EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS — Despite evidence of the risk of malformations at birth, or birth defects, use of some antiseizure drugs during pregnancy has persisted, according to a study published on July 23, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Use has also increased for drugs where there is not enough evidence to know if they are safe during pregnancy. People with a low level of resources had a disproportionately higher use of these drugs than people with a higher level of resources. “These medications can be used for ...

Efforts to enhance peat accumulation in European peatlands, which contain around half of Europe’s soil carbon, will require a combination of warm temperatures and a specific depth of the water table, according to a study published July 23, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Graeme Swindles of Queen’s University Belfast, U.K. and colleagues. Peatlands form via the buildup of plant matter, and they serve an important role in carbon sequestration, containing around half of Europe’s soil organic carbon and five times more carbon than its forests. ...

Per analysis of heterosexual users of a Czech dating app, men tended to pursue women who were more desirable than themselves, but most instances of reciprocated interest occurred between men and women with more similar levels of desirability. Renata Topinkova of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and Tomas Diviak of the University of Manchester, U.K., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on July 23, 2025. A growing number of couples meet through online dating apps. Prior research has suggested that married couples often share similar characteristics – such as age, ethnicity, or political ideology – and some similarities have ...

Gender disparities in Italian medical academia have persisted or worsened since 2014, with a continued "leaky pipeline" of women not progressing to senior roles Article URL: http://plos.io/44pi26f Article title: Gender differences in the Italian academic landscape: Examining inequalities within the medical area in the last decade Author countries: Italy Funding: This work was partially funded by the University of Catania, Italy, Department of Medical and Surgical Science and Advanced Technologies ‘GF ...

A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world’s most iconic sites. The rich fossil discovery – the first such find in the Grand Canyon – includes tiny rock-scraping molluscs, filter-feeding crustaceans, spiky-toothed worms, and even fragments of the food they likely ate. By dissolving the rocks these animals were fossilised in and examining them under high-powered microscopes, researchers led by the University of Cambridge were able to get a highly detailed picture of a unique period in the evolution of life on Earth. The fossilised animals date ...

Why do so many people relapse after quitting cocaine? A new study from The Hebrew University reveals that a specific “anti-reward” brain circuit becomes hyperactive during withdrawal—driving discomfort and pushing users back toward the drug. Surprisingly, this circuit may also serve as a built-in protective mechanism, offering new hope for addiction treatment. Cocaine addiction has long been understood as a tug-of-war between reward and restraint. The rush of dopamine keeps users hooked, while withdrawal triggers anxiety, depression, and despair. But a new ...

Footprints of a multispecies herd of dinosaurs discovered in Canada demonstrate the social interaction between different dinosaur species 76 million years ago, according to findings in a new study published today [23 July] in the journal PLOS One. The new tracksite is the first discovery of its kind in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. The Park is world-famous for its abundant fossils but dinosaur footprints were virtually unknown. The discovery, made during an international field course in July 2024, includes footprints from multiple dinosaur species walking alongside each other – providing the first ...

Adolescents who use either e-cigarettes or conventional tobacco products (CTP)—like cigarettes, cigars, hookah and pipes—are significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety than teens who don’t use tobacco products at all, according to a study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Noor Abdulhay of West Virginia University, USA, and colleagues. Tobacco use and mental health challenges are known to have a complex, bidirectional relationship. Understanding the interplay between adolescent ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The fatality rate for H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in humans historically has been high, with more than half of people dying. Why, then, is the current H5N1 bird flu outbreak — which has caused massive die-offs in wild birds, farmed poultry and even wild mammals — causing mostly mild symptoms in the people it has infected? New research, led by scientists at Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh and published today (July 23) in the journal Science Translational Medicine, indicates that immunity to a seasonal influenza virus known as pandemic H1N1 that began circulating ...

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), a tool routinely used to diagnose and plan treatment for eye diseases, has now been modified to collect images of the inner ear. A proof-of-concept study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC found that OCT imaging can measure fluid levels in the inner ear, which correlate with a patient’s degree of hearing loss. The findings were just published in Science Translational Medicine. “These findings are exciting because hearing loss can happen very suddenly, and we often don’t know ...

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the dynamic regulation of cerebral blood flow in response to neural activity. Specifically, when neurons become active, nearby blood vessels dilate to increase blood supply, thereby meeting the heightened energy demands associated with neural activity. NVC is essential for maintaining normal brain function and plays a critical role in non-invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)—such as systems for controlling robotic arms or cursors. Unfortunately, conventional ...

In a major step toward securing global food supplies and advancing sustainable agriculture, a team of scientists has proposed an integrated framework that combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize crop breeding. Published in Nature on July 24, the review was co-corresponding authored by Prof. GAO Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. LI Guotian of Huazhong Agricultural University, with contributions from ...

PHILADELPHIA (July 23, 2025) – A new Penn Nursing initiative explores the impact of federally funded international bioethics training programs. The collaborative initiative, published in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, highlights both the significant achievements and ongoing challenges in building bioethics research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The collaboration, led by Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Lillian S. Brunner Chair in Medical and Surgical Nursing in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral ...

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a fraction of blood plasma; its concentration of platelets is of great value in regenerative medicine as they are essential in accelerating healing and repairing tissue. Until now, obtaining them has been based on centrifugation techniques which, in addition to being expensive, could activate the platelets prematurely and reduce their effectiveness. “We realised that our device not only separated the plasma, but also obtained very high-quality PRP, with functional and minimally activated platelets,” explained ...

Scientists discover brain switch that controls freeze-or-flight survival instincts Leuven, Belgium, 23 July 2025 – Researchers have identified a key neural switch that controls whether animals instinctively flee from a threat or freeze in place. By comparing two closely related deer-mouse species, they found that this switch is calibrated by evolution to match the animal's habitat. This neural circuit is hypersensitive in mice living in densely vegetated environments, causing instant escape, but less responsive in their open-field cousins, who are more likely to freeze. In doing so, the research team uncovered an important way in which evolution fine-tunes the brain for survival. Flee ...

  Genome assemblies from 65 individuals, representing a variety of the world’s populations, are advancing the scientific exploration of complex genetic structural variation. Structural variations are genetic code alterations that span more than 50 base pairs, the rungs on the DNA ladder. These changes were hard to detect until the recent advent of newer sequencing technologies and analytical algorithms, as well as larger collections of more complete, diverse genomes. Results from the latest work in this area, conducted by the Human Genome Structural Variation Consortium with participants ...

An international team of scientists has decoded some of the most stubborn, overlooked regions of the human genome using complete sequences from 65 individuals across diverse ancestries. The study, published online today in Nature and co-led by The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), reveals how hidden DNA variations that influence everything from digestion and immune response to muscle control—and could explain why certain diseases strike some populations harder than others. This milestone builds on two foundational studies that reshaped the field of genomics. In 2022, ...

Body coverings such as hair and feathers have played a central role in evolution. They enabled warm-bloodedness by insulating the body, and were used for courtship, display, deterrence of enemies and, in the case of feathers, flight. Their structure is characterised by longer and more complex skin outgrowths that differ significantly from the simple and flat scales of reptiles. Complex skin outgrowths have previously only been observed in mammals in the form of hair and in birds and their closest fossil relatives, dinosaurs and pterosaurs, in the form of feathers. An international team led by palaeontologists Dr Stephan Spiekman and Prof Dr Rainer Schoch from the State ...

While current treatments for schizophrenia — a mental illness affecting 1% of the world’s population — can reduce certain symptoms, they have little effect on the cognitive deficits affecting the daily life of patients. Scientists at the Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS/Inserm/Université de Montpellier) have just designed a nanobody made from llama antibodies that can specifically activate a glutamate receptor involved in regulating neural activity. Administered peripherally via veins or muscles, this new molecule has demonstrated its capacity to break the blood-brain barrier and effectively reach brain receptors. The therapeutic effect of these nanobodies ...

The Best-Laid Plans of Mice Study shows how evolution sent deer mice scurrying down two different paths of escape   For a mouse, survival often boils down to one urgent question: flee or freeze? But the best strategy to avoid being snatched and eaten depends on which mouse you are asking. According to a new study by Harvard biologists, two closely-related species of deer mice have evolved very different responses to aerial predators thanks to tweaks in brain circuitry. One species that dwells in densely-vegetated areas instinctively darts for cover while a cousin living in open ...

by Shantell Kirkendoll In a breakthrough that reimagines the way the gut and brain communicate, researchers have uncovered what they call a “neurobiotic sense,” a newly identified system that lets the brain respond in real time to signals from microbes living in our gut. The new research, led by Duke University School of Medicine neuroscientists Diego Bohórquez, PhD, and M. Maya Kaelberer, PhD, and published in Nature, centers on neuropods, tiny sensor cells lining the colon’s epithelium. These cells detect a common microbial protein and send rapid messages to the brain that help curb appetite. But this ...

About The Study: In this cohort and nested case-control study among CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults; a prospective study) participants, moderate to vigorous–intensity physical activity (MVPA) declined from early adulthood to midlife then plateaued, with notable demographic differences; cases experienced steep declines before cardiovascular disease (CVD), and gaps compared to controls persisted afterward. Black women had the lowest MVPA across adulthood and the highest risk of low MVPA post-CVD, underscoring the need to support lifelong physical activity and address group differences. Corresponding ...

About The Study: In this contemporary cohort of women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 or younger, risk of isolated locoregional recurrence was relatively low (5.6%) at a median follow-up of 10.1 years, and significant differences were not seen by tumor subtype. Concerns for long-term risk of locoregional recurrence should not influence surgical decision-making with young women, irrespective of molecular subtype.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Laura Dominici, MD, email ldominici@bwh.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2025.2324) Editor’s ...

Mosquitoes kill more people each year than any other animal. In 2023, the blood-sucking insects infected a reported 263 million people with malaria, leading to nearly 600,000 deaths, 80% of which were children. Recent efforts to block the transmission of malaria have been stalled because mosquitoes have adapted resistance to insecticides and the parasites within mosquitoes that cause malaria have become resistant to drugs. These setbacks have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which impeded ongoing anti-malarial efforts. Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley and the University of São Paulo have ...

Quantum confinement is a physical effect that occurs when the size of a material—usually a semiconductor or conductor—is reduced to the nanoscale thereby restricting the movement of electrons or holes. This is useful because confinement of electrons to very small spaces causes their energy levels to become discrete rather than continuous, altering the material's electronic and optical properties. For example, the photoluminescence (PL) performance of semiconductors can be improved by reducing their size or effective conjugation length—the distance ...