A team of Chinese scientists has uncovered a hidden 3D structure in rice DNA that allows the crop to grow more grain while using less nitrogen fertilizer. The finding, published in Nature Genetics by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Oct. 29, could guide the next "green revolution" toward higher yields and more sustainable farming. The study reveals that a looping section of DNA—a "chromatin loop"—controls the activity of a gene called RCN2, which governs how rice plants form ...

Four distinct subgroups of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been identified in an international study published in Nature Medicine by researchers from Karolinska Institutet, among others. The results open up for more tailored treatments for the millions of women living with the disease worldwide. PCOS is a common hormonal disorder that affects the function of the ovaries and affects approximately 11 to 13 percent of women of childbearing age. In the current study, the researchers analyzed clinical data from over 11,900 affected women over a period of 6.5 years. The results were confirmed in five international cohorts from Asia, Europe, and ...

Halide perovskites – already a focus of major research into efficient, low-cost solar cells – have been shown to handle light faster than most semiconductors on the market. The paper, published in Nature Nanotechnology, reports quantum transients on the scale of ~2 picoseconds at low temperature in bulk formamidinium lead iodide films grown by scalable solution or vapour methods. That ultrafast timescale indicates use in very fast light sources and other photonic components. Crucially, these effects appear in films made by scalable processing rather than specialised growth in lab-settings – suggesting a practical and affordable ...

How do embryos develop? Why does the cortex of the mammalian brain fold? How do we feel touch at our fingertips? These and other fundamental biological questions remain unsolved. Yet, scientists know they all rely on a common principle: the conversion of a physical stimulus into a biochemical signal. The field of mechanobiology has recently gained new insights into which physical signals travel across cells and how far they spread. One key finding is that the rheological properties of the cell membrane (how it deforms and flows under stress) play a key role ...

New research in Sweden has produced a “blueprint” revealing how the human heart is built during prenatal development. It offers insights that could lead to improved prenatal care and new treatments for heart defects, such as holes between heart chambers or deformities of the heart valves. Publishing in Nature Genetics, a research team led by the department of Gene Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology published a detailed map of the developing human heart, showing how different groups of cells are arranged and how ...

Research Highlights: A review of 155 scientific studies found influenza and COVID infections raised the risk of heart attack or stroke as much as three-to five-fold in the weeks following the initial infection. Viruses that linger in the body, such as HIV, hepatitis C and varicella zoster virus (the virus that causes shingles), can lead to long-term elevations in the risk of cardiovascular events. The study researchers say preventive measures, including vaccination, may play an important role in reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially in people who already have heart disease or heart disease risk factors. Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET Wednesday, ...

New research from the University of Birmingham shows that eating flavanol-rich foods—like tea, berries, apples, and cocoa—can protect vascular health in men from the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. Sedentary behaviour is prevalent in modern societies; it is estimated that young adults sit for approximately six hours a day, but sitting for long periods induces declines in vascular function. Previous studies have shown that a 1% reduction in vascular function, as measured by brachial Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), which measures the elasticity of the arteries, leads to a 13% increased risk of cardiovascular ...

UC San Francisco today announced a $100 million gift to its renowned Memory and Aging Center (MAC). It is the first gift to name a UCSF division, which will now be the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center. “We applaud the Edward Fein Charitable Trust for their visionary support of the Fein MAC; this will accelerate the pace of research, education, and care for people with dementia,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “There is a growing recognition that neurodegenerative diseases ...

The year 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the formalisation of the India-Japan Science and Technology Cooperation and has been designated as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology and Innovation Exchange. This celebratory year is expected to promote mutually complementary cooperations that maximise both countries’ strengths in the fields of advanced technology and innovation, while accelerating the co-creation of new value. To sustain and accelerate the momentum of Japan-India collaborations cultivated by past forums, the 4th Forum will explore ways to further strengthen cooperative initiatives in ...

When mining forced Kiruna to relocate, the city planners took the opportunity to modernise. But with a large square, city streets and tall buildings located in a depression, residents have already begun to complain about the “new” city, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg. Kiruna has become colder. What is important to consider when building a city in an Arctic climate? Building in a location with elongated hours of  sunshine and protected from cold winds when placing buildings and streets. These principles have given way to other considerations, it seems, when designing the new ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study from Mayo Clinic underscores the widespread impact of menopause symptoms on midlife women — and raises concern that most are navigating this stage of life without medical care to help manage those challenges.  The study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, was based on responses from nearly 5,000 women ages 45-60 who were surveyed across four Mayo Clinic primary care locations. More than 3 out of 4 respondents experienced menopause symptoms, with many reporting substantial effects on daily life, work productivity ...

In a remote part of Antarctica's Western Weddell Sea, an area once hidden beneath a 200-metre-thick ice shelf, scientists have uncovered a new and unusual phenomena: extensive maintained fish nesting grounds arranged in patterns. When the A68 iceberg, measuring 5,800 square kilometres, calved from Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017, it opened new access for research. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) exploring the seafloor revealed more than 1,000 circular nests, each cleared of the layer of plankton detritus that blanketed ...

The commercialization of clothing-type wearable robots has taken a significant step forward with the development of equipment that can continuously and automatically weave ultra-thin shape memory alloy coil yarn—thinner than a human hair—into lightweight and flexible “fabric muscle” suitable for large-scale production. The Advanced Robotics Research Center at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM, President Seog-Hyeon Ryu), under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST, Chairman Young-Shik Kim), led by Principal ...

A new method developed at the University of Warwick offers the first simple and predictive way to calculate how irregularly shaped nanoparticles — a dangerous class of airborne pollutant — move through air. Every day, we breathe in millions of microscopic particles, including soot, dust, pollen, microplastics, viruses, and synthetic nanoparticles. Some are small enough to slip deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, contributing to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Most of these airborne particles are irregularly shaped. Yet the mathematical models used to predict how these particles behave typically ...

During heatwaves, there is an increase in the number of people suffering with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), according to a major study published today (Wednesday) in the European Respiratory Journal [1].   People with OSA often snore loudly, their breathing starts and stops during the night, and they may wake up several times. Not only does this cause excessive sleepiness, but it can also increase the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.   Researchers say their findings are particularly important as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.   The ...

As 5G/6G communications, aerospace systems, and high-frequency electronics advance, the demand for lightweight, wave-transparent, and thermally conductive materials has become increasingly urgent. Now, researchers from the Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology at Northwestern Polytechnical University, led by Professor Junliang Zhang and Professor Junwei Gu, have developed a groundbreaking down–top strategy to fabricate fluorographene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) nanofiber (FG/PNF) composite papers with exceptional wave-transparent performance, thermal conductivity, and mechanical ...

New global findings in the 9th annual indicator report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that the continued over reliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to climate change is being paid in people’s lives, health, and livelihoods, with 12 of 20 indicators tracking health threats reaching unprecedented levels. The report says failure to curb the warming effects of climate change has seen the rate of heat-related deaths surge 23% since the 1990s, to 546,000 a year. In 2024 alone, air pollution from wildfire smoke was linked to a record 154,000 deaths, ...

QUT researchers have uncovered critical biological processes that allow corals attach to a reef in a finding that could significantly improve coral restoration efforts worldwide. The study published in Royal Society Open Science, led by Dr Brett Lewis from the QUT School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, investigated how coral fragments from three species, Montipora mollis, Pocillopora verrucosa and Acropora millepora, develop self-sustaining attachment to reef surfaces. “Coral reefs are declining globally, and their recovery often depends on broken fragments reattaching and growing but that process isn’t as simple as it sounds,” Dr Lewis ...

Treating patients at home with IV antibiotics, rather than in a clinical setting, could halve costs to the NHS and relieve pressure on hospital beds – according to a University of East Anglia study. Researchers investigated whether having antibiotics prepared at home and continuously delivered into the bloodstream by an elastomeric pump would be a viable option. They found that both patients and clinicians were happy with this method, and that it could save the NHS more than £3,500 per patient. If rolled out nationally, the team ...

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze electrocardiograms (ECG) improved detection of severe heart attacks, including those that presented with unconventional symptoms, or atypical ECG patterns, and reduced false positives, according to a study published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions and simultaneously presented at TCT 2025 in San Francisco. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a severe type of heart attack where a major coronary artery is blocked, preventing blood flow to the heart muscle. Quickly restoring blood flow, ...

A new study has revealed that the lasting effects of biochar depend strongly on the material it is made from, with straw-derived biochar offering clear advantages for maize productivity under limited-water conditions. The research, published in Biochar, shows that combining wheat-straw biochar with an alternate partial root-zone drying irrigation system can boost crop yield and resource efficiency for at least two growing seasons after a single biochar application. Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by heating plant residues, has long been ...

The distinctive coloured fur of two of Australia's rarest marsupials could be caused by 'broken' pigment genes, new research from La Trobe University has found. The elusive desert-dwelling marsupial mole and the black-coated morph of the endangered eastern quoll are two of a growing number of marsupials showing common colour oddities. In many species, colour oddities like melanism and xanthism are considered chromatic disorders and are detrimental to an animal’s survival. But in research published ...

As global water resources face increasing pressure from industrial and agricultural activities, scientists are looking for innovative ways to clean and reuse wastewater sustainably. Researchers from Dalhousie University have now developed a simple and eco-friendly method to turn agricultural and forestry waste into powerful magnetic materials that can effectively remove toxic chemicals from water. The study, published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, introduces magnetic carbon adsorbents made from two common waste ...

The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) priorities are being skewed by its increasing reliance on donations from organisations such as the Gates Foundation (previously known as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), which must be spent on specific health challenges favoured by the donors, suggests a study published in the journal BMJ Global Health. Between 2000 and 2024, more than half of the US $5.5 billion donated by the Gates Foundation to WHO was directed toward vaccine-related projects and polio, while relatively little funding was spent on other issues considered to be important by WHO. The Gates Foundation has become the WHO’s second biggest ...

Around one in ten people worldwide report gastrointestinal and other symptoms such as fatigue and headache after eating foods containing gluten or wheat despite not having a diagnosis of either coeliac disease or wheat allergy, finds a large systematic review and meta-analysis published online in Gut. These people have a condition known as non-coeliac gluten/wheat sensitivity (NCGWS), which appears to be more common in women and associated with irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.   Symptoms of NCGWS tend to improve when gluten ...