Using information on alpine plant species, researchers investigated how the chemistry of flowers’ scent affects not only the diversity of insect pollinators but also the communities of bacteria living on the flowers. The study, which is published in New Phytologist, reveals that high floral scent chemodiversity—or the presence of a range of different chemical compounds—is associated with increased pollinator richness but reduced bacterial richness on flowers. The findings led the scientists ...

Because patient perceptions of radiation can influence their willingness to receive it as treatment, researchers recently examined how radiation therapy is represented in different forms of art. The analysis in the Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences found that overall, novels, poems, music, film, and paintings tend to depict radiation therapy as associated with fear, mystery, and fascination. The authors note that radiation therapy is widely perceived as having both lifesaving and life-threatening potential. As such, exploring how radiation therapy ...

Some users of popular fitness and calorie counting apps experience shame, disappointment and demotivation, potentially undermining their health and wellbeing, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) and Loughborough University. The study, published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, looked at 58,881 posts on Twitter (i.e., posted prior to the platform becoming X) relating to five popular fitness apps*. The research team used AI models to filter out 13,799 posts judged to contain negative sentiment and then to group these posts into broad themes or topics. They found users expressing ...

Scientists have long sought measurable signs in the body, called biomarkers, that reliably reveal our biological age or predict future health issues. Now, a new study in dogs—an ideal model for this research because they share our genetic diversity, diseases, and home environments—has uncovered molecular clues that could shed light on how aging unfolds in pets and people alike. For the study published October 22 in Aging Cell, scientists from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, University of Washington, and other institutions analyzed blood samples from a group of nearly 800 dogs enrolled ...

A new paper in Rheumatology, published by Oxford University Press, finds that retired UK male professional football players who reported foot or ankle injuries during their careers were more likely to develop osteoarthritis in retirement. Retired players treated routinely with cortisone injections for their injuries were even more likely to report osteoarthritis. Professional football is a high-speed contact sport with high risk of injury. Foot and ankle injuries are particularly common, with ankle sprains being the most regular ankle injury and metatarsal fractures the most frequent foot injury. These injuries occur more often during football matches than ...

Abstract The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, President: TOKUDA Hideyuki Ph.D.) and the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech, President: OBATA Makoto), collaborated with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have achieved the world’s first successful demonstration of next-generation error correction codes, mitigating the impact of atmospheric turbulence on ground-to-satellite laser communications. Atmospheric turbulence in ground-to-satellite laser links is known to cause fading, resulting in burst data errors. Error correction codes are one of the key technologies to mitigate such effects. In this experiment, ...

Too much sun can ruin a day at the beach. It can also ruin photosynthesis, scorching plants and other organisms that depend on capturing sunlight for energy. Beneath the waves, though, algae have found a clever shield. Osaka Metropolitan University researchers and their colleagues discovered that a pigment called siphonein helps marine green algae keep photosynthesis humming, without the burn. Photosynthetic organisms rely on delicate light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) to capture sunlight for energy. During photosynthesis, chlorophyll absorbs light and enters an excited ...

New research led by UNSW Sydney palaeontologists challenges the idea that indigenous Australians hunted Australia’s megafauna to extinction, suggesting instead they were fossil collectors. The research published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science, opens in a new window focuses on the fossilised tibia (lower leg bone) of a now-extinct, giant ‘sthenurine’ kangaroo. Found in Mammoth Cave in southwestern Australia around the time of the First World War, the bone was later determined to be hard evidence, opens in a new window showing that Indigenous Australians hunted megafauna. Renowned palaeontologist and expert on Australia’s ...

Around the world, research is advancing to efficiently confine fusion plasma and harness its immense energy for power generation. However, it is known that turbulence occurring at various scales within the plasma causes the release of plasma energy and constituent particles, degrading the confinement performance. Elucidating this physical phenomenon and suppressing performance degradation is critically important. Particularly in the high-temperature plasma experiments currently conducted worldwide, micro-scale (just a few centimeters) turbulent eddies forming at various locations within the plasma significantly impact this confinement ...

Humans evolved large brains and flat faces at a surprisingly rapid pace compared to other apes, likely reflecting the evolutionary advantages of these traits, finds a new analysis of ape skulls by UCL researchers.  The paper, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, analysed how the evolutionary diversity of the skulls of humans and other related apes evolved over millions of years. They found that the skull structure for humans evolved substantially faster than that of any other closely ...

Raising groundwater levels and adding biochar to agricultural peat soils could dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining healthy crop production, according to a new study from Bangor University. The study, published in Biochar (2025), tested how water table management and biochar, a charcoal-like soil additive made from plant biomass, affect carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions in peat-based farming systems. Although drained peats are among the world’s most productive ...

A research team from Hefei University of Technology, Zhejiang University, and South China University of Technology has discovered that adding specially treated biochar to cement can significantly improve its ability to capture and store carbon dioxide while strengthening the material itself. Cement production is one of the world’s largest sources of CO₂ emissions. Finding cost-effective ways to store carbon directly in building materials could help reduce the industry’s environmental footprint. In the new study, scientists explored how modifying biochar, ...

Immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers offers a better start in life, improving a number of key health metrics, according to a newly-updated Cochrane review. The review found that babies who have skin-to-skin contact with their mother within the first hour of birth are more likely to see a variety of benefits, including exclusive breastfeeding, optimal body temperatures and blood sugar levels. While possible benefits for the mother were also studied, such as effects on blood loss and timing of placental delivery, the evidence was less certain. Skin-to-skin involves placing the naked newborn on the mother’s uncovered chest immediately ...

Why do some people regularly attend the opera, visit art galleries, or go to classical music concerts—while others rarely, if ever, do? The easy answer might be, “They can’t afford it.” But according to recent research from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management, the real explanation goes far beyond money. The new paper —  published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research and coauthored by Joe Gladstone, an assistant professor of behavioral ...

  Mass General Brigham researchers found that older women who took 4,000 steps on just one or two days a week had a 27% reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease and 26% reduction in risk of death compared to those who got less steps The study found that the number of steps taken rather than any daily pattern of stepping was tied to these risk reductions Tracking daily steps has become a staple exercise metric as smart devices keep count with ease. This physical activity stimulates bodily repair and maintenance, which is especially important as we age. But how many steps do you need to reap health benefits? A new study by investigators ...

Clocking up at least 4000 daily steps on just 1 or 2 days per week is linked to a lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease among older women, finds research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   This large prospective study examined not only how many steps older women take but how often they reach their step targets across the week, addressing a key gap in current physical activity guidelines.   Researchers found that achieving at least 4000 steps per day on 1-2 days per week was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared with not reaching this ...

Less than half of schoolchildren in England who are at risk of a serious and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to food were prescribed the antidote—an adrenaline [epinephrine] autoinjector, or AAI for short—finds an analysis of national prescribing data, published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.   This is despite recommendations by the UK and European medicines regulators that those at risk should have access to 2 AAIs at all times, since some reactions need more than one dose or to allow for incorrect use.    And with 1 in 10 episodes of anaphylaxis occurring ...

Antidepressants can differ widely in how they physically affect the body, including around a 4 kg difference in weight change between certain drugs (approximately 2.5 kg weight loss from agomelatine and 2kg weight gain from maprotiline), confirms a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet. The authors emphasise that these findings should not deter people from taking antidepressants, which remain vital and effective treatments for mental health conditions. Instead, they say the results ...

New research demonstrates a simple, eco-friendly method to break down Teflon® – one of the world’s most durable plastics – into useful chemical building blocks. Scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham have developed a clean and energy-efficient way to recycle Teflon® (PTFE), a material best known for its use in non-stick coatings and other applications that demand high chemical and thermal stability. The researchers discovered that waste Teflon® can be broken down and repurposed using only sodium metal and mechanical energy – movement by shaking - at room temperature and without toxic ...

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have captured the most detailed look yet at how galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang – and found they were far more chaotic and messy than those we see today. The team, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, analysed more than 250 young galaxies that existed when the universe was between 800 million and 1.5 billion years old. By studying the movement of gas within these galaxies, the researchers ...

In a time of tariffs and political trade disputes, new UBC Okanagan research shows that it’s not what you know but who you know. And how well you treat them. The research demonstrates that strong and strategic international alliances—not just diversification—are key to protecting supply chains from political trade disruptions. Dr. Amin Ahmadi Digehsara, Assistant Professor in UBCO’s Faculty of Management, says creating strong global supply chain networks requires countries to make strategic decisions about facility locations, how to allocate capacity and how to manage operations across ...

For decades, researchers seeking to understand global climate change have analyzed ice cores drilled deep within the Antarctic ice sheet. This ice traps chemicals and bubbles of ancient air that tell the story of how Earth’s climate has changed over time. To develop a precise climate record, researchers seek to find continuous ice that’s uninterrupted, frozen in chronological order with newest ice at the top and the oldest ice at the bottom. Until recently, the oldest continuous ice core samples went back as far as 800,000 years, just when Earth’s ...

About The Study: In this case-control study, risk factors for suicide attempt and suicide incompletely overlapped and may present distinct opportunities for prevention, risk prediction, and suicide-risk screening.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Fenfen Ge, MD, PhD, email ffge.ncrr@au.dk. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3444) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding ...

Reptiles could overtake amphibians as the highest priority for conservation among vertebrates as threats like climate change and invasive species worsen in the future, according to a new conservation index tool developed by Gabriel Henrique de Oliveira Caetano at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel and Université Paris-Saclay, France, and colleagues, publishing October 21st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Climate change, habitat loss, and the overexploitation of nature are driving wildlife population declines and extinctions ...

A study led by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) confirms the rise in ideological polarization and biased or false news posted on Facebook. This groundbreaking research analyzed over 6 million news-related URLs – from 1,231 different domains in the United States – shared on Facebook between 2017 and 2020. The news stories from these four years covered such significant events as the COVID pandemic, the 2020 US presidential elections (which culminated in the attack on Congress following Trump’s loss) and the 2018 midterm elections, in which all seats ...