Pumpkins, squash, zucchini and their relatives accumulate soil pollutants in their edible parts. A Kobe University team has now identified the cause, making it possible to both make the produce safer and create plants that clean contaminated soil. The gourd family of plants comprising pumpkins, zucchini, melons, cucumbers and more are known to accumulate high levels of pollutants in their edible parts. Kobe University agricultural scientist INUI Hideyuki says: “The pollutants don’t easily break down and thus pose a health risk to people who eat the fruit. Interestingly, other plants don’t ...

A quick, purification-free method was developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, to capture the detailed 3D structures of flexible sugar molecules. By growing crystals of galectin-10 protein using a cell-free crystallization process and soaking them in sugar solution, the researchers were able to trap and analyze the molecular arrangement of sugars and their interactions with the protein. This offers a powerful tool to accelerate research in drug discovery and molecular biology. Sugars, or saccharides, do much more than sweeten food. In living organisms, these molecules decorate the surfaces of cell and also act as vital messengers in processes such as infection control and tissue ...

New global findings in the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that the continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to climate change continues to be paid in people’s lives, health, and livelihoods, with 13 of 20 indictors tracking health threats now reaching unprecedented levels.   The University of Sydney’s Heat and Health Research Centre contributed to the global report of the Countdown, which is published annually by The Lancet, the world’s leading medical ...

Three new Cochrane reviews find evidence that GLP-1 drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss, but industry-funded studies raise questions. The reviews were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform upcoming guidelines on the use of these drugs to treat obesity. The reviews, which examine the effects of three weight loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor antagonists, have found that all three drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss compared with placebo. However, evidence on longer-term ...

It’s bound to happen at a summer picnic, a peaceful walk in the woods or simply sitting in your backyard… a mosquito targets your blood for its next meal. You’ve been bitten. But how do mosquitoes find you? Among several methods used to locate new hosts for blood sucking, mosquitoes feature a keen ability to detect carbon dioxide. As we breathe out, we emit CO2 into the air around us, which mosquitoes can sense. But how? Scientists have been aware of the mosquito’s ability to detect our carbon dioxide expirations but the intricate underlying physiological structures enabling these capabilities largely have remained ...

Patients with weak heart function who receive stem cell therapy shortly after a heart attack are at lower risk of developing heart failure and related hospital stays compared with standard care, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today. The researchers say the findings suggest this technique may be a valuable add-on procedure for this particular group of patients after a heart attack to prevent subsequent heart failure and reduce the risk of future adverse events. Advances in heart attack ...

The NHS is reaching a crisis point in consultant recruitment as 1 in 3 consultant posts lie vacant in some parts of the UK and recruiting managers regularly wait over 12 months to secure a candidate, leading to increased locum costs, finds a new report published by BMJ Careers today. Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that these shortages are costing the health service upwards of £674m on locum consultants and are negatively affecting staff morale and patient care. Relying on expensive agency staff also risks derailing work to cut waiting lists.  One resident doctor at a north London trust said: “It’s a complete nightmare ...

Every year, the Taurid meteor shower lights up the night sky from late October through early November. Sometimes called the “Halloween fireballs”, they are named for the constellation Taurus—the bull—from which the meteors appear to radiate, the shower is best viewed from dark-sky locations. In New Mexico, where wide-open spaces and low light pollution offer some of the clearest skies in the country, stargazers have a front-row seat to the spectacle. Meteors are flashes and streaks of light that appear ...

A new study reveals that a small but powerful component of biochar, known as dissolved organic matter, plays a surprisingly large role in capturing toxic lead from contaminated water. The research, published in Biochar, uncovers how this dissolved material enhances the metal-binding power of biochar and offers molecular-level insights that could guide safer and more effective cleanup strategies. Biochar, a carbon-rich substance produced by heating crop residues or other organic waste in limited oxygen, has been widely used to immobilize heavy metals in soils and water. However, scientists have long puzzled over why biochar made at lower temperatures ...

A new study has revealed that sunlight can transform common synthetic fabrics into tiny plastic fibers that pollute coastal oceans. The findings shed light on how clothing and household textiles contribute to the growing problem of microplastic pollution in marine environments. Scientists from the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences and Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology examined how different colored polyester fabrics break down when exposed to sunlight in seawater. They discovered that long-term exposure to ultraviolet light can convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a ...

Giving antibiotics to women within 24 hours of an obstetric tear during childbirth is associated with a reduced risk of larger/clinically relevant wound complications, find the results of a clinical trial from Denmark published by The BMJ today. The researchers say this finding supports the use of preventive (prophylactic) antibiotics after a second degree tear or episiotomy, which affects millions of women each year across the globe. But more research is needed to determine which patients are most at risk of "clinically relevant" ...

Even when blood pressure is well controlled, older adults whose blood pressure fluctuates widely from one heartbeat to the next may be at greater risk for brain shrinkage and nerve cell injury, according to a new study led by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. The study, first published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease on October 17, reveals that short-term “dynamic instability” in blood pressure — moment-to-moment changes measured over just minutes ...

The microbiome—the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live quietly in our body—plays a crucial role in shaping human health by providing a variety of micronutrients necessary for vital functions. But these tiny microorganisms can provide even more extraordinary benefits by reaching deep inside cells to accurately decode the genetic information that makes proteins, the building blocks of life.  In a recent article published in Nature Cell Biology, University of Chicago researchers ...

Emergency departments (EDs) hold a unique position for treating people from rural areas, as many patients from these regions have limited access to primary care services. According to a new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, a pilot program involving ED staff could help fulfill the unmet needs of pediatric patients and their families. The Mizzou study evaluated a pilot program called Tigers ConnectED, which was designed to identify and assist families visiting the pediatric emergency department who might be facing challenges outside of traditional medical ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Renewable energy sources like wind and solar generation now account for over 20% of electricity in the U.S. — and keep growing after large-scale production more than doubled since 2000. Still, high-profile power failures illustrate persistent challenges from the lack of available capacity to provide enough energy at times of need, said Chiara Lo Prete, an associate professor of energy economics in the John and Willie Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State. The issue isn’t ...

•    Mass General Brigham researchers showed that all trial participants with knee osteoarthritis, meniscal tear, and knee pain improved  •    Participants who received a home exercise program as well as standard or sham physical therapy (PT) had a small additional improvement compared with those who received the home exercise program without PT  •    Outcomes in those receiving standard and sham PT were similar People with a meniscal tear and osteoarthritis prescribed home exercises with or without physical therapy reported substantial improvements in knee pain, according to a new ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct. 29, 2025 — Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, have made a breakthrough in understanding why many cancer patients develop nerve damage after chemotherapy. Their new study reveals that a stress response inside certain immune cells can trigger this debilitating side effect. This discovery could open the door to new ways to prevent or treat nerve damage in cancer patients. The study was published online ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a specific immune cell that can be targeted to give a boost to standard immunotherapies for cancer. Two research teams, working collaboratively but using distinct approaches, found that "first-responder" immune cells known as myeloid cells can be manipulated to enhance the activity of tumor-killing T cells. The finding suggests that enhanced myeloid cells may boost certain immune checkpoint therapies, which are the standard of care for some cancers but may not have lasting effects. A clinical trial is now being developed at Mayo Clinic to test the enhanced cells in ...

Bowhead whales—the only warm-blooded mammal that outlives humans—can survive for 200 years and seldom get age-related diseases like cancer. University of Rochester researchers discovered a new clue to the whales’ longevity: an abundant protein called CIRBP that helps repair DNA. Acquiring cancer is a complex process that involves biology, inherited genes, and environmental exposures. Along the way, if breaks in DNA occur and the genetic damage is not repaired, cancer is more likely. The team found that in bowhead whales, the DNA-repair protein CIRBP, was present at 100-fold higher levels compared to other mammals. Wilmot Cancer Institute ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- In most states, schools are required to screen students as they enter kindergarten — a process that is meant to identify students who may need extra help learning to read. However, a new study by MIT researchers suggests that these screenings may not be working as intended in all schools. The researchers’ survey of about 250 teachers found that many felt they did not receive adequate training to perform the tests, and about half reported that they were not confident that children who need extra instruction in reading end up receiving it. When performed successfully, these screens can be essential ...

A study published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering and featured on its cover showed that a fraction obtained from lignin, an organic polymer responsible for the rigidity of plant cell walls, was able to improve the performance of nanoparticles with herbicide. The study was conducted by researchers from three research institutions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: São Paulo State University (UNESP), the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). "Lignin has antioxidant properties and is one of the main components of plant biomass, but it's still underutilized and often ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Military veterans who develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury may have a higher mortality rate in the following years than veterans who develop epilepsy with no previous traumatic brain injury, according to a study published on October 29, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “While these findings need to be validated in future studies, we recommend that people who develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury are closely monitored, and, especially if seizures do not respond well to treatment, are prioritized for surgery or changing to new medications without delay,” said study ...

MINNEAPOLIS — If untreated, a disorder of high brain pressure called idiopathic intracranial hypertension can lead to vision loss. But this disorder can develop without noticeable symptoms, making it hard to catch. A new study looks at how these vision problems develop and proposes a way to predict who will develop issues. The study is published on October 29, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “The number of cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension has been increasing, and it mainly affects young women, so we need more information about who is more likely to develop vision problems and how that process ...

LA JOLLA, CA—Luc Teyton, professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, has received a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to help answer how type 1 diabetes manifests and develop potential therapeutics to reverse or prevent the disease. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells that produce insulin—a critical hormone that regulates the blood sugar of the body. Approximately 1.6 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes, and while genetics play a strong role in susceptibility, ...

CHICAGO, IL – The Bayer Foundation has named Dr. Anna Wuttig, the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago, as the recipient of its Early Excellence in Science Award in the Chemistry category. The award celebrates young, international researchers who are pioneering their respective fields, recognizing Dr. Wuttig for her innovative work “advancing electrocatalysis for energy storage and conversion, and medicinal chemistry.” Dr. ...