative Care highlights the issues paramedics face when responding to patients at end-of-life, including a lack of patient information, barriers to administering medication, and insufficient training. It was funded by Marie Curie and supported by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied ...

A study of nematodes by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan has found that aging-related decline in brain function is caused by the excessive activation of certain neurons over time, rather than a decline in neuronal activity. This finding, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that interventions aimed at reducing neuronal hyperactivation, such as dietary changes, could potentially mitigate age-related cognitive decline. Proper brain function occurs when a large number of neurons are connected to each other and work ...

Osaka, Japan – From disaster zones to extreme environments, there remain areas difficult for even humans to reliably access. This poses a problem for search-and-rescue operations, research, surveillance, and more. Now, however, a research team from Osaka University and Diponegoro University, Indonesia is hard at work on one potential solution: the cyborg insect. Cyborg insects have a lot of advantages over traditional robots. Power consumption is less of an issue, so it’s easier to miniaturize them, and they are even ‘pre-built’ in a sense. However, research on cyborg insects has been limited to simple environments, like flat surfaces supplemented ...

New research from the University of Sydney has found people tend to discriminate in favour of individuals who show a similarity to them, even when the similarity arises from a random event like the flip of a coin. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research runs counter to traditional theories, in particular social identity theory, that assume discrimination occurs because we divide people into groups. It finds, instead, differences between individuals are enough to trigger discrimination. Previous research (using the seminal ‘minimal group’ experiment) showed participants tend to financially benefit members of their own group over ...

As solar energy plays an increasing role in the global power supply, ensuring accurate forecasts of photovoltaic (PV) power generation is critical for balancing energy demand and supply. A new study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences explores how machine learning and statistical techniques can refine these forecasts by correcting errors in weather models. Weather forecasts are a key input for PV power prediction models, yet they often contain systematic errors that impact accuracy. Researchers from the Institute of Statistics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ...

Scientists led by Prof. LIU Jing from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have created a leukocyte-like liquid metallic entity that vividly simulates various leukocyte behaviors in nature. Published in Matter on February 10, the researchers demonstrated how these "liquid metallic leukocytes" can autonomously perform complex actions like engulfing foreign substances, changing shape, moving in a pulsatile manner, and even climbing against gravity—showing striking similarities to the dynamic behavior of living cells. The research ...

RICHLAND, Wash.—Curled up inside every single one of the trillions of cells in the human body is six feet of DNA, spooled tightly and carrying the genetic instructions that govern so much of who a person becomes. It’s a nicely wrapped package of instructions for a lifetime.   But having the package in hand is a far cry from understanding how it’s executed.   It’s been 20 years since scientists completed the Human Genome Project, sequencing the entire length of DNA found in a person. Scientists have now done the same with an amazing array of organisms, including some types of worms, mice, mosquitoes, fruit flies, trees, rice and pufferfish.   Science ...

Researchers at Flinders University say there is an urgent need to encourage more girls to participate in sports, following a new study that reveals a striking lack of research on girls' sport engagement. A new study in Sport in Society journal set out to review existing data on interventions to engage female adolescents in organised sport, and to explore the different factors that influence their experience and decision making in sport. “Despite a rigorous systematic search of more than 3,000 articles, only five (globally) were found to ...

Certain hormonal contraceptives are associated with a higher stroke and heart attack risk, finds a large study from Denmark in The BMJ today that draws on prescription records to give more precise estimates for different products than previous studies. The highest risk estimates were for oestrogen containing products, in particular the vaginal ring and skin patch. The researchers stress that the absolute risk remains low, but given the widespread use of these products and the seriousness of these conditions, they say clinicians should consider these potential risks when prescribing them. Almost 250 million women worldwide are estimated to use hormonal contraception. Previous ...

Australian researchers are designing a global real-time monitoring system to help save the world’s coral reefs from further decline, primarily due to bleaching caused by global warming. Coral reefs worldwide are dying at an alarming rate, with 75% of reefs experiencing bleaching-level heat stress in the past two years. The World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR), considered the jewel in the crown of coral reefs worldwide and one of Australia’s most significant ecological and tourism assets, has been decimated ...

A new study finds that training in critical thinking skills can be effective in counteracting conspiracy beliefs. Many well-established programmes for reducing people's belief in conspiracies have either no effect or a negative effect. The study is the first to directly compare different strategies to reduce conspiracy thinking.  A new experimental study has found that fostering critical thinking can be an effective method to reduce people's tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. Led by researchers at University College Cork (UCC), the ...

Embargoed until 00:01 GMT on Thursday 13 February 2025 -With pictures- Babies show positive responses to the smell of foods they were exposed to in the womb after they are born, according to a new study. The findings, led by Durham University, UK, could have implications for understanding how healthy eating habits might be established in babies during pregnancy. Researchers analysed the facial expressions of babies who had been repeatedly exposed to either kale or carrot in the womb after birth. Newborns whose mothers had taken carrot powder capsules when pregnant were more likely to react favourably to the smell of carrot. Likewise, ...

Researchers at McMaster University have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of hematology, providing an explanation for spontaneous and unusual blood-clotting that continues to occur despite treatment with full-dose blood thinners. The discovery, published Feb. 12, 2025 in The New England Journal of Medicine, is expected to influence how doctors test for, and treat patients with, unusual or recurrent blood clotting, with the potential to improve patient outcomes. Researchers found this new blood clotting disorder to have certain similarities to vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) – a rare but aggressive clotting disorder ...

High levels of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) have been linked to increased tumor growth and resistance to immunotherapy. In a study recently published in PNAS, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine identified vitamin E succinate (VES) as an effective agent in controlling tumor growth by promoting the degradation of FTO. Epigenetics and epitranscriptomics play a crucial role in modifying gene expression without altering gene sequence. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is one such mechanism, where methyl groups are added to the N6 position of adenosine on RNA. Adding these methyl groups enhances RNA stability; however, their removal by enzymes such as FTO can promote ...

A physics professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a heart for transfer students has received the Cottrell Scholar Award. Established in 1994, the award honors and helps to develop outstanding teacher-scholars who are recognized by their scientific communities for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their academic leadership skills. Assistant Professor of Physics Lawrence “Larry” Lee of UT’s College of Arts and Sciences will receive $120,000 over three years from the Research Corporation for Science and Advancement to strengthen the transfer pipeline of physics students who transfer ...

The scenario is common. An elderly person seems to be in good health until one day they suffer a fall and from then on their quality of life begins to deteriorate. Even if there are no serious consequences such as injuries, fractures or head trauma, falls usually lead to reduced mobility and consequently to a loss of independence and autonomy. The problem is so worrisome – falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death among adults aged 65 and over in the world, according to the United Nations’ ...

Mass General Brigham has been awarded three Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) contracts to deliver hospital-level care to Americans in rural communities across the United States. These awards will provide funding over five years to support the development of a scalable, multi-purpose, Care Delivery Platform (CDP)— an electric vehicle that integrates various medical devices and technologies to deliver hospital-level care where no hospital exists. The initiative, known as the Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed & Integrated Medical care (PARADIGM) program, will create CDPs to benefit the many Americans who face significant barriers ...

The blockbuster drug semaglutide, better known as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, could also help people cut down on their alcohol intake, according to new research led by Christian Hendershot, PhD, first author of the study, professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and director of Clinical Research at USC Institute for Addiction Science, and Klara Klein, MD, PhD, senior author, assistant professor at the Department of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the UNC School of Medicine. The findings, ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS – The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has developed a new systematic review to summarize for neurologists and other clinicians the evidence for epidural steroid injections and whether they reduce pain and disability for people with certain kinds of chronic back pain. The systematic review is published on February 12, 2025, online in Neurology®. It updates a 2007 assessment by the AAN. With an epidural steroid injection, a steroid or corticosteroid medication ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS — Getting at least 30 minutes of daily summer sun in the first year of life may mean a lower relapse risk for children who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) later, according to a study published on February 12, 2025, online in Neurology® Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found if a child’s biological mother had at least 30 minutes of daily sun during the ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS — For children with signs of neurological conditions such as autism, epilepsy and global developmental delay, genetic testing can help make the diagnosis, identify possible treatments and determine whether family members could be affected, among other benefits. But a new study shows that white children were almost twice as likely as Black children to have completed genetic testing. The study is published on February 12, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study also found that insurance coverage for genetic ...

Individuals below the age of 18 are faced with significant barriers when receiving abortion care due to additional parental consent requirements. To address this, the 2020 ROE Act in Massachusetts removed these requirements for minors aged 16-17 years. A new study reveals that this policy change led to a ~60-day decrease in gestational duration at abortion among this age group, highlighting the importance and impact of decreasing barriers to abortion access for minors. Adolescents aged 15 to 17 years and those younger than 15 years of age account for 3% and 0.2% of all abortions in the United States, respectively. However, logistical ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about romantic relationships have remained much the same, although the trajectories of their relationships have changed somewhat, according ...

From a study that analyzed brain images of more than 2,500 people with Parkinson’s disease in 20 different countries, scientists were able to identify patterns of neurodegeneration and create metrics for each of the five clinical stages of the disease. The work, published in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease, represents a leap forward in the understanding of the disease. The analysis and volume of data obtained in the study could lead to important developments, not only in terms of diagnostic advances ...