Brian Spears and colleagues built a generative machine learning model that was used to successfully predict the outcome of a recent fusion ignition experiment at the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF). Their model predicted, with a probability greater than 70%, that ignition was the most likely outcome of the experiment. The findings could guide researchers working on future inertial confinement fusion experiments, which use energetic lasers to compress and heat a capsule of hydrogen isotopes to create nuclear reactions that produce fusion energy. Ignition ...

The first weeks outside the womb are a massive learning experience for the neonatal immune system, especially in the gut as it learns to distinguish helpful from harmful antigens. In mice, maternal antibodies ingested in breast milk in the first week after birth help to regulate immune responses in the newborn gut, according to a new study by Meera Shenoy and colleagues. This process builds the important partnership between the microbiome and host at an early stage, paving the way for nutrient assimilation, avoiding inappropriate inflammation and resistance against pathogens. ...

A careful experiment by Dongsheng Guo and colleagues reveals that maize in a densely planted plot can communicate with neighboring plants through the release of the volatile gas linalool, triggering the roots of its neighbors to release compounds that can change the bacterial composition of the soil. This plant-soil communication helps the plants defend against the increased risk of pests and predation found in high-density plantings, Guo et al. conclude. The findings could aid agricultural researchers looking for ways to sustainably optimize crop yield through different planting patterns and possibly through targeting linalool production. ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A team of agricultural economists, environmental scientists and policy experts envisions a path toward a carbon-neutral agricultural future by expanding the reach of policies designed to promote low-carbon biofuels for transportation and aviation. In a new paper in the journal Science, the researchers propose policies that would reward farmers for adopting “climate-smart” practices when growing biofuel crops and remove the hurdles that currently thwart such efforts. Climate-smart practices include techniques that build soil carbon, like cover-cropping, not tilling fields after harvest and adding biochar ...

University of Oregon bioengineer Calin Plesa has developed technology that creates massive, high-quality biological datasets at unprecedented speed and scale, solving a critical bottleneck that has prevented AI from tackling biology's biggest challenges—from studying cancer-associated genes to designing new proteins to accelerating drug development. In research detailed in the latest edition of Science Advances, Plesa used this technology to uncover genetic factors behind antimicrobial resistance, demonstrating how to generate the vast datasets needed to train powerful machine learning systems faster and cheaper than ever before.   END ...

Images available via the multimedia section. Chemists have demonstrated the synthesis of a new molecular form of carbon. The new molecule – cyclo[48]carbon, made up of 48 carbon atoms in an alternating single/triple bond pattern – is stable enough to be studied in liquid solution form at room temperature. The study – only the second example of a new type of molecular carbon allotrope that can be studied under normal laboratory conditions – has been published today (14 August) in Science. In a new study led by Oxford University’s Department of Chemistry, chemists have demonstrated the synthesis ...

Roughly two-thirds of all emissions of atmospheric methane — a highly potent greenhouse gas that is warming planet Earth — come from microbes that live in oxygen-free environments like wetlands, rice fields, landfills and the guts of cows. Tracking atmospheric methane to its specific sources and quantifying their importance remains a challenge, however. Scientists are pretty good at tracing the sources of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, to focus on mitigating these emissions. But to trace methane’s origins, scientists often have to measure the isotopic composition of methane's component atoms, carbon and hydrogen, to ...

Guideline Highlights: Nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure (≥130/80 mm Hg), which is the #1 preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke and heart failure, as well as kidney disease, cognitive decline and dementia. A new joint guideline from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology advises earlier treatment that includes lifestyle modification and medications as appropriate, recommends close blood pressure ...

"Every Brilliant Thing”, the interactive one-person play with a suicidality theme now making its West End debut, reduced suicide-associated stigma among university students who attended, even up to 30 days later. +++ Article URL: https://plos.io/411ECQu Article Title: A performing arts intervention to decrease suicide stigma on campus: A three time point assessment of “Every Brilliant Thing” Author Countries: United States Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this ...

A new CU Boulder-led study has revealed that recent changes in North Pacific Ocean temperatures—long believed to be the result of natural variability—are in fact being driven by human-generated greenhouse gas and industrial aerosol emissions. These oceanic shifts are directly linked to the prolonged megadrought gripping the American Southwest, and this research published August 13th in Nature suggests it may not ease for another 30 years. “Our results show that the drought and ocean patterns we’re seeing today are not just natural fluctuations—they’re largely driven by human activity,” ...

Zheng-Yi Chen, DPhil, associate scientist at the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories, and Ines and Fredrick Yeatts Chair in Otolaryngology, at Mass Eye and Ear, is the senior and co-corresponding author of a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, “Single Dose Genome Editing Therapy Rescues Auditory and Vestibular Functions in Adult Mice with DFNA41 Deafness.” Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? This study provides an example of a successful use of gene editing technology to treat a mouse model of human genetic hearing loss. We developed a one-time, gene editing ...

Monell Center Researchers Present Latest Findings at International Meeting On Consumer Sensory Science Coinciding with the 2025 Philadelphia-based conference, Monell - the first independent nonprofit dedicated to smell and taste research - hosts academic, industry partners for visits, collaborations  PHILADELPHIA (Aug 14, 2025) – Scientists from the Monell Chemical Senses Center will present their research at the 16th Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium, “Connecting Senses and Minds,” August 17-21, 2025 ...

NEW YORK — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) has received a five-year renewal award totaling $5,722,435 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue and expand the Nathan Shock Centers Coordinating Center (NSC3). The NSC3 coordinates the activities of the 8 Nathan Shock Centers (NSC) of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, which provide expert resources to expand basic research into the biology of aging. The NSCs began in 1995 in honor of ...

Scientists have pinpointed brain activity related to inner speech—the silent monologue in people’s heads—and successfully decoded it on command with up to 74% accuracy. Publishing August 14 in the Cell Press journal Cell, their findings could help people who are unable to audibly speak communicate more easily using brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies that begin translating inner thoughts when a participant says a password inside their head.  “This is the first time ...

Over the past 20 years, a class of cancer drugs called CD40 agonist antibodies have shown great promise—and induced great disappointment. While effective at activating the immune system to kill cancer cells in animal models, the drugs had limited impact on patients in clinical trials and caused dangerously systemic inflammatory responses, low platelet counts, and liver toxicity, among other adverse reactions—even at a low dose. But in 2018, the lab of Rockefeller University’s Jeffrey V. Ravetch demonstrated it could engineer an enhanced CD40 ...

Nautiloids—a lineage of ancient, externally-shelled cephalopods that diverged from their octopus and squid relatives over 400 million years ago—once dominated our oceans. Today, this living fossil is restricted to a handful of species in the Southern Indo-Pacific, making it one of the few marine invertebrates listed under CITES appendix II of species in need of protection from over-exploitation.. Although no one had previously investigated sex determination systems in cephalopods, recent research suggested a ZZ/Z0 ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- With help from artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have designed novel antibiotics that can combat two hard-to-treat infections: drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Using generative AI algorithms, the research team designed more than 36 million possible compounds and computationally screened them for antimicrobial properties. The top candidates they discovered are structurally distinct from any existing antibiotics, and they appear to work by novel ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease in older people, affecting up to 1 in 20 individuals aged 65 and above. In addition to environmental and lifestyle factors, genetic mutations can predispose an individual to AD and some rare forms of inherited “familial” AD (fAD) are caused by known genetic mutations, with these affected individuals developing AD with high probability and at relatively young age. In most cases, AD is diagnosed at advanced stages, but pathological alterations in brain cells may ...

The human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause six types of cancer.  It’s responsible for almost all cervical cancer cases. HPV now causes the majority of oropharyngeal (throat) cancers. It can also cause anal, vaginal, vulvar and penile cancers.   Yet new analysis from researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center shows that most people are unaware of the connection between HPV and all of these cancers.   That awareness is critical, said lead researcher Kalyani Sonawane, Ph.D., because it informs people’s decisions ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, public awareness about human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccination, and the link between HPV and cancers was overwhelmingly low, particularly in Midwestern and Southern U.S. states. These findings are troubling because these regions have recently seen a marked rise in HPV-associated cancers. Notably, the lack of HPV and HPV vaccine awareness in the Midwest and South is alarming, as a majority of states in these regions have suboptimal HPV vaccination rates. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kalyani Sonawane, PhD, email sonawane@musc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The immune system is meant to protect the body from infection and disease. But with age, it can become less capable of doing so. However, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that some older people maintain "immune youth" – a new term coined by Mayo researchers to explain a young immune system in someone over age 60. "We are studying why some individuals have a 'fountain of youth' in their immune systems. We want to learn from them," says Cornelia Weyand, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that semaglutide was not associated with an increased risk of eye disorders or diabetic retinopathy. Despite the fact that an association between semaglutide treatment and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) was found, current evidence remains insufficient to establish definitive conclusions regarding its association with NAION. Further studies with larger sample sizes and adequate evaluation of NAION are warranted ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — USGS streamgages show flood conditions are now underway, with live cameras providing real-time views on the USGS HIVIS website. Glacier-caused flooding has become an annual threat since 2011, with record-breaking floods over the past two years that impacted more than 300 homes and threatened public safety. The USGS is working with the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to monitor conditions and provide real-time data on the glacier lake releases. A glacier-dammed lake forms when a glacier blocks the natural drainage of a valley, trapping water that eventually ...

“[…]in a population of adults with a smoking history, frailty and prefrailty are associated with increased respiratory exacerbations and increased risk of death.” BUFFALO, NY — August 14, 2025 — A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 7, of Aging (Aging-US) on July 3, 2025, titled “Frailty associates with respiratory exacerbations and mortality in the COPDGene cohort.” In this study, led by first author Eleanor ...

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a high-speed 3D imaging microscope that can capture detailed cell dynamics of an entire small whole organism at once. The ability to image 3D changes in real time over a large field of view could lead to new insights in developmental biology and neuroscience. “Traditional microscopes are constrained by how quickly they can refocus or scan through different depths, which makes it difficult to capture fast, 3D biological processes without distortion ...