A single enzyme that can generate all four nucleotide triphosphates, the building blocks of ribonucleic acid (RNA), was identified by researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo. By using polyphosphate as a phosphate donor, the enzyme efficiently converts inexpensive nucleotide precursors into the active forms required for RNA synthesis. Overall, the method dramatically simplifies the process of nucleotide production—offering a low-cost, efficient option for the in vitro synthesis of RNA.   All living systems depend on specific biomolecules that form the basic units of life. ...

The distinct foot odor that comes with the skin disorder Nagashima-type palmoplantar keratosis (NPPK) is caused by the overgrowth of a specific bacterial strain. The Kobe University result also shows that topical application of benzoyl peroxide restores balance in the bacterial skin flora, reducing the odor. Affecting some 10,000 individuals in Japan and several hundreds of thousands more across East Asia, Nagashima-type palmoplantar keratosis (NPPK) is a condition that causes several symptoms, including redness on the palms and soles of ...

Piezofluorochromism, the phenomenon of materials reversibly changing their fluorescent color when pressure is applied, is used to create the pressure sensors used in automotive and medical industries. By monitoring color changes, researchers can visually recognize phenomena, such as chemical changes, that actually take place. However, as devices get increasingly complicated, there is an increasing demand for ways to produce more sensitive sensors. A research group led by Project Assistant Professor ...

Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), working with international collaborators, have shown that people in northern Mozambique use regionally distinct “dialects” when communicating with honeyguide birds, revealing a striking parallel to the way human languages diversify. Published in People and Nature, the study shows for the first time that human-to-wildlife communication can vary within a region in much the same way that human languages develop local dialects. These dialects allow communities to coordinate cooperation with greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator), wild birds that lead people to honeybees’ nests in exchange for ...

An international research team has discovered a supermassive black hole growing rapidly while radiating bright X-rays and radio waves. This combination of features contradicts the current models of black hole growth, requiring astronomers to look for a new explanation. Supermassive black holes, millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, sit in the centers of most galaxies. They grow by pulling in surrounding gas. As gas spirals inward, it can power a compact region of hot plasma known as a corona which emits X-rays. Some supermassive black holes also form a jet of outflowing material that emits strongly at radio wavelengths. But if gas falls ...

ŌURA, maker of the most scientifically validated smart ring, Oura Ring, and the Centre for Sleep and Cognition (CSC) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), today announced the opening of the Oura–NUS Joint Lab, a new research entity dedicated to advancing personalised preventive health. Located at NUS, the Joint Lab will advance scientific research by combining continuous, real‑world biometric data from ŌURA within approved research studies with NUS’s decades-long expertise in sleep science, physiological data analysis, and cognitive ...

When lung cancer treatment stops working, what happens next? New research reveals the answer may depend on how the cancer grows. Medical researchers at Flinders University have uncovered an important clue that could help doctors better predict what happens next for people with advanced lung cancer when their first treatment fails. Researchers looked at thousands of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with modern chemoimmunotherapy – a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy - that has become a standard first-line treatment. The study, published in the journal Cancer Letters, is the first to apply a modified classification ...

22 JANUARY 2026 SINGAPORE – Scientists from A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (A*STAR IMCB) have identified why certain lung cancer cells become highly resistant to treatment after developing mutations in a key gene called EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor). In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers revealed a previously unknown survival mechanism and demonstrated that disrupting it can shrink tumours in laboratory models. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Many cases are driven by mutations in the EGFR gene, which causes cells to grow and divide uncontrollably. In Southeast Asia, these mutations are found in ...

How can bacteria squeeze through spaces narrower than a human hair is thick? A research team in Japan led by Dr. Daisuke Nakane and Dr. Tetsuo Kan at the University of Electro-Communications, Dr. Hirofumi Wada at Ritsumeikan University, and Dr. Yoshitomo Kikuchi at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have revealed the answer: they drill their way through. The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that certain symbiotic bacteria wrap their rotating flagella—the helical tails used for swimming—around their cell bodies to form a “screw thread.” This configuration lets them propel forward through one-micrometer-wide passages, such ...

LOGAN, Utah, USA — A recent critique from a team led by Utah State University ecologist Dan MacNulty and published in Forest Ecology and Management has prompted a formal correction to a high-profile study on aspen recovery while raising broader questions about how scientific conclusions are drawn and defended in complex ecological systems. The original study, published last year by Luke Painter and colleagues, concluded that restoration of large carnivores — including the reintroduction of wolves in the mid-1990s — triggered a strong, ecologically significant trophic cascade that fostered widespread recovery of aspen trees in northern Yellowstone. Central to their evidence ...

Gaps in the nation’s stroke transfer system are drastically reducing survivors’ chances of receiving critical treatment and increasing the likelihood that they will leave the hospital with a disability, a new study suggests. Around one-third of ischemic stroke survivors are eligible for endovascular thrombectomy, an effective intervention that changed the landscape of stroke treatment more than a decade ago. More than 40% of people who receive endovascular therapy are initially seen at hospitals that don’t offer the treatment. These patients require transfer to more advanced facilities capable of delivering thrombectomy.  New findings published in The Lancet ...

Gaps in the U.S. stroke transfer system are drastically reducing survivors’ chances of receiving critical treatment and increasing the likelihood that they will leave the hospital with a disability, according to a new study published in The Lancet Neurology. Around one-third of ischemic stroke patients are eligible for endovascular thrombectomy, an effective intervention that changed the landscape of stroke treatment more than a decade ago. More than 40% of people who receive endovascular therapy initially arrive at hospitals that don’t offer the treatment. These patients require transfer to more advanced facilities capable of delivering ...

The long term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), a class of drugs widely used to treat acid reflux and ulcers, may not be linked to any increased risk of developing gastric (stomach) cancer, finds a study of Nordic health data published by The BMJ today. This finding should offer relief for patients needing long term proton pump inhibitor therapy and is valuable for clinical decision making in healthcare settings, say the researchers. A fear that proton pump inhibitors could lead to stomach cancer has been ongoing since the 1980s. Recent research has linked their use to around a twofold increased risk, but ...

Offering non-monetary incentives such as free access to outpatient consultations to frequent blood donors is linked to an increase in donations without compromising blood safety, finds a study from China published by The BMJ today. The researchers say their findings could encourage policymakers in other countries to design their own incentive models to address blood shortages. Many countries, particularly developing ones, struggle to sustain an adequate blood supply due to challenges of retaining blood donors under the “gift model” - a ...

Natural ovulation before frozen embryo transfer is as effective as hormone treatment for achieving a healthy baby by vitro fertilisation (IVF), finds a clinical trial from China published by The BMJ today. Natural ovulation is also linked to a lower risk of several complications for the mother, such as pre-eclampsia (abnormally high blood pressure), the results show. Globally, the use of frozen embryo transfer after IVF has increased substantially and accounts for more than 60% of all embryo transfers. Doctors prepare the womb lining (endometrium) for frozen ...

A major UK clinical trial has shown that adding the corticosteroid dexamethasone to standard antiviral treatment for encephalitis (brain inflammation), caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) does not improve long-term outcomes overall, although early use may lead to better recovery, and the treatment is safe for patients in whom encephalitis is suspected. The DexEnceph study, led by researchers at The Pandemic Institute, the University of Liverpool, and Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Encephalitis International and research teams around the country, provides the most definitive evidence so far on whether corticosteroids should be used ...

Severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher rate of hospitalisation for respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, according to a new study led by the University of Surrey. Scientists found that those with a severe deficiency (below 15 nnmol/L) were 33 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital for treatment than those with sufficient levels of vitamin D (at least 75 nmol/L).  In the largest study of its kind, analysing NHS data from the UK Biobank, researchers from Surrey, in collaboration with the University of Reading ...

There has been a lasting and disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on diagnosis rates for conditions including depression, asthma and osteoporosis. Depression is the most severely impacted, with almost a third fewer diagnoses than expected compared with pre-pandemic trends. The King’s College London study is the first to evaluate whether diagnosis rates have recovered after emerging from the pandemic. Published today in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), it uses anonymised data from over 29 million people in England. The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on healthcare systems around the world, leading to abrupt decreases ...

A 66 million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unravelled by scientists. Their new study has revealed that Earth’s massive drop in temperature after the dinosaurs went extinct could have been caused by a large decrease in calcium levels in the ocean. An international team of experts led by the University of Southampton discovered that concentrations of calcium in the sea dropped by more than half across the last 66 million years. The ...

Key points: Red light therapy is an emerging therapy which shines near-infrared light into the brain through the skull, aiming to reduce inflammation. A preliminary study with 26 football players suggests that red light therapy could prevent brain inflammation caused by repetitive impacts. IMPACT: If larger studies confirm the results, red light therapy could help protect people who experience frequent head impacts, like soldiers and athletes, from long-term health consequences. Punch-drunk syndrome, boxer’s madness, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The name has changed over the years, but the cause is clear: repeated impacts can affect long-term brain health, with symptoms ...

A multi-institutional study led by the University of California, Davis, finds that living in urban areas with a higher percentage of visible trees is associated with a 4% decrease in cardiovascular disease. By comparison, living in urban areas with a higher percentage of grass was associated with a 6% increase in cardiovascular disease. Likewise, a higher rate of other types of green space, like bushes or shrubs, was associated with a 3% increase in cardiovascular disease. The new research was published in Environmental Epidemiology. “Our ...

ATLANTA (Jan. 20, 2026) – UL Research Institutes’ Chemical Insights scientist Katie Paul Friedman, Ph.D. received the prestigious 2026 Achievement Award from the Society of Toxicology (SOT). SOT recognized Dr. Paul Friedman for her leadership in computational toxicology and her contributions to new approach methodologies (NAMs) that are transforming chemical safety assessment. Dr. Paul Friedman, Director of the Center for Informatics and Screening at Chemical Insights, was recognized for exemplifying scientific excellence and service through her innovative research, vision on addressing regulatory needs with NAMs, and dedication ...

A research team, led by Professor of Chemistry at NYU Abu Dhabi Panče Naumov, in collaboration with a research team led by Professor Hongyu Zhang at Jilin University, China, has discovered a new type of organic crystal that can repair itself after being damaged at extremely low temperatures. This breakthrough could pave the way for the next generation of durable, lightweight materials designed to perform in some of the harshest environments on Earth and beyond. The material, which is one of the newly researched materials known as smart molecular crystals whose discovery was pioneered by Naumov’s group, can restore its structure even ...

In a major scientific breakthrough, researchers from Monash University and the Lions Eye Institute have discovered a tissue protein that acts as a central ‘traffic controller’ for immune cells and can be hijacked by a virus to weaken immune responses.  Published today in Nature, the study discovered a key mechanism that controls how immune cells coordinate their responses, and how a common virus can sabotage it. The research reveals that a molecule called CD44 centrally controls the network of support cells that guide immune system function. Within this network of support cells, stromal cells help immune cells move efficiently and exchange the information needed ...

The tropical oceans that once served as oxygen-rich havens for Earth's earliest complex life have become the planet's largest marine dead zones. The dramatic reversal occurred hundreds of millions of years ago and researchers are now beginning to better understand its timing. A new study led by former Syracuse University doctoral student Ruliang He and co-authored by his advisor, Earth and environmental sciences Professor Zunli Lu, reveals that Earth's ancient tropical oceans were ...