What’s happening inside the brain of a passionate hockey fan during a big game? A new study from the University of Waterloo gives us a closer look at how the brain functions when watching sports, with data showing how different a die-hard fan’s experience is from that of a casual viewer. The researchers found that during offensive faceoff opportunities, fans deeply invested in hockey showed more activity in a part of the brain called the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. This area is connected to emotional involvement and evaluative thinking — the mental ...

International regulation of tech giants, intellectual property reform, and preparation for workforce disruption must be prioritized by policymakers as artificial intelligence transforms society. These are the arguments of AI expert Professor Shalom Lappin, which he backs with comprehensive research in his new book Understanding the Artificial Intelligence Revolution. “The public domain and its citizens need to play a major role in determining the framework within which AI technology continues to develop,” argues Lappin, who holds positions at Queen Mary University of ...

(New York, NY – June 8, 2025) – Sleep medicine experts from the Mount Sinai Health System are presenting new research at SLEEP 2025, the 39th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, from June 8-11 in Seattle. Please let me know if you would like to coordinate an interview about their work. The doctors and researchers are also available to comment on other breaking news and trending topics. The research appears in an online supplement of the journal, Sleep. These abstracts are available for ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, state Medigap guaranteed issue protections were associated with higher rates of switching to traditional Medicare among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries newly diagnosed with cancer. These findings underscore the protective association of state Medigap regulations in facilitating a switch to traditional Medicare (especially among beneficiaries who likely desired more flexibility in accessing and receiving care) and illuminate potential disparities in switching that may reflect unequal abilities to compare and afford plans. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Youngmin Kwon, PhD, ...

Tokyo, Japan – A team led by a researcher from Tokyo Metropolitan University has devised a new way of coating magnesium alloys to improve their corrosion resistance. Instead of costly, unwieldy, and slower coating techniques under vacuum, they used liquid-based chemical conversion coating with the addition of cavitation bubbles. The resulting thick coating helped improve corrosion resistance to chlorides and mechanical properties. The team’s new technology is aimed at reinforcing lightweight materials ...

PHILADELPHIA (June 4, 2025) - New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center and Temple University about nutritional biomarkers using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios showed very different results in children versus adults, which points the way to better understanding the role of added sugars in overall dietary patterns across the lifespan. Overall, added sugar intake by Americans well exceeds amounts recommended by the federal government. This is concerning because excess intake is associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. ...

Miami, Fl. — Giant viruses play a role in the survival of single-celled marine organisms called protists. These include algae, amoeba, and flagellates, that form the base of ocean food webs. And since these protists form an important part of the food chain, these large DNA viruses are often responsible for various public health hazards, including harmful algal blooms.  A new study from scientists at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science may help unravel the many types of viruses present in our waterways and oceans. This knowledge could help local leaders better ...

With careful planning and a little luck, researchers found a surprising upside to hurricanes after a Category 4 storm disrupted their expedition off the coast of Mexico. The team was able to sample the ocean right after the storm passed and found that the storms churn the ocean so powerfully and deeply — up to thousands of meters — that nutrient-rich, cold water is brought to the surface. The resulting phytoplankton blooms — visible in satellite imagery taken from space — are a feast for bacteria, zooplankton, small fish, and filter-feeding animals such as shellfish ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A study led by biomedical scientists at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine shows how a genetic mutation associated with Crohn’s disease can worsen iron deficiency and anemia — one of the most common complications experienced by patients with inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. While IBD — a group of chronic inflammatory disorders that includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis — primarily affects the intestines, it can have effects beyond the gut. Iron deficient ...

Chagas disease is often called a silent killer because many people don’t realize they have it until complications from the infection kill them. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are exploring ways to interrupt the lifecycle of the parasite behind the illness, offering hope of developing a cure. The disease is spread by parasites found in kissing bugs, which suck the blood of people when they are sleeping. The bugs typically bite victims around their faces, which gives them their ironically sweet-sounding name. The bugs transmit the internal parasites in their poop, which infects the bloodstream of human hosts through the bite wounds. The study was published ...

East Hanover, NJ – June 6, 2025 – The latest National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) report shows that people with disabilities maintain connection to the workforce as the economy slows and the supply chains brace for the potential impact of tariffs. nTIDE is issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability. Month-to-Month nTIDE Numbers (comparing April 2025 to May 2025) Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released today, the employment-to-population ratio for people with disabilities (ages ...

MADISON — An international team of astronomers has trained a neural network with millions of synthetic simulations and artificial intelligence (AI) to tease out new cosmic curiosities about black holes, revealing the one at the center of our Milky Way is spinning at nearly top speed.  These large ensembles of simulations were generated by throughput computing capabilities provided by the Center for High Throughput Computing (CHTC), a joint entity of the Morgridge Institute for Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The astronomers published their results and methodology today in three papers in the journal Astronomy ...

New genetic research is shedding light on why some children benefit more than others from orthokeratology lenses—an increasingly popular method to slow the progression of myopia. In the largest genome-wide study of its kind, scientists discovered that children who responded better to treatment carried a higher number of nonsynonymous mutations in genes associated with retinal diseases. Among the key players identified were RIMS2 and LCA5, genes involved in retinal function and visual processing. These insights not only reveal a biological basis for the variability in treatment outcomes but also pave the way for using genetic screening to personalize ...

While kelp forests persist along northern Maine’s rocky coast, kelp abundance has declined by as much as 80% on the southern coast in recent decades. In its stead, carpet-like turf algae have moved in. A team, led by scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, are examining the broad consequences of this shift. Their recently published research in Science Advances shows that predator-prey interactions and the flow of energy are fundamentally different on turf-dominated reefs compared to the remaining kelp forests. Using ...

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Adding IL-12, a cytokine produced by various immune cells, to mRNA vaccines improves T cell responses This could make the benefits of vaccines last longer This is also a promising approach for reducing the risk of cancer In the quest to design vaccines that better help the body’s immune system fight disease, scientists are always looking for more tools for their arsenal. The strong antibody responses generated by vaccines provide an important first round of defense, but “you always want to have a backup plan,” says Biomedical Graduate Studies Ph.D. student Emily A. Aunins, considering viruses mutate to evade antibody responses that ...

PHILADELPHIA (June 6, 2025) – A new Penn Nursing Center for Health Outcomes & Policy Research (CHOPR) study sheds light on the critical factors that help or hinder hospital nurses in providing quality care to socially disadvantaged populations. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, offer vital insights to inform hospital strategies for advancing high-quality, equitable care. The study, which analyzed open-text responses from 1084 direct care hospital nurses across 58 New York and Illinois hospitals, identified six key themes impacting care delivery: Profits ...

Fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) have been touted as a potential treatment for a variety of conditions, from inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and type 2 diabetes to autism. New research from the University of Chicago, however, cautions against widespread use of FMT because of the potential for long-lasting, unintended health consequences for recipients. FMT involves transferring microbes in the stool from a healthy person to a sick one, in hopes of restoring a healthy equilibrium in the gut microbiome. Since stools contain primarily anaerobic microbes from the colon (i.e. they can’t tolerate oxygen), FMT can cause mismatches in the gut ecosystem when those bacteria colonize the ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, poor mental health among workers varied significantly by sociodemographic categories; significant differences among industry and occupation groups remained after adjustment. More research is needed on the effects of work-related factors on mental health, which may inform tailored treatment and prevention strategies. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Aaron L. Sussell, PhD, email als7@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that, despite some differences by political affiliation, there is high support of policies to support the adult care economy, suggesting a policy window to advance legislation and executive action to address the care needs of aging populations and populations with disabilities. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Katherine E. M. Miller, PhD, email kmill177@jh.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1204) Editor’s ...

Real-world study found self-collection tests were effective at increasing cervical cancer screening participation in underserved U.S. populations   Women who received the self-collection kits were more than twice as likely to participate in screening compared to those who received only a telephone reminder    These results could inform cervical cancer screening health policy  HOUSTON, JUNE 6, 2025 ― Mail-in self-collection tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) more than doubled cervical cancer screening participation among never- and under-screened ...

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) today announced it has awarded its 1,000th AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation. Since 2005, on-air meteorologists have displayed the AMS CBM seal to denote their expertise not only in weather-related communication but also in meteorological science and forecasting.  “The CBM indicates that your weather broadcaster is a scientist who understands meteorology and forecasting, and who has achieved our standard of excellence in communicating technically sound knowledge to the public in a clear and responsible manner,” says Kelly Savoie, Director of Career Development ...

Hypertension or high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack and stroke, the two top causes of death in the United States, is one of the most widespread chronic illnesses in America, afflicting nearly half of adults. In a recent Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) health survey, 35% of respondents report having been diagnosed with high blood pressure and two-thirds of this group say they’re somewhat or very worried about having high blood pressure.   But the survey finds that ...

Co-packaged optics (CPO) technology can integrate photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with electronic integrated circuits (EICs) like CPUs and GPUs on a single platform. This advanced technology has immense potential to improve data transmission efficiency within data centers and high-performance computing environments. CPO systems require a laser source for operation, which can be either integrated directly into the silicon photonic chips (integrated laser sources) or provided externally. While integrated laser sources allow for dense CPO integration, ensuring ...

Boron, though required only in minimal amounts, is vital for plant development. It strengthens cell walls and supports the growth of roots and shoots. Normally, boron, in the form of boric acid, is passively absorbed by plant roots and transported throughout the plant via diffusion. However, boron is often scarce in soil, particularly in arid regions, making passive absorption impossible. To combat this, plants have evolved proteins that actively transport boron from the soil into the plant. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the protein AtNIP5;1—a boric acid channel ...

We have all heard of antibodies – proteins produced by our bodies to bind to viruses or bacteria, marking them for elimination by the immune system. But not all of us are familiar with aptamers: short segments of DNA or RNA that are designed to bind, like antibodies, to specific targets. Synthetic and inexpensive to produce, aptamers are attractive alternatives to antibodies for biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics. When new aptamer binders are needed, for example to detect a new virus, they are developed from libraries of millions of nucleic acid sequences from which the best matches for a given target are selected and amplified. ...