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Environment29 Oct 2025

Global call to “Help the Kelp” with US $14 billion conservation target

[EMBARGOED|00:01 31/10/2025] An international team is calling for a US $14 billion investment to protect and restore one of the planet’s most valuable and overlooked marine ecosystems, kelp forests. Published by UNSW researchers and the Kelp Forest Alliance, the research establishes a clear financial benchmark for global kelp conservation. The funding is needed to achieve the Kelp Forest Challenge, a global mission to protect three million hectares and restore one million hectares of kelp forests by 2040. Kelp forests fringe nearly a third ...

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Technology29 Oct 2025

Artificial tongue uses milk to determine heat level in spicy foods

The appearance of a hot sauce or pepper doesn’t reveal whether it’s mild or likely to scorch someone’s taste buds. So, researchers made an artificial tongue to quickly detect spiciness. Inspired by milk’s casein proteins, which bind to capsaicin and relieve the burn of spicy foods, the researchers incorporated milk powder into a gel sensor. The prototype, reported in ACS Sensors, detected capsaicin and pungent-flavored compounds (like those behind garlic’s zing) in various ...

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Technology29 Oct 2025

IU Kelley Futurecast: AI and energy infrastructure may buoy US economy in 2026

INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. economy is expected to see continued growth, although at a lower level than in recent years at 1.8%. But it could be buoyed by continued investments in artificial intelligence and the corresponding energy infrastructure supplying it, according to an economic forecast from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. “Investment in AI will likely be the dominant economic story of 2026,” said Kyle Anderson, clinical assistant professor of business economics, faculty char of the Evening MBA Program and assistant dean for academic programs at Kelley Indianapolis. “While investment ...

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Environment29 Oct 2025

The biggest threats to maintaining fat bike trails: climate change and volunteer burnout

Outdoor recreation voluntary associations (ORVAs) play a crucial role in creating, maintaining and managing trail systems across North America. New research conducted by researchers from the University of Eastern Finland (Finland) and Lakehead University (Canada) highlights how climate disruption and volunteer burnout threaten the long-term sustainability of winter trail-based recreation, particularly fat biking. Fat bikes are off-road bicycles with extra-wide tyres built for soft terrain like snow and sand. Fat biking lets riders enjoy trails year-round and is fast becoming a popular ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

AI models for drug design fail in physics

Proteins play a key role not only in the body, but also in medicine: they either serve as active ingredients, such as enzymes or antibodies, or they are target structures for drugs. The first step in developing new therapies is therefore usually to decipher the three-dimensional structure of proteins. For a long time, elucidating protein structures was a highly complex endeavor, until machine learning found its way into protein research. AI models with names such as AlphaFold or RosettaFold have ushered in a new era: they calculate ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Practice pattern of aerosol drug therapy in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients: An aero-in-ICU study

A new review led by Associate Professor Sanjay Singhal from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences sheds light on the prevalence and practice patterns of ADT in patients with ARDS. The study was made available online on 05 July 2025 and was published in the Journal of Intensive Medicine. Aerosol therapy is frequently used in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. Previously published studies have shown that most of these patients do not have chronic respiratory disease, and aerosol drug therapy (ADT) is still used. In general, the use of bronchodilators ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

GLIS model as a predictor of outcomes in older adults with heart failure

With populations aging rapidly worldwide, heart failure has become one of the most pressing medical and social challenges. Older patients face not only a high mortality risk but also losses in muscle strength, mobility, and independence. Clinicians frequently see people who, despite optimal cardiac care, still struggle with frailty and declining physical performance. Until now, different groups have proposed their own criteria: the AWGS criteria developed mainly by Asian experts, the EWGSOP criteria from Europe, and the SDOC statement from the United States. As a result, three different definitions and diagnostic methods have ...

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Technology29 Oct 2025

Molecules in motion: pioneering the era of supramolecular robotics

From cells that migrate to tissues that heal, nature abounds with systems capable of sensing and adapting to their surroundings. Replicating this level of adaptability in synthetic systems has remained a grand challenge in chemistry and materials science. Most artificial materials, though inspired by biology, still react to only one stimulus and lack the integrated responsiveness that characterizes living matter. A new study published online on August 7, 2025, in Volume 6, Issue 9 of the journal Accounts ...

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Science29 Oct 2025

Faster and more reliable crystal structure prediction of organic molecules

Prediction of crystal structures of organic molecules is a critical task in many industries, especially in pharmaceuticals and design of functional materials. In pharmaceuticals, crystal structures directly influence a drug’s solubility and stability. In functional materials, like organic semiconductors, controlling crystal structures is crucial for achieving desired electronic properties. However, crystal structure prediction (CSP) is an inherently challenging task due to the weak and diverse intra- and inter-molecular interactions unique to organic crystals. Even minor variations can result in entirely different packing arrangements. CSP is typically ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Thankful at work: A two-week gratitude journal boosts employee engagement

Work engagement refers to a positive, fulfilling state of mind towards one’s work. It plays a key role in supporting both personal well-being and company success. However, ways to strengthen work engagement over the long term remain limited. A new study led by Professor Noriko Yamagishi from Ritsumeikan University, in collaboration with Dr. Norberto Eiji Nawa from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and Mr. Shota Isomura from NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting, Inc., suggests that a simple practice, namely gratitude journaling, can make a meaningful difference. Published in BMC Psychology on October 6, 2025, the study invited 100 ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Fibroblasts: Hidden drivers of heart failure progression

Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, affecting millions of people and placing an enormous burden on healthcare systems. The disease occurs when the heart can no longer pump blood efficiently, leaving patients short of breath, fatigued, and at risk of life-threatening complications. For decades, scientists have focused on studying cardiomyocytes—the heart’s muscle cells responsible for pumping blood—believing that these were the key drivers of the disease. But new research challenges this long-standing view by showing that another, often-overlooked group of cells ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

IOCB Prague unveils a fundamentally faster, more affordable way to produce quantum nanodiamonds

An international team of scientists from three continents led by Dr. Petr Cígler of IOCB Prague has developed a method for creating light-emitting quantum centers in nanodiamonds in only a matter of minutes. In just one week, the process can yield as much material as conventional methods would produce in more than forty years. Moreover, the resulting nanodiamonds show improved optical and quantum properties. The breakthrough brings us one step closer to the industrial production of higher-quality and more affordable quantum nanodiamonds, ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Artificial intelligence takes the lead in revolutionizing cancer research explored at NFCR’s 2025 Global Summit and Award Ceremonies for Cancer Research and Entrepreneurship.

The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) hosted its 2025 Global Summit and Award Ceremonies for Cancer Research & Entrepreneurship on October 24 at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C., gathering many of the most forward-thinking minds in oncology, cancer research, technology, patient care, and biomedical innovation. This year’s summit centered on a defining theme: how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the entire ecosystem of cancer research and patient care, from laboratory discovery to bedside decision-making. The Next Frontier: AI’s Expanding Role in Cancer Research The ...

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Science29 Oct 2025

Switching memories on and off with epigenetics

Our experiences leave traces in the brain, stored in small groups of cells called “engrams”. Engrams are thought to hold the information of a memory and are reactivated when we remember, which makes them very interesting to research on memory and age- or trauma-related memory loss. At the same time, scientists know that the biology of learning is accompanied by epigenetic changes, which refers to the ways the cell regulates genes by adding chemical "post-it notes" on DNA. But the question of whether the epigenetic state of a single gene in turn can cause a memory ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

This is your brain without sleep

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Nearly everyone has experienced it: After a night of poor sleep, you don’t feel as alert as you should. Your brain might seem foggy, and your mind drifts off when you should be paying attention. A new study from MIT reveals what happens inside the brain as these momentary failures of attention occur. The scientists found that during these lapses, a wave of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flows out of the brain — a process that typically occurs during sleep and helps to wash away waste products that have built up during the ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

3D DNA looping discovery in rice paves the way for higher yields with less fertilizer

A team of Chinese scientists has uncovered a hidden 3D structure in rice DNA that allows the crop to grow more grain while using less nitrogen fertilizer. The finding, published in Nature Genetics by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Oct. 29, could guide the next "green revolution" toward higher yields and more sustainable farming. The study reveals that a looping section of DNA—a "chromatin loop"—controls the activity of a gene called RCN2, which governs how rice plants form ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Four subgroups of PCOS open up for individualized treatment

Four distinct subgroups of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been identified in an international study published in Nature Medicine by researchers from Karolinska Institutet, among others. The results open up for more tailored treatments for the millions of women living with the disease worldwide. PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that affects the function of the ovaries and affects approximately 11 to 13 percent of women of childbearing age. In the current study, the researchers analyzed clinical data from over 11,900 affected women over a period of 6.5 years. The results were confirmed in five international cohorts from Asia, Europe, and ...

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Technology29 Oct 2025

Perovskites reveal ultrafast quantum light in new study

Halide perovskites – already a focus of major research into efficient, low-cost solar cells – have been shown to handle light faster than most semiconductors on the market. The paper, published in Nature Nanotechnology, reports quantum transients on the scale of ~2 picoseconds at low temperature in bulk formamidinium lead iodide films grown by scalable solution or vapour methods. That ultrafast timescale indicates use in very fast light sources and other photonic components. Crucially, these effects appear in films made by scalable processing rather than specialised growth in lab-settings – suggesting a practical and affordable ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

New clues on how physical forces spread in neurons

How do embryos develop? Why does the cortex of the mammalian brain fold? How do we feel touch at our fingertips? These and other fundamental biological questions remain unsolved. Yet, scientists know they all rely on a common principle: the conversion of a physical stimulus into a biochemical signal. The field of mechanobiology has recently gained new insights into which physical signals travel across cells and how far they spread. One key finding is that the rheological properties of the cell membrane (how it deforms and flows under stress) play a key role ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Heart ‘blueprint’ reveals origins of defects and insights into fetal development

New research in Sweden has produced a “blueprint” revealing how the human heart is built during prenatal development. It offers insights that could lead to improved prenatal care and new treatments for heart defects, such as holes between heart chambers or deformities of the heart valves. Publishing in Nature Genetics, a research team led by the department of Gene Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology published a detailed map of the developing human heart, showing how different groups of cells are arranged and how ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Some acute and chronic viral infections may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease

Research Highlights: A review of 155 scientific studies found influenza and COVID infections raised the risk of heart attack or stroke as much as three-to five-fold in the weeks following the initial infection. Viruses that linger in the body, such as HIV, hepatitis C and varicella zoster virus (the virus that causes shingles), can lead to long-term elevations in the risk of cardiovascular events. The study researchers say preventive measures, including vaccination, may play an important role in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially in people who already have heart disease or heart disease risk factors. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

Flavanols in cocoa can protect blood vessel function following uninterrupted sitting - study

New research from the University of Birmingham shows that eating flavanol-rich foods—like tea, berries, apples, and cocoa—can protect vascular health in men from the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. Sedentary behaviour is prevalent in modern societies; it is estimated that young adults sit for approximately six hours a day, but sitting for long periods induces declines in vascular function. Previous studies have shown that a 1% reduction in vascular function, as measured by brachial Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), which measures the elasticity of the arteries, leads to a 13% increased risk of cardiovascular ...

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Medicine29 Oct 2025

$100 Million gift will advance UCSF’s dementia research and care

UC San Francisco today announced a $100 million gift to its renowned Memory and Aging Center (MAC). It is the first gift to name a UCSF division, which will now be the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. “We applaud the Edward Fein Charitable Trust for their visionary support of the Fein MAC; this will accelerate the pace of research, education, and care for people with dementia,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “There is a growing recognition that neurodegenerative diseases ...

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Social Science29 Oct 2025

The 4th Japan-India Universities Forum on 15 November

The year 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the formalisation of the India-Japan Science and Technology Cooperation and has been designated as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology and Innovation Exchange. This celebratory year is expected to promote mutually complementary cooperations that maximise both countries’ strengths in the fields of advanced technology and innovation, while accelerating the co-creation of new value. To sustain and accelerate the momentum of Japan-India collaborations cultivated by past forums, the 4th Forum will explore ways to further strengthen cooperative initiatives in ...

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Environment29 Oct 2025

Arctic town Kiruna is colder after the move

When mining forced Kiruna to relocate, the city planners took the opportunity to modernise. But with a large square, city streets and tall buildings located in a depression, residents have already begun to complain about the “new” city, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg. Kiruna has become colder. What is important to consider when building a city in an Arctic climate? Building in a location with elongated hours of sunshine and protected from cold winds when placing buildings and streets. These principles have given way to other considerations, it seems, when designing the new ...

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