The climate measures currently in place are unlikely to meet Paris Climate Agreement targets. Whether further political measures can move us closer to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and combating climate change depends heavily on public opinion and political support. Researchers at ETH Zurich led by Keith Smith, Senior Researcher in Professor Thomas Bernauer's research group, conducted a large-scale survey across 13 EU countries to find out which measures are publicly and politically acceptable, and why.  The study aimed not only to gauge ...

Building protection against infectious diseases with nanostructured vaccines Wyss Institute’s DoriVac combined vaccine and adjuvant technology uses nanoscale precision enabled by DNA origami to induce broad immunity against infectious viruses By Benjamin Boettner (Boston) — The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at ...

Embargoed copy of the research paper available on request Scientists have uncovered the first robust evidence of a black hole and neutron star crashing together but orbiting in an oval path rather than a perfect circle just before they merged. This discovery challenges long-standing assumptions about how these cosmic pairs form and evolve. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics published their findings today (11 Mar) in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Most neutron star-black hole pairs are expected to adopt circular orbits ...

A new study in Health Economics indicates that the rapid expansion of online sports betting in the US may be increasing risky alcohol consumption among young men. Using national survey data and modern policy‐evaluation methods, investigators compared substance use across US states that have legalized sports betting since 2018 versus those that have not. The team found that legalizing online sports betting has led to a significant rise—around 10%—in binge‐drinking frequency in men aged 35 years and younger who already report binge drinking, while not affecting smoking rates. The authors noted that their data rely on self-reported ...

North Korean defectors who resettled in South Korea share genetics but markedly contrasting early-life exposures with South Korean residents. Research published in the Journal of Internal Medicine compared overall and site-specific cancer incidence rates between North Korean defectors and native South Koreans. Using the Korean National Health Insurance database, researchers matched 25,798 North Korean defectors and 1,276,601 South Korean residents. Defectors had higher risks of infection-related cancers (such as liver and cervical cancers) and lower risks of breast, colon, and prostate ...

A study in Economic Inquiry reveals how total abortion bans are reshaping public health systems and safety‐net programs in the United States. Using state‐level data from 2017–2023, Lilly Springer, a PhD candidate at the University of Kansas, found that states with full abortion bans (after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion with the Dobbs decision in 2022) experienced a 1.6% increased birth rate in 2023. They also experienced 4.3% and 2.1% increases in participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program ...

Weather prediction has rapidly changed in recent years with the emergence of forecasting systems that leverage artificial intelligence. Such AI models display an impressive computational speed-up of weather forecasts compared with traditional models. New research published in Weather assessed the energy consumption, and therefore the carbon footprint, of such weather forecasting models. Investigators found that the training aspect of AI models consumes considerable energy, but this consumption is offset by the models’ ...

The tidal environment of mangrove forests serves as nurseries for many fish species. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have measured carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in 23 of world’s mangrove areas. The study sends out a warning that these ecosystems are increasingly threatened as sea temperatures continue to rise. Mangrove waters change constantly with the tides. At low tide, oxygen levels drop while carbon dioxide builds up, making it harder for fish and other marine species to breathe. Only species ...

Low testosterone in itself can cause a variety of health problems, but the addition of a poor diet can exacerbate certain conditions. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is one example that approximately 40% of adult men worldwide currently suffer from and has become a global problem. Fatty liver, the initial stage of MASLD, is associated with risk factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, decreased testosterone, and high fructose intake from beverages and processed foods. However, the relationship and combined effects of these on the liver have yet to be fully ...

A joint research team led by Professor Jung Ho Yoon from the School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (President Yoo Ji-Beom), in collaboration with Professor Kyeongtae Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Incheon National University (President Lee In-jae) and Dr. Sunghoon Hur of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Sang Rok Oh), has reported for the first time that the resistive switching behavior of ion-motion-mediated volatile memristors, which are emerging as promising next-generation semiconductor devices, originates ...

As health monitoring becomes increasingly important for disease prevention, early diagnosis, and high-quality living, the demand for wearable and implantable bioelectronics has grown rapidly. Traditional rigid electronic devices often suffer from mechanical mismatch with biological tissues, leading to discomfort and unstable signal acquisition. Recently, researchers from Kyoto University and the National University of Singapore, led by Professor Keiji Numata and Professor Bo Pang, presented a comprehensive review on polymer-based flexible electronics for human health monitoring. This work introduces a safety-level-oriented framework that systematically connects material design, device ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:05 GMT WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 2026 / 20:05 ET TUESDAY 10 MARCH 2026 Could ultrasound help save hedgehogs? More images and video available via the link in the notes section Researchers at the University of Oxford have suggested that ultrasound-repellers could help reduce hedgehog deaths by cars. The proposal is based on new findings, published today (11 March) in Biology Letters, which demonstrate for the first time that hedgehogs can hear high-frequency ultrasound. The European hedgehog is one of our best-loved mammals, but populations ...

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) published today in Psychological Medicine demonstrates a significant and clinically relevant reduction in ADHD symptoms in adults using the digital therapy "attexis". Researchers from GAIA in Hamburg, in collaboration with the Saarland University Medical Center, the University Medical Center Mainz, the University Hospital Bonn, the University of Lübeck, and Kiel University, investigated the efficacy of the digital intervention, which is already permanently listed in the ...

Researchers may have discovered a new way to diagnose and treat major depression at the earliest stage of the condition, giving patients the best opportunity for recovery. University of Queensland researchers, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, analysed levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – known as the “energy currency” molecule – in the brain and blood cells of young people with depression. Associate Professor Susannah Tye from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) said this was the first time patterns in these fatigue molecules had been discovered in both the ...

A woman’s suicide risk may be influenced by the suicidal intention of her female first degree relatives, with sex specific effects of a shared familial environment and possibly other social factors having a key role, finds a large population study published in the online journal BMJ Mental Health.  While genetic factors strongly influence a person’s risk of suicide, they don’t fully explain the observed sex differences in suicidal behaviours, whereby males die by suicide more often than females, but females attempt suicide around twice as often as males, say the researchers.  Worldwide, around 700,000 lives are lost to suicide every year, with notable ...

A species of gut bacteria called Roseburia inulinivorans is specifically associated with human muscle strength and improved muscular performance in mice, finds research published online in the journal Gut.  R inulinivorans changes certain metabolic processes in muscle, and converts muscle fibres to ‘fast-twitch (type II)---designed for short intensive movement, such as sprinting and weights—the findings show.  R inulinivorans holds promise as a nutraceutical probiotic for treating age-related muscle wasting disease, suggest the Dutch and Spanish researchers.  Dwindling ...

Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist for weight loss, may carry the highest risk of ‘eye stroke’ (ischaemic optic neuropathy) and sudden sight loss of the semaglutide drugs, finds an analysis of unintended side effect reports published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. The risk is almost 5 times higher with Wegovy than it is with Ozempic, and 3 times greater in men than it is in women, the analysis indicates. Ischaemic optic neuropathy, or ION for short, is caused by inadequate/interrupted ...

A long-standing debate about the evolutionary origin of the world’s most widely cultivated “magic mushroom” – Psilocybe cubensis – may now have been settled by scientists from southern Africa and the United States. In a paper published in the journal Proceedings B of the Royal Society, they describe the discovery of a new species of magic mushroom – Psilocybe ochraceocentrata – from the grasslands of South Africa and Zimbabwe. So named because of the ochre-yellow colour at ...

A team from University of Toronto Engineering is the first to synthesize long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) outside the cell — a new approach to drug discovery that has already yielded some promising anti-inflammatory molecules.  The team was inspired by advances in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein replacement therapies. They realized that a similar approach could be used to deliver lncRNA to the body, unlocking a potential new source of drugs.  “Only about 25% ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that depleting a clotting protein made by the liver could slow down pancreatic cancer.  The research, recently published in Gastroenterology and led by Melissa L. Fishel, PhD, shows that reducing fibrinogen in mouse models shrinks primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors and reduces their ability to metastasize to the liver. Fibrinogen is cleaved to fibrin following injury ...

PHILADELPHIA (March 10, 2026) – As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into clinical settings—from predicting patient outcomes to deploying humanoid "robotic nurses"—an article published in the Hastings Center Report warns that the core of nursing, its moral agency, must remain a human-driven responsibility. The article, What Does Moral Agency Mean for Nurses in the Era of Artificial Intelligence?, explores the growing tension between advanced algorithmic capabilities ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Social media users are more likely to watch TV programs that are endorsed by members of their political party, a recent study suggests. However, individuals’ racial identity and their perceptions of racial and political ingroup norms and the demographics of a program’s intended audience also play roles in their decisions. Stewart Coles, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, surveyed 1,259 Black and white Republicans and Democrats to see how their intentions to view a fictitious TV program were affected by their race and political party and those of the person endorsing it. Coles found that certain ...

More than 184 million people in rural sub-Saharan Africa rely on shared handpumps for clean water. However, more than 50,000 of the pumps are broken, leaving millions in jeopardy of losing their safe water supply. New research from the University of Notre Dame studies how local nongovernmental organizations in Ethiopia, Malawi and the Central African Republic decide when to maintain and repair 3,584 community handpumps when information about pump functionality is incomplete or uncertain. The ongoing research has helped NGOs provide more consistent and safe access to water for more than a million people ...

NEW ORLEANS - Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center in New Orleans will soon be one of only eight cancer treatment facilities in the world, and the first in the South, to offer biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT), a breakthrough treatment currently FDA approved for patients diagnosed with primary or metastatic tumors to lung and bone. The new treatment uses the unique biology of the cancer itself to guide radiotherapy delivery, even in tumors that are in motion. “Biology-guided radiotherapy marks a significant advancement in enhancing the precision of radiation treatment, offering improved control over tumor motion and ...

Most lethal mutations in wild fruit flies are driven by newly transferred jumping genes, not small DNA errors, according to a new study from Duke University. The findings, published in PLOS Biology, challenge decades of assumptions in evolutionary genetics and may have implications for population health and conservation. “Almost every individual of any species studied has at least one lethal mutation,” said lead author Sarah Marion, who began this work as a biology graduate student at Duke and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Reed College. “I thought, how is that ...