Researchers have unveiled the intricate molecular mechanisms governing TCF/LEF-mediated transcription in the canonical Wnt pathway, identifying these proteins as promising therapeutic targets for cancer and fibrotic diseases. The review, published in Current Molecular Pharmacology, systematically dissects how four mammalian TCF/LEF paralogs—TCF7, LEF1, TCF7L1, and TCF7L2—achieve functional specificity through modular domain architecture and extensive alternative splicing. "TCF/LEF proteins function as the final integrators of Wnt signals, converting β-catenin ...

A team co-led by engineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a new design strategy for metal alloy negative electrodes that could significantly improve the performance and durability of next-generation solid-state batteries. The work could help advance the path toward practical, high-performance energy storage for electric vehicles. The team focused on negative electrodes made of lithium-aluminum alloy. They studied how lithium ions move through different phases of the material — a lithium-rich “beta” phase and ...

Science isn’t just a pursuit of knowledge – it’s a canvas of creativity where data, design and exploration converge to reveal the unexpected beauty woven into the very fabric of discovery. Each year, Florida Atlantic University’s Division of Research celebrates creativity with its “Art of Science” contest as research transcends the lab and field to become stunning works of visual expression. The competition invites FAU faculty, students and staff to showcase their research through photography and video, strengthening connections between science, art and the broader community. The Art of Science competition also highlights ...

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are a new type of fuel cell that directly converts chemical energy into electrical energy and have attracted widespread attention in recent years. However, the slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode is one of the main factors limiting the electrochemical performance of SOFCs. Ruddlesden-Popper (R-P) oxides have been extensively studied as cathode materials for SOFCs due to their high oxygen mobility and relatively good electrocatalytic activity. Their unique layered structure, characterized by alternating rock-salt layers and perovskite layers, allows them to maintain a large oxygen non-stoichiometry. ...

With the rapid advancement of wireless communication technologies and electronic devices, electromagnetic interference (EMI) has emerged as a critical factor affecting the reliability and performance of electronic systems, particularly in high-demand sectors such as aerospace, defense, and next-generation communication networks. Traditional EMI shielding materials, including metal and carbon-based composites, are inherently limited, such as high weight, susceptibility to corrosion and insufficient ...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD), characterized by uncontrollable alcohol consumption due to physical and psychological dependence, affects approximately 14.1 million people in the U.S. Despite the related public health issues and associated economic costs — an estimated $249 billion annually — pharmacological treatment options for AUD have advanced only minimally since 2004. This underscores the urgent need for novel therapeutic targets. In an effort to uncover some of these potential targets, the ...

Mechanoluminescent (ML) materials are attractive for haptic interface sensors for next-generation technologies, including bite-controlled user interface, healthcare motion monitoring, and piconewton sensing, because they emit light under mechanical stimulation without an external power source. However, their intrinsically broad emission spectra can degrade resolution and introduce noise in sensing applications, necessitating further technological development. Addressing this knowledge gap, a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea and the UK, led by Hyosung Choi, a Professor ...

Cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC), the most prevalent subtype of cervical cancer, remains a major global health burden driven primarily by persistent high-risk HPV infection and genetic susceptibility. A research team led by Professor Ruozheng Wang, along with Mr. Peiwen Fan, Mr. Danning Dong, Dr. Yanning Feng and Dr. Xiaonan Zhu from the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) to delineate ...

[Vienna, 07.11.2025]—For his analysis, CSH researcher Rafael Prieto-Curiel examined mobility data from around 400 European cities. These data capture how daily commutes are distributed across three categories: active mobility (walking and cycling), public transport (metro, tram, bus), and (car, taxi, motorcycle, ride-hailing). “I looked at 47 cities with a metro, 46 cities with a tram but no metro, and 285 cities without both,” explains Prieto-Curiel. The data come from a larger dataset he built for earlier work, available through the ...

A recent study published in Nature Geoscience has revealed that the substantial retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) approximately 9,000 years ago was driven by a self-reinforcing feedback loop between ice melt and ocean circulation. The research team, led by Professor Yusuke Suganuma from the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), found that the inflow of warm deep water into coastal East Antarctica caused the collapse of ice shelves, which in turn accelerated inland ice loss. The discovery indicates that Antarctic ice ...

Barcelona, 7 November 2025 - Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. In recent years, immunotherapies—treatments that reactivate the immune system to attack tumour cells—have transformed the treatment of many types of cancer. However, most patients with metastatic colorectal cancer do not respond to these treatments. A study led by Drs. Eduard Batlle and Alejandro Prados (both from IRB Barcelona and members of CIBERONC), together with Dr. Holger Heyn, from CNAG, sheds light on the mechanisms that limit the efficacy of these treatments and suggests strategies to ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA - A new delivery particle developed at MIT could make mRNA vaccines more effective and potentially lower the cost per vaccine dose. In studies in mice, the researchers showed that an mRNA influenza vaccine delivered with their new lipid nanoparticle could generate the same immune response as mRNA delivered by nanoparticles made with FDA-approved materials, but at around 1/100 the dose.  “One of the challenges with mRNA vaccines is the cost,” says Daniel Anderson, a professor in MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research ...

Satellite scatterometers play a crucial role in monitoring ocean surface winds, with their accuracy directly impacting weather forecasting and climate research. However, rainfall has consistently challenged precise wind measurements, as Ku-band radar signals are much affected by rain clouds.   A recent collaborative study involving researchers from the China Meteorological Administration, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute has led to the development of an innovative rain conceptual model using dual-frequency measurements from the WindRAD instrument aboard China’s FengYun-3E (FY-3E) ...

In a recent study published in Analytical Chemistry, a research team led by WANG Junfeng from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel immobilization method for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays of membrane proteins, effectively addressing major technical constraints in the field. Membrane proteins make up about one-third of human proteins and nearly 60% of drug targets, playing key roles in signaling and transport. Accurately measuring their interactions with ligands is vital for understanding function and drug development. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR), a gold-standard, label-free technique allows real-time ...

Recently, a research group led by Prof. LI Xiangyang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have made a new discovery: a single organic molecule can induce the Kondo effect in a magnetic atom, challenging the long-standing belief that this quantum phenomenon requires a vast sea of metallic electrons. The research results were published in Physical Review Letters. The Kondo effect, is a quantum many-body phenomenon where conduction electrons in a metal collectively screen the magnetic moment of a localized impurity atom. It has been helping to explain strongly correlated ...

In the UK, there was a case where TGN1412, an immunotherapy under development, triggered a cytokine storm within hours of administration to humans, leading to multiple organ failure. Another example, Aptiganel, a stroke drug candidate, was also highly effective in animals but was discontinued in humans due to side effects such as hallucinations and sedation. Even though drugs considered safe in preclinical tests can be fatal in human clinical trials. A machine-learning-based technology has been developed to learn these differences and preemptively identify potentially dangerous drugs before clinical trials.   A ...

Despite international students in U.S. higher education facing significant mental health challenges, national patterns of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and mental health service use among this group remain poorly understood. To address the gap, a recent study published in General Psychiatry explored national trends in clinically significant mental health issues, along with corresponding mental health service use among international students at higher education institutions from 2015 to 2024.   This study looked at data from 44,560 international students, collected each year between 2015 and 2024. The information came ...

As outdoor electronic devices face increasing heat loads and fire safety risks, traditional cooling methods like fans and air conditioners fall short in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Now, researchers from Central South University and Brown University, led by Professor Meijie Chen, have developed a breakthrough all-in-one photonic hydrogel that combines radiative cooling (RC) and evaporative cooling (EC) for above-ambient heat dissipation and enhanced flame retardancy. Why This Hydrogel Matters Dual-Mode Cooling: Integrates RC and EC into a single material, achieving 12.0°C lower temperatures than RC films under high solar loads. Passive Water Cycle: Uses ...

As the demand for high-energy-density storage systems grows, lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) have emerged as promising candidates for next-generation power sources. However, challenges such as poor cycle life, high overpotentials, and sluggish redox kinetics hinder their practical application. Now, researchers from Shandong University, led by Prof. Jun Wang and Prof. Lanling Zhao, have developed a novel electrocatalyst—1T/2H-Mo S2@Co3S4—featuring double heterojunctions that significantly enhance ORR/OER performance and cycling ...

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed an optical computing framework that performs large-scale nonlinear computations using linear materials. Reported in eLight, a journal of the Springer Open, the study demonstrates that diffractive optical processors—thin, passive material structures composed of phase-only layers—can compute numerous nonlinear functions simultaneously, executed rapidly at extreme parallelism and spatial density, bound by the diffraction ...

A research team led by Prof. LIANG Xu at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed an ultra-compact excimer laser—roughly the size of a thermos bottle. The results were recently published in APL Photonics. Excimer lasers, as critical deep ultraviolet sources, are widely used in scientific research, industrial processing, and environmental monitoring. However, traditional systems rely on mechanical gas pumps for medium circulation, resulting in large size, high noise, and significant vibration. These limitations restrict their application in field environments, marine exploration, and airborne platforms. To overcome ...

In a national effort to make medicines safer for older Australians, the University of South Australia is calling for aged care providers and pharmacists to join a new pilot study to assess medication safety and management in residential aged care.   Developed in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the study will use the new PHARMA-Care National Quality Framework to evaluate medication management and clinical services provided by pharmacists, included as part of the Australian Government’s $350 million Aged Care On-site ...

A new comprehensive study highlights the remarkable potential of engineered biochar, a carbon-rich product derived from plant and waste biomass, for addressing one of the world’s most stubborn environmental problems: the co-contamination of water by heavy metals and organic pollutants. This joint effort, led by researchers at Guizhou University with collaborators from across China, reveals how strategic modifications to biochar’s structure dramatically expand its ability to capture and remove hazardous substances from wastewater, making it a viable, sustainable solution ...

LOS ANGELES — City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States with its National Medical Center ranked among the nation’s top cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, today announced that internationally recognized physician-scientist Christine M. Lovly, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.S.C.O., will spearhead the development of its new national thoracic oncology program, furthering City of Hope’s mission to deliver exceptional multidisciplinary care and transformative research for patients with lung cancer. Dr. Lovly’s appointment is effective Jan. 1. Dr. ...

Higher levels of greenness are associated with lower risks of hospital admissions for mental disorders, finds an analysis of data from seven countries over two decades, published in the BMJ’s climate issue today. Local greenness was associated with a 7% reduction in hospital admissions for all cause mental disorders, with stronger associations for substance use disorders (9%), psychotic disorders (7%), and dementia (6%). However, associations varied across countries and disorders. For example, Brazil, Chile, and Thailand showed consistent ...