Researchers have demonstrated a new quantum sensing technique that widely surpasses conventional methods, potentially accelerating advances in fields ranging from medical imaging to foundational physics research, as shown in a new study published today in Nature Communications. For decades, the performance of quantum sensors has been limited by decoherence, which is unpredictable behavior caused by environmental noise. “Decoherence causes the state of a quantum system to become randomly scrambled, erasing any quantum sensing signal,” said Eli Levenson-Falk, senior author of the study, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, ...

Long term field study confirms effectiveness of new technology Oxford & Harpenden, UK. 29 April 2025. Enhancing wheat plants’ sugar signalling ability could deliver increased yields of up to 12%, according to researchers from Rothamsted, Oxford University and the Rosalind Franklin Institute in a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology. That is an order of magnitude greater than annual yield increases currently being achieved through breeding.   The effect was achieved by applying a Trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) pre-signalling molecule to the plants. T6P is a signalling molecule that ...

Scientists believe they have found a way to improve warning systems for vulnerable communities threatened by humid heatwaves, which are on the rise due to climate change and can be damaging and even fatal to human health.  The team, from the University of Leeds and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has provided the first ever analysis of how patterns of recent rainfall can interact with dry or moist land conditions to influence the risk of extreme humid heat in the global tropics and subtropics.   The ...

Depression in young teens could be easier to treat than in adulthood due to the symptoms being more flexible and not yet ingrained, a study shows. Researchers found that interactions between depressive symptoms – like sadness, fatigue and a lack of interest – are less predictable in teens but become more fixed in adults, which can lead to persistent depression. The findings highlight the importance of targeting depression at an early age, when symptoms are still changing, experts say. Depression is a complex condition, characterised by a range of connected symptoms. Current interventions treat overall depression severity and do not consider ...

Researchers from the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau), in collaboration with Sant Pau Hospital and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, have developed an innovative CAR-T cell therapy targeting the CD30 protein (HSP-CAR30), which has shown high efficacy in patients with refractory CD30+ lymphoma. A Phase I clinical trial, whose results have been published in the prestigious journal Blood, reveals that this new CAR-T30 therapy promotes the expansion of memory T cells, leading to long-lasting responses and improved clinical outcomes in treated patients. Hodgkin lymphoma and other CD30+ lymphomas have posed ...

Philadelphia, April 29, 2025 – A new study identifying 56 non-clinical risk factors associated with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), spanning lifestyle, physical measures, psychosocial factors, socioeconomic status, and the local environment, offers compelling evidence that improving these unfavorable profiles could prevent up to 63% of SCA cases. The article appearing in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier, provides new insights into how lifestyle and environmental factors can contribute to SCA prevention. SCA is a global ...

Much of the work devoted to exploring potential sex-specific differences in exercise or sports performance has been derived from laboratory-based studies. While these studies are typically well-controlled and guide our understanding of physiological mechanisms, they may lack pragmatic or practical relevance to the ‘real world’. Shrinking performance gaps between the sexes in sport and extreme challenges In 1967, Katherine V Switzer, the daughter of a US Army officer, became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as an officially ...

HOUSTON, Texas, USA, 29 April 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, researchers from UTHealth Houston have uncovered crucial evidence that substance use disorders (SUDs) accelerate biological aging in the brain through distinct molecular mechanisms. The groundbreaking study, published today in Genomic Psychiatry, examines how different substances, such as alcohol, opioids, and stimulants, affect the brain's aging process at the molecular level, potentially explaining why individuals with SUDs often experience early-onset age-related diseases. Accompanying the research article is an insightful editorial titled "The forgotten clockwork ...

New York, New York, USA, 29 April 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, Dr. Leonard Kapcala provides a moving tribute to one of neuroendocrinology's most distinguished figures, Dr. Seymour "Si" Reichlin, MD, PhD, who celebrated his centennial birthday in June 2024. The article, published today in Brain Medicine, offers a uniquely personal perspective on Reichlin's extraordinary career and the profound impact he has had on multiple generations of scientists and physicians. The viewpoint article, ...

SHANGHAI, China, 29 April 2025 -- In a comprehensive Genomic Press perspective article published today, researchers from Fudan University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine have highlighted remarkable advances in the development of positron emission tomography (PET) tracers capable of visualizing α-synuclein aggregates in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and related disorders. The abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein protein is a defining pathological feature of several neurodegenerative conditions collectively known as synucleinopathies, ...

CORRECTION: Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to make plastic household items could be linked to more than 356,000 global deaths from heart disease in 2018 alone, a new analysis of population surveys shows. While the chemicals, called phthalates, are in widespread use globally, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific bore a much larger share of the death toll than others — about three-fourths of the total. For decades, experts have connected health problems to exposure to certain phthalates found in cosmetics, detergents, solvents, plastic pipes, bug repellants, and other products. When these chemicals break down into microscopic particles ...

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, hereinafter referred to as KIMM) has developed a compact, rapid pretreatment system capable of liquefying and homogenizing solid biological samples in under one minute. This innovation simplifies the analysis of specimens that are traditionally difficult to process, offering a new diagnostic platform that complements the predominantly liquid-based landscape of in vitro diagnostics (IVD). It is expected to contribute significantly ...

Researchers pioneered the integration of CNN-LSTM with bond stress-slip constitutive modeling and proposed a deep learning-enabled numerical simulation framework to explain the complex anchorage behavior of grouted bellows connections in prefabricated structures. Published in Smart Construction, this groundbreaking work transcends the limitations of conventional machine learning approaches, offering a transformative tool for rapid assessment of wet-joint performance in prefabricated systems. A vital step ...

The global energy system may be faced with an inescapable trade-off between urgently addressing climate change versus avoiding an energy shortfall, according to a new energy scenario tool developed by University of South Australia researchers and published in the open access journal Energies. The Global Renewable Energy and Sectoral Electrification model, dubbed ‘GREaSE’, has been developed by UniSA Associate Professor James Hopeward with three civil engineering graduates. ‘In essence, it’s an exploratory tool, designed ...

Criegee intermediates (CIs)—highly reactive species formed when ozone reacts with alkenes in the atmosphere—play a crucial role in generating hydroxyl radicals (the atmosphere's "cleansing agents") and aerosols that impact climate and air quality. The syn-CH3CHOO is particularly important among these intermediates, accounting for 25-79% of all CIs depending on the season. Until now, scientists have believed that syn-CH3CHOO primarily disappeared through self-decomposition. However, in a published in Nature Chemistry, a team led ...

Ketamine addiction is linked to high levels of physical health problems and psychological consequences, with nearly half of those affected not seeking support or treatment, new research has revealed. The study, led by the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL), is the largest to date to explore the experience of people currently living with ketamine addiction in-depth. Supported by NIHR, the research included interviews with users, in which many said they were not aware of the risks of addiction until their ketamine use was already out of control, with one calling ketamine “the ...

Today, the Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from 80+ Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in 40+ countries, published a comprehensive analysis and call-to-action in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas on the North American avian influenza virus, or H5N1, outbreak. The GVN calls on world governments to address the threat of H5N1 avian influenza by enhancing surveillance, implementing biosecurity measures, and preparing for potential human-to-human transmission. "Understanding the current landscape of H5N1 infections is critical for effective prevention and response," ...

On New Year’s Day 2024, a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in north central Japan, resulting in extensive damage in the region caused by uplift, when the land rises due to shifting tectonic plates. The observed uplift, however, varied significantly, with some areas experiencing as much as a 5-meter rise of the ground surface. To better understand how the characteristics of the affected fault lines impact earthquake dynamics, researchers in Japan used recently developed simulations to make a detailed model of the fault. The findings could help develop models to simulate scenarios ...

Many of the fish we eat play a key role in maintaining the seabed – and therefore our climate, new research shows. Convex Seascape Survey scientists assessed the role of fish in bioturbation (churning and reworking sediments) in shallow UK seas. The Atlantic cod – a staple in chip shops – jointly topped the list of these important “ecosystem engineers” (along with Atlantic hagfish and European eel). In total, 185 fish species were found to play a role in bioturbation – and 120 of these are targeted by commercial fishing. “Ocean ...

Researchers in Japan have developed a predictive model that could improve treatment decisions for advanced pancreatic cancer patients. By combining tumor marker readings with patients' genetic information, their model predicts patient survival outcomes with greater accuracy and better identifies candidates who would benefit from surgery. The researchers found that specific genetic variations have a greater impact on tumor marker levels than the severity of the cancer.  It is expected that the new model will be used as an indicator to determine if surgery is a good option for patients receiving chemotherapy or radiation ...

A highly sensitive bone marrow test could double survival rates for some groups of younger adults with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) by helping doctors identify if they might relapse up to three months earlier. The patient-specific molecular test can detect low levels of leukaemia cells in the body, known as minimal residual disease (MRD), which when left untreated causes the disease to relapse. The trial, published today in The Lancet Haematology and led by King’s College London, showed for patients with mutations in the NPM1 and FLT3 genes – which are among the most common that cause AML in younger adults – that repeated ...

New Curtin University research has revealed that a massive meteorite struck northwestern Scotland about 200 million years later than previously thought, in a discovery that not only rewrites Scotland’s geological history but alters our understanding of the evolution of non-marine life on Earth.   Previously believed to have occurred 1.2 billion years ago, the impact created the Stac Fada Member, a layer of rock that holds vital clues to Earth’s ancient past, including how meteorite strikes may have influenced the planet’s environment and life.   Lead author Professor Chris Kirkland, from Curtin’s Frontier Institute for Geoscience Solutions within ...

Persistently high blood sugar and insulin resistance significantly increased the risk of worsening functional and structural heart damage during growth from adolescence to young adulthood, a new study shows. The study was conducted in collaboration between the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, the University of Bern in Switzerland, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia, the Universities of Bristol and Exeter in the UK, and the University of Eastern Finland. The results were published in the highly ...

By Shawn Ballard It’s easy to solve a 3x3 Rubik’s cube, says Shantanu Chakrabartty, the Clifford W. Murphy Professor and vice dean for research and graduate education in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Just learn and memorize the steps then execute them to arrive at the solution. Computers are already good at this kind of procedural problem solving. Now, Chakrabartty and his collaborators have developed a tool that can go beyond procedure to discover new solutions to complex optimization problems in logistics to drug ...

By Beth Miller When a person sustains an injury to the spinal cord, the normal communication between the brain and the spinal circuits below the injury are interrupted, resulting in paralysis. Because the brain is functioning normally, as is the spinal cord below the injury, researchers have been working to re-establish the communication to allow for rehabilitation and potentially restore movement. Ismael Seáñez, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and of neurosurgery at WashU Medicine, and members of his ...