A research team led by Professor Jia Pan and Professor Yifan Evan Peng from the Department of Computer Science and Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering under the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with the researcher at Australian National University, has recently developed a groundbreaking neuromorphic exposure control (NEC) system that revolutionizes machine vision under extreme lighting variations. Published in Nature Communications, this biologically inspired system mimics human peripheral vision to achieve unprecedented speed and robustness in dynamic perception environments. Traditional automatic exposure (AE) ...

Inspired by the natural Bouligand structure, researchers have been developing advanced materials for applications in impact-resistant bioplastics, ceramic armor, and biomimetic alloy composites. Most existing materials are still composed of single-scale brittle units despite the progress in improving the plasticity of materials. The lack of hierarchical active interfaces and autonomous response capabilities limits their ductility and overall functionality. Therefore, researchers aim to develop Bouligand-structured materials with multi-level active ...

Proteins in cells are highly flexible and often exist in multiple conformations, each with unique abilities to bind ligands. These conformations are regulated by the organism to control protein function. Currently, most studies on protein structure and activity are conducted using purified proteins in vitro, which cannot fully replicate the complex of the intracellular environment and maybe influenced by the purification process or buffer conditions. In a study published in Journal of the American Chemical Society, a team led by Prof. WANG Fangjun ...

Researchers from the Zhang Liye Laboratory have developed a groundbreaking tool that revolutionizes the way researchers design primers for detecting pathogens. This new pipeline, which scans entire genomes to identify the most effective primer sets, could significantly enhance the speed and accuracy of diagnosing infectious diseases. The findings, published on 15 Feb 2025 in Frontiers of Computer Science, address a critical challenge in quantitative PCR (qPCR) primer design. Unlike existing software that requires manual selection of specific genes or regions, this new tool automatically ...

Research into immunotherapy against cancer typically focuses on better recognition of cancer cells by the body's own immune system. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC and Moffitt Cancer Center have taken a different approach. They investigated how cancer affects the energy management of a patient’s T cells and showed for the first time that contact with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) cells leads to a serious energy crisis in these cells. These findings are published today in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, building on a publication earlier this month in Blood Advances. ...

The sexual abuse of children affects 15 percent of girls and 8 percent of boys worldwide, incurring high public costs and devastating consequences for its survivors. In the United States, at least one in four girls and one in 20 boys experience sexual abuse. A US Preventive Services Task Force report recently concluded there’s not enough evidence that prevention is effective. Now, a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics provides the missing evidence that coordinated, community-wide primary prevention efforts can significantly reduce child sexual abuse rates. The counties in the study that received the educational measures ...

Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next five years, the researchers stress urgent action now could turn the tide on the public health crisis. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in The Lancet, found a third of children and adolescents will be overweight (385 million) or obese (360 million) within the next 25 years. The forecast equates ...

The use of tocolytic drugs in cases of threatened premature birth after 30 weeks of pregnancy does not improve the baby’s health. This is shown by the largest study concerning the effectiveness of tocolytic drugs on the health of babies, led by Amsterdam UMC, the results of which were published today in The Lancet.     Worldwide, 1 in 10 pregnancies result in premature birth. Children born prematurely face a higher risk of mortality and serious health problems, both in the short and long term. As a results, tocolytic drugs have been used a standard treatment for many ...

Nearly 1 in 5 college athletes reports some form of abusive supervision—defined as sustained hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviours—by their coaches, reveals an analysis of survey responses, involving National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   While there is no evidence of vulnerability according to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender, athletes with disabilities and those participating in team sports seem to be most at risk, the findings indicate. Athletes view their coaches as role models, which makes their interactions susceptible ...

**Study includes country-level data for 204 countries and territories worldwide. A link to summary tables for rates in selected countries as well as country-level data is included at the end of the press release**  Most comprehensive global analysis to date estimates that overweight and obesity rates in adults (aged 25 or older) and children and adolescents (aged 5-24 years) more than doubled over the past three decades (1990-2021), affecting 2.11 billion adults and 493 million young people worldwide in 2021.   Weight gain varies widely across the globe with more than half ...

AMES, Iowa – The amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to maximize the profitability of corn production in the Midwest has been increasing by about 1.2% per year for the past three decades, according to new Iowa State University research. The study, published last month in Nature Communications, analyzed data from prior long- and short-term studies by Iowa State and the University of Illinois to calculate the Corn Belt’s steadily rising optimum nitrogen rates, which researchers had thought were static ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 3 March 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 ...

March 3, 2025 Contact: Jim Lynch, 313-727-5045, lynchja@umich.edu, Katherine McAlpine, 734-647-7087, kmca@umich.edu    Images   ANN ARBOR—Hydrogen has the potential to power internal combustion engines, including on-road and off-road vehicles and equipment, and large marine engines. Despite its promise to reduce climate change emissions such as carbon dioxide and harmful pollutants, hydrogen has largely remained underutilized in the United States. Officials at the University of Michigan and University of California, Riverside, along with several industry partners, are working to change that with the launch of the Hydrogen Engine Alliance of North America, or H2EA-NA. ...

A recent study published in Engineering delves into the power response characteristics of networks when excited by voltage with time-varying amplitude and frequency (TVAF). This research, led by Yingbiao Li and colleagues from various institutions, addresses a crucial gap in understanding the behavior of power systems in the era of increasing power electronic equipment integration. With the growing prominence of renewable energy power generation and grid-connected electronic equipment, the traditional assumptions in power system analysis ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137 Natalie Conrad, nconrad@aan.com, (612) 928-6164 Simple algorithm helps improve treatment, reduce disparities in MS MINNEAPOLIS – A simple treatment algorithm may help reduce treatment disparities for Hispanic and Black people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a preliminary study released today, March 3, 2025, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 77th Annual Meeting taking place April 5–9, 2025, in San Diego and online. “Studies show Hispanic and ...

Black immigrant adults in the United States are more likely to be uninsured than their U.S.-born and non-Black immigrant counterparts, despite having the highest employment rates among the groups studied, according to new research from the Equity Research Institute (ERI) at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Published in Health Affairs, the study highlights critical health care access gaps for this rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, suggesting possible links to wage penalties and systemic ...

WASHINGTON – A new Georgetown University Medical Center study in collaboration with MedStar Health and the National Institutes of Health exploring a new brain imaging technique is bringing stroke experts a step closer to better tailoring rehabilitation. Neurologists often use MRI images of the brain’s white matter to glean information about a person’s ability to recover, but a new imaging technique added to MRI allows clinicians to better see the condition of white matter tracts leading to the limbs, an observation usually only seen after death during an autopsy. “A white matter tract called the corticospinal ...

Learning to think more about specific events in the future appears to reduce impulsivity,  improve decision-making, and shows potential as a therapy for alcohol use disorder, a new Virginia Tech study found.  The study, which involved 24 participants whose brains were scanned during both resting-state and task-based fMRI, showed brain connections were altered by future thinking. The research, published recently in the journal Brain Connectivity, was among the last led by the late Warren Bickel, professor and director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute ...

A recent study published in Engineering presents an innovative strategy for converting plastic waste into useful products. The research, led by a team of scientists from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and other institutions, focuses on polystyrene (PS), a commonly used plastic that poses significant challenges for waste management. Plastic pollution has become a pressing environmental issue due to the increasing production and improper disposal of plastic products. PS, in particular, is difficult to degrade naturally and often ends up in landfills or the environment, contributing to the spread of microplastics. Current methods for treating ...

When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of islands in Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests return to areas that were destroyed by sea urchins. But how slow or fast they grew back depended on the location — and until now, scientists didn’t understand why. New CU Boulder research found sea otters, an important keystone species, play a vital role in kelp forest recovery, but their level of influence depends on what other species they interact with in salty Pacific Ocean waters. The study, published ...

A new study from Tulane University suggests that repeated collapse and reopening of tiny alveoli—air sacs in the lungs essential for breathing—during mechanical ventilation may cause microscopic tissue damage, playing a key role in ventilator-related injuries that contribute to thousands of deaths annually. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study sheds light on ventilator-induced lung injury, a complication that gained increased attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a surge in patients requiring ...

Osaka, Japan – The human body is full of checks and balances that ensure correct growth, development, and function of all our different systems. Now, researchers from Japan have reported a newly discovered protein interaction that regulates sperm development. In a study to be published soon in PNAS, a multi-institutional research team led by Osaka University has revealed that the interaction between two specific proteins is crucial for ensuring that sperm cells develop properly. Sperm formation is a highly complex process that involves many changes ...

A Yale-led research team has uncovered how a naturally occurring biological mechanism found in mammals is able to prevent sperm cells from interacting with an egg, preventing fertilization. The discovery, identified in rodent models, offers a new path for scientific research to help people grappling with infertility issues, while also opening a new line of study for developing contraceptive therapies. The findings appear in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “This will have direct implications ...

In a recent study published in Engineering, researchers have developed an innovative analytical framework for ecological security assessment, prediction, and zoning management. Guided by the Social–Economic–Natural Complex Ecosystems (SENCE) theory, this framework aims to enhance ecological security for sustainable development. The Daqing River Basin in the North China Plain was chosen as a case study due to its ecological significance and the increasing human-land conflicts. The research team established an assessment index system based on the pressure-state-response ...

A recent study published in Engineering introduces an innovative design paradigm for reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), aiming to enhance their design efficiency and versatility. This research, led by a team of scientists from Southeast University and Guangzhou University, offers a fresh approach to address the challenges in RIS design. RISs, enabled by digital coding technology, are crucial for manipulating electromagnetic (EM) waves in real-time. They play a significant role in 5G and 6G research. However, traditional automatic RIS design methods face issues. Most involve extensive numerical simulations ...