Our environment is changing rapidly, largely as a result of human activities, leading to a significant decline in biodiversity. According to researchers from the University of Victoria and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, this decline does not only affect animal life, but also our understanding of their behavior, including tool use. "Cultural behaviors range from the songs of whales to the tool use of primates," says Ammie Kalan of the University of Victoria. "These adaptations to environmental change not only benefit the animals, but also provide important insights into the origins of behavior and learning across species. However, shrinking ...

GPS tech may empower older adults to be more adventurous on the road, according to a study published April 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health by Sol Morrissey from the University of East Anglia and colleagues. Driving is older adults’ preferred transportation method, but age-related cognitive decline can limit time spent behind the wheel. Empowering older adults to be more mobile drivers (that is, driving more frequently and for longer distances) is critical to boosting physical, social and cognitive wellness. Electronic navigation systems ...

Antibiotic resistance tends to stabilize over time, according to a study published April 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Sonja Lehtinen from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues.  Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern, contributing to an estimated 5 million deaths per year. Understanding long-term resistance patterns could help public health researchers to monitor and characterize drug resistance as well as inform the impact of interventions on resistance. In this study, researchers analyzed drug resistance in more than 3 million bacterial samples collected across ...

Insects are the dominant form of animal life on our planet, providing humans and wildlife with pollination, food, and recycling services but, despite concerns about population declines, little is known about how 99% of species globally are faring. A new approach is needed to better monitor species and protect them from the impacts of climate and land use change, pollution and invasive non-native species as soon as possible, according to a study led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and ZSL (Zoological Society of London). The researchers, whose work has been ...

New York, NY [April 3, 2025]— A powerful new software platform called the Playbook Workflow Builder is set to transform biomedical research by allowing scientists to conduct complex and customized data analyses without advanced programming skills. An article that describes the new platform was published in the April 3 online issue of the journal PLOS Computational Biology. Developed by a multi-institutional team that was led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigators as part of the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Data ...

Ultrasound is one of the most widely used imaging techniques in medicine, but up until recently it hardly played a role in imaging the tiniest structures of our bodies such as cells. “Clinical ultrasound, like the kind used for pregnancy scans, creates real-time images of body parts”, first author Baptiste Heiles explains. “It allows diagnosis of various diseases, or to monitor a developing baby. However, what is going on at a microscopic level remains hidden.” Imaging living cells in 3D Now, a team of scientists from TU Delft, the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Caltech managed to image specifically ...

PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2025 – Today, the American College of Physicians (ACP) announced that it has awarded a total of $260,000 in grants to support regional programs that address equity challenges in obesity care. Thirteen grantees were each awarded $20,000 to implement collaborative regional outreach projects.    Through “Advancing Equitable Obesity Care through Regional Action Grants,” ACP aims to inspire local collaboration models across the country to train and empower medical professionals to partner with patients to combat misinformation and heighten clinical capacity to manage care for people with obesity. The program capitalizes ...

The European Catfish is the largest freshwater fish in Europe, reaching up to 2.8 meters in length and 130 kg in weight. It was first detected in Portugal in 2014. As a top predator, it has no natural enemies and exhibits high fecundity, with females capable of producing up to half a million oocytes (unfertilized eggs). “This is not new information, as this invasive species reaches large sizes, and there is a direct relationship between abdominal cavity volume and the total number of oocytes produced,” said Christos Gkenas, a researcher at MARE-ULisboa and the study’s lead author. ...

CHICAGO – The 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research will be presented to Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, Fellow of the AACR Academy, during the AACR Annual Meeting 2025, to be held April 25-30 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. Jain is the director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) at Harvard ...

The same dirt that clings to astronauts’ boots may one day keep their lights on. In a study publishing April 3 in the Cell Press journal Device, researchers created solar cells made out of simulated Moon dust. The cells convert sunlight into energy efficiently, withstand radiation damage, and mitigate the need for transporting heavy materials into space, offering a potential solution to one of space exploration's biggest challenges: reliable energy sources. “The solar cells used in space now ...

About The Study: More than 1 million noncitizen immigrants (one-third of them undocumented) work in health care in the U.S. Their ranks include skilled personnel who would be difficult to replace, especially if legal immigration is further restricted. Many health care workers may be removed if President Trump implements plans to deport undocumented immigrants and those losing temporary protected status (e.g., from Haiti and Venezuela). Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Lenore S. Azaroff, MD, ScD, email Lenore_Azaroff@yahoo.com. To ...

About The Study: The findings of this qualitative study of emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians suggest that migration has a complex, multidimensional influence on EMS clinicians in the border region. Deterrence-focused actions have not decreased the number of crossings but rather pushed migrants to cross in more dangerous ways, leading to more injuries and deaths. The findings suggest that the strain placed on local EMS clinicians is unsustainable and may be exacerbated by increased deterrence-based policies. Instead, border-region EMS clinicians need increased federal funding to support their work. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

About The Study: In this survey study, most resident physicians reported either being in a union or supporting unionization at their institution, citing pay and financial security as critical factors in their consideration of unionization. Future research should investigate other factors and whether unionization achieves its goals of increased pay and benefits, work hours, and well-being. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Laura K. Barger, PhD, email lkbarger@hms.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media ...

In 2022, the American Cancer Society (ACS) updated its nutrition and activity guidelines for cancer survivors, recommending they avoid obesity, stay physically active, eat a healthy diet, and limit alcohol intake. New research by ACS scientists shows a lifestyle aligned with these guidelines is associated with a lower mortality risk among non-smoking survivors of obesity-related cancers in the United States. Survivors who maintained a healthy lifestyle both before and after their diagnosis — or those who improved their habits after diagnosis — also had a lower mortality risk. The study is out today in the Journal of the National ...

Age-related brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, and late-life depression are a debilitating part of growing older, but people can lower their risk of these diseases through behavioral and lifestyle changes. In a new extensive systematic review, Mass General Brigham researchers identified 17 modifiable risk factors that are shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. Modifying any one of them can reduce your risk of all three conditions. The findings, which provide evidence to inform novel tools, such as the Brain Care Score, are ...

April 3, 2025, ONTARIO – The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) has announced its support for five Ontario research teams working to develop the next generation of medicines that kill tumours more effectively, cause fewer side effects and reduce the risk that cancer will come back. The projects will be funded as part of OICR’s Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) awards, which provides research teams with up to $300,000 over two years to help advance promising drug discovery research so that new cancer drugs can more quickly and safely reach patients. “Ontario ...

‘Vast majority’ of direct air capture research through air’s moisture swings relies on engineered ion exchange resins to sequester CO2 Other previously untested materials with dual functions like aluminum oxide and activated carbon would reduce associated energy and cost Cheap, scalable carbon capture will be critical to reducing worldwide carbon footprint EVANSTON, Ill. --- Researchers at Northwestern University have expanded the potential of carbon capture technology that plucks CO2 directly from the air by demonstrating that there are multiple ...

Photos and b-roll package available for download here. LOS ANGELES — USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, has opened Keck Medicine of USC – Newport Beach Radiation Oncology and Imaging, a state-of-the-art radiation oncology and imaging center, at 4590 MacArthur Blvd. in Newport Beach.   The 12,500 square-foot clinical space houses new-to-market imaging and radiation therapy technology in a serene, beach-inspired space designed to help patients feel at ease.   “Our new radiation oncology and imaging center demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing Orange County with world-class care,” said Rod ...

New York City, New York (April 3, 2025) – The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York (CZ Biohub NY) today announced nine new investigators to its growing roster of talented researchers. Joining from Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University, the eight projects will focus on the Biohub’s mission to harness and bioengineer immune cells for the early detection, prevention, and treatment of a broad spectrum of age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and aggressive cancers. The funded projects support a variety of innovative strategies, including leveraging synthetic biology to address the limitations of current ...

New research in Social Psychological and Personality Science shows that White Americans living in counties with higher Black poverty rates are more likely to believe racial equality of opportunity exists, while attributing racial disparities to lack of effort.  Led by Dr. Nicolas Sommet, the research included three studies with over 17,000 participants across hundreds of U.S. counties, using both observational and experimental methods to examine how exposure to racial inequality shapes beliefs about its causes.  "Our findings highlight how the environment we live in shapes how we understand racial inequality," explains ...

A massive wave of solar wind that squished Jupiter’s protective bubble has been detected for the first time.  Scientists at the University of Reading have discovered a solar wind event from 2017 that hit Jupiter and compressed its magnetosphere – a protective bubble created by a planet's magnetic field. This created a hot region spanning half Jupiter's circumference and exhibiting temperatures exceeding 500°C – significantly higher than the typical 350°C atmospheric background temperature.  A new study published today (Thursday, 3 April) in Geophysical Research Letters, describes for the first time a solar burst that scientists now believe hits ...

There are over six million Americans with heart failure who are at greater risk of losing their cognitive abilities earlier in life, a study suggests. The research team, led by Michigan Medicine, examined the cognitive abilities of nearly 30,000 adults over time, comparing those who did and did not develop heart failure. The researchers found heart failure is associated with a significant decrease in cognition at the time of diagnosis. Global cognition and executive functioning also declined more rapidly over the years after heart failure diagnosis, as people with the condition mentally aged the equivalent ...

The ways in which CEOs learn, apply what they have learned, and make decisions are significant to the innovating capabilities of SMEs, states Jutta Mäkipelkola in her doctoral dissertation at the University of Vaasa, Finland. Her research reveals how the skills of CEOs shape the capabilities of SMEs – and what kind of organisational culture drives innovation. The importance of capabilities that enhance the innovativeness and renewal of companies has become more apparent during uncertain ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – A new method to recycle wind turbine blades without using harsh chemicals resulted in the recovery of high-strength glass fibers and resins that allowed Washington State University researchers to re-purpose the materials to create stronger plastics. The innovation provides a simple and environmentally friendly way to recycle wind turbine blades to create useful products. Reporting in the journal, Resource, Conservation, and Recycling, the team of researchers cut the lightweight material that is commonly used in wind turbine blades, called glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP), into approximately two ...

Milan, Italy – 3 April 2025. Low neighbourhood walkability is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to research presented today at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2025,1 a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).  The health benefits of physical activity are well established and yet more than a quarter of adults do not meet the recommended guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week.2 “Neighbourhoods designed ...