Evolution is biology’s powerful method of engineering. It works by generating many variants of DNA, RNA, and proteins inside cells and letting nature “select” the organism that performs best. Early farmers started taking advantage of evolution by interfering with natural selection and letting only the most productive livestock and crops mate. In laboratories, researchers developed methods for directed evolution of proteins, especially enzymes and antibodies, that are used in household ...

A machine-learning model developed by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators may provide clinicians with an early warning of a complication that can occur late in pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a sudden onset condition that involves high blood pressure prior to delivery. It affects about 2% to 8% of pregnancies worldwide and can have serious consequences for both parent and child. A new study, published March 6 in JAMA Network Open, describes a machine-learning-based computer model that provides continually updated predictions of preeclampsia risk based on electronic health record data recorded late in pregnancy. ...

A new peer-reviewed paper calls for meaning, purpose, and spirituality to be treated as core components of lifestyle medicine — not optional add-ons — because they directly influence patients’ ability to adopt and sustain health-promoting behaviors. The paper, “Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in the Clinical Practice of Lifestyle Medicine,” emerged from a 2025 national summit convened by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) in collaboration with the Global Positive Health Institute and funded by the Ardmore Institute of Health. The summit brought together nearly 100 experts ...

Global warming has accelerated since 2015, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). After accounting for known natural influences on global temperature, the research team detected a statistically significant acceleration of the warming trend for the first time. Over the past ten years, the estimated warming rate has been around 0.35°C per decade, depending on the dataset, compared with just under 0.2°C per decade on average from 1970 to 2015. This recent rate ...

Florida Atlantic University has received a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how an immune-related receptor in neurons plays a fundamental role in brain function, behavior and psychiatric health. The award, funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, supports groundbreaking research that challenges long-standing assumptions about how the brain works. Led by Ning Quan, Ph.D., principal investigator, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Science within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute,  the project focuses on a receptor ...

In a groundbreaking study published in BME Frontiers, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in collaboration with international partners, have developed a deep learning-based virtual multiplexed immunostaining (mIHC) method. This novel approach enables the simultaneous generation of ERG, PanCK, and H&E images from label-free tissue sections, significantly enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of vascular invasion assessment in thyroid cancer. Traditional immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques, which are pivotal in diagnosing various cancers, ...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and approximately 30% of patients develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition that does not respond adequately to conventional antidepressant therapies. Although ketamine has emerged as a rapid-acting antidepressant for individuals with TRD, its underlying biological mechanism in the human brain has remained poorly understood, limiting efforts to optimize and personalize treatment. In a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry on March 05, 2026, a research team led by Professor Takuya Takahashi from the Department ...

In storytelling, even small visual details can become unforgettable. In the globally popular anime Demon Slayer, one such detail is the short bamboo muzzle worn by a central character. It looks simple and believable, just a piece of green bamboo tied across the mouth. But a new scientific study suggests that this familiar object could not exist in nature as shown in the anime. To investigate this, Professor Akio Inoue from the Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology and Innovation Research Institute, Kindai University, Japan, compared anime illustrations showing the bamboo muzzle with the structure of real bamboo. The ...

March 6, 2026   The ‘Great Texas Freeze’ Killed Thousands of Purple Martins; Biologists Worry Recovery Could Take Decades Findings by UMass-Amherst led team uncovers critical effects of weather-induced mass mortality events on seemingly healthy populations   AMHERST, Mass. — Thousands of birds, including beloved purple martins, died in “The Great Texas Freeze” of 2021. Thanks to a recent study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution led by biologists at the University ...

More than two hundred metabolic enzymes, many of which are normally tasked with producing energy in the mitochondria, are also found sitting directly on top of human DNA, according to a study published today in Nature Communications.  The research shows that different cell types, tissues and even cancers each have a unique pattern of metabolic enzymes compartmentalised inside the nucleus and interacting with DNA. It’s the first evidence of human cells ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The semiconductor chips driving modern-day computer processors are covered in billions of individual transistors, each of which can overheat under stress, causing steep drops in performance. To address this, a team led by researchers at Penn State has developed a microscopic thermometer, smaller than an ant’s antenna, that can be integrated onto a chip to accurately track temperatures. Using an advanced class of materials that are just a few atoms thick, known as two-dimensional (2D) materials, the team built sensors capable of differentiating subtle temperature changes in just 100 nanoseconds — millions of times faster than ...

When parts of the small intestine are diseased or die, the treatment can involve surgically removing the affected tissue. Although lifesaving, the procedure — referred to as a radical small bowel resection — can lead to long-term liver damage and even failure, requiring a liver transplant. There are no medications to prevent or manage this serious complication that's been reported to affect up to 15% of patients after small bowel resection. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have synthesized and tested a new compound in mice that shows promise in ...

 Dr. Hong-Ju Lee and Dr. In-Hyuk Song of the Nano Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) have successfully developed both a manufacturing process that enables nanoscale smoothing control of ceramic membrane surfaces and membrane materials capable of precisely filtering contaminants even under low-pressure conditions. This technology addresses key limitations of conventional water-treatment membranes, which typically require high energy consumption and complex processing. The research outcomes have been consecutively published in leading international journals in the water-treatment field, ...

The constant vibration/rotation and hydrogen-bond (HB) rearrangement of water molecules create various complex yet dynamic HB networks, which makes the characterization of the structure of liquid water become difficult. Inasmuch as the nature of intermolecular forces between water molecules in water clusters bears resemblance to that in the bulk, spectroscopic studies of water clusters reveal the basic building blocks of the HB network, and provides central benchmarks for developing accurate potential functions and universal models of water. In a study published in Nature ...

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is a key technology for clean energy conversion, in which platinum (Pt) is widely used as an effective cocatalyst. The anchoring and dispersion of Pt play a decisive role in catalytic performance. However, achieving precise control over metal-support interactions at the atomic level remains challenging due to the chemical heterogeneity of catalyst surfaces. In a study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Prof. ZHOU Xukai and his colleagues from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced a conformational ...

Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have identified a protein called tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as a potential “switch” that can modulate a type of cancer cell death known as immunogenic cell death (ICD). ICD is a special type of regulated cell death that activates the body’s adaptive immune system against the dying cells. ICD-causing agents not only kill cancer cells directly but also help to develop long-term protection against them. This dual benefit has made ICD inducers and their drug mechanisms an increasingly important area of cancer research. While ...

Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has mapped out the structure of a key player, augmin, in exhaustive detail.  “This work shows how plants and animals are similar,” said Jawdat Al-Bassam, associate professor of molecular and cellular biology at UC Davis. “It could help answer some fundamental questions not just about plants, but also humans.” Augmin is a protein complex that ...

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a "Top 100" global chemical essential for wastewater treatment, healthcare sterilization, and green chemical synthesis. However, the traditional industrial "anthraquinone process" is plagued by high energy consumption and significant safety risks during the transportation of high-concentration solutions. In a comprehensive review published in the journal ENGINEERING Energy, researchers from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) have charted a transformative path toward the sustainable, on-site ...

Financial incentives have become increasingly popular for promoting pro-social, pro-environmental, and health-promoting behaviors worldwide. As these incentives are now being considered in One Health contexts—settings characterized by the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health—important questions remain about how to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing unintended consequences. A comprehensive review published in Science in One Health synthesizes over two decades of research on financial incentives for behavior change, revealing both the promise and pitfalls of using these tools at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.   Evidence ...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens human, animal, and environmental health globally. An international team from leading institutions, including the University of Edinburgh, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, North Carolina State University, and the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions, identifies fundamental gaps in current mathematical modelling approaches that prevent translation of science into policy, including data limitations, knowledge gaps about AMU-AMR relationships, and the absence of international coordination mechanisms ...

The world’s first lab-based tick feeding system for bush ticks, developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne, has transformed the study of ticks and how they transmit disease. The novel, host-free technology reduces the need for animal experiments in tick studies, facilitating more ethical, reproducible research. Ticks are among the most significant carriers of infectious disease worldwide, transmitting a wide range of viruses, bacteria and protozoa to animals and humans. Global changes in climate, land-use and trade ...

In a study published in Journal of the American Chemical Society, a research team led by Prof. JIANG Ling and Prof. LI Gang from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed that only three water molecules can separate Ba and OH in neutral BaOH(H2O)n (n = 1−5) clusters, and uncovered the microscopic mechanism of alkali dissolution exemplified by hydrated BaOH clusters. The dissolution of alkali species in water plays a crucial role in areas such as energy storage and pharmaceuticals. It is unclear how water molecules initiate the dissociation of alkali due to the difficulty in probing hydrogen bonding, proton transfer, and electrostatic ...

Methionine restriction (MR) has shown significant promise in cancer therapy because it targets the unique methionine dependency of many tumors. However, despite extensive research on MR, a clear synthesis of preclinical findings and their translation into clinical settings is lacking. This review aims to address this gap by consolidating existing evidence, identifying challenges, and highlighting opportunities for advancing MR as a viable cancer treatment strategy. Preclinical studies have revealed that MR effectively hinders cancer cell proliferation, triggers cell cycle arrest, and enhances the effectiveness of standard treatments, including chemotherapy ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A White House briefing in September 2025 that raised concerns about acetaminophen use during pregnancy and promoted the drug leucovorin as a potential autism treatment was followed by sharp changes in how doctors prescribed those medications nationwide, according to a new study. The study shows that after the Sept. 22, 2025, briefing, acetaminophen orders for pregnant women in emergency rooms fell markedly while prescriptions for leucovorin for children dramatically increased. The study was authored ...

Specialist palliative care has the potential to reduce costs by up to £8,000 per person and improve quality of life. The new study, published by researchers at King’s College London in the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Palliative and end of life care, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull and University of Leeds, considered two modes of care: for those living at home and for those in acute hospital settings. As well as significantly reducing overall cost of care per person, specialist palliative care delivered at ...