Photocatalysts facilitate chemical reactions by absorbing light. Metal-based photocatalysts are widely used in organic synthesis due to their durability and the ability to tune their function by modifying the ligands attached to the central metal atom. Most metals used in photocatalysts, such as ruthenium and iridium, are rare and expensive. Researchers at Nagoya University, Japan, previously developed an iron-based alternative, but it required large amounts of costly chiral ligands, which act as spatial ...

When researchers studied Norwegians who thought tick bites caused their chronic health problems, they found no objective evidence linking the symptoms to ticks. The same study finds that health problems reported by participants were associated with little physical activity and low labour force participation. Many Norwegians pull ticks from their bodies every single summer. Roughly 2 per cent of those who are bitten are infected by a bacterium that leads to Lyme disease. The disease can start with a rash that eventually spreads in the skin with a ring-shaped pattern. In some people, the disease can develop into facial paralysis, meningitis or other ...

An advanced detection system to identify and trace blockchain funds connected with criminal activity has been presented today at the Annual CyberASAP Demo Day in London.  The system, called SynapTrack, enables faster and more accurate detection of fraudulent activity using blockchains and cryptocurrencies, where traditional anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems struggle to keep pace.  Although current fraud detection methods pick up unusual activity, they deliver an extremely high rate (40%) of false positive reports. These require manual checking by compliance professionals, resulting in backlogs in identifying and acting ...

Background and objectives Infectious diarrhea is a gastrointestinal illness that results in around 1.7 billion cases and 525,000 deaths annually, particularly among children under five, according to the World Health Organization. While some Cameroonian medicinal plants show promise for treating diarrhea, many plants are used without established scientific evidence of their efficacy. These plants include Tithonia diversifolia (T. diversifolia) and Solanum torvum (S. torvum), which are traditionally used to treat diarrheal symptoms. This study sought to investigate the anti-Shigella activity of leaf ...

BETHESDA, MD – February 25, 2026 | The ACMG Foundation for Genetic and Genomic Medicine (ACMGF), in partnership with Genetics in Medicine Open (GIM Open), is pleased to announce Qiliang (Andy) Ding, PhD, as the inaugural recipient of the 2026 Rising Scholar Trainee Award. This new annual award recognizes the most outstanding research publication by a trainee published in Genetics in Medicine Open during the preceding calendar year. The Rising Scholar Trainee Award was established to support early-career investigators and to recognize high-quality scholarly contributions in medical genetics and genomics. Eligible individuals include ...

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Lee Ho Seong) has developed a next-generation gas sensor technology that uses low-cost and safe LED light to precisely distinguish multiple hazardous gases. Compared with conventional sensors that operate at high temperatures, the new technology consumes significantly less power, offering greater cost efficiency while delivering broad applicability. It is expected to enhance gas safety across industrial settings as well as everyday environments. Gas sensors currently used in industrial ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — Promoting women’s ownership in wineries can boost sales among the largest group of U.S. wine consumers, who happen to be women. Messages like “proudly made by a woman winemaker” increased women’s intentions of purchasing wines, particularly when the label’s artwork reinforced the point with feminine gender cues such as flowers. Women were also willing to pay higher prices for those wines, according to the research from Washington State University and Auburn University. The findings are noteworthy because 59% of all wine purchases in the United States are made ...

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) are critical components of laptop, television and smartphone screens. Given their ubiquity in the environment, these compounds are considered persistent pollutants, posing threats to marine life that scientists want to understand. Research published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology provides initial evidence that LCMs from household electronics or electronic waste (e-waste) can accumulate in dolphin and porpoise tissues, including blubber, muscle, and brain, demonstrating ...

The world’s largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short-term relief for some acute conditions and are ineffective for some others.   Led by researchers from the University of Sydney, the study set out to review the efficacy and harms of opioid pain relievers (eg codeine, morphine, oxycodone, tramadol) compared with placebo for acute pain. The review includes ...

Astronomers have captured the central region of our Milky Way in a striking new image, unveiling a complex network of filaments of cosmic gas in unprecedented detail. Obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), this rich dataset — the largest ALMA image to date — will allow astronomers to probe the lives of stars in the most extreme region of our galaxy, next to the supermassive black hole at its centre. “It’s a place of extremes, invisible to our eyes, but now revealed in extraordinary detail,” says Ashley Barnes, an astronomer ...

Pyrochlore oxides - a class of advanced dielectric materials - represent a promising next-generation approach to efficient energy storage. Their structural flexibility and tunable chemical composition make them prime candidates for dielectric energy storage applications. In a new study, a team of researchers from Republic of Korea and the USA, led by Professor Chang Kyu Jeong from the Division of Advanced Materials Engineering, the Department of Energy Storage/Conversion Engineering of Graduate School (BK21 FOUR) & Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center, and the Department of JBNU-KIST Industry-Academia Convergence Research, all at Jeonbuk National University ...

Over the years, cell biology has built a detailed picture of how cells compartmentalize their internal functions. Central to this organization is the nucleus, which houses the genetic material and is separated from the cytoplasm by a robust nuclear envelope. Traditionally, the nuclear membrane has been considered a strict barrier, maintaining nuclear integrity except during carefully controlled processes such as mitosis. As a result, the release of nuclear material has largely been associated with cellular damage or ...

Wearable sensors are rapidly advancing, becoming smaller yet more capable than ever of tracking physiological signals in real time. Recent studies have focused on developing skin patches that analyze sweat to monitor the concentration of important compounds, such as lactate and glucose. Sweat-based sensing is particularly attractive because it offers a noninvasive way to assess changes in metabolism. However, these devices require external batteries to function. Interestingly, to avoid relying on batteries, scientists have come up with self-powered alternatives. Enzymatic ...

Statement Highlights: Over the next 25 years, the number of women living with cardiovascular disease is expected to rise sharply, as nearly 60% of women in the U.S. could have high blood pressure by 2050, up from about 5 in 10 previously reported for 2020, according to projections outlined in a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Nearly a third of all women 22-44 years of age will have some type of cardiovascular disease, compared to less than 1 in 4 currently. The rise in cardiovascular disease will also be fueled ...

Living in a poorer neighbourhood in the UK could impact the make-up of your gut microbiome, potentially leading to worse health.  New research, led by King’s College London and the University of Nottingham, found that people living in areas of higher social deprivation have a less diverse range of bacteria in their gut.  The study, published in npj biofilms and microbiomes, also found people in these ...

Embargoed copy of the research paper available on request While air-conditioning protects people from dangerous heat, it also significantly worsens global warming – by 2050 potentially producing more carbon dioxide than the current annual emissions of the United States, a new study reveals. Scientists have combined climate science, energy modelling, and inequality analysis to create a unique framework using a set of well‑established global ‘storylines’ — Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Representative Concentration Pathways (SSP and RCP scenarios) — a set of ‘futures’ ranging from strong climate action to high emissions. The study reveals ...

To be healthy, conventional wisdom tells us to exercise and limit fatty foods. Exercise helps us lose weight and build muscle. It makes our hearts stronger and boosts how we take in and use oxygen for energy — one of the strongest predictors of health and longevity. But people with high blood sugar often don’t achieve those benefits from exercise, especially the ability to use oxygen efficiently. They’re at higher risk for heart and kidney disease, but high blood sugar can prevent their muscles from taking up oxygen more effectively in response to exercise.  For them, a new study ...

Solutions to the plastic waste crisis are often pitched using words that can skew value judgements, new research argues. The paper, authored by the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at The University of Manchester, explores the consequences of terminology choices on end-of-life solutions for plastic waste.  While recycling has long been touted as a solution for plastic sustainability - it comes in many forms, and can sometimes serve as a smokescreen for genuine discussions around sustainability. The researchers, Seiztinger, Lahive, and Shaver, ...

MIAMI — A new study provides a comprehensive global synthesis of how vessel traffic affects large marine wildlife, including whales, dolphins, seals, manatees, sea turtles, sharks and rays. Drawing on over four decades of published scientific research, the meta-analysis combined findings from more than 200 peer-reviewed studies conducted around the world. In total, nearly 1,900 comparisons were compiled between scenarios with and without vessel presence, allowing for a robust assessment of how vessels impact marine wildlife. The analysis examined documented responses to vessel activity across various ...

Researchers at IMDEA Networks Institute, together with European partners, have found that tire pressure sensors in modern cars can unintentionally expose drivers to tracking. Over a ten-week study, they collected signals from more than 20,000 vehicles, revealing a hidden privacy risk and highlighting the need for stronger security measures in future vehicle sensor systems. Most modern cars are equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), mandatory since the late 2000s in many countries for their contribution to road safety. This system uses ...

According to a new study by the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC) and the National University of Colombia, chronic ocean warming is driving a nearly 20% annual decline in fish biomass. However, the researchers found that extreme marine heatwaves can sometimes mask this trend by causing temporary population increases in certain areas. The research, conducted in the waters of the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, and the Northeastern Pacific, is based on the analysis of 702,037 estimates of biomass change from 33,990 fish populations recorded between 1993 and 2021 in the Northern ...

Green hydrogen is considered to be an important part of the global climate transition, especially as a fuel and energy carrier for heavy transport and industry. However, large-scale green hydrogen production requires sustainable ways of managing water resources to avoid giving rise to water shortages and conflicts with agriculture over access. This has been shown in a unique study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, that connects local water supply with a range of scenarios for future hydrogen needs in Europe. Replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen ...

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new, easy-to-use blood test score that can help identify when fatty liver disease is being driven by excessive alcohol use, an important distinction that often goes unrecognized in routine care. The study results, published in the February 25, 2026 online edition of Gastroenterology, found that a new blood test score could help clinicians determine when liver injury is likely driven by alcohol rather than metabolic factors, providing clearer guidance on when additional alcohol testing may be needed. The tool, called the MetALD-ALD Prediction Index (MAPI), uses five standard lab values that are ...

Almost half of patients hospitalised for acute heart failure in Europe are readmitted within a year, according to a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the European Heart Journal. The risk of death also remains high, especially for those with more severely reduced heart function. Heart failure is a common condition affecting over 64 million people worldwide. The new study, conducted by an international team and coordinated by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, analysed data from more than 10,000 patients ...

ECMWF is throwing down the gauntlet on a brand-new set of data challenges waiting to be solved as part of its Code for Earth programme. Improving rapid decision-making during wildfires, exploring flood forecast data from 10,000 stations globally and detecting implausible behaviour in machine learning are just some of the aims of this year’s challenges. Every year the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) invites individuals or groups to deliver solutions to given problem statements, so called challenges, that ...