A research team headed by the University of Zurich has developed a powerful new method to precisely edit DNA by combining cutting-edge genetic engineering with artificial intelligence. This technique opens the door to more accurate modeling of human diseases and lays the groundwork for next-generation gene therapies. Precise and targeted DNA editing by small point mutations as well as the integration of whole genes via CRISPR/Cas technology has great potential for applications in biotechnology and gene therapy. However, it is very important that the so-called “gene scissors” do not cause any unintended ...

New method to synthesize carbohydrates could pave the way to biomedical advances (Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Carbohydrate is a familiar term. It’s the bagel you had for breakfast, the bread in your sandwich, the slice of cake you’re thinking about sneaking later today. But carbs aren’t only in baked goods, and they’re not just found in foods. Small yet structurally complex carbohydrates serve as elements of cell walls and are important in intercellular interactions. Scientists can quickly and reliably make many biomolecules, from DNA to proteins, using automated instruments. So it may come as a surprise that for decades, scientists have had major difficulty ...

Plants transport water and nutrients from their environment through specialised pores. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have shed light on a little-known but essential mechanism for proper plant function: the directionality of nutrient transport in roots. The team demonstrates that this transport becomes unidirectional as the root develops. This discovery highlights the central role of the pores connecting plant cells and opens up new perspectives for improving plant resistance to water stress. These findings are published in the journal Molecular Plant. Roots play ...

Scientists at Tsinghua University have developed a method to grow kidney tumours in the lab using cells from real patients, offering a potential new tool in the fight against renal cancer. Their research, published in the journal Biofabrication, outlines how 3D bioprinting technology can be used to replicate the unique characteristics of each patient’s tumour. The team combined tumour cells with other cell types, including blood vessel-like structures, to mimic the environment within the body. The lab-grown tumours, called organoids, are created from real patients’ tumour cells, and exactly mimic their traits. ...

Cats with dementia have brain changes similar to those of people with Alzheimer’s disease, offering a valuable model for studying the condition in humans, a study says. Scientists discovered a build-up of the toxic protein amyloid-beta in the brains of cats with the condition – one of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings offer a clearer picture of how amyloid-beta may lead to age-related brain dysfunction and memory loss in cats, experts say. Many older cats develop dementia, leading to behavioural changes such as increased vocalisation – or meowing – confusion and disrupted sleep ...

Cancer of the voice box or larynx is an important public health burden. In 2021, there were an estimated 1.1 million cases of laryngeal cancer worldwide, and approximately 100,000 people died from it. Risk factors include smoking, alcohol abuse, and infection with human papillomavirus. The prognosis for laryngeal cancer ranges from 35% to 78% survival over five years when treated, depending on the tumor’s stage and its location within the voice box. Catching cancer early is key for a patient’s prospects. At present, laryngeal cancers are diagnosed through video nasal endoscopy and biopsies ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Parents and caregivers often hear a child say, “I don’t want to go to school.” But when this becomes a regular occurrence, it may be a sign of school avoidance, also known as school refusal- which may be a sign of emotional distress.   A new national survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The Kids Mental Health Foundation, founded by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, reveals nearly a third of parents (30%) whose child missed school due to fear or anxiety last year report their child missed more than a week of school.  The national survey of more than 1,000 parents across the United States also reveals roughly ...

A new study has investigated hundreds of videos and images taken by the public, tourism operators and scientists to better understand a rarely studied behaviour among whales and dolphins – do they actually “play” together, or is it more of a one-sided relationship? Led by Griffith University’s Whales & Climate Program lead, Dr Olaf Meynecke, the study analysed instances of baleen whale and dolphin interactions involving 19 species in 199 separate and unrelated interactions, documented by photographs and videos from 17 locations around the world. Published in Discover Animals, Dr Meynecke ...

Melbourne, Australia - 12 August 2025 - Researchers have demonstrated that brain cells learn faster and carry out complex networking more effectively than machine learning by comparing how both a Synthetic Biological Intelligence (SBI) system known as ‘DishBrain’ and state-of-the-art RL (reinforcement learning) algorithms react to certain stimuli. The study, ‘Dynamic Network Plasticity and Sample Efficiency in Biological Neural Cultures: A Comparative Study with Deep Reinforcement Learning’, is the first known of its kind. The research was led by Cortical Labs, the Melbourne-based startup which created the world’s first commercial biological ...

In the rapidly advancing field of optoelectronics, self-powered near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors are gaining attention for applications in imaging, environmental monitoring, and optical communication. Recently, a research team from Shandong University led by Professor Zai-xing Yang has made a significant leap forward by constructing a novel mixed-dimensional heterojunction between GaSb nanowires (NWs) and Bi2O2Se nanosheets (NSs). This breakthrough device demonstrates ultralow dark current, ultrafast response, and multifunctional capabilities — all without an external power supply. Why This Research Matters Record-Low Dark Current: The GaSb/Bi2O₂Se NW/NS ...

  Universities that have eliminated standardized test requirements for admissions in recent years generally experienced gains in diversity in their student bodies, according to research by the University of California, Davis. However, if the universities also faced recent financial shortfalls or enrollment declines, or continued to prioritize quantitative academic criteria such as test scores and class rank, these gains in diversity diminished or disappeared. The paper, “Same Policy, No Standardized Outcome: How Admissions Values and Institutional Priorities ...

TUCSON, Ariz. — Students pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree routinely take – and pass – rigorous exams to prove competency in several areas. Can ChatGPT accurately answer the same questions? A new study by University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy researchers said no, it can’t. Researchers found that ChatGPT 3.5, a form of artificial intelligence, fared worse than PharmD students in answering questions on therapeutics examinations that ensure students have the knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities to provide safe, effective and patient-centered care. ChatGPT was less likely to correctly answer application-based questions (44%) ...

The positive emotions of love and joy might seem to have much in common. Similarly, anxiety and anger appear to be close emotional siblings. But on social media, seemingly similar emotions can lead to very different responses. According to new research by Yifan Yu, assistant professor of information, risk, and operations management at Texas McCombs, certain emotions pack a bigger punch than others when it comes to how posts spread on social media. “Some emotions, like anxiety and love, help content go viral, while others, like anger or sadness, tend to slow ...

A multi-center study has identified critical risk factors that increase the likelihood of death in children with a heart defect who are awaiting or have recently undergone heart transplantation, according to findings published in Circulation. Fontan circulatory failure (FCF) is a long-term complication in children born with single-ventricle heart defects who have undergone a series of surgeries that culminates with the Fontan procedure. While this surgery helps reroute blood flow and extend life expectancy, it can lead to chronic health problems, including ...

A new study from UNC Greensboro (UNCG) researchers suggests giving children just nine minutes to engage in high-intensity interval exercise can boost their academic performance.   “In the classroom, you have teachers that say, ‘Let’s take a movement break to get you focused again,’” said lead author and UNCG Assistant Professor Eric Drollette, Ph.D.. “We know that’s the case anecdotally in the classroom, but we hadn’t put the science to it.”   Investigating the science behind this classroom wisdom, the researchers created a short sequence of exercises that can be completed in ...

A new artificial intelligence tool developed by researchers at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa is making it easier for scientists to explore complex geoscience data—from tracking sea levels on Earth to analyzing atmospheric conditions on Mars. Called the Intelligent Data Exploring Assistant (IDEA), the software framework combines the power of large language models, like those used in ChatGPT, with scientific data, tailored instructions, and computing resources. By simply providing questions in everyday ...

Building on their success developing a cleaner way to make valuable organic acids, researchers from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have pushed one product closer to commercialization with a major upgrade in yield. A CABBI team from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Princeton University re-engineered the metabolism of the yeast Issatchenkia orientalis to supercharge its fermentation of plant glucose into succinic acid – an important industrial chemical used in food additives and a diverse array of agricultural and pharmaceutical products. Since ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 11 August 2025    Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin              Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo ...

An international team, led by scientists from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute has studied around 3000 people affected by the heart disease dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) – a driver of heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest. They discovered those who had a mutation in a particular gene called TTN were 21 times more likely to develop the disease than family members who did not carry a mutation. For the first time, the team found that a person's general health and lifestyle factors; such as being overweight or having high alcohol consumption, contributed to an earlier DCM diagnosis. The study published in the European Heart Journal involving 1000 families affected ...

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States with its National Medical Center ranked among the nation’s top cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, today published a new study which found that some survivors of childhood cancer are more at risk for serious health issues as they grow older, including new cancers and chronic conditions like heart disease.  While a cause for concern, the findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology also point to a silver ...

Dried fruit is a tasty snack or sweet addition to recipes, but the water removal process often requires heat and energy. In a step toward more sustainable food preservation, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology have developed a method to dry food at room temperature by adjusting air pressure conditions and using food-safe calcium chloride. In a proof-of-concept, the system successfully dried mango and apple slices to commercial levels. Dehydrating food turns perishable items such as fruit into long-lasting pantry ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Optica Foundation today announces its new Executive Director of Development, Cara Green. Building on more than a decade of fundraising experience, Green will lead fundraising efforts for the Optica Foundation as it launches students and early-career professionals into successful careers. There has never been a greater need – or a greater opportunity – to assist the next generation entering the field of optics and photonics.  The Optica Foundation is dedicated to doing so, and to recognizing and fostering excellence in students and early-career professionals who ...

A new UC Berkeley study shows that the so-called love hormone, oxytocin, is also critical for the formation of friendships. Oxytocin is released in the brain during sex, childbirth, breastfeeding and social interactions and contributes to feelings of attachment, closeness and trust. Never mind that it’s also associated with aggression; the hormone is commonly referred to as the "cuddle" or "happy" hormone, and people are encouraged to boost their oxytocin levels for better well-being by touching friends and loved ones, listening to music and exercising. But recent studies involving the prairie vole have ...

Tampa, FL, USA – The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of leading human and animal virologists from 80+ Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in more than 40 countries dedicated to advancing pandemic preparedness, is unequivocally committed to the continued development and deployment of mRNA vaccines and the global scientific collaboration that makes such innovation possible. Vaccination remains one of public health’s greatest achievements, preventing an estimated 4.4 million deaths ...

Images    To help manage agricultural practices with fewer or no pesticides, University of Michigan researchers say they need to understand how ecological systems work on agricultural lands.   Now, U-M researchers John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto have used two ecological theories to describe a tangle of interactions between three ant species and a recently introduced fly that preys on one of the ant species. Their work on a coffee farm in Puerto Rico shows that the interaction between the ants and the predator fly creates chaotic patterns—chaos in ...