PHILADELPHIA— Researchers at Penn Medicine have identified specific brain circuits that are impacted by psilocybin—the active compound found in some psychedelic mushrooms—which could lead to new paths forward for pain and mental health management options. Chronic pain affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide and is often deeply entangled with depression and anxiety, creating a vicious cycle that amplifies suffering and impairs quality of life. The study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania- ...

A new study has found that UK Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public overestimated the time left to meet a critical deadline for limiting global warming.  Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) surveyed a representative sample of the previous House of Commons, and the public in Britain, Canada, Chile and Germany, on their knowledge of a well-publicised statement from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).   It related to when global ...

Semaglutide or tirzepatide should be the first line treatment for people living with obesity and most of its complications, according to a new framework for the pharmacological treatment of obesity and its complications from the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) to be published in the journal Nature Medicine. “Even though there are several options on the market, the reality is that semaglutide and tirzepatide are so effective that they should be the first choice in almost all cases,” says co-first author Dr Andreea Ciudin. The authors are an international team of obesity experts led by the co-chairs of the EASO Obesity Management Working Group who are Dr ...

Researchers at Integra Therapeutics, in collaboration with the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), have designed and experimentally validated new synthetic proteins that can edit the human genome more efficiently than proteins provided by nature. This work, a global pioneer published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology, will be of great use in improving the current gene editing tools used in biotechnology research and personalized medicine by developing cellular (CAR-T) and gene therapies, especially to treat ...

Firms in the Gulf region are increasingly expected to align with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Yet the link between ESG performance and financial outcomes remains ambiguous. A new study examines whether publicly listed companies in GCC member states that achieve high ESG ratings also deliver superior financial performance. The study “ESG and financial performance in the Gulf Cooperation Council” was authored by Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze, professor of management science and faculty lead of the Master in Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Program at ESMT Berlin, together with Rodrigo Tavares and Catarina Sá from Nova School ...

  University of Michigan researchers have developed a tool powered by artificial intelligence that can help them examine the behavior of a single molecule out of a sea of information in the blink of an eye—or at least overnight.   Understanding the behavior of single molecules is important: it can lead to knowledge of different cellular processes or track how diseases begin and progress. To track the behavior of single molecules, researchers tag the molecules with what's called a fluorophore. They excite these fluorophores with a laser, then use powerful microscopes to follow the behavior of the tagged molecules over time.    But ...

Western cultures tend to view teens as moody, irresponsible, and rebellious. However, in China and in other cultures, the teen years are viewed more positively and seen as a time of learning how to become responsible and fulfilling family obligations. Previous research shows that fulfilling family obligations is an important marker of maturity and that as adolescents continue to improve their skills, they can contribute more to their families.  Past studies also show that when teens are seen ...

A groundbreaking study published today in the European Geosciences Union (EGU) journal Earth System Dynamics provides a critical and previously underestimated connection between Antarctic sea ice, cloud cover, and global warming. This research is important because it shows that a greater extent of Antarctic sea ice today, compared to climate model predictions, means we can expect more significant global warming in the coming decades. The study, led by Linus Vogt from Sorbonne University, utilized an emergent constraint based on data from 28 Earth system models and satellite observations ...

Researchers have found the first direct evidence that tiny particles of air pollution stick to our red blood cells, meaning they can travel freely around the body.   These particles are produced by vehicle exhausts and from brake and tyre wear, and can easily enter the lungs. They have recently been found in the brain and heart, where they are linked to increased risk of disease. However, until now, there has been no conclusive evidence of how pollution particles infiltrate these parts of the body.   In the ...

As most of us have experienced, when multiple people work together, things sometimes turn out better than doing the same task alone. Then, there are the other times, when cooperation actually seems to hinder progress, making things much more inefficient. To understand why this ‘cooperative advantage’ manifests in some cases but not in others, a research group led by Assistant Professor Asuka Takai of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University conducted a task where participants used a robotic arm ...

The University of Gothenburg is establishing the Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity. The professorship is a gift ahead of the Crown Princess's 50th birthday in 2027, in collaboration between Carl Bennet AB and the University of Gothenburg. Biodiversity is a growing field of research, and the University of Gothenburg now has the opportunity to contribute more effectively through a new professorship in biodiversity established in the Crown Princess's name. The Crown Princess has repeatedly expressed her belief that the diversity ...

A groundbreaking technology developed by Heriot-Watt University has received over £475,000 in funding to revolutionise how eczema is diagnosed and treated, potentially ending years of suffering for millions of patients across the UK. The innovative vibroacoustic sensor, which measures material changes in each layer of skin using small vibrations on the surface, has received £275,000 from Scottish Enterprise and just over £200,000 from the Medical Research Council's Gap Fund to advance clinical ...

Commercial sunbeds should be banned in the UK, argue experts in The BMJ today. Using sunbeds causes melanoma and other skin cancers, particularly among young people, yet existing sunbed legislation is ineffective and there is little evidence that stricter rules would help protect the most vulnerable, say Professor Paul Lorigan and colleagues. Indoor tanning is experiencing a boom in popularity, particularly among Gen Z (born 1997-2012), with social media promoting sunbeds as integral to wellness, they explain. For example, a 2024 survey of 2,003 people in the UK by Melanoma Focus ...

The healthcare community has an important role in opposing the death penalty, argues an expert in The BMJ today. Bharat Malkani, reader in law at Cardiff University, says doctors must refuse to participate in the execution process and speak out against a practice that is antithetical to their commitment to promote health and wellbeing. Amnesty International reports that although the number of countries carrying out executions is decreasing, the number of executions in countries where it is legal has increased in recent years, he explains. At least 1518 executions took place globally in 2024, rising from 1153 recorded in 2023, making it the fourth ...

The most comprehensive mapping to date of the global risk of chikungunya suggests India could experience the greatest long-term impact from the mosquito-borne virus. Based on existing evidence of chikungunya transmission, the infectious disease model predicts 14.4 million people could be at risk of infections globally each year, with 5.1 million people at risk in India. It’s likely that chikungunya cases could also spread to regions not currently recording infections or considered at-risk, the analysis found, potentially increasing the number ...

  A new analytical method is revealing how conservationists can further boost breeding programmes dedicated to saving some of the world’s most threatened species, according to new research led by the University of Sheffield and ZSL.  Conservation zoos, and the global breeding programmes they facilitate, are vital to maintaining or restoring populations and boosting genetic diversity of threatened birds. But not every egg produced in ...

Four physicists from Rice University have received a $4.4 million grant over three years from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Rice Laboratory for Emergent Magnetic Materials (RLEMM). This new research center will investigate the fundamental interactions of magnetism and its role in next-generation technologies.  The award will support collaborative research led by principal investigator Pengcheng Dai along with co-investigators Ming Yi, Emilia Morosan and Qimiao Si. Their focus is on emergent phases of matter such as unconventional superconductivity, quantum ...

The WIN Symposium featured as the Oncology Track at the APM Annual Conference 2025 unites global leaders in oncology, translational science, and precision medicine. BUFFALO, NY – October 1, 2025 – Oncotarget is proud to announce that its Editor-in-Chief, Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, will chair the WIN Symposium as the Oncology Track of the Advancing Precision Medicine (APM) Annual Conference held October 3–4, 2025, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The WIN Consortium annual symposium featured as the Oncology ...

Large language models are more persuasive than humans, according to recent UBC research. Their vocabulary, perceived empathy and ability to provide tangible resources in seconds add to their persuasiveness, which has led to growing concerns and ongoing lawsuits about the potential for AI chatbots to cause harm to users. In this Q&A, Dr. Vered Shwartz, UBC assistant professor of computer science and author of the book Lost in Automatic Translation, discusses her findings as well as potential safeguards for the future of AI. Why does the persuasiveness of AI matter? VS: Large ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2025 Highlights: Long-term exposure to a common industrial chemical may be linked to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a chemical used in metal degreasing and dry cleaning. Even though it has been banned for some uses, it remains in use today as an industrial solvent and lingers in air, soil and water across the U.S. Researchers estimated long-term TCE exposure for more than 1.1 million older adults by using ZIP+4 codes and air pollution data. Older adults living in areas with the highest TCE levels in outdoor air had a 10% higher ...

Forget the myth that exercise uses up your heartbeats. New Australian research shows fitter people use far fewer total heartbeats per day - potentially adding years to their lives. Athletes had an average heart rate of 68 beats per minute (bpm), while non-athletes had 76bpm. That translates to a total of 97,920 beats per day for athletes and 109,440 beats per day for non-athletes – around 10 percent less. “That’s an incredible saving of about 11,500 beats a day,” says Professor La Gerche, head of ...

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are vectors of multiple diseases including dengue, chikungunya and Zika, posing a public health risk to populations within their native range. A study published in PLOS Global Public Health by Colin Johnston at Centre for Climate and Health Security, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, United Kingdom and colleagues describes the detection of invasive mosquito eggs in the United Kingdom in 2023 and 2024, suggesting an increasing incidence of importation of these species. Historically, ...

New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. Claudia Castro of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on October 1, 2025. Wildfires are occurring increasingly often in wine-producing regions of the U.S. West Coast. Wine grapes can absorb substances from wildfire smoke that ultimately make ...

People with self-diagnosed ADHD report more negative self-image and more internalized stigma than clinically diagnosed individuals, and are more likely to seek social validation, per analysis of 450,000 ADHD sub-reddit posts Article URL: http://plos.io/4plEDJz Article title: Seeking validation in the digital age: The impact of validation seeking on self-image and internalized stigma among self- vs. clinically diagnosed individuals on r/ADHD Author countries: U.S., China Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Education appears to have a long-lasting protective effect in cognitive aging, even at 90+ years, according to a small, long-term cohort study Article URL: http://plos.io/4nrerv4 Article title: Midlife and old-age cardiovascular risk factors, educational attainment, and cognition at 90-years – population-based study with 48-years of follow-up Author countries: Finland Funding: This work was supported by the Finnish Brain Foundation [to A.V]; Orion Research Foundation [to P.I.M]; The Biomedicum Helsinki Foundation [to P.I.M]; Juho Vainio Foundation [to ...