Yang Zhang, PhD, and Jinjun Shi, PhD, both of the Center for Nanomedicine and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are co-senior authors of a paper published in ACS Nanoscience Au, “Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery of mRNA and siRNA for Concurrent Restoration of Tumor Suppressor and Inhibition of Tumorigenic Driver in Prostate Cancer.”   How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? Most cancers occur when there is an imbalance of cellular growth and inhibition, causing cells to grow rapidly and form tumors in the body. For example, ...

A research team led by the University of Oxford has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems. The results demonstrate that logging and conversion have significantly different and cumulative environmental impacts. The results have been published today (10 January) in Science. Understanding how different aspects of tropical forests are affected by logging and conversion to oil palm plantations is important for identifying priority habitats for conservation and restoration. It can also help aid decisions on land use – for instance, whether a logged forest should be ...

Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international team led by UCL researchers. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, sharing over 98% of their DNA with humans, and the scientists say that their findings, published in Science, can not only teach us about our own evolutionary history, but also about the biology of malaria infection in humans. Chimpanzees are endangered ...

Replacing conventional building materials with materials modified to store carbon dioxide could move the planet closer to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by Elisabeth Van Roijen and colleagues. The researchers calculate that full replacement of conventional building materials with these CO2-sequestering alternatives could store as much as 16.6 ± 2.8 gigatons of CO2 each year – an equivalent to about 50% of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions in 2021. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, along with decreasing emissions, is important for slowing ...

In this Policy Forum, John Bistline and colleagues analyze the potential impacts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized power plant rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Using nine models of the U.S. electric sector and energy systems, the researchers found that the rules would speed up the reduction of emissions in the power sector. Under the rules, the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the sector would be 61%-81% below 2005 levels by 2040. Under current policies, emission levels would be 51% to 83% below 2005 levels by 2040, ...

Samuel Arman and colleagues’ close examination of tooth microwear among living and extinct kangaroo species suggests that most of the species living in Australia during the Late Pleistocene had a broad, generalist diet rather than being specialized grazers. This broad diet likely allowed them to survive the glacial-interglacial cycles that drove fluctuations in vegetation on the continent. The findings add more evidence to the idea that human hunting, rather than failure to adapt to climate changes, ...

Male and female mice both prefer social interaction with female mice under normal conditions, but both switch to preferring males when their survival is threatened, according to a new study by Anqi Wei and colleagues. These preferences are mediated by different neuronal circuitry in male and female mice related to dopaminergic neurons in the brain’s ventral tegmental area, the researchers found. The findings offer a clearer picture of the underlying biology of socio-sexual preferences. These preferences are essential for successful reproduction, ...

Eight years of work. A collaboration between the Laboratory of Neuroethology of Non-Human Primates of the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Parma, led by Luca Bonini, and a team from the Biorobotics Institute of the Sant'Anna School of Pisa, coordinated by Alberto Mazzoni, principal investigator at the Computational Neuroengineering Lab, with the contribution of Silvestro Micera, professor in Bioingeneering. Support from three projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and as many Italian national projects, including MNESYS and BRIEF. These are just some of the elements of a groundbreaking study published in ...

Construction materials such as concrete and plastic have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to a new study by civil engineers and earth systems scientists at the University of California, Davis and Stanford University. The study, published Jan. 10 in Science, shows that combined with steps to decarbonize the economy, storing CO2 in buildings could help the world achieve goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “The potential is pretty large,” said Elisabeth Van ...

By Beth Miller In mechanobiology, cells’ forces have been considered fundamental to their enhanced function, including fast migration. But a group of researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has found that cells can generate and use lower force yet move faster than cells generating and using high forces, turning the age-old assumption of force on its head. The laboratory of Amit Pathak, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, found that groups of cells moved faster with lower force when adhered to soft surfaces with aligned collagen fibers. Cells have been thought to continually generate ...

Researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a breakthrough technique that could lay the foundations for detecting the universe’s “dark matter” and bring scientists closer than before to uncovering the secrets of the cosmos. The things we can see on Earth and in space – visible matter like rocks and stars – make up only a small portion of the universe, as scientists believe that 85 per cent of matter in the cosmos comprises invisible dark matter. This mysterious substance ...

AMES, Iowa – Neal Iverson started with two lessons in ice physics when asked to describe a research paper about glacier ice flow that has just been published by the journal Science.   First, said the distinguished professor emeritus of Iowa State University’s Department of the Earth, Atmosphere, and Climate, there are different types of ice within glaciers. Parts of glaciers are at their pressure-melting temperature and are soft and watery.   That temperate ice is like an ice cube left on a kitchen counter, with meltwater ...

Prehistoric kangaroos in southern Australia had a more general diet than previously assumed, giving rise to new ideas about their survival and resilience to climate change, and the final extinction of the megafauna, a new study has found. The new research, a collaboration between palaeontologists from Flinders University and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), used advanced dental analysis techniques to study microscopic wear patterns on fossilised kangaroo teeth. The findings, published in Science, suggest that many species of kangaroos were generalists, able to adapt to diverse diets in response to environmental changes. More ...

The US National Academy of Inventors (NAI) announced the 2024 Class of Fellows on December 10, 2024. Professor Kaibin Huang of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), Faculty of Engineering, the University of Hong Kong (HKU), was elected a 2024 Fellow in recognition of his inventions and contributions in tackling real-world issues. Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on ...

Professor Charles Schencking, Professor of History of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has been elected as a Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities (the Academy). The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established in 1969 by Royal Charter to advance knowledge of, and the pursuit of excellence in, the Humanities. It is an independent, not-for-profit organisation with a Fellowship of over 730 distinguished humanities researchers, leaders, and practitioners ...

A study of more than 400 Asian, Black and Hispanic women who had recently given birth found that racism through microaggressions may be linked to higher blood pressure during the period after their baby was born, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. More than one-third of the mothers reported experiencing at least one microaggression related to being a woman of color during or after their pregnancy. The research conducted with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania ...

About The Study: In this nationwide cohort study in the Republic of Korea, postdiagnosis weight gain was associated with an increased risk of heart failure after breast cancer development, with risk escalating alongside greater weight gain. The findings underscore the importance of effective weight intervention in the oncological care of patients with breast cancer, particularly within the first few years after diagnosis, to protect cardiovascular health. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dong Wook Shin, MD, DrPH, MBA, email dwshin@skku.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

About The Study: This study found that patient care experience worsened after private equity acquisition of hospitals. These findings raise concern about the implications of private equity acquisitions on patient care experience at U.S. hospitals.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rishi K. Wadhera, MD, MPP, MPhil, email rwadhera@bidmc.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.23450) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black women requires a multifaceted approach that acknowledges historical traumas, provides clear and transparent safety information, and avoids coercive vaccine promotion strategies. These findings emphasize the need for health care practitioners and public health officials to prioritize trust-building, engage community leaders, and tailor interventions to address the unique concerns of Black women to improve vaccine confidence and uptake. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Brittany C. Slatton, PhD, email brittany.slatton@tsu.edu. To access the ...

The outer ear is unique to mammals, but its evolutionary origin has remained a mystery. According to a new study published in Nature from the USC Stem Cell lab of Gage Crump, this intricate coil of cartilage has a surprisingly ancient origin in the gills of fishes and marine invertebrates. “When we started the project, the evolutionary origin of the outer ear was a complete black box,” said corresponding author Crump, professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “We had been studying the development and regeneration of the jawbones of fishes, and an inspiration for us was Stephen ...

Scientists have called for the designation of a new United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) with the aim to conserve and sustainably use Earth's orbit, and prevent the accumulation of space junk. There are currently 17 SDGs, adopted by UN members in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet for future generations, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity. But with growing numbers of satellites and other objects now orbiting our planet, there is growing concern that without some form of global consensus ...

Researchers have uncovered how egg cells prepare for the creation of life. Their work reveals the secrets of the Balbiani body, a remarkable structure that organizes essential molecules to guide early embryonic development. Using zebrafish models and cutting-edge imaging, the team discovered how this structure transforms from liquid droplets into a stable core, laying the groundwork for life itself. This discovery sheds light on the extraordinary precision of nature’s reproductive process. A new study led by Prof. Yaniv Elkouby and his team, including first co-authors Swastik Kar and Rachael Deis, from the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University ...

PHILADELPHIA—Opioid misuse and specifically opioid use disorder (OUD), continues to represent a significant U.S. public health threat, with more than 6 million Americans aged 12 and older meeting the criteria for OUD in 2022. Efforts to ease the crisis have included the development of genetic testing to identify individuals most at risk for OUD. New research, out today in JAMA Network Open, questions the usefulness of 15 genetic variants from an algorithm meant to predict OUD risk that was recently granted pre-marketing approval by the Food and Drug Administration. It found that the testing could lead to both false positive and false negative results. The study was led by Christal ...

LA JOLLA (January 9, 2025)—Plants may burrow into the ground and stretch toward the sun, but they’re ultimately stuck where they sprout—at the mercy of environmental threats like temperature, drought, and microbial infection. To compensate for their inability to up and move when danger strikes, many plants have evolved ways to protect themselves by altering their physiology, such as building armor around parts of their body and roots called the periderm. However, since many plant biologists who study tissue development ...

Sabre-toothed predators – best know from the infamous Smilodon – evolved multiple times across different mammal groups. A new study, published today in Current Biology reveals why: these teeth were ‘functionally optimal’ and highly effective at puncturing prey. The study, led by scientists at the University of Bristol in collaboration with Monash University shows that long, sharp blade-like teeth gave sabre-tooth’s a real advantage as ...