The long-standing mystery around why spider webs sometimes feature “extra touches” known as stabilimenta has been revisited in a new study which suggests that their wave-propagation effects could help spiders locate captured prey. Gabriele Greco of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on October 29, 2025. Many spider species build spiral wheel-shaped webs—orb webs—to capture flying prey, and many can incorporate stabilimenta into the web structure. These “decorations” may ...

Tombs scattered across China, built between the 4,000-year old Xia Dynasty and the modern era, reflect the political and social patterns of Chinese history, according to a study published October 29, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Quanbao Ma from the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China, and colleagues. The research team mapped the location of ancient tombs in China to search for patterns in their distribution across the country and throughout history. They found that both socioeconomic factors and geography may have influenced ...

1 in 3 university students surveyed from a Parisian suburb report being unable to access desired food, with this food insecurity associated with academic dropout Article URL: http://plos.io/4oiDEbt Article title: Correlates of food insecurity among university students in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area of the Paris suburbs: A cross-sectional study Author countries: France Funding: HD : doctoral scolarship from Université Sorbonne Paris Nord https://www.univ-spn.fr/ The University administration conducted the data collection. The funders had no role in study design, data analysis, ...

A research team from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) has made progress in studying the Shibantan Biota in Yichang, Hubei Province, uncovering the oldest known complex three-dimensional burrow systems to date. Preserved in approximately 550-million-year-old strata, these trace fossils show that complex animal behaviors were modifying the seafloor environment nearly 10 million years earlier than previously thought. The Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, around 539 million years ago, marks ...

Chiral molecules, which have a helical structure, are known to interact with magnets in a phenomenon known as chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS). For instance, when a chiral molecule is connected to a magnet and an electric current is applied, magnetoresistance effects can be observed. It has also been reported that magnets can be used to separate right-handed and left-handed chiral molecules. The prevailing explanation is that the flow of current through a chiral molecule induces magnetic ...

Scientists at TU Delft, The Netherlands, have developed a new algorithm that allows multiple autonomous drones to work together to control and transport heavy payloads, even in windy conditions. Ideal for reaching and maintaining hard-to-reach infrastructure, like offshore wind turbines. With often harsh weather, limited payload capacity and unpredictable contact with the environment, it is difficult for current drones to operate safely and effectively. The results have been published in Science Robotics. “A single drone can only carry a very limited load,” explains Sihao Sun, robotics researcher at TU Delft. “This ...

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is a cardiac disorder in which the chambers of the heart beat rapidly and irregularly. It’s the most common type of arrhythmia and the leading cardiac cause of stroke.  While several treatments—ranging from medication to surgery—exist, the search continues for improved options to address AFib, which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) forecasts will affect up to 12 million people in the U.S. by 2050.  One emerging strategy includes electrical stimulation, known as neurostimulation, which researchers believe could potentially suppress, treat, or even reverse ...

If current extinction trends continue, global shark populations will lose much of their variety, thereby threatening ecosystems where specialized species serve vital roles, researchers have found. In prowling Earth’s oceans for more than 400 million years, sharks have evolved into a delightfully diverse group. As popularly conveyed through children’s books, the famous fish range in size from palm-sized dwarf lanternsharks to school-bus-length whale sharks. Great whites, hammerheads, and many others serve key ecological roles as apex predators at the top of the food chain. According to previous research, one-third ...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a major unmet medical challenge, often resulting in permanent paralysis and disability with no effective treatments. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have harnessed bioinformatics to fast-track the discovery of a promising new drug for SCI. The results will also make it easier for researchers around the world to translate their discoveries into treatments. One of the reasons SCI results in permanent disability is that the neurons that form our brain and spinal cord cannot effectively regenerate. Encouraging neurons to regenerate with drugs offers a promising ...

Amidation reactions are the most common reactions in the chemical industry. They are indispensable for a wide range of industrial production processes, but their ecological footprint is highly problematic. They generate large amounts of toxic waste and are energy-intensive. A team led by Dr Tobias Schnitzer, research group leader at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Freiburg, is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop innovative, boronic acid-catalysed amidation reactions that do not ...

A new interactive web application allows for a tangible understanding of abstract concepts of quantum game theory. The Kobe University development parallels the emergent dialogue found in jazz and improvisational music and aims for a scientific exploration of creativity. For many of us, quantum mechanics, game theory and jazz are difficult concepts by themselves, and it is hard to imagine how they would combine. But Kobe University quantum engineer SOUMA Satofumi posits that not only can they fruitfully interact, but their combination also provides new avenues to understanding each of them. Through creating the world’s first browser-based interactive ...

About The Study: Over 11,000 physicians were sponsored for H-1B visas in fiscal year 2024, representing 1% of the U.S. physician workforce. H-1B–sponsored advanced practice providers (physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives), dentists, and other health care workers (podiatrists, chiropractors, and optometrists) accounted for a smaller share. The percentage of H-1B–sponsored physicians was nearly 2 times higher in rural compared with urban counties and nearly 4 times higher in the highest- vs lowest-poverty counties. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rishi K. Wadhera, ...

Investigators at Mass General Brigham and the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have found that international doctors sponsored by H1-B visas in 2024 comprised nearly 1% of the entire physician workforce in the United States, with substantial variation in different counties’ reliance on H-1B-sponsored physicians and other healthcare professionals. The research, published in JAMA, comes out just weeks after a presidential proclamation that substantially increased employers’ fees for H1-B visa applications. “Our ...

SEATTLE, WASH. — October 29, 2025 — As flu season approaches and public health officials roll out their annual push for vaccination, Allen Institute scientists are learning why vaccines can trigger a weaker response in older adults, around age 65, and what can be done to improve them. These insights open the door to designing more effective vaccines. In the largest study of its kind, published in Nature, scientists discovered that our T cells—key players in coordinating immune responses—undergo profound and specific changes as we age. These changes, far from ...

The human body relies on precise genetic instructions to function, and cancer begins when these instructions get scrambled. When cells accumulate genetic errors over time, they can break free of the normal controls on their growth and divide excessively. Chromosomal abnormalities – numerical and structural defects in chromosomes – are a common first step in this process, often contributing to normal cells turning cancerous.  A new AI tool developed by researchers in the Korbel Group at EMBL Heidelberg now offers a powerful method to gain deep insights ...

Ribosomes are the cell's protein factories, which read the genetic code and assemble the proteins that every organism needs to live. But as far as how ribosomes themselves were formed, tantalizingly little was known.   Now, scientists have captured a key part of this process, in motion. The findings, published in Nature, combine artificial intelligence, cryo-electron microscopy, and genetics to reveal, in unprecedented detail, how cells coordinate, regulate, and safeguard the creation of the small ribosomal subunit—a machine central to forming every protein.  "We finally have a molecular movie of ribosome formation—we've ...

The pangenome is central to our understanding of cultivated plants such as oats, as it maps their entire genetic diversity. It encompasses not only genes that occur in all plants, but also those that are only present in certain species, serving as a kind of map. In turn, the pantranscriptome shows which genes are active in different tissues, such as leaves, roots and seeds, and at different stages of development. It serves as a gene expression atlas. However, understanding how genetic differences influence individual plant traits is challenging, particularly in the case of oats. The oat genome ...

As information zings from cell to cell inside the brain, bursts of electricity spur its transmission. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), scientists have turned their attention to the tiny pores that let charged ions enter a cell—and the molecular gatekeepers that help control them. CSHL structural biologist Hiro Furukawa studies NMDA receptors (NMDARs). These ion channels open in response to chemical signals from neurons or drugs. The channels must be carefully regulated. When they open too wide or stay shut ...

After vocal cord surgery, many patients develop stiff vocal folds that impact their ability to speak. Hydrogels can help prevent this by promoting healing, but delivering hydrogels to the vocal cords is difficult. Publishing October 29 in the Cell Press journal Device, a team of biomechanical engineers and surgeons have developed a 3D-printing soft robot that can accurately deliver hydrogels to the vocal cord surgical site to reconstruct tissues removed during surgery. The robot’s printhead is only 2.7 mm in size—the smallest bioprinter reported to date.   “Our device is designed not only for accuracy and printing ...

A newly identified genetic marker may significantly improve the ability to predict life-threatening reactions to the gout medication allopurinol in U.S. patients. While the gene HLA-B*58:01 has long been used to screen patients in Southeast Asia — where it accounts for nearly all cases of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) — it misses more than one-third of patients at risk in the U.S. and up to 45% of Black individuals who would be at risk of severe reactions if prescribed. Now, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have discovered ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of patients infected with COVID-19, patients with serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or recurrent major depressive disorder) compared with those without serious mental illness were at increased risk of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), underscoring the need for coordinated mental health and COVID-19 care strategies. PASC is defined as ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects occurring after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection (i.e., that present 4 weeks or more after the acute infection).  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jyotishman ...

Scientists have identified hundreds of genes that may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease but the roles these genes play in the brain are poorly understood. This lack of understanding poses a barrier to developing new therapies, but in a recent study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital offer new insights into how Alzheimer’s disease risk genes affect the brain. “We studied fruit fly versions of 100 human Alzheimer’s disease risk genes,” said first author Dr. Jennifer Deger, ...

University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies announced a new white paper, “Autonomy and Competitive Edge: Mentorship as a Solution,” by Louise Underdahl, Ph.D., doctoral instructor and a research fellow with the University’s Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research (CEITR), exploring how structured mentoring programs can help organizations address a growing crisis of worker autonomy, reduce burnout and improve retention.   Drawing on findings from the University of Phoenix Career Optimism Index® study and ...

A comprehensive new report published in the journal BioScience reveals that Earth's climate crisis is accelerating at an alarming rate, with 22 of 34 planetary vital signs now at record levels. The study, co-led by Dr. William J. Ripple of Oregon State University and Dr. Christopher Wolf of Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates, presents stark evidence that Earth is approaching climate chaos. The vital signs tracked in the report represent key indicators of human activities and their associated climate responses, including energy consumption, greenhouse ...

22 of the planet’s 34 vital signs are at record levels, with many of them continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction. This is the message of the sixth issue of the annual “State of the climate” report. The report was prepared by an international coalition with contribution from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and led by Oregon State University scientists. Published today in BioScience, it cites global data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in proposing “high-impact” strategies. “The last few years have seen vital signs breaking their records by extraordinary margins, like surface ...