Geelong, Australia — A team of researchers has discovered that adding biochar to potting mix can significantly improve basil growth while also advancing sustainable farming practices. Using Internet of Things (IoT) technology to track plant health in real time, the study highlights how small changes in growth media can benefit both agriculture and the environment. The research, published in Biochar, tested six different growth media for basil cultivation over 30 days in “smart growth cabinets.” These controlled chambers allowed ...

A new study has revealed how tiny microbes in rivers and wetlands across China help clean up excess nitrogen pollution, offering fresh insights into the health of freshwater ecosystems and the global nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen is essential for life, but too much of it—often from fertilizer use, fossil fuel burning, and agriculture—ends up in rivers and lakes. This overload can trigger harmful algal blooms, oxygen loss, fish die-offs, and long-term damage to ecosystems. Scientists have long known that microbes play a critical ...

Women who don’t turn up for their first breast screening appointment face a 40% higher long term risk of dying from breast cancer, mainly due to delayed detection, finds a study published by The BMJ today. The researchers say targeting these women offers a critical opportunity to reduce breast cancer deaths at the population level. Mammograms can detect breast cancer early, often before a lump can be felt, which improves the chances of successful treatment and survival.  Although a later stage breast cancer diagnosis is more frequent among women who did not attend their latest ...

Women who miss their first mammogram run a higher risk of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and dying from the disease. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the scientific journal BMJ. Since the early 1990s, women in Sweden have been offered regular mammograms, which has contributed to a decrease in breast cancer mortality. Despite this, a significant proportion choose not to attend their first examination. The researchers behind the new study wanted to investigate the long-term consequences of this. The study is based on data from the Swedish mammography ...

Globally, the number of new cancer cases has more than doubled since 1990 to 18.5 million in 2023; whilst the number of cancer deaths increased 74% to 10.4 million (both excluding non-melanoma skin cancers)—with the majority of people affected living in low- and middle-income countries. Over 40% of cancer deaths globally are linked to 44 modifiable risk factors including tobacco use, an unhealthy diet, and high blood sugar—presenting an opportunity for prevention. The number of new cancer cases worldwide ...

Editage China today announced the launch of a pioneering academic solution that combines human expertise with ethical AI to address the evolving needs of researchers in China. The new offering goes beyond traditional editing services to deliver a unique blend of human expertise, advanced AI tools, and hybrid solutions. This approach offers researchers a responsible, future-ready solution to navigate both opportunities and blind spots of AI in publishing. Editage China today announced the launch of a pioneering academic solution that combines human expertise with ethical AI to address the evolving needs of researchers in China. The ...

Menopause linked to distinct differences in multiple sclerosis presentation and comorbidities, new study shows (Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, 25 September 2025) New research presented today at the 41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS 2025) reveals that menopause may significantly influence how multiple sclerosis (MS) first presents in women, as well as the types of associated health conditions they experience.1 These novel findings could pave the ...

Ultra-processed foods linked to heightened disease activity in early multiple sclerosis, new study finds (Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, 25 September 2025) Higher intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may exacerbate disease activity in early multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research presented at the 41st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS 2025).1 Researchers found that increased UPF consumption was linked to more frequent relapses and greater MRI-detected lesion activity, highlighting the potential role of diet as a complementary strategy in disease management. The study, led by Dr Gloria Dalla Costa, analysed ...

In six massive laboratory freezers at the University of Utah, nearly 40,000 blood samples wait in frozen stasis. They represent four years of data from one of the largest studies of hypertension in the U.S.: an intensive blood pressure intervention study called the SPRINT trial. And hidden in many of these blood samples are subtle chemical signals that point to their donors’ current and future brain health conditions—among them Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, the most common cause of disability among adults over 65. Now, powered by a $25.7M, five-year National Institutes of Health ...

ITHACA, N.Y. — In a potentially threatening situation, the world looks more dangerous when caring for a baby, finds first-of-its-kind Cornell University psychology research using virtual environments to explore parenting dynamics. When playing an online game that placed an adult on the side of a road after running out of gas, both parents and nonparents were quicker to detect oncoming traffic—and rated cars as moving faster—when they had to keep a virtual baby out of harm’s way. Reactions were quicker ...

Manufacturers of infrared cameras face a growing problem: the toxic heavy metals in today's infrared detectors are increasingly banned under environmental regulations, forcing companies to choose between performance and compliance. This regulatory pressure is slowing the broader adoption of infrared detectors across civilian applications, just as demand in fields like autonomous vehicles, medical imaging and national security is accelerating. In a paper published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers at NYU Tandon School ...

NAU researchers are experimenting with new technology that could help medical providers easily detect Alzheimer’s disease early and prevent its advance.  Led by Travis Gibbons, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, and fueled in part by a grant from the Arizona Alzheimer’s Association, the research project centers on the brain’s metabolism—specifically, how it uses glucose, the sugar that fuels our thoughts, movements and emotions.  “The brain is like a muscle,” ...

Dog owners are often associated with personality traits of being social and community-oriented while "cat people" are often thought of as introverted and more open-minded, according to prior research. But if you're about to raise money for a charity from people with pets, you may want to think about the strategy. A new Dartmouth study finds that cat owners donate slightly more than dog owners, and also donate more often and more diversely. However, people without pets donate the most. The findings are published in the journal Anthrozoӧs. To examine philanthropic ...

In a world-first, researchers from the Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) have directly observed the evolution of the elusive dark excitons in atomically thin materials, laying the foundation for new breakthroughs in both classical and quantum information technologies. Their findings have been published in Nature Communications. Professor Keshav Dani, head of the unit, highlights the significance: "Dark excitons have great potential as information carriers, because they are inherently less likely to interact with light, and hence less prone to degradation of their quantum properties. ...

Art isn’t just for stages and studios. It can be a powerful public health resource. That’s the takeaway from a new international study, commissioned by the Jameel Arts and Health Lab, which examined nearly 100 research projects from 27 countries to consider how arts programs, such as music, dance, theater, storytelling and other creative and cultural activities, can help prevent some of the world’s biggest killers: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other non-communicable diseases, which account ...

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (09/24/2025) — New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School confirms that testing for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) at birth using the routinely collected dried blood spot (DBS) is a reliable and effective method to identify newborns at risk for long-term developmental challenges. The findings were recently published in JAMA Network Open.  Congenital CMV is a virus passed to infants in the womb and occurs in about 1 in 200 infants. About 20% of babies with cCMV infection have birth defects or other long-term health problems.  The findings demonstrate that the PCR-based test performed on dried blood ...

When a woman becomes pregnant, the outcome of that pregnancy depends on many things — including a crucial event that happened while she was still growing inside her own mother’s womb. It depends on the quality of the egg cells that were already forming inside her fetal ovaries. The DNA-containing chromosomes in those cells must be cut, spliced and sorted perfectly. In males, the same process produces sperm in the testes but occurs only after puberty. “If that goes wrong, then you end up with the wrong number of chromosomes in the eggs or sperm,” said Neil Hunter, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of ...

A study from the Medical University of South Carolina, published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, reveals that shorter storage durations of donor human milk are linked to reduced gastrointestinal complicatoins in premature infants, including necrotizing enterocolitis. These findings suggestt that minimizing milk storage time may help to preserve protective properties crucial for preterm gut health, offering new insights into neonatal nutrition practices and improving outcomes for vulnerable ...

Ninety-three percent of patients with a new cancer diagnosis were exposed to at least one type of misinformation about cancer treatments, a UF Health Cancer Center study has found. Most patients encountered the misinformation — defined as unproven or disproven cancer treatments and myths or misconceptions — even when they weren’t looking for it. The findings have major implications for cancer treatment decision-making. Specifically, doctors should assume the patient has seen or heard misinformation. “Clinicians should assume when their patients are coming to them for a treatment discussion that they have been exposed ...

A discovery by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Shandong University — together with an international team of scientists working in China, Japan and South Korea — sheds new light on the historical use and domestication of the adzuki bean across East Asia. Researchers recovered charred adzuki bean remains from the Xiaogao site in Shandong, China that were dated to 9,000 to 8,000 years ago, during the beginning of the Neolithic age when humans first began to cultivate plants and domesticate ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 Highlights: Skin-to-skin care in preterm infants born before 32 weeks was linked to measurable differences in brain development. Longer cuddle sessions were associated with signs of brain growth in regions tied to emotional and stress regulation as well as memory. Both session length and amount per day mattered, with longer skin-to-skin sessions showing the strongest associations. Even after adjusting for medical and social factors—like gestational age, socioeconomic status and the frequency of family visits—brain differences remained. Researchers say the findings underscore ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025. Highlights: Overall rates of self-reported cognitive disability rose from 5.3% to 7.4% in the last decade. Rates nearly doubled among younger adults ages 18 to 39. People with annual incomes under $35,000 and less education saw the biggest increases. American Indian and Alaska Native adults had the highest reported rates. Study authors call for more research into social and economic drivers. MINNEAPOLIS – A growing number of U.S. adults—particularly ...

Recent restrictions on public policies and healthcare for transgender people in several countries, including Brazil, threaten to dismantle existing care structures for this population and could lead to setbacks. This warning is contained in an article published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine by a group of Brazilian researchers. The text discusses the new resolution (No. 2,427), issued by the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) in April. The resolution banned the use of hormone blockers for minors under 18 in Brazil, increased the minimum age for cross-sex hormone therapy from 16 to 18, and permitted gender transition surgeries only for individuals ...

One of the first randomized controlled trials assessing the effectiveness of a large language model (LLM) chatbot ‘Amanda’ for relationship support shows that a single session of  chatbot therapy can be as beneficial as a evidence-based journaling in assisting with relationship conflict resolution, according to a study published September 24, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Dr Laura Vowels from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the University of Roehampton, United Kingdom, and colleagues. Recent ...

Racial/ethnic discrimination is associated with an increased risk of psychosis, a mental state where someone loses touch with reality, experiencing symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, confused thinking, and disorganized behavior, according to a new study published September 24, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by India Francis-Crossley from University College London, U.K., and colleagues.  Psychosis is a severe mental health condition that has detrimental impacts on people’s lives, and longstanding ethnic disparities in psychosis risk are well-documented. ...