Written by Jessica Colarossi Microplastics—tiny shards of plastic debris—are all over the planet. They have made their way up food chains, accumulated in oceans, clustered in clouds and on mountains, and been found inside our bodies at alarming rates. Scientists have been racing to uncover the unforeseen impacts of so much plastic in and around us. One possible, and surprising, consequence: more drug-resistant bacteria. In a startling discovery, a team of Boston University researchers found that bacteria exposed to microplastics became resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. They ...

Washington, D.C.—Microplastics are not just pollutants, but also highly complex materials that facilitate antimicrobial resistance, even without antibiotics, according to a new study. The findings were published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. “Addressing plastic pollution isn’t just an environmental issue—it’s a critical public health priority in the fight against drug-resistant infections,” said lead study author Neila Gross, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Professor Muhammad ...

WASHINGTON—Endocrine Society members elected Nanette Santoro, M.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, Colo., as its 2026-2027 President. She will serve as President-Elect for a year beginning in July 2025 before becoming President in June 2026. Santoro has served as E. Stewart Taylor Chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine since 2010. She is a well-recognized practitioner, dedicated mentor and leading researcher on studies of women with premature and age-appropriate menopause. She has held many roles with the Endocrine Society, including serving as Vice President of Clinical Science, an author ...

The annual migration of Christmas Island’s red crabs – where millions of creatures cover its beaches as they make their way from land to sea – is a true natural spectacle. However, little is known about whether and how the species might be impacted under the future environmental conditions created by the changing global climate. A new study by scientists and graduates at the University of Plymouth has investigated one aspect of how such shifts might affect its earliest development. Specifically, the research focused on whether lower ...

A review explores the role of AI in engineering, assessing the benefits and challenges of the synergy between the two fields. A 2004 DARPA contest pitted AI vehicles against one another in a race on 150 miles of dirt roads. The best-performing vehicle made it less than eight miles of the way. The next year, five vehicles finished a 132-mile course, and today driverless cabs are active in several major cities. Enthusiasts have suggested AI could improve transportation and manufacturing, medicine, consumer goods, and military technology. Rama Chellappa, Guru Madhavan, Ed ...

Mill Valley, CA – March 11, 2025 – The SynGAP Research Fund (SRF) dba Cure SYNGAP1, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has awarded a $450,000 grant to Dr. Megan Abbott and the University of Colorado to establish a Clinical Research Center of Excellence for SYNGAP1-Related Disorders at Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO). This initiative expands the already established Natural History Study to the SYNGAP1 Prospective Multidisciplinary Multisite Study (ProMMiS) while providing specialized care for individuals affected by SYNGAP1-related disorders ...

Rochester, NY – March 10, 2025 – Empire Discovery Institute (EDI), a leading non-profit drug discovery and development accelerator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Ronald Newbold as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. Newbold, who joined EDI in 2021 as Chief Business Officer, has served as interim CEO since August 2022 and has been instrumental in driving the organization’s growth and success. Under his leadership, EDI has achieved significant milestones, including the growth of the Medicines Discovery ...

CHICAGO – The Pezcoller Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research will be presented to Douglas Hanahan, PhD, Fellow of the AACR Academy, during the AACR Annual Meeting 2025, to be held April 25-30 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. Hanahan is the Ludwig Distinguished Scholar at the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. He is being recognized for his fundamental discoveries in cancer research that have had a far-reaching translational impact. Through the generation and characterization of innovative mouse models, Hanahan defined multistep ...

Researchers have developed a comprehensive atlas that maps DNA methylation—a critical chemical modification governing gene activity—across 39 human cell types, revealing a complex landscape of epigenetic regulation. The study identified over 34,000 genomic regions exhibiting distinct ON/OFF methylation patterns at the two copies of the genome we inherited from our parents, a phenomenon known as allele-specific methylation. Some of these methylation changes are caused by genetic differences in genomic sequence of DNA, while others are due to parental imprinting—a ...

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have identified genetic changes in blood stem cells from frequent blood donors that support the production of new, non-cancerous cells. Understanding the differences in the mutations that accumulate in our blood stem cells as we age is important to understand how and why blood cancers develop and hopefully how to intervene before the onset of clinical symptoms. As we age, stem cells in the bone marrow naturally accumulate mutations and with this, we see the emergence of clones, which are groups of blood cells ...

A new study has found that targeted psychological interventions can significantly enhance long-term resistance to misinformation. Dubbed “psychological booster shots,” these interventions improve memory retention and help individuals recognize and resist misleading information more effectively over time. The study, published in Nature Communications, explores how different approaches, including text-based messages, videos, and online games, can inoculate people against misinformation. The researchers from the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Potsdam and King’s College London conducted five large-scale experiments with over ...

A study led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has used a novel approach to unravel the influence of the loss of Arctic sea ice on the planet's climate, isolating it from other factors related to climate change. The study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, shows that on decadal timescales, the loss of Arctic ice favours the climate of the south-west of the United States - and California in particular - becoming drier on average, especially in winter. This phenomenon would also affect ...

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a liver disease that progresses without symptoms and is associated with significant global public health concerns. It is prevalent in 30% of the population worldwide and poses a risk of advancing to cirrhosis and liver cancer. MASH is marked by lipid droplet accumulation in the liver, progressing from steatosis to inflammation and cell damage, ultimately leading to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. A clear understanding of cellular processes in MASH pathogenesis is essential for developing ...

The first-ever published research on Tinshemet Cave reveals that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens in the mid-Middle Paleolithic Levant not only coexisted but actively interacted, sharing technology, lifestyles, and burial customs. These interactions fostered cultural exchange, social complexity, and behavioral innovations, such as formal burial practices and the symbolic use of ochre for decoration. The findings suggest that human connections, rather than isolation, were key drivers of technological and cultural advancements, highlighting the Levant as a crucial crossroads in early human history. Link to the images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19p__omKCSSPkGBI3b8beF1QXqeRahGk1?usp=drive_link ...

xIt would be greatly beneficial to physicians trying to save lives in intensive care units if they could be alerted when a patient’s condition rapidly deteriorates or shows vitals in highly abnormal ranges. While current machine learning models are attempting to achieve that goal, a Virginia Tech study recently published in Communications Medicine shows that they are falling short with models for in-hospital mortality prediction, which refers to predicting the likelihood of a patient dying in the hospital, failing to recognize ...

Statement Highlights: Peripheral vascular disease (PVD)—a condition affecting arteries, veins and the lymphatic systems throughout the body—has significant differences in incidence, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes in women vs. men. Women with PVD often experience subtle or atypical symptoms, which can lead to underdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis, and they are less likely to receive guideline-recommended treatments. Targeted screening, tailored treatment strategies and increased representation of women in clinical trials are critical priorities to addressing these gaps ...

University of Birmingham spin-out Irresistible Materials Ltd (IM), a leader in the development of novel resist materials for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, has announced the appointment of Dinesh R. Bettadapur as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and board director. Bettadapur brings a wealth of business experience and strategic vision to the company, having previously held leadership roles at ASML, Intel, and Lam Research, as well as multiple Silicon Valley startups where he enabled significant business growth leading to three successful exits. In his new role, Bettadapur will lead IM’s business strategy and commercial engagements ...

New research published in the academic journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that artisan gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon has caused more destruction to carbon-rich peatlands in the past two years than in the previous three decades combined, posing a serious threat to the environment and climate.    For decades, small-scale gold mining has thrived along the rivers of the Madre de Dios region, driven by gold frequently found in the surrounding soils. While the deforestation caused by mining has already resulted in significant carbon emissions, scientists have now discovered that the damage ...

Cost, technical performance and environmental impact – these are the three most important aspects for a new type of LED technology to have a broad commercial impact on society. This has been demonstrated by researchers at Linköping University in a study published in Nature Sustainability. “Perovskite LEDs are cheaper and easier to manufacture than traditional LEDs, and they can also produce vibrant and intense colours if used in screens. I’d say that this is the next generation ...

A team of researchers has rediscovered a frog species which has not been seen in more than 130 years. First described in 1902, Alsodes vittatus had evaded detection since then, despite multiple search efforts. The researchers discovered two populations of the frog at the southeastern end of the ancient Hacienda San Ignacio de Pemehue in La Araucanía Region, Chile. The rediscovery is an important milestone for South American herpetology and the conservation of biodiversity in the southern cone. The frog Alsodes vittatus is an elusive creature – described in 1902, it managed to go undetected for more than a century. Now, after a decade of investigation, a research team ...

Earth is absorbing more sunlight and trapping more heat than it releases into space, causing our planet to warm up at an increasing rate. New research shows that cloudy areas over oceans are reflecting less sunlight to space than before, adding to heating from rising greenhouse gas levels and causing climate change to accelerate. The study, published today (Tuesday, 11 March) in Environmental Research Letters, found this dimming effect was occurring in several regions, including cloudy areas off the coasts of California and Namibia, ...

A more affordable, lower-risk polio vaccine is on the horizon, research led by the University of Leeds has found.   Researchers have taken a major step towards producing a more affordable and lower-risk polio vaccine using virus-like particles (VLPs). These particles mimic the outer protein shell of poliovirus, but are empty inside. This means there is no risk of infection, but the VLP still causes the immune system to respond.  Now, a research project led by Professor David Rowlands, Emeritus Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Leeds, has tested the effectiveness of using different yeast, insect, mammalian and ...

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States, yet research on firearm injury prevention receives significantly less federal funding compared to other major pediatric health concerns. A new paper published in Pediatrics underscores the critical need for an enhanced federal investment in firearm injury prevention research to address the rising rates of fatalities and injuries. “Expanding the field of firearm injury ...

The mass extinction that ended the Permian geological epoch, 252 million years ago, wiped out most animals living on Earth. Huge volcanoes erupted, releasing 100,000 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This destabilized the climate and the carbon cycle, leading to dramatic global warming, deoxygenated oceans, and mass extinction. However, many plants survived, leaving behind fossils which scientists have used to model a dramatic 10 degree rise in global temperatures. “While fossilized spores and pollen of plants from the Early Triassic do not provide strong evidence for a sudden and catastrophic ...

Once described by Einstein as “spooky action at a distance,” quantum entanglement may now seem less intimidating in light of new research findings. Osaka Metropolitan University physicists have developed new, simpler formulas to quantify quantum entanglement in strongly correlated electron systems and applied them to study several nanoscale materials. Their results offer fresh perspectives into quantum behaviors in materials with different physical characteristics, contributing to advances in quantum technologies. Quantum entanglement is a unique phenomenon ...