When we talk about microbiota, we usually think of the one inhabiting our gut. But there is another, less known and equally vital: the plant microbiota. In an article featured on the cover of Science (October 2, 2025), Professor Niko Geldner and his team at the University of Lausanne (Unil) unveil the subtle alliances and rivalries that unfold between bacteria and roots, hidden beneath the soil. Roots and microbes The plant microbiota, or “phytobiome,” brings together communities of bacterial and fungal microorganisms that can be partners, allies—and sometimes enemies. The part most closely associated with roots is called the “rhizospheric” ...

When saltwater fish long ago evolved to live in fresh water, many of them also evolved a more sophisticated hearing system, including middle ear bones similar to those in humans. Two-thirds of all freshwater fish today — including more than 10,000 species, from catfish to popular aquarium fish like tetras and zebrafish — have this middle ear system, called the Weberian apparatus, which allows them to hear sounds at much higher frequencies than most ocean fish can, with a range close to that of humans. University of California, Berkeley paleontologist Juan Liu has now used the structure of this Weberian apparatus in a newly discovered ...

Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, phosphine has long been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life, as there are few natural sources of this gas in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets. On Earth, phosphine is a byproduct of decaying organic swamp matter. Now a team of researchers, led by University of California San Diego Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics ...

Key takeaways: By analyzing rare nitrogen isotopes in 5-million-year-old plankton fossils, researchers reconstructed past Pacific Ocean conditions to better forecast the future. Even during the warmer Pliocene Epoch, nutrient-rich upwelling in the tropical Pacific remained stable, sustaining marine productivity. The findings challenge predictions of a fisheries collapse. TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2025) – A team of scientists has uncovered a rare isotope in microscopic fossils, offering fresh evidence that ocean ...

CAMBIRDGE, MA -- At the heart of all lithium-ion batteries is a simple reaction: Lithium ions dissolved in an electrolyte solution “intercalate” or insert themselves into a solid electrode during battery discharge. When they de-intercalate and return to the electrolyte, the battery charges. This process happens thousands of times throughout the life of a battery. The amount of power that the battery can generate, and how quickly it can charge, depend on how fast this reaction happens. However, little is known about the exact mechanism of this reaction, or ...

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluorine-based polymer with a wide range of applications, including non-stick cookware production and electrical and optical fiber cable coating, owing to its high durability, thermal stability, and low friction. Ironically, its durability also presents an environmental challenge for its disposal. PTFE is mainly disposed of via incineration, landfilling, and defluorination. However, incineration requires high energy and involves the release of hydrogen fluoride, which is highly corrosive. Meanwhile, landfilling leads to an environmental burden of undegraded PTFE. By contrast, defluorination, in ...

Bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a powerful new technology that can map the entire network of RNA-protein interactions inside human cells — an achievement that could offer new strategies for treating diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s. RNA-protein interactions regulate many essential processes in cells, from turning genes on and off to responding to stress. But until now, scientists could only capture small subsets of these interactions, leaving much of the cellular “conversation” hidden. “This technology is like a wiring map of the cell’s conversations,” said ...

Adolescence is a period of social reorientation: a shift from a world centered on parents and family to one shaped by peers, schools, and broader networks. This expansion is critical for healthy development, but it also heightens susceptibility to social stressors. When those stressors lead young people to withdraw — choosing solitude more often than connection — the brain itself may be altered. Using brain imaging and behavioral data, Caterina Stamoulis, PhD, and her team in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital have found that adolescents who are ...

When University of Texas at Arlington researcher Paul J. Fadel and his colleagues launched a study on vascular health in people with chronic kidney disease, they expected to better understand a long-standing belief. For years, scientists have pointed to a blood marker called ADMA—asymmetric dimethylarginine—as a warning sign for vascular problems. But the team’s findings, recently published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, told a different story. Instead, another blood marker, SDMA—symmetric dimethylarginine—long considered mostly inactive, showed a stronger connection to vascular health than ADMA. “The ...

Since 2022, American companies, consumers, and even the United Nations have used large language models—artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT that are trained to create text that reads like human-generated writing. In a study publishing October 2 in the Cell Press journal Patterns, researchers reveal that AI is used in an average of 17% of analyzed corporate and governmental written content, from job posts to press releases, and this rate will likely continue to increase.   “This is the first comprehensive review of the use of AI-assisted ...

The ‘big bad wolf’ fears the human ‘super predator’ – for good reason Fear of the fabled ‘big bad wolf’ has dominated the public perception of wolves for millennia and strongly influences current debates concerning human-wildlife conflict. Humans both fear wolves and, perhaps more importantly, are concerned about wolves losing their fear of humans – because if they fear us, they avoid us and that offers protection. A new Western University study shows that even where laws are in place to protect them, wolves fully fear the human ‘super predator.’ These findings ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects more than 700 million people worldwide and is caused by genetic and environmental factors, as well as existing medical conditions. Known genetic risk factors for CKD include mutations in a gene called APOL1.  These are rare in most populations, but two risk variants are present in as much as 13 percent of people with West African origin and another 38% possess one copy (carriers). The causes for APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD) are currently not well ...

About The Study: This repeated cross-sectional study provides a picture of the evolution of cardiometabolic risk factors in children over the last 30 years, showing that, in Spain, despite the concerning prevalences of excess weight, lipid parameters and blood pressure have improved over the studied period. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Sergio Nunez de Arenas-Arroyo, PhD, email sergio.nunezdearenas@uclm.es. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.35004) Editor’s ...

About The Study: This multicenter quality improvement study found that use of an ambient artificial intelligence (AI) scribe platform was associated with a significant reduction in burnout, cognitive task load, and time spent documenting, as well as the perception that it could improve patient access to care and increase attention on patient concerns in an ambulatory environment. These findings suggest that AI may help reduce administrative burdens for clinicians and allow more time for meaningful work and ...

A new study by the University of California, Davis, shows how cells work together to avoid a sudden drop in blood sugar. Understanding these feedback loops could improve the lives of people with diabetes and help them avoid dangerous hypoglycemia. The work was published Sept. 16 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  People with diabetes must contend with the long-term risks of high blood sugar, such as blindness, kidney failure, and loss of circulation in the legs, which can ...

In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery leveraged two main studies — one focused on behavior and one focused on genetics — to highlight the correlation between participants’ musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders.  These disorders include developmental language disorder, dyslexia and stuttering, among others.  Evidence showed that deficiency in musical rhythm perception is a “modest ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:   Dan Verello Mount Sinai Press Office 212-241-9200 daniel.verello@mountsinai.org                           Mount Sinai Study Highlights Sex-Based Pelvic Differences’ Effect on Spinal Screw, Rod Placement During Surgical Procedures Findings aimed at tailoring treatment to patients’ specific anatomy Journal: Spine Deformity Title: Impact of sex on S2-alar-iliac pelvic screw position and lumbosacral rod alignment in adult spine deformity Senior Author: James D. Lin, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Orthopedics (Spine Surgery), ...

Patients undergoing coronary angiography often experience anxiety both before and during the procedure, often treated by the administration of anti-anxiety medications. A new analysis being presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Middle East 2025 Together with 16th Emirates Cardiac Society Conference found virtual reality (VR) effectively reduced anxiety during the procedure and had more stable vital signs than patients receiving standard care. “Virtual reality offers an innovative solution to manage ...

Foreign born immigrants to the United States have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than their U.S.-born counterparts; however, that advantage diminishes the longer they live in the U.S., according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Middle East 2025 Together with 16th Emirates Cardiac Society Conference taking place October 3-5, 2025, in Dubai, UAE. “We see that as immigrants are exposed to U.S. dietary and lifestyle habits for prolonged periods of time, it has a negative effect on their heart health,” said Krishna Moparthi, a medical student at John. F. Kennedy University School of Medicine and co-author of the study. “There ...

Miami (October 2, 2025) – The Bronchiectasis and NTM Association announced today that two abstracts using Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry data were presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress, held September 27-October 1, 2025, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The abstracts are: “Exploring the overlapping burden of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and bronchiectasis: insights from the US BRR,” which examined the role of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in the development of bronchiectasis. “Assessing ...

PULLMAN, Washington -- More than half of survivors of the Sudan Ebola virus still suffer serious health problems two years post-infection and the virus can persist in semen and breast milk for months after recovery, according to the first study examining the virus’s long-term effects. The study, led by researchers at Washington State University, found 57.5% of the survivors of an outbreak in Uganda from 2022-23 reported ongoing and debilitating health issues that interfered with their daily lives. The detection of traces of the virus in semen and breast milk also raised concerns ...

Branching isn’t just for trees. This biological process occurs in animal development, enabling organs to perform complex functions. Branch-like structures form in lungs, kidneys, and breasts, among other places. Importantly, only in female mammary glands does most branching occur years after birth. It happens during puberty and again during pregnancy as milk ducts branch out in preparation for breastfeeding. Disturbances here have been linked to breast cancer. However, studying branching can be difficult and time-consuming. Now, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have developed a tool to quickly quantify changes in the branches of mouse mammary glands. ...

Astronomers have identified an enormous ‘growth spurt’ in a so-called rogue planet. Unlike the planets in our Solar System, these objects do not orbit stars, free-floating on their own instead. The new observations, made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), reveal that this free-floating planet is eating up gas and dust from its surroundings at a rate of six billion tonnes a second. This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a rogue planet, or a planet of any kind, providing valuable insights into how they form and grow. “People may think ...

A young rogue planet about 620 light-years away from Earth has experienced a record-breaking “growth spurt,” hoovering up some six billion tons of gas and dust each second over a couple of months.  A team of international researchers have explored changes in the planet’s growth and immediate surroundings. The observations provide insight into how rogue planets—free-floating planetary-mass objects that do not orbit stars—behave and grow in their infancy.   “We’ve caught this newborn rogue planet in the act of gobbling ...

What if the presence of a well-known but misunderstood viral protein explains why some people living with HIV (PLWH) never recover their health, even with antiretroviral treatment? Dr. Madeleine Durand and Andrés Finzi, researchers at the CRCHUM, Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre, will explore this through the launch of a groundbreaking clinical trial this fall. Two studies, one approach With the publication of a remarkable study in 2023, the two scientists and Mehdi Benlarbi, a PhD student in Finzi’s lab, showed a keen interest in the HIV molecule gp120. The virus is known to infect ...