Language learners often assume that using rare, complex vocabulary will make their speech sound more fluent. Research suggests that there is a close relationship between formulaic expression usage in speech and acoustic features of oral fluency. This implies that using formulaic expressions leads to faster articulation speed and fewer disruptions during speech. However, in terms of how listeners perceive speakers’ fluency, the role of formulaic expressions has been unclear. To investigate this, Ph.D. student, Kotaro Takizawa and Research Assistant Professor Shungo Suzuki from Waseda University, Japan, analyzed speech from 102 Japanese speakers ...

Directive 2010/63/EU laid down restrictions on animal testing for the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients throughout the EU. Therefore, there is an intense search for alternatives to test the absorption and toxicity of nanoparticles from cosmetics such as sun creams. A team of researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in India is working on the development of skin imitations that mimic the native three-layer tissue structure and biomechanics of human skin. Such imitations can be produced ...

The first-of-its-kind in-depth bacterial evolutionary map could pave the way for the development of precision treatments for certain antibiotic-resistant infections, such as urinary tract infections. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and their collaborators, have developed a new way of using large-scale long-read sequencing data to investigate circular genetic structures called plasmids in the most commonly studied microbe, Escherichia coli (E. coli). Through this, the team were able to track the flow ...

(Philadelphia, PA) – Neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s involve progressive neuronal loss due to disease-induced damage. An enzyme known as dual leucine-zipper kinase (DLK) plays a key role in this process, telling neurons that are damaged or unhealthy when they should cut their losses and self-destruct. Hence, sparing neurons from DLK is an attractive therapeutic strategy that could slow disease progression. Past attempts to inhibit DLK’s action in human patients, however, led to unexpected side effects affecting the nervous system, suggesting that DLK ...

A switch of just two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western diet causes inflammation, reduces the immune response to pathogens, and activates processes associated with lifestyle diseases. Conversely, an African diet rich in vegetables, fiber, and fermented foods has positive effects. This study, published in Nature Medicine, highlights the significant impact of diet on the immune system and metabolism. Lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic inflammatory conditions are surging across Africa, posing a growing challenge to healthcare systems throughout the continent. Increasing economic ...

By Shawn Ballard Imagine a world where industrial waste isn’t just reduced, it’s turned into something useful. This kind of circular economy is already in the works for carbon. Now, researchers in energy, environmental & chemical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a promising pathway to convert harmful nitric oxide, a key component of acid rain, into valuable nitric acid, which is used in everyday applications from fertilizer production to metal processing. Feng Jiao, the Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering at WashU, and collaborators developed a method ...

For patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a common genetic disorder that ravages the waste-removing organ with cysts, dialysis and transplantation are among the only treatments. More than 12.4 million people worldwide suffer from the dominant form of the condition. Now, Rutgers University geneticists have uncovered fresh details of how the disease progresses – findings that could open the door to new therapies. In a study published in Nature Communications, Inna Nikonorova, a research assistant professor in the Department of Genetics within the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, reports on a novel way to identify and track material carried ...

A new study, published today in Nature Chemistry by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University, shows how common gut bacteria can metabolize certain oral medications that target cellular receptors called GPCRs, potentially rendering these important drugs less effective. Drugs that act on GPCRs, or G protein-coupled receptors, include more than 400 medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of many common conditions such as migraines, depression, type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer and more. “Understanding how GPCR-targeted drugs interact with human gut microbiota is critical for advancing ...

Birmingham scientists have shown that a sequence of just three amino acids may reduce the severity of psoriasis, when applied topically in an emollient cream.   The researchers, whose study is published in Pharmacological Research, identified the smallest part of a peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM, which occurs naturally in the body and regulates inflammation.   The study also showed that both PEPITEM and the three amino acid (tripeptide) sequence delivered a significant reduction in the severity of psoriasis, that is comparable to a steroid cream.    Psoriasis ...

A new study has found that young vapers in the United States who begin using e-cigarettes after graduating from secondary/high school are likely to progress rapidly to frequent use. While US youths who start vaping during secondary/high school typically take about three years to progress to frequent use, this newly identified group of young adults who start vaping a bit later, after graduation (mean age = 20 years), tend to reach frequent use in about one year. ‘Frequent use’ is defined as using e-cigarettes on 20 or ...

Commonly called the “corpse flower,” Amorphophallus titanum is endangered for many reasons, including habitat destruction, climate change and encroachment from invasive species.  Now, plant biologists from Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden have added a new threat to the list: incomplete historical records. In a new study, scientists constructed the ancestry of corpse flowers living in collections at institutions and gardens around the world. They found a severe lack of consistent, standardized data. Without complete historical records, conservationists were unable to make informed decisions ...

AI has created a sea change in society; now, it is setting its sights on the sea itself. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a machine learning-powered fluid simulation model that significantly reduces computation time without compromising accuracy. Their fast and precise technique opens up potential applications in offshore power generation, ship design and real-time ocean monitoring. Accurately predicting fluid behavior is crucial for industries relying on wave and tidal energy, as well as for design of maritime structures and vessels. ...

Big appliances, like washing machines, ovens and refrigerators, are a major investment for many households. Consumers hope that these appliances will last for decades. More and more, however, people have the perception that these big-ticket items might not be lasting as long as they once did. But when Kamila Krych looked at actual trends in product lifetimes as a part of her PhD research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Industrial Ecology Programme, she found that wasn’t quite true. “Despite what people think, there is no evidence that product lifetimes are decreasing,” she said. “Many people think that products have been becoming ...

Organoids have revolutionized science and medicine, providing platforms for disease modeling, drug testing, and understanding developmental processes. While not exact replicas of human organs, they offer significant insights. The Siegert group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) presents a new organoid model that reveals details of the developing nervous system’s response to viral infections, such as Rubella. This model could influence pharmaceutical testing, particularly benefiting drug safety for pregnant ...

A new study has found that the world’s finest yodellers aren’t from Austria or Switzerland, but the rainforests of Latin America. Published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B and led by experts from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and the University of Vienna, the research provides significant new insights into the diverse vocal sounds of non-human primates, and reveals for the first time how certain calls are produced. Apes and monkeys possess special anatomical structures in their throats called vocal membranes, which disappeared from humans through evolution to allow for more stable speech. However, ...

Differences in the distribution of certain proteins and markers in the brain may explain why some people first experience vision changes instead of memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease, finds a new study by UCL researchers. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease that, rather than causing problems with memory, leads to difficulties with reading, navigating, and recognising objects. Studies suggest that one in 10 patients with Alzheimer’s disease have a form which is visual, rather than memory led. As well as presenting with unusual symptoms, ...

New research to be presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14 May) suggests that weight loss programmes targeting a particular % weight loss are often failing, and that other factors should be considered including improvement of obesity-related complications, enhancing quality of life and overall physical and social functioning. The research is by an international team including Dr Sanjeev Sockalingam, Obesity Canada and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues. Identifying the most appropriate targets for obesity management is crucial due to the complexity of obesity ...

By most accounts, confidence is a prerequisite for workplace success. What if it could be trained, even subtly rewired, using something as simple as a smartphone app? That’s the premise behind a first-of-its-kind study from the University of California, Riverside, where psychologists tested whether workers could reshape their self-image through a digital tool that reinforces positive beliefs. The findings, published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports, suggest they can—and that belief systems, often assumed to be deeply ...

New York City's automated speed cameras reduced traffic crashes by 14% and decreased speeding violations by 75% over time, according to research from NYU Tandon's C2SMARTER published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives that tracked more than 1,800 cameras across school zones from 2019 to 2021. With speeding contributing to approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities nationwide, these findings translate to potentially hundreds of lives saved in America's most densely populated city. The ...

If someone picks up a newspaper in China, there’s a good chance it contains some government propaganda masquerading as news, according to a new study co-led by a University of Oregon expert. Hannah Waight, an assistant professor of sociology at the UO, and her collaborators found that the use of state-planted propaganda is on the rise in China. And it’s not just a tool for spreading ideological content. It’s also used to control and constrain other kinds of information beyond political ideals, including natural disaster and public health ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Comparing wealth and survival rates in the U.S. with those in Europe, researchers found that over a 10-year period, Americans across all wealth levels were more likely to die than their European counterparts. The findings were detailed in a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine by a team led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health. The analysis compared data from more than 73,000 adults in the U.S. and different regions of Europe who were age 50 to 85 in 2010 to ...

At only two days old, Sophie was losing too much weight, and too quicky.   Further genetic testing would show that Sophie has one of a group of rare conditions called CODE (congenital diarrhea and enteropathies) that disrupts the function of cells in the intestine, causing diarrhea and preventing infants from absorbing the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. For Sophie’s parents, Samantha and Kyle, this meant a complete re-envisioning of the life they had expected as a family.   “Suddenly, our days were filled with medical treatments and frequent hospital visits, requiring us to adjust to being not ...

People living in Bronze Age-era Denmark may have been able to travel to Norway directly over the open sea, according to a study published April 2, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Boel Bengtsson from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues. To complete this study, the research team developed a new computer modeling tool that could help other scientists better understand how ancient peoples traversed the sea. The Bronze Age cultures of what are now northern Denmark and southwestern Norway are quite alike, with similar ...

Technology can improve on existing platforms’ sensitivity and speed by 20 times Microcantilevers coated in specific antibodies exhibited very high affinity for corresponding HIV antigens Platform could bring cost-effective HIV testing to remote settings where lab-based testing is impractical EVANSTON, Ill. --- A team of Northwestern University scientists spanning disciplines have developed new technology that could lead to the creation of a rapid point-of-care test for HIV infection competitive with traditional lab-based HIV ...

Nearly 16 million American adults have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but evidence suggests that more than 30 percent of them don’t respond well to stimulant medications like Ritalin and Adderall. A new clinical trial provides a surprising explanation for why this may be the case: There are individual differences in how our brains circuits are wired, including the chemical circuits responsible for memory and concentration, according to a new study co-led by the ...