Could the deepest parts of the brain hold some of the secrets of sleep that still remain elusive to science? A team from Hackensack Meridian Health and its Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) have produced a new in-depth study penetrating into the brain, finding that during the deepest sleep, breathing patterns and brain activity become more independent from one another - unlike lighter sleep or quiet wakefulness. The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience in January, with the team led by CDI author Bon-Mi Gu, Ph.D., also of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. The research team includes Kolsoum ...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell researchers have used high-resolution 3D imaging to detect, for the first time, the atomic-scale defects in computer chips that can sabotage their performance.  The imaging method, which was the result of a collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Advanced Semiconductor Materials (ASM), could touch almost every form of modern electronics, from phones and automobiles to AI data centers and quantum computing. The research published Feb. 23 in Nature Communications. The lead author is doctoral ...

NEW ORLEANS - Ochsner Children’s is proud to announce that chief executive officer, Dana Bledsoe, has joined the Board of Directors for Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana. This appointment marks a significant step in the ongoing partnership between the two organizations, reinforcing a shared commitment to bringing hope, joy and strength to children battling critical illnesses across the region.  Strengthening partnerships to support our children  Since formally ...

Isaiah Kletenik, MD, and Julian Kutsche, of the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics within the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute, are the senior and lead authors of a paper published in Cortex, “Lesions Causing Aphantasia are Connected to the Fusiform Imagery Node.”   Q: What challenges or unmet needs make this study important? Visual imagination, or “seeing in the mind’s eye,” is a unique function that allows people to relive past events, solve problems and envision the future. However, ...

Using AI to identify wildlife reveals a potential “transferability crisis”, researchers say.  Marketing for AI imaging systems often suggests that models can easily tackle novel scenarios across ecosystems and settings, much in the same way as human observers.  But in a new article, two University of Exeter researchers argue that this is based on a “flawed assumption”.  They ...

A prolonged drought in southeastern Connecticut reduced the stability of microorganisms responsible for a critical step in the nitrogen cycle in a coastal salt marsh, according to research led by a Connecticut College scientist and published in Estuaries and Coasts. The study was led by Anne Bernhard, professor of biology at Connecticut College. Bernhard and her co-author analyzed microbial communities in a salt marsh at the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Stonington, Connecticut, from 2006 to 2019. The period included a severe regional drought from 2013 to 2018. Researchers measured the abundance of microbial ...

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that directly convert chemical energy from a fuel into electrical energy. Unlike batteries, which only store electricity, fuel cells can continuously generate electricity as long as both fuel and air are supplied. A variety of fuels are being considered for such fuel cells, but the exact chemistries of their electricity-releasing reactions are complicated and not entirely understood. Gaps in this knowledge are some of the most critical barriers to deploying fuel-flexible clean energy technologies. For example, fuel cells that use solid oxides are susceptible to “sulfur poisoning,” where trace impurities of that element quickly ...

One of the big mysteries in food allergy is why two people with similar levels of peanut specific antibodies can react so differently. It turns out the answer may be in the mouth and gut’s bacteria. A new study, led by researchers at McMaster University and published online in Cell Host & Microbe on March 3, 2026, shows for the first time how gut bacteria break down parts of an allergenic food and influence how a person reacts to peanuts. Peanut allergies are amongst the most common food allergies in Canada, ...

A team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found an association between ultra-processed foods in early childhood, and behavioural and emotional development.  Specifically, the team found that higher ultra-processed food consumption is linked to behavioural and emotional difficulties including anxiety, fearfulness, aggression or hyperactivity. “The preschool years are critical for child development, and it’s also when children begin to establish dietary habits,” ...

When a new species is discovered, it’s tempting to imagine an adventure novel, said Chan Kin Onn of Michigan State University. “Most people have this image of an intrepid explorer braving an isolated mountain or some other remote place, and stumbling across a creature that no one has ever seen before,” Chan said. Sure, that still happens occasionally. “But most of the time it’s far less glamorous,” he added. Instead, the vast majority of new vertebrate species are “discovered” by revisiting known ...

Dr. Ekta Khurana, an associate professor of systems and computational biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has received a two-year, $1 million Challenge Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation to work with researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on an AI-based method for early detection of treatment-resistant prostate tumor subtypes. Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Awards support cross-disciplinary teams of investigators to conduct bold research that might not receive funding otherwise. Dr. Khurana will be working with Dr. Iman Hajirasouliha, associate professor of systems biology and computational biomedicine at Weill ...

In an elderly-care themed skit during the 2026 Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan), a lifelike android was modeled on actress CAI Ming. Why are humanoid robots becoming so lifelike and indistinguishable from real humans? One key technology enabling virtual humans to express vivid emotions, recognize identities, and demonstrate embodied intelligence is three-dimensional (3D) facial keypoint detection. However, due to the lack of large-scale, accurately annotated 3D facial datasets, most current 3D facial ...

SAN ANTONIO — March 3, 2026 — To meet increasing demands for carbon capture and storage (CCS) services, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has completed updates to its subsurface safety valve (SSSV) facilities to accommodate testing for CCS applications. CCS mitigates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by capturing CO2 from industrial or energy-related sources and transporting and storing the greenhouse gas safely underground to prevent release into the atmosphere. SSSVs are used in traditional oil and gas operations to serve ...

The beta cells in our pancreas act as highly sensitive sensors that constantly measure the amount of sugar in our blood. As soon as we eat something and the sugar level rises, the beta cells produce insulin to help the body process the sugar properly. This process requires an enormous amount of energy from the cells, which they generate in their own internal power stations, the mitochondria. Research now shows that iron is the crucial fuel that enables these power plants to function during cell growth. "During ...

As climate change nudges weather in the eastern Cascades in extreme and volatile directions, forest managers in the region have a lot to juggle. Hotter, drier summers are contributing to bigger and more frequent wildfires. Meanwhile, warmer winters may cause the Cascades to lose 50% of its annual snowpack over the next 70 years. Mountain snow supplies the Yakima River Basin with 75% of its water supply, making it a crucial reservoir for both nature and agriculture across a broad swath of central Washington. Less winter snow also leads to drier and more fire-prone forests in the summer. To encourage fire resilience, forest ...

Astronomers with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX), have used data from the project to make the largest, most accurate 3D map yet of the light emitted by excited hydrogen in the early universe, 9 billion to 11 billion years ago. This specific form of light, called Lyman alpha, is emitted in large quantities when hydrogen atoms are exposed to a star’s energy. That makes it a great tool for finding bright galaxies in this far-off time, which experienced a rash of star creation. However, the locations of fainter galaxies and gas, which also emit Lyman alpha, have remained largely unknown. “Observing ...

Pre-teens who struggle to control their video gaming habits are more likely to have psychotic-like experiences a year later, a new study has found. McGill University researchers and colleagues at Maastricht University found that 12-year-olds who showed signs of problematic gaming were more likely to experience mild paranoia, unusual beliefs or disturbed perceptions at age 13. “Problematic gaming means having difficulty controlling one’s amount of gaming, leading to distress or problems at school or in relationships,” said ...

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2026 — When you reach the bottom of a container of milk or honey, you might be tempted to tip the container over to get that last pesky little bit out. After all, you only need another teaspoon for that recipe, and you’re sure it’s in there! In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Brown University present two related studies about thin film fluid flows in the kitchen: one about the relationship between how long it takes to tip the remaining liquid out of a container and its viscosity, and the other about the ideal time to wait before dumping ...

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2026 — If you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, what should you eat to ensure the best prognosis? In APL Bioengineering, by AIP Publishing, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Princeton University conducted a study to find out. “We took the approach of building identical engineered tumors and culturing them in conditions that mimic the blood composition of patients under different dietary states,” author Celeste M. Nelson said. “We were hoping to identify dietary conditions that would slow tumor growth. Instead, we found one dietary ...

A new machine learning model, TweetyBERT, automatically segments and classifies canary vocalizations with expert-level accuracy, offering a scalable platform for neuroscience, providing insights to the neural basis of how the brain learns and produces language, and offering potential applications of understanding animal vocalization more broadly. The study by University of Oregon researchers appears in the scientific journal Patterns. “Current AI methods for analyzing animal vocalizations require ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of preschoolers in Canada, higher ultraprocessed foods (UPF) intake was associated with adverse behavioral and emotional symptoms by age 5. These findings suggest that replacing UPF with minimally processed foods (MPF) during the preschool years may support healthier behavioral development, with potential benefits for long-term mental health. These findings also support ongoing policy actions that promote MPF and underscore the need for early-life dietary interventions.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kozeta Miliku, MD, PhD, email kozeta.miliku@utoronto.ca. To ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) proudly announces Kyle M. Loh, Stanford University School of Medicine, as the recipient of the 2026 ISSCR Early Career Impact Award, recognizing his transformative contributions to human pluripotent stem cell biology and his exceptional commitment to mentorship and inclusion. The award is supported by the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute, and Dr. Loh will present his work during ISSCR 2026 taking place on 8-11 July in Montréal, Canada. “Dr. Kyle Loh exemplifies the creativity, rigor, and generosity that ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is pleased to announce that Alexander Meissner, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Germany, has been named the recipient of the 2026 ISSCR Momentum Award. The award, supported by BlueRock Therapeutics, recognizes an investigator whose sustained scientific contributions continue to shape and accelerate the field of stem cell research. Dr. Meissner will present his work during ISSCR 2026 taking place in Montréal, Canada on 8-11 July 2026. For nearly two decades, Meissner has been a leading force in developmental and stem cell epigenetics. His work addresses a central question in biology: how ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is pleased to announce Stem Cell COREdinates and CorEUstem as the recipients of the 2026 ISSCR Public Service Award. Together, these two global networks represent the world’s leading stem cell core facility consortia, uniting 79 core facilities across continents to advance collaboration, rigor, inclusivity, and innovation in pluripotent stem cell research. The ISSCR Public Service Award recognizes outstanding contributions that strengthen the scientific community and advance the responsible translation of stem cell research for public ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – A large national study in Denmark following nearly 1,900 patients over almost a decade found that a minimally invasive procedure called ablation is as effective as surgery for treating small kidney cancers, with faster recovery and fewer complications. Results of the study were published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The research focused on patients with stage T1a renal cell carcinoma, a cancer that is increasingly found incidentally on CT scans performed for other reasons, such as imaging ...