Lonely people incur an extra £850 in annual healthcare costs to the NHS, as well as experiencing worse mental and physical health In the UK, 4 in 10 citizens identify as being lonely at least some of the time, and people who report being often lonely incur about £850 more in annual National Health Service costs than their non-lonely counterparts, according to a study published September 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Nia Morrish from the University of Exeter, and colleagues.  The World Health Organization recognizes loneliness ...

From corn chips to tofu, climate change is messing with the menu. A new global study led by the University of British Columbia shows that hotter and drier conditions are making food production more volatile, with crop yields swinging more sharply from year to year. For some, it may mean pricier burgers; for others, it can bring financial strain and hunger. Published today in Science Advances, the study is the first to show at a global scale how climate change is affecting yield swings of three of the world’s most important food crops: corn, soybean and sorghum. For every degree of warming, year-to-year ...

Individuals with an increased risk for dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease can have impaired spatial orientation skills. DZNE researchers come to this conclusion based on a study involving around 100 older adults who were tasked with determining their position within a virtual environment. In this, participants with “subjective cognitive decline” (SCD) – a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease – performed worse than members of the control group. In contrast, there were no significant differences ...

First study to investigate how apple juice changes saliva’s lubricating properties using advanced techniques While apple juice temporarily disrupts the mouth's natural protective coating, the effects begin to wear off within 10 minutes Research challenges assumptions about fruit juice being immediately harmful to oral health, which could inform new hygiene routines  Peer-reviewed, data-analysis and experimental study, people  A new study led by the University of Portsmouth suggests our saliva is stronger than we thought.  The research, published in PLOS One, is the first to examine how drinking apple juice affects saliva’s lubricating ...

A new study, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that vegan diets for dogs sold in the UK provide similar nutrition to meat-based diets. The study, led by Rebecca Brociek from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, and published in PLOS One, highlights the importance of a balanced and nutritional diet for our canine companions. Dogs, like humans, are omnivores and require specific nutrients rather than specific ingredients. As plant-based diets gain popularity in human nutrition, the pet food industry is following suit with vegan diets becoming ...

(Auburn, AL) Imagine a child with eczema who scratches a patch of irritated skin. A tiny opening forms, invisible to the eye. Into that breach slips a common bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus. For many people, the bacteria would remain harmless. But in someone with a weakened skin barrier, the microbe can cling tightly, multiply, and trigger an infection that is difficult to control. In severe cases, staph spreads beyond the skin and becomes life-threatening. Resistant strains such as MRSA turn what should be a treatable infection into a medical nightmare, one that claims tens of thousands of lives each year in the United States alone. The question that has puzzled ...

A new study reveals the profound emotional and physical toll of extreme morning sickness, with more than half of affected women reporting they considered terminating their pregnancy, and 9 in 10 saying they had thought about not having more children. The national survey, published in PLOS ONE, is one of the most comprehensive investigations into the lived experience of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)—a severe form of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy – in Australia. It highlights not only ...

Colorectal cancer is unique in having its own microbial ‘fingerprint’ – according to new research from the University of East Anglia. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and the second deadliest. The research could help doctors better understand how this cancer develops, how aggressive it might be, and even how a patient might respond to treatment. The team studied whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from more than 9,000 cancer patients.   The analysis, published today, also challenges scientific claims that all cancers are associated with a ...

Triple-negative breast cancer is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat; but recent research may offer a new way to target the often-deadly disease.   A team of researchers from the University of Mississippi found that coating nanoparticles containing cancer therapies in a sugar-like substance makes them more effective in targeting this cancer. They published their research in Advanced Healthcare Materials.   “It’s called triple-negative because it does not have any of the three things that we have developed treatments to target in cancer,” said Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. ...

Key Aspects: The study focuses on the oxygen evolution reaction, a key process in water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Researchers identified a critical transition point in catalyst kinetics using a combination of temperature dependent kinetics and advanced spectroscopy techniques. Findings suggest that the catalyst activity is related to the need for solvation of ions at the catalyst interface. The research emphasizes the importance of viewing the catalyst-electrolyte interface as a unified system. Introduction to Catalyst Activity The Department ...

Ziwei Zhu, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the project: “III: Small: Harnessing Interpretable Neuro-Symbolic Learning for Reliable Ranking.” Zhu aims to forge novel neuro-symbolic learning to rank models to deliver interpretable, balanced, and robust rankings.  In this research, Zhu will introduce a neural network that transparently elucidates the entire inference process in ranking and presents a logic AutoEncoder, a type of artificial neural network for interpretable ...

Weiwen Jiang, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), and Lei Yang, Assistant Professor, Information Sciences and Technology, CEC, received funding for a workshop on quantum system stability and reproducibility.  Jiang and Yang will use this funding to support students and researchers who participate in StableQ 2025. The event will bring together experts from academia, industry, and national laboratories to report state-of-the-art developments, exchange ideas and practices, and foster ...

Li Studying Quantum Algorithms Fei Li, Associate Professor, Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the project: “Quantum Algorithms for High-Performance Analysis of Single-Cell Omics Data and Explainable Drug Discovery.” This project leverages quantum computing to develop innovative, explainable methods for drug target discovery by integrating biological omics data—such as single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) from disease tissue samples—with ex vivo drug ...

Long-term use of benzodiazepine and related drugs has been linked to poorer quality sleep in older adults with insomnia. While they are cheap, commonly prescribed and widely available in Quebec, these drugs are also addictive: quitting cold turkey can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms, including increased risk of falls, hospitalization and cognitive issues. A new study led by Concordia researchers published in the journal Sleep shows that use of benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) can also affect brain rhythms during sleep that are important for memory and cognitive health in adults aged between 55 and 80. “These drugs don’t ...

Key takeaways: A PICALM gene variant disrupts microglia, the brain’s cleanup cells, reducing their ability to clear harmful proteins and lipids. This dysfunction leads to lipid droplet buildup in microglia, weakening their protective role and raising Alzheimer’s risk. The findings provide a roadmap for drug development targeting genetic risk factors in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. TAMPA, Fla. (Sept. 3, 2025) – A Nature study published today and led by researchers at the University of South Florida’s USF Health Byrd ...

Confiscating personal belongings during government-led dismantling of tent cities in Vancouver inflicts immediate harm and further destabilizes people already struggling to meet their basic needs, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University. Published in the journal Public Health, the study found nearly one in four people experiencing homelessness reported having their personal belongings confiscated by city workers between 2021 and 2023. These confiscations—often part of street sweeps to remove tent cities—were significantly associated with non-fatal overdoses, violent victimization, and barriers to accessing essential services. “Our data captures ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 3, 2025 Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu   New Study Seeks to Understand the Links between Social Drivers of Health by Investigating Cardiovascular Health in Young Adults “Detailing childhood social determinants helps target those factors that drive cardiovascular disease in adulthood”   (Boston)—Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death and disability for adults in the U.S. Recent projections from the American Heart Association suggest that by 2050, more than 45 million American adults will have clinical CVD and more than 184 million will ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Using reprogrammed biocatalysts, researchers are pushing the boundaries of enzymatic synthesis with a method that opens the door to a diverse array of valuable compounds. Reporting in the journal Science, UC Santa Barbara chemistry professor Yang Yang and collaborators detail an enzymatic multicomponent reaction, resulting in six distinct molecular scaffolds, many of which were not previously accessible by other chemical or biological methods. “The ability to generate novelty and molecular diversity is particularly important to medicinal chemistry,” Yang said. “For a long time, biocatalysis ...

Researchers from University of California San Diego have found that Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC), a psychoactive compound often sold as a legal alternative to marijuana, is most commonly used in states where marijuana use remains illegal and delta-8 THC sales are unregulated. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, highlight how gaps in cannabis policy may be inadvertently steering people toward less-regulated substances and have allowed manufacturers to evade restrictions ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – A University of Oklahoma study published Sept. 3 in JAMA Surgery reports that acute normovolemic hemodilution (ANH) – a blood-saving method in which a patient’s blood is collected before going on heart-lung bypass and reinfused near the end of cardiac surgery – remains underused in the United States at 14.7%. Yet the study found that ANH lowered the likelihood of a transfusion by 27%, a decrease in blood use that could cut costs substantially while still protecting patient safety and outcomes. Global demand for cardiac surgery ...

Using the first complete dataset of more than 415 million buildings across 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers at the University of Chicago created an unprecedented approach to urban development, down to each street block. The new analysis, published this week in Nature, pinpoints where rapidly developing nations lack “last mile” infrastructure and access to public services. It uses high-resolution data to measure street access to each building across the subcontinent, showing ...

The first complete activity map of the brain has been unveiled by a large international collaboration of neuroscientists. The International Brain Laboratory (IBL) researchers published their findings today in two papers in Nature, revealing insights into how decision-making unfolds across the entire brain in mice at the resolution of single cells. This brain-wide activity map challenges the traditional hierarchical view of information processing in the brain and shows that decision-making is distributed across many regions in a highly coordinated ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Children with sickle cell disease are more likely to have dental problems — but fewer than half of those covered by Michigan Medicaid got dental care in 2022, according to a new study. The findings, led by Michigan Medicine and non-profit RAND Corporation, appear in JAMA Network Open. “Sickle cell disease is known to increase the risk of dental complications in children, which underscores the importance of preventive dental care for this population,” said senior author Sarah Reeves, Ph.D., M.P.H., an associate professor of pediatrics ...

PRINCETON, NJ - Mice turning tiny steering wheels to move shapes on a screen have helped scientists produce the first brain-wide map of decision-making at single-cell resolution in a mammal. For decades, most neuroscience studies have focused on small clusters of cells in isolated brain regions. “But this method is flawed,” said Ilana Witten, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. “The brain is constantly making decisions during everyday ...

To the point: Small fold – big role: A tissue fold known as the cephalic furrow, an evolutionary novelty that forms between the head and the trunk of fly embryos, plays a mechanical role in stabilizing embryonic tissues during the development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Combining theory and experiment: Researchers integrated computer simulations with their experiments and showed that the timing and position of cephalic furrow formation are crucial for its function, preventing mechanical instabilities in the embryonic tissues. Evolutionary response ...