A new analysis of an exquisitely preserved fossil that lived half a billion years ago suggests that arachnids – spiders and their close kin – evolved in the ocean, challenging the widely held belief that their diversification happened only after their common ancestor had conquered the land.  Spiders and scorpions have existed for some 400 million years, with little change. Along with closely related arthropods grouped together as arachnids, they have dominated the Earth as the most successful ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, preterm individuals had higher early life medical risk and faced increased mental health disorders, cardiometabolic issues, and body composition differences compared with full-term peers at age 35. Despite strong evidence linking preterm birth to long-term health consequences, many primary care clinicians in the U.S. remain unaware of these risks, often due to infrequent birth history inquiries in adult health care settings. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amy L. D’Agata, PhD, RN, email amydagata@uri.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.22599) Editor’s ...

Like humans, animals can become stressed when trying to lead a group of peers in a particular direction, a new study from The Australian National University (ANU) has shown.   According to study co-author Associate Professor Damien Farine, many animal groups make decisions in a very democratic way, taking a “majority rules” approach.   While effective, it can also take a toll.   “We already have evidence of how this decision-making can work – it’s like a voting process. So, individuals might start to move away from the group in the direction they want to go to find food and if they get enough ...

A pioneering international survey of people living with eating disorders has found that cannabis and psychedelics, such as ‘magic mushrooms’ or LSD, were best rated as alleviating symptoms by respondents who self-medicated with the non-prescribed drugs. The worst-rated drugs were alcohol, tobacco, nicotine and cocaine. Prescribed drugs, such as antidepressants, were generally not well rated for treating eating-disorder symptoms but were positively rated for effects on general mental health. The research, led by PhD student Sarah-Catherine ...

NEW ORLEANS, July 22, 2025 — Answer ALS is proud to announce the launch of a groundbreaking collaborative initiative aimed at accelerating AI-powered drug discovery for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. This effort, known as the Louisiana AI Drug Development Infrastructure for ALS (LADDIA), brings together leading institutions and innovators, including GATC Health, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and Tulane University —  a tech-bio innovator using validated AI models to accelerate drug discovery from large-scale multiomics data —  to harness the power of artificial ...

How much can six days of eating just oats, milk, and water change your gut microbiome?  According to a recent exploratory study published in eGastroenterology, the answer is more complex than expected. Researchers from KU Leuven and collaborating institutions conducted a tightly controlled dietary intervention, known as the "Oatmeal Study", to examine whether restricting food variety could induce convergence in the gut microbiota across individuals. Surprisingly, while participants' diets became nearly identical, their microbiomes did not follow suit. It ...

Pleasant tactile stimulation drives social bonding in many animal species, especially mammals. Tactile stimulation forms the basis of the infant-caregiver relationship and often leads to affinity-like behavior, indicating the formation of social bonds. Juvenile-adolescent rats often engage in rough-and-tumble play, during which they emit characteristic ultrasonic vocalizations. These vocalizations, typically in the 50 kHz frequency range, are thought to be associated with pleasurable emotional states. Juvenile adolescent rats also emit 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in response to tickling with human hands, which mimics natural rough-and-tumble play. Moreover, these rats develop a ...

Researchers have demonstrated a new eco-friendly plastic that decomposes in deep ocean conditions. In a deep-sea experiment, the microbially synthesized poly(d-lactate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) (LAHB) biodegraded, while conventional plastics such as a representative bio-based polylactide (PLA) persisted. Submerged 855 meters underwater, LAHB films lost over 80% of their mass after 13 months as microbial biofilms actively broke down the material. This real-world test establishes LAHB as a safer biodegradable plastic, supporting global efforts to reduce marine plastic waste. ...

Nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture contribute significantly to global warming. A new breeding concept, specifically for wheat, could help reduce nitrogen fertilization. This holobiont principle places the complex interactions between plants and soil microbiomes at the center of plant breeding. In combination with machine learning, this could lead to the use of new wheat varieties, as well as other crops, that are more resilient to climate change and contribute to soil health. Two recent studies led by Wolfram Weckwerth from the University of Vienna have been published in the journals Plant Biotechnology and Trends in Plant Science. To increase the supply ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Experts representing multiple societies and institutions across 14 countries have published guidance for computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with residual lung abnormalities after COVID-19 illness. The consensus statement appears today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The statement’s authors seek to standardize the indications for when chest CT is appropriate for patients with post–COVID-19 condition, the methods for acquiring images and the terminology used for reporting residual ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Yellowstone National Park is celebrating an ecological milestone along with a key anniversary this summer, Oregon State University researchers report. A paper published today in Forest Ecology and Management documents the first new generation of overstory aspen trees in Yellowstone’s northern range in 80 years, three decades after wolves were reintroduced to the nation’s oldest national park. Without predation pressure from wolves, which had been extirpated from the park by 1930, elk populations grew to the point that their browsing was thwarting the growth of young aspen. The ecosystem effects ...

Visible on chest CT scans, post-COVID-19 residual lung abnormalities, which affect up to 50% of patients who have had an infection requiring hospitalization, may be associated with persistent or progressive respiratory symptoms and are often related to changes in respiratory function tests. But unlike other non-infectious abnormalities, they tend to stabilize or regress over time, indicating that they are non-progressive and only post-infectious in nature. Published in the journal Radiology, the paper is the result of a multi-society consensus statement developed by 21 chest radiologists belonging to the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI), the Society ...

LOS ANGELES — City of Hope® Research Spotlight offers a glimpse into groundbreaking scientific and clinical discoveries advancing lifesaving cures for patients with cancer, diabetes and other chronic, life-threatening diseases. Each spotlight features research-related news, such as recognitions, collaborations and the latest research defining the future of medical treatment.  This roundup highlights a new drug combination that slows the spread of advanced prostate cancer, a novel artificial intelligence (AI) conversation ...

SAN ANTONIO — July 22, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has successfully completed its ambitious eight-year-long connected and automated (CAV) vehicle technology project. As part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) NEXTCAR (NEXT-Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Automated On-Road Vehicles) program, SwRI developed an automated vehicle that combines CAV technology and SAE Level 4 automation to demonstrate up to 30% energy savings compared to traditional hybrid vehicles, without modifications to the powertrain hardware. The completed SwRI ...

BOSTON: Elenagen™, a novel DNA plasmid therapy that previously demonstrated high clinical benefit and low toxicity in cancer patients, has now shown significant promise in alleviating chronic pain demonstrating a 90% success rate. In a peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science (DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1519881), Elenagen reduced osteoarthritis pain scores in companion dogs. Because the same pro-inflammatory cytokine loop drives osteoarthritis and other chronic pain states, the findings offer ...

Cannabis use disorder in adolescents in the United States remains a growing threat despite declines in cannabis use. Many adolescents begin using cannabis before high school during crucial stages of brain development, which may pose short- and long-term risks for cognitive, academic and social challenges. Although behavioral therapies show promise, there is still limited understanding of what truly drives recovery in teens. With treatment often sought only after serious problems emerge, identifying who succeeds – and why – is essential to developing more effective and targeted ...

When a reporter with the Sierra Club magazine asked Graham Peaslee, a physicist at the University of Notre Dame, to test several different samples of unused menstrual underwear for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 2019, the results fueled concern over chemical exposure in feminine hygiene products — which ultimately ended up in a $5 million lawsuit against the period and incontinence underwear brand Thinx. Then in 2023, the New York Times asked Peaslee to test 44 additional period and incontinence products for PFAS, a class of toxic fluorinated compounds inherently repellent to oil, water, soil and stains, and ...

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA — A new study from researchers at the Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the University of Notre Dame shows that per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS)—also known as “forever chemicals”—can be found in reusable feminine hygiene products. The pilot study provides information that will be useful for consumers, regulators, and manufacturers. Published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, the article, “Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in reusable ...

Miami (July 22, 2025) – The Bronchiectasis and NTM Association announced today that four abstracts using Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry data were presented at the World Bronchiectasis Conference, held July 14-17, 2025, in Brisbane, Australia. The abstracts are: “The Impact of Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) Use on Exacerbation Rates in Patients with Bronchiectasis: An Analysis of the US Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry,” which examined the impact proton pump inhibitor use has on exacerbation and hospital stay frequency and disease severity. “High frequency chest ...

Mental illnesses are thought to be caused by both biological and environmental factors in complex interaction. Among the environmental contributors are a wide range of social, economic, and demographic factors known as “social determinants.” Adam Skinner and colleagues used dynamic Bayesian network analysis to infer the complex causal networks that link social determinants to mental health in a nationally representative sample, consisting of around 25,000 participants in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The authors identified variables that directly ...

Cells called astrocytes are about as abundant in the brain as neurons, but scientists have spent much less time figuring out how they contribute to brain functions. A novel study by MIT researchers at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory shows that one function appears to be maintaining the chemical conditions necessary for groups of neurons to team up to encode information. Specifically, the neuroscientists showed that when they knocked out the ability of astrocytes in the visual cortex of mice to produce a protein called “GABA transporter 3 (Gat3),” neurons there became less able as a group to represent ...

Brace yourself for a new source of online disinformation: AIPasta. Research has demonstrated that generative AI can produce persuasive content. Meanwhile, so-called CopyPasta campaigns take advantage of the “repetitive truth” effect by repeating the exact same text over and over until it seems more likely to be true by those who encounter it many times. Saloni Dash and colleagues explore how these two strategies can be combined into what the authors term “AIPasta.” In AIPasta campaigns, AI can be used to produce many slightly different versions of the same message, giving the public ...

Airborne particulate matter represents a silent but pervasive threat to our health, infiltrating our homes, workplaces, and public spaces alike. Air filters are often our primary defense against these microscopic pollutants, which include pollen, dust, and smoke. However, conventional air filters suffer from a fundamental weakness: they rely on extremely weak adhesive forces (van der Waals interactions) to capture particles. These forces are often insufficient to effectively trap and retain fine particles, leading to poor filtration performance and the release ...

Bacterial cell division, a process wherein a single cell divides to form two identical daughter cells, represents one of the most essential biological processes. Understanding the precise mechanism behind this dynamic process can help in the development of targeted ways to inhibit bacterial proliferation. The process of cell division involves multiple proteins and their complex interactions. FtsZ protein molecules polymerize to form protofibrils that further associate into a ring-like structure called the Z-ring. Z-ring formation is a crucial step in the cell division process, facilitated by multiple FtsZ-associated proteins. ZapA is one such protein, which ...

To manage increasingly complex manufacturing systems, involving material flows across numerous transporters, machines, and storage locations, the semiconductors and display fabrication industries have implemented automated material handling systems (AMHSs). AMHSs typically involve complex manufacturing steps and control logic, and digital twin models have emerged as a promising solution to enhance the visibility, predictability, and responsiveness of production and material handling operation systems. However, digital twins don’t always fully reflect reality, potentially affecting production performance ...