Climate change will make monsoon storms in South Asia wetter and weaker, with more storms pushing further inland across India.  Scientists from the University of Reading used 13 climate models to understand how warming temperatures will affect monsoon low-pressure systems. These storms deliver more than half of all monsoon rainfall and nearly all extreme rainfall events across South Asia.  The research, published in the Journal of Climate, found that storms will become about 10% weaker by the time ...

A new study has uncovered promising therapeutic strategies against one of the deadliest forms of prostate cancer. McGill University researchers at the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute (GCI) identified a mechanism driving neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a rare and highly aggressive subtype for which there currently are no effective treatment options. Findings published in Genes & Development show that prostate tumours in mice became more aggressive when the protein ERRγ was lost, while restoring ...

Ischemic stroke, a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide, is a complex cerebrovascular event with outcomes heavily influenced by the inflammatory response. This response, triggered by cerebral ischemia, plays a critically dual role: while exacerbating secondary damage in the acute phase, it is also essential for tissue repair and recovery. The identification and study of inflammation-related biomarkers have thus emerged as a pivotal area of research, offering new avenues for early diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and targeted therapy in the pursuit of precision medicine ...

The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego is expanding its roadway safety education efforts to reach more Californians, with a focus on Native American youth, pedestrian safety and Spanish-speaking communities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an estimated 39,345 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2024, marking one of the highest fatality totals in nearly two decades. Traffic deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) individuals are 20% higher than the national average, and the gap widens sharply among young ...

NEW YORK CITY and ORLANDO — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF) are pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of The McKnight Brain Research Foundation Innovator Awards in Cognitive Aging and Memory Loss: Leah Acker, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Duke University, and Erin Gibson, PhD, Assistant Professor, the Stanford School of Medicine.  The Innovator Awards provide funding to research scientists pursuing groundbreaking studies in the field of cognitive aging. Each will receive a three-year award totaling $750,000. Leah ...

Cervical cancer will be the first human cancer eliminated through coordinated global action. A new special issue of Cancer Biology & Medicine brings together leading experts from around the world to examine progress, challenges, and innovations in prevention, screening, and treatment. From policy frameworks and epidemiological insights to digital health tools and therapeutic vaccines, the collection provides a timely resource for accelerating the World Health Organization’s 2030 targets for cervical cancer elimination and advancing ...

Researchers at Academia Sinica have developed the first population-specific polygenic risk score (PRS) models for people of Han Chinese ancestry, achieving unprecedented accuracy in predicting risks for common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disorders. The study, published in Nature on October 15,2025, analyzed genomic and health data from more than half a million Taiwanese participants of the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative (TPMI) and demonstrates the transformative potential ...

Children who count on their fingers between ages 4 and 6 1/2 have better addition skills by age 7 than those who don’t use their fingers, suggesting that finger counting is an important stepping stone to higher math skills, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “Finger counting is not just a tool for immediate success in young children, but a way to support the development of advanced abstract arithmetic skills,” said lead author Catherine Thevenot, PhD, of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Finger counting is widely used by young children as a strategy to solve math problems. However, ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new, personalized approach to deep brain stimulation (DBS) for people with drug-resistant epilepsy. By mapping each patient's unique brain wave patterns, the method allows physicians to target the precise area in the brain where stimulation is most effective, moving beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all approach. DBS involves implanting electrodes in the brain to deliver electrical pulses that help prevent and control seizures. While effective, DBS is typically administered with electrodes placed in the same brain region across most patients. Mayo Clinic physician-scientists ...

Tampa, FL, USA – November 20, 2025 – The Global Virus Network (GVN) is pleased to announce that, for the first time, it is awarding pandemic preparedness research grants, totaling $160,000, to GVN scientists across four continents. These awards support innovative, investigator-led projects designed to enhance viral surveillance, early detection, and scientific preparedness, particularly in regions vulnerable to emerging and re-emerging viral threats. “These projects represent exactly the kind of targeted, ...

BOSTON — Nov. 20, 2025 — Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) today announced the launch of the Virtual Cell Pharmacology Initiative (VCPI) through Ginkgo Datapoints. This open-source platform is designed to build the first standardized framework for virtual cell modeling in drug discovery by bringing together researchers, pharmaceutical companies and AI developers in a community-driven effort to create the largest public dataset of its kind, aiming to test at least 100,000 compounds and generate >12 billion data points. Virtual cells, AI-powered digital representations of biological cells, are emerging as a critical ...

CLEVELAND—About 360 million years ago, the shallow sea above present-day Cleveland was home to a fearsome apex predator: Dunkleosteus terrelli. This 14-foot armored fish ruled the Late Devonian seas with razor-sharp bone blades instead of teeth, making it among the largest and most ferocious arthrodires—an extinct group of shark-like fishes covered in bony armor across their head and torso. Since its discovery in the 1860s, Dunkleosteus has captivated scientists and the public alike, becoming ...

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/20/2025) — A team of organic and computational chemists at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have created a new, modern tool to make the process of creating pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals faster, cost-effective, and energy-efficient. The research, recently published in Nature, details a new method for creating the essential starting materials, known as precursors, used in chemical reactions. A patent is pending for this technique. Chemists use what are called “aryne intermediates” as building blocks to make complex molecules more efficiently in areas such as pharmaceuticals ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Many children grow up dreaming – or maybe even expecting – that they will become a star in football, basketball or whatever their favorite sport may be.   Most parents have more realistic expectations of their children’s future athletic achievement, a new study finds. But a substantial minority believe their kids will beat the odds and become collegiate, pro or even Olympic athletes.   In a survey of 785 American parents, 34% thought it was somewhat or very likely that their child would become a small-college athlete, 27% thought it was likely they would become a college scholarship athlete, and 17% thought it was somewhat ...

PALO ALTO, Calif. - November 20, 2025 - For millions of Americans in the African diaspora, genealogical ties and records were severed by the transatlantic slave trade, creating a "brick wall" for those seeking to know their full heritage. Today, 23andMe Research Institute announced a landmark expansion of its genetic ancestry reports and features, unveiling more than 250 high-resolution Genetic Groups across Africa. This significant update provides members with African heritage the most detailed and scientifically ...

Although present in very small amounts, selenium (Se)-based compounds play important roles in protecting the body from oxidative stress, regulating thyroid hormones, strengthening the immune system, and even detoxifying heavy metals. As we begin to understand more about the biological functions of Se, the need to detect and identify Se-containing compounds has become increasingly important. Researchers from Chiba University, Japan, have developed a new method that selectively detects Se compounds, addressing a long-standing challenge in the identification of unknown Se-containing compounds. Using a previously unexplored approach, the researchers discovered novel Se-containing molecules in ...

A new oral GLP-1 medication can help adults with obesity and Type 2 diabetes lose more weight and improve their blood sugar levels compared to a placebo, according to findings from the ATTAIN-2 trial led by a UTHealth Houston researcher. Obesity is a chronic health condition that can cause serious complications such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, certain cancers, and more. Current GLP-1 treatments for obesity consist of daily or weekly injectable medications that come with drawbacks, including the need for cold chain ...

A new paper outlines how scientists came together to put together the first microbial conservation roadmap under the leadership of Applied Microbiology International President, Professor Jack Gilbert. The article, ‘Safeguarding Microbial Biodiversity: Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG) within the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)' is published in Sustainable Microbiology, an AMI journal. In July 2025, IUCN formally launched the MCSG within its Species Survival Commission, co-chaired by Professor Gilbert and Raquel Peixoto (KAUST / ISME). This came out of a meeting ...

Our brain’s reward system processes and reinforces pleasurable experiences, motivating us to seek out and engage in rewarding activities ranging from eating to social interactions to recreational drug use. Dopamine plays an important role in this process, mediated by the D2 dopamine receptor (D2R). New research published today in Nature Neuroscience finds that the same mechanism that causes drug addiction (desensitization of D2R) also controls the natural devaluation of repeated behaviors (e.g. seeking out the same thrill of going on a rollercoaster for the first time). This is the first natural use found for this mechanism. Researchers from ...

Bethesda, MD (Nov. 17, 2025) — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released a comprehensively updated clinical guideline on the pharmacological management of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. The new guideline uses cutting-edge network meta-analyses to recommend prescribing medications based on patients’ prior treatments for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease.  The guideline organizes treatments by efficacy to simplify decision-making for gastroenterologists and over 3 million people worldwide living with Crohn’s disease. This living guideline reflects the rapid pace of innovation in medical ...

Cancer research, drug safety testing and ageing biology may all gain a major boost from a new fluorescent sensor developed at Utrecht University. This new tool allows scientists to watch DNA damage and repair unfold in real time inside living cells. The development, which opens the door to experiments that weren’t feasible before, is published today in the journal Nature Communications. DNA inside our cells is constantly damaged by sunlight, chemicals, radiation or simply by the many processes that keep us alive. Usually, the cell fixes this damage quickly and efficiently. But when repair fails, the consequences can be serious, contributing ...

With a five-year survival rate of less than 5%, glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer. Until now, all available treatments, including immunotherapy — which involves strengthening the immune system to fight cancer— have proved disappointing. CAR-T cells are genetically modified immune cells manufactured in the laboratory and designed to identify and destroy cancer cells. By targeting a protein present in the tumour environment, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and ...

A geomagnetic superstorm is an extreme space weather event that occurs when the Sun releases massive amounts of energy and charged particles toward Earth. These storms are rare, occurring about once every 20-25 years. On May 10-11, 2024, the strongest superstorm in over 20 years, known as the Gannon storm or Mother’s Day storm, struck Earth.   A study led by Dr. Atsuki Shinbori from Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research has captured direct measurements of this extreme event and provided the ...

The immune system plays a crucial role in fighting tumours and metastases. Consequently, it is decisive to conduct cancer research in mouse models with an immune system that is as natural as possible – which is easier said than done. Thanks to CRISPR/Cas9 technology, researchers can quickly create a pool of hundreds of tumour cells, each with a different gene switched off. When transplanted into mice, it becomes apparent which of these silenced genes influences the development and spread of cancer. Assisted by such CRISPR screens, scientists are able to identify valuable approaches for the development of new therapies. But the method comes with a catch. The components of ...

November 20, 2025 - A novel study empirically linking a standardized measure of community resilience in more than 3,100 U.S. counties to cognitive, mental, and physical health outcomes shows that counties with fewer healthcare resources, limited digital tools, and weaker support systems exhibit poorer overall health among their residents. The article appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, indicates that resilience can be measured, strengthened, and designed into our systems of care using modifiable tools like healthcare access, support networks, and technology. Resilience ...