Lydia Kavraki, a pioneering researcher in robotics, computational biomedicine and artificial intelligence (AI) at Rice University, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences. This prestigious organization recognizes excellence in scientific advancement and innovation.  The honor will be conferred in Geneva in December, placing Kavraki among an elite group of scientists whose work drives progress in both academia and applied technology. Kavraki, the Kenneth and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computing, holds multiple appointments across engineering ...

UK teens who currently vape are as likely to take up smoking as their peers in the 1970s,  despite a substantial fall in the prevalence of teenage smoking over the past 50 years, suggests a long term intergenerational study published online in the journal Tobacco Control. The likelihood of starting to smoke among teens who don’t vape was around 1.5%, but 33% among those who do, the findings indicate. It’s not entirely clear if the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes (vapes) among teens threatens the steady decline in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in this age group, say the researchers, as the ...

A higher intake of ultra processed food (UPF) is linked to an increased risk of lung cancer, suggests research published online in the respiratory journal Thorax. Further research is warranted in different population groups, but limiting consumption of these foods may help curb the global toll of the disease, say the researchers. Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world. And in 2020 alone there were an estimated 2.2 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths from the disease worldwide, they note. UPF typically undergo multiple processing steps, contain long lists of additives and preservatives, and are ready-to-eat or heat. High consumption has been linked to a heightened risk of ...

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation lessens the severity, frequency, and recurrence of the most common form of irregular heart rhythm, atrial fibrillation, or AF for short, finds a pooled data analysis of the available research, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It also improves general exercise capacity and mental health, without incurring any serious side effects, the findings show. AF occurs when the heart's upper chambers (atria) don’t contract properly and instead twitch, disrupting the electrical signals to the lower chambers (ventricles). Symptoms can include palpitations, ...

A large region of unusually hot rock deep beneath the Appalachian Mountains in the United States could be linked to Greenland and North America splitting apart 80 million years ago, according to new research led by the University of Southampton. The scientists argue it is not, as has long been believed, the result of plate tectonic movements causing the continent of North America to break away from Northwest Africa 180 million years ago. The hot zone in question is the Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA), a 350-kilometre-wide region of anomalous hot rock that sits about 200 km beneath the Appalachian Mountains ...

Many summer visitors to America’s national parks hope for a glimpse of a moose or a bighorn sheep — or perhaps to spot a wolf or a bear.  A newly published study by a multinational group of wildlife scientists took advantage of the opportunity offered by the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns to better understand why such glimpses can be so elusive.  Using GPS collar data, researchers tracked 229 animals from 14 U.S. national parks and protected areas. They compared the animals’ ...

A new contract for transformational research to determine how menopause and modifiable lifestyle factors influence brain aging in women during midlife has been awarded to  Neda Jahanshad, PhD, a researcher at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI), and associate professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Jahanshad joins the global CARE (Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology) program from Wellcome Leap, a leading US-based non-profit organization focused on accelerating and increasing the number of breakthroughs in global health. Together with ...

NORMAN, OKLA. – Hayley Lanier, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Oklahoma and associate curator of mammalogy at the Sam Noble Museum, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to conduct evolutionary genomics research in the Czech Republic during the 2025–2026 academic year. Lanier is among 400 scholars selected nationwide for the prestigious international award. The Fulbright Scholars program aims to promote mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and those from other nations. Candidates are chosen based on their academic achievements ...

JULY 29, 2025--The idea that herpes infections trigger or contribute to Alzheimer’s disease has been gaining favor among some scientists, raising hope that herpes treatments could slow progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms among patients.  But the first clinical trial to test that theory has found that a common antiviral for herpes simplex infections, valacyclovir, does not change the course of the disease for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's.  Results from the trial, ...

In the last two decades, childhood immunization coverage improved significantly across most African countries. However, at least 12 countries are unlikely to achieve global targets for full immunization by 2030, according to a new study publishing July 29th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Phuong The Nguyen of Hitotsubashi University, Japan, and colleagues. Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to protect children from deadly diseases, yet immunization coverage is still suboptimal in many African countries. Monitoring and progress in childhood immunizations at the national and local level is essential for refining health programs and achieving ...

An analysis of data from more than 4.7 million Chinese women showed that those who had low blood sugar levels prior to conception were more likely to have certain adverse pregnancy outcomes—such as their baby being born preterm or with low birth weight. Hanbin Wu of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with the National Research Institute for Family Planning, presents these findings on July 29th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine. Glucose, a type of sugar, is the body’s main energy source. When blood levels of glucose are too high (known as hyperglycemia and found in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes) or too low (hypoglycemia), health risks may arise. ...

A new analysis suggests that posts in hate speech communities on the social media website Reddit share speech-pattern similarities with posts in Reddit communities for certain psychiatric disorders. Dr. Andrew William Alexander and Dr. Hongbin Wang of Texas A&M University, U.S., present these findings July 29th in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health. The ubiquity of social media has raised concerns about its role in spreading hate speech and misinformation, potentially contributing to prejudice, discrimination ...

Walking fast for just 15 minutes per day reduced the risk of death in a large study group of mostly low-income participants.   The research findings, published July 29 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, support promoting brisk walking as a strategy for improving health outcomes in all communities.   Although the health benefits of walking are widely recognized, there has been limited research on the effect of factors such as walking pace on mortality, particularly in low-income and Black populations, said the study’s senior author, ...

When conditions are just right, organisms can undergo rapid bursts of diversification, and what starts out as one species can end up as an entire family tree in the evolutionary equivalent of the blink of an eye. A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows this is what recently happened to a group of tropical South American butterflies called glasswings, which partially explains why they all tend to look alike and why scientists have historically had such a hard time telling them apart. “These butterflies have puzzled and exasperated lepidopterists, taxonomists ...

Teens who regularly use e-cigarettes are equally as likely as their peers from the 1970s to take up cigarette smoking, despite a substantial reduction in the prevalence of teenage cigarette use over the last 50 years, according to a study co-led by the University of Michigan.    U-M researchers, in collaboration with Penn State University and Purdue University, concluded that teenagers who had never used e-cigarettes had an approximately less than 1 in 50 chance of weekly cigarette use, whereas those who had previously used e-cigarettes had more than a 1 in 10 chance. More importantly, teenagers who ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coral restoration efforts could be dramatically improved with technologies that support the survival and growth of baby corals, suggests a new study.  Findings showed that two novel devices, the Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array (UZELA) and 3D printed artificial settlement modules, could together boost the population of a species of coral native to Hawaii.  In a previous study led by researchers at The Ohio State University, scientists found that UZELA successfully attracted nearby zooplankton, microscopic organisms that coral feed on. That study found that the light ...

A recent study by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has found that individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) are more than three times more likely to develop oral cancer within five years compared to those without CUD. The study highlights the potential long-term health risks associated with problematic cannabis use. In 2022, 17.7 million people reported daily or near-daily cannabis use. Though CUD requires a formal diagnosis and not all cannabis users develop the disorder, recent research suggests that as many as 3 in 10 cannabis users will develop CUD. As cannabis becomes more widely available and socially accepted, it is essential ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — With a $20 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Brown University researchers will lead an artificial intelligence research institute aimed at developing a new generation of AI assistants capable of trustworthy, sensitive and context-aware interactions with people. Work to develop the advanced assistants is specifically motivated by the potential for use in mental and behavioral health, where trust and safety are of the utmost importance.  The AI Research Institute on Interaction for AI Assistants (ARIA) will combine research on ...

Beef is growing in the Petri dishes of ETH professor Ori Bar-Nur, an expert in regenerative and muscle biology. However, he hasn’t yet tasted the cultivated meat because human consumption requires official approval in Switzerland. However, Bar-Nur has colleagues who have participated in approved tastings of lab-grown beef. They describe the taste and consistency as being similar to that of real meat. After all, it is beef, the only difference being that no cow needs to be slaughtered in order to obtain it. Bar-Nur and his team produce the meat in cell culture from bovine cells. They use precursor cells, known as myoblasts, that form muscle ...

New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has unveiled how Australian secondary schools make decisions about organising students into classes based on their perceived academic ability. Lead author Dr Olivia Johnston explained that the findings show class ability grouping is often used despite evidence suggesting the practice be delayed and minimised. “We need to support schools’ informed decision making about class ability grouping. Schools are busy places and there’s a lot of competing pressures. Forming class groups is one decision they make in a myriad ...

Dental caries remains a significant global public health burden, affecting billions worldwide despite preventive measures. While behavioral and socioeconomic factors are primary drivers, individual susceptibility varies markedly among those with similar risk profiles. This review synthesizes evidence establishing a substantial genetic component in caries etiology, mediated through polygenic mechanisms and epistatic interactions across key biological pathways. Genetic Pathways and Key Findings 1. Tooth Mineralization Genes: Key Genes: AMBN, AMELX, ENAM, MMPs (e.g., MMP2, MMP20), KLK4, TFIP11, BMP7, *DLX3/DLX4*. Mechanism: Variants ...

Background and objectives Histologic remission is recommended as an adjunctive treatment target in ulcerative colitis, and scoring systems have been proposed to enhance reproducibility. The Nancy Histologic Index (NHI) is increasingly used in clinical trials; however, its performance in real-world settings is not fully established. This study aimed to assess the interrater reliability (IRR) of the NHI among gastrointestinal pathologists in the United States. Methods Thirty-seven whole-slide images of colorectal biopsies from 34 treated ulcerative colitis patients enrolled in a multicenter adult cohort were independently ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion finds that inadequate leisure-time aerobic physical activity accounts for $192 billion in annual healthcare costs among U.S. adults—12.6% of total national health care spending. Researchers analyzed data from more than 76,000 adults between 2012 and 2019. The findings are stark: 52.4% of adults met aerobic activity guidelines   20.4% were insufficiently active   27.3% were completely inactive   The average adult incurred $6,566 in annual healthcare costs   Compared to active adults: Insufficiently active adults incurred $1,355 more than active adults in annual ...

In a major step towards early detection, University of South Australia researchers are investigating the biology behind multiple sclerosis (MS) to help predict people’s genetic risk of developing the disease, long before any symptoms appear.   Funded by an MS Australia Incubator Grant announced today, the Australian-first study will use a powerful new research method known as ‘recall by genotype’ to explore genetic causes of MS.   Specifically, the study will explore links between MS and the Epstein-Barr virus – a common ...

Air ducts: a contemporary issue for safety inspection Air ducts are everywhere in modern buildings and underground networks, but are challenging to access for inspection. Their narrow dimensions and inability to support human weight prevent essential interventions to maintain air quality, heating, and air conditioning. Small quadrotor drones offer a potential solution for exploring these air ducts because they can navigate both horizontal and vertical sections. However, they create airflows that recirculate inside the duct and destabilize the drone, creating important turbulences in an environment that has little space for error. Mapping the aerodynamic forces in a ...