Enzymes found in landfills around the world may be able to break down plastic waste. Some 11 billion metric tons of plastic are projected to accumulate in the environment by 2050. Enzymatic and microbial degradation is a promising method of plastic recycling. Landfills, environments where plastics are an abundant resource, are crucibles of bacterial evolution. Liyan Song and colleagues collected plastic biocatalytic enzymes from landfills around the world, using metagenomics and machine learning. Samples came from China, Italy, Canada, Great Britain, Jamaica, and India and included refuse, leachate, sludge, and airborne particles. The authors identified 31,989 possible ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — For years, therapy dogs have ruled the world of animal-assisted services (AAS), offering stress relief to college students, hospital patients, and those in need of emotional support. But new research suggests that some cats might also have what it takes to join the ranks of therapy animals—bringing their purrs, gentle headbutts, and calm demeanor to the field. A study in the journal Animals co-authored by Washington State University professor Patricia Pendry, in collaboration with researchers in Belgium, found that therapy cats share specific behavioral traits that may make them well-suited for AAS programs. The research team surveyed ...

Creamy, crumbly, mild, or sharp — cheese is a true crowd-pleaser. From everyday meals to gourmet delights, it’s a staple across the Western world. In 2023, the average European enjoyed 20.5 kilograms of cheese. But it is no secret that, as a dairy product, heavy cheese consumption comes with a significant environmental impact. As such, extensive research is being conducted on how to produce plant-based cheeses. Unfortunately, finding an entirely plant-based cheese that satisfies cheese lovers in terms of both texture and taste has been difficult. And texture in particular has been challenging to get just right. So, food researchers at the University ...

Mill Valley, CA – March 18, 2025 – The SynGAP Research Fund (SRF) dba Cure SYNGAP1, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has awarded a $65,000 grant to Dr. Julia Dallman, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, to investigate gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in SYNGAP1-related disorders (SRD) patients. Leveraging her extensive experience with zebrafish models, Dr. Dallman's research aims to identify therapies that alleviate severe GI issues, such as chronic ...

Unsubstituted π-electronic systems with expanded π-planes are highly desirable for improving charge-carrier transport in organic semiconductors. However, their poor solubility and high crystallinity pose major challenges in processing and assembly, despite their favourable electronic properties. The strategic arrangement of these molecular structures is crucial for achieving high-performance organic semiconductive materials. In a significant breakthrough, a research team led by Professor Hiromitsu Maeda from Ritsumeikan University, including Associate Professor Yohei Haketa from ...

Researchers from Kyoto University have achieved a groundbreaking advancement in materials science by developing the world's first three-dimensional van der Waals open frameworks (WaaFs). This innovation challenges the conventional belief that van der Waals interactions are too weak for open framework materials, demonstrating their potential for stable and highly porous materials. Published in Nature Chemistry, the study presents a strategy using octahedral metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) as building blocks to construct WaaFs. These frameworks exhibit high thermal stability, exceptional porosity, and reversible assembly, opening new avenues for applications in gas storage, separation, ...

Global population datasets, crucial for decision-making by governments and institutions, may underestimate rural populations by as much as 53% to 84%, reveals an Aalto University study.  Governments, international bodies and researchers rely on global population data for resource allocation and infrastructure planning to disease epidemiology and disaster risk management. In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Aalto University in Finland show the profound and systematic extent to which these datasets underestimate ...

Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe. Using advanced analysis based on full genome sequences, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found evidence that modern humans are the result of a genetic mixing event between two ancient populations that diverged around 1.5 million years ago. About 300,000 years ago, these groups came back together, with one group contributing 80% of the genetic makeup of modern humans and the other contributing 20%. For the last two decades, the prevailing view in human evolutionary genetics has been that Homo sapiens first ...

A first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI)-based neural network can rapidly analyse and interpret millions of cells from a patient sample, predicting molecular changes in the tissue. It can potentially pinpoint where personalised treatments could be most effective for conditions such as cancer. NicheCompass leverages the power of generative AI to create a visual database combining spatial genomic data on cell types, where they are found, and how they communicate. Created by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Institute of AI for Health ...

Although fungi of the genus Piloderma are common, scientists have now discovered five previously unknown species. One of these is one of the most widely distributed species in Northern Europe, while another is found only in old-growth forests. The discoveries, published in Fungal Biology, show that diversity in this genus is much greater than previously thought and that some of its species are at risk of disappearing as old-growth forest is logged.  Many of the fungi of the genus Piloderma are among the most common fungal species ...

A new paper in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that different nicotine pouches, which have become very popular in recent years, particularly among young people, may influence user preferences very differently. An investigation using rats finds some flavors lead to much more nicotine consumption than others. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use remains a major global health threat, with 1.3 billion tobacco users, and 8 million tobacco-related deaths annually. ...

Small amounts of a common antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drug can curb symptoms where a misplaced immune reaction (e.g., autoimmunity) can cause permanent hair loss, a new study shows. This regimen may also come with fewer side effects than higher doses of the medication. Led by researchers at NYU Langone Health, the study explored lymphocytic scarring alopecia, a rare skin condition in which the body’s immune cells damage hair follicles, leading to hair loss and scarring. Physicians typically treat this chronic disorder with relatively high doses of the antibiotic doxycycline, often ...

Friendships are critical parts of our lives. Staying in touch with friends online is crucially important, especially for teenagers. Fostering friendships online, however, takes time and might require near constant availability, which can cause digital stress that can arise when expectations on social media are not met. This in turn, can lead to conflicts among friends. New research published in Frontiers in Digital Health by scientists in Italy highlights how social media expectations within friend groups and digital stress shape adolescent friendships and conflicts over time. “We show that adolescents’ perceptions of social media norms and perceptions of unique features ...

XIAMEN, China, 18 March 2025 – A groundbreaking peer-reviewed Thought Leaders Invited Review article in Brain Medicine (Genomic Press, New York) explores how CD2-associated protein (CD2AP) contributes to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), one of the most devastating neurodegenerative disorders affecting millions worldwide. CD2AP, initially identified for its role in cellular transport and cytoskeletal architecture, has now emerged as a crucial factor in AD pathology​. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have established CD2AP as a major genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease ...

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, 18 March 2025 – A pioneering peer-reviewed research study published in Brain Medicine provides compelling evidence that maternal infections during pregnancy can have lasting effects on offspring brain function. Researchers from the Slovak Academy of Sciences investigated the impact of maternal immune activation (MIA) on hippocampal pyramidal neurons in newborn rat offspring and found that prenatal inflammation significantly impairs neuronal excitability. These changes in brain function may underlie the increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with maternal infections​. “Maternal ...

Zürich/Lausanne, Switzerland – 18 March 2025 – inait today announced a collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate the development and commercialization of inait’s innovative AI technology, using its unique digital brain AI platform. The collaboration will focus on joint product development, go-to-market strategies, and co-selling initiatives, initially targeting the finance and robotics sectors. inait's AI technology, born from decades of neuroscience research offers a paradigm shift in artificial intelligence. Its “brain programming language” and ability to learn from experience and understand cause and effect delivers cognitive ...

LAUSANNE, March 18, 2025 – The Open Brain Institute (OBI) launches today as a groundbreaking non-profit organization, transforming neuroscience from the physical to the virtual world. Building on the pioneering achievements of the EPFL’s Blue Brain Project, OBI opens the era of simulation neuroscience—empowering researchers to build and simulate digital brains with unprecedented detail, scale, and speed. AI has been given access to the software recipe to build digital brains, providing natural language support to researchers to explore, build and ...

Helicobacter pylori bacteria is considered to be the main cause of gastric cancer, with the infection rate particularly high in the Asia-Pacific region. Approximately 90% of cases are linked to H. pylori bacterial infections, but preemptive eradication can reduce the incidence of gastric cancer by 30-40%. However, the increase in antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria used in eradication therapy is a major issue. In addition, while secondary prevention through endoscopic examinations is also important for the early detection of gastric cancer, it is not clear to what extent Asia-Pacific practitioners recognize its importance. An international ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 AM UK TIME ON TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025 Almost one in ten people (9.1%) in England think they could have Long Covid but aren’t sure, according to a new analysis of NHS England survey data by the University of Southampton. Researchers also found that 4.8% of people reported having Long Covid, with higher rates among people living in deprived areas, people with particular ethnic backgrounds, parents or carers, and those with another long-term condition. The findings are published today [18 March] ...

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have made a ground-breaking discovery paving the way for a transformative era in photonic technology. For decades, scientists have theorised the possibility of manipulating the optical properties of light by adding a new dimension—time. This once-elusive concept has now become a reality thanks to nanophotonics experts from the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team’s breakthrough emerged from experiments with nanomaterials known as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) - a special ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – March 17, 2025) As the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak continues, scientists are working to better understand the virus’s threat to human health. The virus has been found in dairy cows’ milk and has infected farm workers, prompting scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to study potential treatments. Results showed that in a preclinical model, two FDA–approved flu antivirals generally did not successfully treat severe H5N1 infections. Additionally, the researchers found that the route of infection, whether through ...

Thomas Jefferson University has initiated a phase 1 clinical trial for a Lassa virus (LASV) vaccine developed at Jefferson in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), at the Center of Vaccine Development and Global Health, UMB. Currently, there are no approved vaccines against the Lassa virus. The clinical study is a dose-ranging study that will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine for both the rabies virus and LASV. The experimental vaccine is based on an attenuated and killed rabies virus vaccine similar to current rabies vaccines and has an additional ...

Outpatient primary care clinics at Hebrew SeniorLife’s Orchard Cove and NewBridge on the Charles communities have been recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as Age-Friendly Health Systems — Committed to Care Excellence. “I want to express my gratitude to the team at Hebrew SeniorLife for your dedication to age-friendly care,” said Leslie Pelton, MPA, Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). “Age-Friendly Health Systems and IHI celebrate your recognition as an Age-Friendly ...

For decades, atomic clocks have been the pinnacle of precision timekeeping, enabling GPS navigation, cutting-edge physics research, and tests of fundamental theories. But researchers at JILA, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye, in collaboration with the Technical University of Vienna, are pushing beyond atomic transitions to something potentially even more stable: a nuclear clock. This clock could revolutionize timekeeping by using a uniquely low-energy transition within the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom. This transition is less sensitive to environmental disturbances than modern atomic clocks and has been proposed for tests of fundamental ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, March 17, 2025 Contact: Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu  Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu  ##  As health complications and deaths from alcohol use disorder (AUD) increase in the United States, it is critical that people who could benefit from medications have access to the drugs that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved to treat AUD. Yet, for individuals who have alcohol use disorder and are covered by Medicaid, accessing these medications is difficult; past research indicates that only about 1 in 20 Medicaid enrollees with alcohol use disorder receive these ...