(WASHINGTON — October 21, 2025) – In pregnant women with sickle cell disease, the risk of developing early-onset preeclampsia can be determined by measuring levels of a protein associated with placental function and development. These findings provide insight that may help clinicians to anticipate and mitigate adverse pregnancy outcomes and were published in the journal Blood Advances.   “Patients with sickle cell disease are at high risk for developing preeclampsia, but the challenge is that these patients ...

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a new method to make large language models (LLMs) — such as the ones that power chatbots and protein sequencing tools — learn new tasks using significantly less data and computing power. LLMs are made up of billions of parameters that determine how they process information. Traditional fine-tuning methods adjust all of these parameters, which can be costly and prone to overfitting — when a model memorizes patterns instead of truly understanding them, causing it to perform poorly on new examples. The new method developed by UC San Diego engineers takes a smarter approach. ...

Miami (October 21, 2025) – The Bronchiectasis and NTM Association has accepted eight Care Center and 17 Clinical Associate Center sites in 14 states into the Bronchiectasis and NTM Care Center Network (CCN). The CCN includes 58 centers across the United States.   The CCN aims to facilitate access to specialized care and support for the hundreds of thousands of people with bronchiectasis and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease.    “The prevalence of bronchiectasis and NTM lung disease continues to increase. Patients deserve access to high-quality, specialized care and resources,” said Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, M.D., Chair of ...

     Study involved 160 amputees treated at two hospitals in Ukraine      At one month, botulinum toxin group saw a four-point pain drop versus one point for standard care group      At three months, the trend shifted as effects of botulinum toxin waned      Senior author is a retired U.S. Army colonel and physician who traveled to Ukraine to launch the study and collaborate with local doctors CHICAGO --- Botulinum toxin injections provided greater short-term relief for phantom limb pain than standard medical and surgical care among Ukrainian war amputees, reports a new study led by Northwestern ...

A hug can soothe your mind, reduce your stress and actually activate oxytocin, the “love hormone,” in your body. But new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals that not all hugs are harmless – some partners use touch as a means of control. People with “dark triad” personality traits –  narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – are more likely to use touch to manipulate their partners, according to a new paper published in Current Psychology by Richard Mattson, professor of psychology at Binghamton University, and a team of students. “What’s new about our work ...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D), once considered an adult-onset disease, is increasing at alarming rates in children and adolescents. Before the mid-1990s, just 1% to 2% of youth with diabetes had T2D. Today, that number has skyrocketed to between 24% and 45%, with the average age of diagnosis hovering around 13 years old. This troubling trend closely tracks with the ongoing rise in childhood obesity. While genetics, diet and physical activity all play roles in T2D risk, new research from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine highlights another key factor in T2D risk: where a child lives. Researchers conducted a large-scale study to explore ...

Brain connectivity patterns and environmental factors predict which older adults will successfully increase physical activity after receiving a cardiovascular diagnosis. Nagashree Thovinakere and colleagues studied 295 cognitively healthy but physically inactive older adults from the UK Biobank who received cardiovascular diagnoses during a roughly four-year period. The authors tracked which people increased their activity level to the moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels recommended by the World Health Organization, using both self-reports and accelerometer data. The authors used machine learning to ...

Algorithms that identify influential people in social networks can help maximize the reach of messages, but a modeling study shows that those same algorithms can disseminate information inequitably, potentially exacerbating existing social inequalities. From public health campaigns to information about social services, algorithms that identify “influencers” have been used to maximize reach. Vedran Sekara and colleagues used the independent cascade model on synthetic and diverse real-world social networks, including connections between households in multiple villages, connections between political bloggers, Facebook friendships, and scientific collaborations. The authors ...

The HCS-3DX platform performs automated analysis of three-dimensional cell cultures, known as spheroids. Using AI-based image processing and sample selection, the system enables large-scale, high-precision screening of cellular models within a fraction of the usual time. “Our goal was to create a unified platform that integrates the strengths of existing technologies and can be easily implemented in research and industry” said Ákos Diósdi, first author of the study. According to Dr. Péter Horváth, director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged and senior author of ...

Offline social networks, revealed by co-location data, predict US voting patterns more accurately than online social connections or residential sorting. Michele Tizzoni and colleagues analyzed large-scale data on co-location patterns from Meta’s Data for Good program, which collates anonymized data collected from people who enabled location services on the Facebook smartphone app. Colocation is defined as two people being within the same map tile, which is less than 600×600 meters, depending on latitude. The political affiliation of each person was inferred ...

Anode-free metal batteries represent an exciting new design, where prefabricated anodes are eliminated to maximize energy densities. For example, in magnesium (Mg) metal batteries, instead of starting with an Mg anode, only a bare metal, usually copper (Cu) or Zinc (Zn), current collector is used as the anode side. When the batteries are first charged, Mg from the cathode deposits directly onto this collector, forming a thin Mg layer that acts as the anode. This avoids excess anode materials, making batteries lighter, more compact, and cheaper. Unfortunately, these batteries suffer from dendrite formation, which significantly affects battery ...

Scientists at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia, have discovered that the protein CENP-E, long believed to act as a motor dragging chromosomes into place during cell division, in fact plays a completely different role in chromosome movement. It stabilizes the first attachments of chromosomes to the cell’s internal “tracks,” ensuring they line up correctly before being divided. In a related study, scientists found that small structures inside our cells, called centromeres, which were once thought to function independently, help guide this key ...

Arc Institute, Gladstone Institutes, and University of California, San Francisco, scientists have developed an epigenetic editing platform that enables safe modification of multiple genes in primary human T cells, addressing a key manufacturing and scalability challenge in next-generation cell therapies. The research, published October 21, 2025, in Nature Biotechnology, demonstrates how CRISPRoff and CRISPRon can reprogram a patient’s own T cells for therapeutic purposes without the cell toxicity and DNA damage associated with traditional gene editing approaches. A growing number of T cell therapies, including CAR-T ...

Once considered a fringe idea, the prospect of offsetting global warming by releasing massive quantities of sunlight-reflecting particles into Earth’s atmosphere is now a matter of serious scientific consideration. Hundreds of studies have modeled how this form of solar geoengineering, known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), might work. There is a real possibility that nations or even individuals seeking a stopgap solution to climate change may try SAI—but the proponents dramatically ...

Do you have a memory so vivid you can relive it as if it's happening all over again, re-experiencing the physical sensations and emotions just as you did in that moment? Researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Durham want to understand more about vivid memories: how these experiences differ from person to person, how they evolve as we age, and how they changed across modern history. To do it, they need your help. The team has launched an online public survey asking people to describe two of their most vivid memories. They’re hoping for thousands of responses from people of all age-groups ...

21 October 2025 – It sounds bizarre, but they exist: crystals made of rotating objects. Physicists from Aachen, Düsseldorf, Mainz and Wayne State (Detroit, USA) have jointly studied these exotic objects and their properties. They easily break into individual fragments, have odd grain boundaries and evidence defects that can be controlled in a targeted fashion. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers outline how several new properties of such “transverse interaction” ...

University of Birmingham spin-out PeroCycle has announced the appointment of Dr Harriet Kildahl, who co-invented the company’s core technology, as Technical Director.  Dr Kildahl, who devised the closed loop carbon recycling system technology with Professor Yulong Ding at the University of Birmingham, U.K., joins the PeroCycle team after a three-year stint in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) consulting. Her appointment forms a powerful partnership with PeroCycle CEO Grant Budge, who has led the ...

CORK, IRELAND, 21 October 2025 -- Researchers led by Professor Yvonne Nolan at University College Cork have identified specific metabolic pathways through which exercise counteracts the negative behavioral effects of consuming a Western-style cafeteria diet. Published today in the peer-reviewed journal Brain Medicine, this research demonstrates that voluntary running exercise can mitigate depression-like behaviors induced by high-fat, high-sugar diets associated with both circulating hormones and gut-derived metabolites. The findings provide crucial insights into how lifestyle ...

EDINBURGH, Scotland, UNITED KINGDOM, 7 October 2025 -- Researchers led by Dr. W. David Hill at the University of Edinburgh have identified a significant genetic correlation between childhood cognitive function and longevity, providing the first molecular genetic evidence that intelligence measured in youth shares genetic factors with lifespan. Published today in the peer-reviewed journal Genomic Psychiatry, this Brevia represents a crucial advance in understanding why more intelligent children tend to ...

CHANGCHUN, CHINA, 21 October 2025 -- A perspective article published today in Psychedelics by Prof. Xiaohui Wang and colleagues examine how psychedelic substances profoundly reshape our perception of time, offering unprecedented insights into consciousness and potential therapeutic applications. The analysis synthesizes existing research on temporal distortions induced by substances including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT), revealing how these compounds provide ...

ENNA, ITALY, 21 October 2025 -- Researchers led by Prof. Alessandro Serretti at Kore University of Enna have identified a genetic inflammatory signature that defines specific depression subtypes and influences how patients respond to antidepressant medications, according to new peer-reviewed research published today in Genomic Psychiatry. The findings suggest that inherited predisposition to inflammation may help explain why certain patients experience particular symptom patterns and respond differently to standard treatments, potentially advancing efforts toward more personalized approaches in mental health care. Novel Genetic Architecture Uncovered The research team ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct 21, 2025)—Despite growing recognition of sex differences in traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes, the interaction between hormone transitions–particularly menopause–and brain injury remains significantly underexplored in both research and clinical care. A new study suggests a greater focus on hormone changes when diagnosing and treating TBIs in menopausal women. Results of the study will be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Orlando October 21-25. The menopause transition ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct 21, 2025)—Digestive health issues are highly prevalent among perimenopausal and menopausal women, with many reporting the onset or exacerbation of symptoms during this life stage. Despite symptom burden, formal diagnoses and effective treatment remain limited. That’s the conclusion of a new study focused on gut health during the menopause transition. Results of the study will be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Orlando October 21-25. The hormone changes experienced during perimenopause and menopause ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct 21, 2025)—Hormone therapy–oral and transdermal–remains the most effective treatment for such bothersome menopause symptoms as hot flashes and is generally considered safe for most patients. A new study shows that risk profiles are different based on how the hormones are administered. Results of the study will be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Orlando October 21-25. When it comes to hormone therapy, there is not a consistently preferred route of administration. ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct 21, 2025)—Menopause may take a toll on women physically and emotionally due to declining estrogen levels. For some, the use of hormone therapy has proven valuable in managing bothersome menopause symptoms. A new study suggests that when a woman starts taking hormones makes a major difference in longer term health outcomes. Results of the study will be presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Orlando October 21-25. A large percentage of women will experience some type of menopause symptoms, with the most common symptom ...