AMES, Iowa – An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has affected more than 184 million domestic poultry since 2022 and, since making the leap to dairy cattle in spring 2024, more than 1,000 milking cow herds. A new study led by Iowa State University researchers shows that the mammary glands of several other production animals – including pigs, sheep, goats, beef cattle and alpacas – are biologically suitable to harbor avian influenza, due to high levels of sialic acids. “The main thing we wanted to understand in this study is whether there is potential for transmission among these other domestic mammals and humans, and ...

When a gas is highly energized, its electrons get torn from the parent atoms, resulting in a plasma—the oft-forgotten fourth state of matter (along with solid, liquid, and gas). When we think of plasmas, we normally think of extremely hot phenomena such as the Sun, lightning, or maybe arc welding, but there are situations in which icy cold particles are associated with plasmas. Images of distant molecular clouds from the James Webb Space Telescope feature such hot–cold interactions, with frozen dust illuminated by pockets of shocked gas and newborn stars. Now a team of Caltech researchers has managed to recreate such ...

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) often lose access to specialized care once they age out of pediatric services. A new report from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) faculty presents five years of real-world data from their clinical practice at the Clinical Center for Adults with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CCAND), demonstrating how a state-funded, multidisciplinary care model can close these gaps and serve as a blueprint for other states. The findings were recently published in the journal Neurology. “We felt it was vital to provide a practical roadmap ...

University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies announced the publication of “Reclaiming Control: Autonomy as the Key to Workforce Resilience and Career Optimism,” a new white paper by Karen Johnson, Ed.D. The report argues that restoring a sense of autonomy is essential to reducing record-high burnout and strengthening organizational resilience.   Drawing on findings from several years of the University’s Career Optimism Index® study, Johnson highlights an “autonomy crisis” in the U.S. workforce: 21% of workers say their control over their professional future has declined, while 51% report burnout—the highest level since tracking ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. [December 9, 2025] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers—hosted a Patient Advocacy Summit on the unique cancer needs of veterans and first responders. It featured a fireside chat from Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD, MS (IA-01), a physician and veteran of the U.S. Army. The program also brought together a diverse group of experts to discuss how veterans, firefighters, and other national heroes face elevated cancer risk on the job, what policies and programs are in place currently to help ...

Whether artificial hands with an especially gentle touch or an endoscope that crawls through the intestines like a worm, robots made of soft materials could soon carry out tasks that are difficult for metal-based systems. Dr. Philipp Rothemund, assistant professor at the University of Stuttgart, seeks to simplify how soft robots are controlled. The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the project with one of its prestigious Consolidator Grants worth up to €2 million. “I would like to congratulate Philipp Rothemund on this award. Soft ...

A new arts and wellbeing program co-developed by the University of South Australia, Flinders University and the University of Adelaide shows that supporting the social needs of people living with dementia and their carers can help families rediscover connection, confidence and a sense of community.   Designed in collaboration with those affected by dementia and funded by the Global Arts and Health Alliance, the six-week program concurrently delivers an arts session for people with dementia alongside a wellbeing session for their carers.   UniSA ...

URBANA, Ill. – The ubiquitous plastic beverage bottle makes up about half of plastic waste collected for recycling in the U.S. Most recycled plastic is processed domestically, but a portion is traded overseas. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign draws on citizen science data to investigate how the global plastic waste trade contributes to litter along coastlines and waterways in importing countries. “There has been a lot of news coverage about the plastic waste ...

The University of Texas at Dallas has partnered with Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of technology consulting and digital solutions to enterprises across industries, to collaborate on artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, skill development and research. UT Dallas has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tech Mahindra to facilitate collaboration with the India-based company, which opened its headquarters in the Americas in March in Plano, Texas. Tech Mahindra will launch its first Makers Lab in the U.S. in Dallas, providing opportunities for undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students, and faculty to advance AI technologies, data science, quantum computing, cybersecurity ...

Blinking is a human reflex most often performed without thinking, like breathing. Although research on blinking is usually related to vision, a new Concordia study examines how blinking is connected to cognitive function such as filtering out background noise to focus on what someone is trying to say to us in a crowded room. Writing in the journal Trends in Hearing, the researchers describe two experiments designed to measure how eye blinking changes in response to stimuli under different conditions. They found that people naturally blink less when they are working harder to understand ...

Male bonobos can decipher females’ unreliable fertility signals, allowing them to focus their efforts on matings with the highest chance of conception, according to a study by Heungjin Ryu at Kyoto University, Japan, and colleagues publishing December 9th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. In most mammals, females are only receptive to mating during ovulation, allowing males to time their mating efforts to maximize the chances of conception. But in some primates, such as bonobos (Pan paniscus), females become sexually receptive and display a conspicuous pink swelling around the genitals for a prolonged period of time. To investigate how males ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As humanity prepares to take its first steps on Mars, a comprehensive report released today (Dec. 9) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and steered by scientists at Penn State lays out a detailed science strategy to guide the initial human missions to the red planet.   The report, commissioned by NASA, identifies the highest priority scientific objectives for the missions as well as proposes four distinct mission campaigns designed to maximize the scientific return of the first three human landings on Mars. The report is intended ...

With cannabis-related vehicle crashes on the rise, a new study suggests that prevention campaigns shouldn’t focus just on young people. In fact, 20% of people over 50 who use cannabis products reported that at least once in the past year, they had driven within two hours of using the drug. That means they likely got on the road while the THC in cannabis still impaired their reaction times, attention and other abilities that are important to driving safely. The findings, from a University of Michigan team led by addiction psychologist Erin E. Bonar, Ph.D., are published in the journal Drug ...

About The Study: In extremely preterm infants with a protocol-defined patent ductus arteriosus, death or bronchopulmonary dysplasia did not differ between the expectant management group and the active treatment group. Survival was substantially higher with expectant management. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Matthew M. Laughon, MD, MPH, email matt_laughon@med.unc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.23330) Editor’s ...

PHILADELPHIA—The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the seven pairs of researchers who will make up its 2025 class of Innovation Fund investigators. These 14 acclaimed scientists—all alumni of Pew’s biomedical programs in the United States and Latin America—will collaborate on interdisciplinary research projects exploring key questions about human biology and disease. Bringing together their expertise in such specialties as neuroscience, immunology, and cancer biology, these partnerships will help accelerate discoveries and advance understanding of human health. “Many of the best scientific breakthroughs happen when researchers work together to tackle ...

Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: ‘Congratulations to all the researchers on winning the ERC grants. The record budget of 728 million euro invested to support these scientific projects shows the EU is serious about making the continent attractive for excellent researchers.’ President of the European Research Council, Prof. Maria Leptin, said: ‘To see all this talent with groundbreaking ideas, based in Europe, is truly inspiring. This bold research may well lead to new industries, improve lives and strengthen Europe’s global standing. This was one of the most competitive ...

The ERC Consolidator Grant is one of Europe’s most prestigious funding schemes and supports high-risk, high-reward research projects. SyReP tackles a core challenge that existing methods fail to address: once reactive systems must operate on real-world data—such as sensor readings, user inputs, or complex system states—classical synthesis approaches break down. “Traditional methods strictly separate decision-making from the data used to make those decisions. That may be theoretically elegant, but it fails in modern software practice,” ...

Background and objectives Clove essential oil (CEO) derived from Syzygium aromaticum and miswak (Salvadora persica) contains bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties. Due to the growing interest in alternatives to conventional antibiotics, this study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of CEO, miswak, and their combination against key peri-implantitis pathogens. Methods The antimicrobial activities of CEO, miswak, and their combinations were tested against Fusobacterium nucleatum, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia. Disc diffusion ...

Under embargo until 4pm GMT/11am ET on Tuesday December 9, 2025  With images  EVs Pose No Greater Risk to Pedestrians than Conventional Vehicles  Electric vehicles (EVs) are no more dangerous to pedestrians than traditional petrol or diesel cars, according to a new study.    Research by the University of Leeds into UK collisions involving pedestrians and cars found no significant difference in the pedestrian casualty rates between EVs and conventional vehicles.   It ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2025 — The ocean is saturated with microplastics. While we know the location of the great garbage patches, where plastic particles may accumulate below the ocean surface remains unknown. The vastness of the ocean means particle sampling data is sparse, but modeling how particles aggregate in 3D fluid flows can help determine where to look. In Chaos, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution established a theory for how microplastic particles may accumulate in an idealized eddy, or circular current. Larry Pratt and Irina Rypina began by modeling how fluid moves in a rotating cylinder, a laboratory setup ...

Concrete was the foundation of the ancient Roman empire. It enabled Rome’s storied architectural revolution as well as the construction of buildings, bridges, and aqueducts, many of which are still used some 2,000 years after their creation. In 2023, MIT Associate Professor Admir Masic and his collaborators published a paper describing the manufacturing process that gave Roman concrete its longevity: Lime fragments were mixed with volcanic ash and other dry ingredients before the addition of water. Once water is added to this dry mix, heat is produced. As the concrete ...

Whether you’re reaching for a mug, a pencil or someone’s hand, you don’t need to consciously instruct each of your fingers on where they need to go to get a proper grip. The loss of that intrinsic ability is one of the many challenges people with prosthetic arms and hands face. Even with the most advanced robotic prostheses, these everyday activities come with an added cognitive burden as users purposefully open and close their fingers around a target. Researchers at the University of Utah are now using artificial intelligence to solve this problem. By integrating proximity and pressure sensors into a commercial bionic hand, and then training ...

About The Study: This study found short-term, transient risks of low back pain flares associated with some activities but no associations with functional limitations at 1-year follow-up. These findings suggest that people with low back pain who engage in more of these activities do not have better or worse long-term outcomes. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Pradeep Suri, MD, MSc, email pradeep.suri@va.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.47915) Editor’s ...

About The Study: This cohort study of older traditional Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with common metastatic cancers found a mean of 40 to 62 health care contact days in the year after diagnosis. Health care contact days increased from 2008 to 2019, suggesting that treatment advancements and/or care inefficiencies may have imposed additional burdens on beneficiaries. The results of this study suggest that oncology teams should discuss expected contact days and related burdens when ...

NEW YORK, New York, USA, 2 December 2025 -- In a revealing Genomic Press Interview published today in Brain Medicine, Dr. Eric J. Nestler offers a rare glimpse into how curiosity about brain chemistry spawned an international movement in psychiatric research. The Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai describes nearly forty years spent uncovering the molecular secrets of why drugs and stress alter human behavior, research that has fundamentally reshaped how scientists across six continents approach mental illness. What began ...