Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have uncovered a promising new therapeutic target for Barth syndrome, a rare genetic condition with no current cure.  Barth syndrome is an X-linked genetic condition affecting about 500 people worldwide, most of whom are males. The rare condition causes muscle weakness, frequent infections and cardiomyopathy. While heart transplants can manage cardiac symptoms, many children with Barth syndrome do not live past early childhood.  The research, published in Nature, was an international effort involving academic and industry collaborations, and revealed ...

A research team led by Nanjing University has introduced a transparent, colorless, and unidirectional solar concentrator that can be directly coated onto standard window glass. Utilizing cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) multilayers with submicron lateral periodicities, this diffractive-type solar concentrator (CUSC) selectively guides sunlight toward the edge of the window where photovoltaic cells are installed. The study appears in PhotoniX. Unlike conventional luminescent or scattering-based concentrators, which often suffer ...

SAN ANTONIO — September 3, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has completed a mission study detailing how a proposed spacecraft could fly by an interstellar comet, providing remarkable insights into the properties of bodies originating beyond our solar system. The internally funded SwRI project developed the mission design, scientific objectives, payload and key requirements based on previous interstellar object (ISO) detections. Using the recent discovery of 3I/ATLAS, the team validated the mission ...

Obtaining prefrontal cortex biopsies during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in living patients does not increase the risk of adverse events or cognitive decline compared to standard DBS procedures that don’t involve biopsies, a team of clinical research scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has demonstrated. The study findings, published online September 3 in Neurosurgery, the official publication of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, establish the safety of an approach that allows researchers to collect valuable living human brain tissue during planned neurosurgical procedures, ...

DALLAS, September 3, 2025 — Atrial fibrillation, or AFib, often goes unrecognized despite affecting millions and increasing stroke risk by up to 5 times[1]. New consumer patient research from the American Heart Association, conducted by The Olinger Group, finds that most people with AFib (62%) had no prior knowledge of the condition before being diagnosed[2]. During September, AFib Awareness Month, the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, is raising awareness nationwide about the condition, and that early identification and treatment of AFib are critical to stroke prevention. Anyone can develop ...

DALLAS, Sep. 3, 2025 — Only 1 in 4 children in the U.S. gets the recommended amount of daily physical activity, and about 1 in 3 is overweight or obese[1]. To help address these growing health concerns[2], the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, has awarded wellness grants to 69 schools across the country to support healthier learning environments. Through its Kids Heart Challenge™ and American Heart Challenge™ initiatives, the Association awards annual financial grants that provide schools with resources to meet their health and wellness needs — from the purchase of physical education ...

About The Study: Application of the Transparent Reporting of Observational Studies Emulating a Target Trial (TARGET) guideline recommendations aims to improve reporting transparency and peer review and help researchers, clinicians, and other readers interpret and apply the results. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, James H. McAuley, PhD, email james.mcauley@unsw.edu.au. Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2025.13350?guestAccessKey=6ad54c92-efdb-4815-8df4-2ed119c048a7&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=090325 #  ...

About The Study: Findings from this systematic review indicated that nonregistration, premature discontinuation due to poor recruitment, and nonpublication of randomized clinical trial (RCT) results remained major challenges, especially for non–industry-sponsored trials. To mitigate these challenges, requirements enforced by funders and ethics committees also taking into account legal obligations should be considered and empirically evaluated. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Matthias Briel, MD, PhD, email matthias.briel@usb.ch. Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This ...

About The Study: Use of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) -Equity extension alongside the STROBE statement when writing up completed reports of observational studies has the potential to advance the reporting of health equity data and considerations. Improved reporting of this information may help knowledge users better identify and apply evidence relevant to populations experiencing inequities. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Omar Dewidar, ...

Microplastics are tiny, plastic fragments — many too small to see — found in the air, soil and water. Measuring their abundance in nature can direct cleanup resources, but current detection methods are slow, expensive or highly technical. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Sensors have developed a living sensor that attaches to plastic and produces green fluorescence. In an initial test on real-world water samples, the biosensor could easily detect environmentally relevant levels of microplastics. Currently, scientists detect ...

Brain–computer interfaces are technologies that enable direct communication between brain activity and external devices, enabling researchers to monitor and interpret brain signals in real time. These connections often involve arrays of tiny, hair-like electrodes called “microelectrodes” which are implanted within the brain to record or stimulate electrical activity. For decades, microelectrodes have faced a challenge in balancing conductivity with tissue compatibility. Rigid metal or silicon-based electrodes enable stable signal recordings but often damage the delicate brain tissues, whereas softer polymer electrodes reduce harm but suffer from poor signal transmission. Bridging ...

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic mental health condition characterized by recurrent episodes of depression and mania. It poses a substantial burden on global health, with an increasing incidence. Despite its prevalence, there exists a significant gap in understanding the underlying neuropathological mechanisms. Although mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in BD, the specific brain region damaged is not yet fully understood. A deeper understanding is essential for advancing research efforts and developing ...

Polyamines, a group of naturally occurring molecules found in all living organisms, are essential for fundamental cellular processes, such as growth and differentiation. In recent years, these compounds (particularly spermidine) have gained attention as promising ‘geroprotectors’ that promote healthy aging and extend lifespan. Studies have shown that polyamines can activate beneficial cellular processes like autophagy, which helps clear damaged cell components, primarily through a protein called eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A1). However, these positive effects are overshadowed by a troubling paradox, as elevated polyamine levels are also consistently ...

HARWELL, UK (3 September 2025) The Faraday Institution has announced a £9 million commitment to build on its application-inspired research programme to deliver the battery innovations of tomorrow. The two new projects, that will begin in October 2025, include, for the first time, a Faraday Institution project to advance the scientific understanding of battery formation, ageing and testing -- a stage at the end of the battery manufacturing process. The project will aim to formulate new protocols to reduce battery manufacturing time and energy consumption in gigafactories. This is the first of a number of new initiatives by the Faraday Institution ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL SEPT 3, 2025, AT 6:00 A.M. EDT) – Patients are increasingly turning to AI for medical information and even advice, but how should they approach using AI-powered services? A new study published Sept. 3 in the peer-reviewed journal, Future Science OA, provides insight into this question for the fast-moving field of blood cancer, evaluating the quality of responses by ChatGPT to a set of 10 medical questions. The study investigated ChatGPT 3.5, a version of the popular chatbot from OpenAI that was freely available when the study was conducted, in July 2024. Four anonymous hematology-oncology physicians evaluated the answers. ChatGPT 3.5 performed best ...

New research from Michigan State University reveals that photorespiration – long considered a wasteful process – is essential for producing a crucial nutrient for preventing birth defects. For the first time, scientists have measured how much carbon flows through photorespiration to make folates, a class of compounds that includes vitamin B9 – known for its importance as a prenatal vitamin. According to the study, led by MSU researcher Berkley Walker, about 6 percent of the carbon absorbed by plants is used to make folates. That number plummets by fivefold when photorespiration is suppressed.   These findings, published in Nature Plants, could help scientists engineer ...

A team of scientists at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) has created a protein-based therapeutic tool  that could change the way we treat diseases caused by harmful or unnecessary cells. The new tool, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, involves a synthetic protein called Crunch, short for Connector for Removal of Unwanted Cell Habitat. Crunch uses the body’s natural waste removal system to clear out specific target cells, offering hope for improved treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other diseases where harmful cells cause damage. Every day, billions of our body’s ...

Osaka, Japan – The nostalgic “glow-in-the-dark” stars that twinkle on the ceilings of childhood bedrooms operate on a phenomenon called phosphorescence. Here, a material absorbs energy and later releases it in the form of light. However, recent demand for softer, phosphorescent materials has presented researchers with a unique challenge, as producing organic liquids with efficient phosphorescence at room temperature is considered difficult. Now, researchers at The University of Osaka have attempted to tackle this problem by producing an organic liquid that phosphoresces in the ambient environment. ...

Climate action is falling behind on the goals as stated in the Paris Agreement. To meet those goals, countries must act according to their ‘fair share’ targets. However, researchers from Utrecht University found a bias in how ambition and fairness assessments were calculated until now: “previous studies assessing countries climate ambition share a feature that rewards high emitters at the expense of the most vulnerable ones.” This finding influences climate change mitigations globally. The research, led by Yann Robiou du Pont, was published on 3 September in Nature Communications. The ...

The world’s methane emissions continue to rise steadily with no signs of slowing, as global trade contributes some 30% to the total amount of the greenhouse gas swirling around the planet, a new study reveals. As major trade patterns shift, South-South transactions now dominate global supply chains with developing countries increasingly participating in global supply chains. Asia and the developing Pacific region emerge as the largest contributors to global methane emissions, driven by rapid industrialisation and population growth. Publishing their research today (3 Sep) in Nature Communications, an international team led by researchers at the Universities of Birmingham ...

A study in Health Economics reveals that comprehensive state bans on flavored e-cigarettes may reduce vaping among young adults, but they can also lead to increased use of traditional cigarettes. Using information from national datasets and advanced statistical methods, researchers found evidence that young adults 18–24 years of age decrease their use of e-cigarettes by about 2–3 percentage points after state bans, while increasing traditional cigarette use by a similar amount. Because cigarettes are more dangerous to health than e-cigarettes, there appears to be a net negative effect on health for this age group. For youth ...

Research in Economic Inquiry reveals that Major League Baseball teams appear to manage player injuries differently depending on contract status, with players on temporary contracts missing significantly fewer games due to injury. This suggests that teams may invest less in the long-term health of non-permanent players. For the study, investigators analyzed 2009–2017 data, with 4,125 observations for 1,184 unique players, so that the average player had available data for approximately 3.5 years. The findings raise ...

Society is experiencing increased global demand for lithium, a critical resource for rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and energy storage systems. Conventional lithium extraction methods from ore reserves or liquid lithium resources are saddled with low efficiency, high costs, and environmental concerns, but researchers have now developed a promising new method. As described in Advanced Functional Materials, the method involves a solar-powered evaporator that extracts lithium from saline, or salt, lakes. The method relies ...

Traditional polymers such as plastics are widely utilized for their chemical inertness and durability. However, these very properties make them non-degradable in nature and cause long-term environmental damage due to their persistence. In this light, biodegradable polymers that can be broken down by microbes have gained a lot of attention and scientists have turned towards cyclic ketene acetals (CKAs), a group of organic compounds containing carbon atoms and oxygen arranged in a ring-like structure, to develop biodegradable polymers. CKAs ...

SDE BOKER, Israel, September 3, 2025 — A groundbreaking study from researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev reveals that desert soils can emit powerful greenhouse gases within minutes of being wetted—even in the absence of microbial life. Published by Dr. Isaac Yagle and Prof. Ilya Gelfand at BGU's Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research in Scientific Reports, the study challenges long-standing assumptions that soil microbes are solely responsible for post-rain “pulse emissions” of gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O), and nitric oxide (NO). ...