A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identifies a possible way to slow or block progression of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over age 50. The WashU Medicine researchers and their international collaborators implicated problems with cholesterol metabolism in this type of vision loss, perhaps helping to explain the links between macular degeneration and cardiovascular disease, which both worsen with age. The new findings — identified using human plasma samples and mouse models of macular degeneration — suggest that increasing ...

Climate change and habitat loss could cause more than 500 bird species to go extinct in the next 100 years, researchers from the University of Reading have found. Their study, published today (Tuesday, 24 June) in Nature Ecology & Evolution, reveals this number is three times higher than all bird extinctions recorded since 1500 CE. The extinction of vulnerable birds such as the bare-necked umbrellabird, the helmeted hornbill, and the yellow-bellied sunbird-asity would greatly reduce the variety of bird shapes and sizes worldwide, harming ecosystems ...

ENNA, Italy, 24 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Thought Leaders Invited Review, researchers have synthesized findings from dozens of studies examining how genetic markers for mood disorders influence treatment outcomes and clinical features across major psychiatric conditions. The analysis reveals that while polygenic scores currently show modest predictive power, they demonstrate consistent patterns that could eventually contribute to more personalized psychiatric care. Genetic Signatures Show Consistent Treatment Patterns Professor Alessandro Serretti from Kore University of Enna analyzed evidence spanning ...

Deep-sea mining in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean could harm ocean life including whales and dolphins, new research shows. The Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Eastern Pacific is a vast area of deep ocean and seamounts. A Canadian firm – The Metals Company – is planning to explore parts of the CCZ for polymetallic nodules. In two new studies, researchers found whales and dolphins – including an endangered sperm whale – in the CCZ, and raise concerns about impacts on a wide range of marine species. “We ...

STANFORD, California, USA, 24 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press interview, Stanford University researcher Eric Sun reveals how machine learning is revolutionizing our understanding of brain aging at an unprecedented cellular resolution. Dr. Sun, who will establish his independent laboratory at MIT's Department of Biological Engineering and the Ragon Institute in 2026, represents a new generation of computational scientists transforming aging research through innovative machine learning approaches. Breakthrough Discovery ...

Time-consuming testing and computer simulations are bottlenecks in the design of new materials. A thesis from the University of Gothenburg aims to develop an AI model that can efficiently determine the durability and strength of woven composite materials. Whether it is a floorball stick or a wind turbine blade to be constructed - often different composite materials are used. Composite means mixing several different materials, e.g., carbon fiber and polymers, to achieve the desired balance between different properties such as weight, durability and flexibility of the product. However, designing ...

Stress does no one — not even your insulin-producing cells — any good.  Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have identified a gene that, when activated by metabolic stress, damages pancreatic β-cells — the cells responsible for insulin production and blood sugar control — pushing them toward dysfunction. The findings highlight a promising new target for early intervention in type 2 diabetes. While many factors can contribute to type 2 diabetes, lifestyle, especially diet, plays a major role in its onset. Genetics matter, but poor eating habits can greatly ...

To save elephant populations from extinction, the international community banned the sale of their ivory — but selling mammoth ivory remains legal, and the two are difficult to tell apart, especially for non-experts. This leaves a possible loophole for sellers of poached ivory to exploit. Now stable isotope analysis could provide a cheap, rapid option to speed up sample screening and stop the sale of elephant ivory. “Smugglers routinely use mixed shipments — an illegal wildlife product mixed with a legal one of similar appearance — to fool law enforcement,” said Dr Pavel Toropov ...

In this April 2025 issue of Annals of Thoracic Surgery (JCR Q1, IF: 3.6), a retrospective study, led by Professors Jianxing He and Shuben Li from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, illustrated the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of extended sleeve lobectomy (ESL) after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy in patients with centrally located non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The article entitled "Extended Sleeve Lobectomy After Neoadjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Centrally Located Non-small Cell Lung Cancer". It is the first study ...

New research cast doubts over suggestions an incestuous social elite ruled over the ancient people of Ireland, 5500 years ago. A paper led by researchers from University College Dublin, in collaboration with University of Bergen, Australian National University, University of York, University of Exeter, University of Liverpool, and Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit (a commercial archaeological company), has questioned the belief that burial within the ‘mega’ passage tomb of Newgrange was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented ...

Past years have witnessed impressive successes for tree models, while an important problem is to understand their predictions, especially for some critical applications. Previous interpretation methods for tree models focus on measuring the importance of individual features while ignoring plentiful correlations and structures among multiple features.   To solve the problems, a research team led by Wei GAO published their new research on 15 May 2025 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press and Springer Nature.   The ...

The military prides itself on loyalty and respect but those values must extend to how they treat those who leave service, new research from Flinders University reveals. Led by Australian Army veteran and Flinders University PhD Candidate Cameron Grant, the study analysed responses from nearly 400 former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, uncovering widespread dissatisfaction with their discharge experience. “The discharge process represents a complete severance of all military status, which can be extremely challenging in and of itself, but if that process is also unpleasant it can ...

Women who experience complications during pregnancy face a higher risk of stroke in the following decades according to research published in the European Heart Journal [1] today (Tuesday).   The study, which included data on more than two million women over more than 40 years, found an increased risk for women who had diabetes or high blood pressure while pregnant, a preterm delivery or a baby with a low birth weight.   Researchers say these common pregnancy complications could act as an early signal for cardiovascular problems in the future, meaning women could receive help early in life to lower their risk of ...

A landmark study by WEHI scientists has shed new light on one of the most fundamental mysteries of biology: how cells divide and grow into the complex structures that make up our bodies. The study has produced a sophisticated and leading new technology for tracking cells very early during embryo development, as they divide, migrate and specialise into the organs, tissues and systems that keep us alive. The innovative tech, called LoxCode, provides each cell in a genetically engineered mouse with one of billions of individual DNA barcodes, allowing them to be tracked in unprecedented detail. Published in Cell, ...

Skin grafts genetically engineered from a patient’s own cells can heal persistent wounds in people with an extremely painful dermatologic disease, a Stanford Medicine-led clinical trial has shown. The grafts treat severe dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or EB, a genetic condition in which the skin is so fragile the slightest touch can cause blistering and wounds, eventually leading to large, open lesions that never heal and are immensely painful. A phase 3 clinical trial showed that EB patients experienced significantly better healing, less pain and less itching from wounds treated ...

Endoscopies could be replaced by far less invasive capsule sponge tests for half of all patients with Barrett’s oesophagus, a known precursor to oesophageal cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Queen Mary University of London. The capsule sponge test is easier to administer and could be carried out by nurses and at GP practices, reducing the burden on NHS resources. Oesophageal cancer is difficult to treat, with fewer than one in five patients surviving for five or more years following ...

New research has cast doubts over suggestions an incestuous social elite ruled over the ancient people of Ireland more than 5,000 years ago. Researchers examined the evidence from burials of individuals at the Newgrange prehistoric monument in Ireland - a large circular mound containing a chamber where cremated and unburnt human remains were placed, the discovery of which led to speculation that those buried there must have been from an elite class or a royal family. In 2020, the DNA analysis of a bone skull fragment found in the chamber, however, suggested that at least one of the individuals buried there was the result of a relationship ...

Irvine, Calif., June 23, 2025 — Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have successfully performed preclinical laboratory testing of a replacement heart valve intended for toddlers and young children with congenital cardiac defects, a key step toward obtaining approval for human use. The results of their study were published recently in Journal of the American Heart Association. The management of patients with congenital heart disease who require surgical pulmonary valve replacement typically occurs between the ages of 2 and 10. To be eligible for a minimally invasive transcatheter ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Human exposure to toxic particles drives various diseases. Examples include gout, an acute arthritis driven by monosodium urate crystals, or MSUc; CPPD disease, another inflammatory joint disease driven by calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals, or CPPDc; and the lung disease silicosis, driven by inhaled silica-derived nanoparticles. Macrophages are the specialized phagocytic cells that respond to toxic particle depositions to exert inflammatory and clearance responses. These long-lived immune cells engulf foreign substances like toxic particles, as well as pathogens like cancer ...

Aimlessly wandering around a city or exploring the new mall may seem unproductive, but new research from HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus suggests it could play an important role in how our brains learn. By simultaneously recording the activity of tens of thousands of neurons, a team of scientists from the Pachitariu and Stringer labs discovered that learning may occur even when there are no specific tasks or goals involved.   The new research finds that as animals explore their environment, neurons in the visual cortex—the brain area responsible for processing visual information—encode ...

A new clinical trial found that taking a popular diabetes and weight-loss drug once weekly significantly improves blood sugar and leads to substantial weight loss in adults with Type 1 diabetes who use automated insulin delivery systems. The results were published today in the journal NEJM Evidence. Semaglutide is a medication that belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor agonists. Sold under the trade names such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, the drug was initially developed for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, helping to manage blood sugar levels. The 26-week, double-blind study involved ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mabel Ramos’s favorite song is “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Junior. From morning until night, if Mabel is awake, she is listening and dancing to — or asking to listen to — the number one Billboard hit from 1984. Though some parents might be annoyed by listening to a single song repeatedly, her father, Mark Ramos, said he is delighted by his daughter’s ability to dance, communicate and express her enthusiasm. Mabel, who is five years old, has autism spectrum disorder. Mark, assistant research professor of health policy and administration at ...

Smartwatch features that measure heart rates, oxygen levels, fitness levels and sleep quality have been marketed as valuable tools for people who are eager to monitor their health. But what if these features could do more than detect potential health issues — what if they could prevent potential health disasters such as pandemics? Recent studies have demonstrated that smartwatches’ health apps and sensors provide enough information to accurately predict when a person has become infected with a disease like COVID-19 or the flu, even within as few as 12 hours after infection.  In a study published this March in PNAS Nexus, researchers ...

NEW ORLEANS—A novel molecular imaging agent targeting glypican-3 (GPC3) has demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including tumors smaller than one centimeter, according to results from a pilot clinical study. The agent, 68Ga-aGPC3-scFv, coded as XH06, was shown to be safe, well-tolerated, and effective at providing high-contrast images of GPC3-positive liver tumors, offering a promising new tool for early diagnosis and staging of HCC—one of the most lethal forms of liver cancer. ...

A new AI-based technology that rapidly maps the brain to locate sensitive areas that control speech, vision, movement and other critical functions has received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), enabling it to be marketed to hospitals with the aim of enhancing the precision of neurosurgeries. The technology was developed by researchers and clinicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to more precisely guide neurosurgeons in performing delicate brain surgeries to remove tumors or treat epilepsy, for example. The Cirrus Resting ...