In a new study, Northwestern University neurobiologists found the brain’s internal GPS changes each time we navigate a familiar, static environment. This means that if someone walks the same path every day — and the path and surrounding conditions remain identical — each walk still activates different “map-making” brain cells, or neurons. Not only does this discovery shed light on the fundamental mystery of how the brain processes and stores spatial memories, but it also could have profound implications for scientists’ understanding of memory, learning and even aging. The study will publish on Wednesday (July 23) in the journal Nature. “Our ...

A world-first study led by Museums Victoria Research Institute has revealed that beneath the cold, dark, pressurised world of the deep sea, marine life is far more globally connected than previously imagined.  Published today in Nature, this landmark study maps the global distribution and evolutionary relationships of brittle stars (Ophiuroidea), the ancient, spiny animals found from shallow coastal waters to the deepest abyssal plains, and from the equator to the poles.  By analysing the DNA of thousands of specimens collected on hundreds of research voyages and preserved in natural ...

LOS ANGELES — Americans who drink heavily are more than twice as likely to develop significant liver disease compared to 20 years ago, according to a new Keck Medicine of USC study published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.   “Alcohol-related liver disease is the main cause of liver-related death and these results are a major wakeup call to the dangers of drinking,” said Brian P. Lee, MD, MAS, a hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine and lead author of the study.   The ...

A $1.1 million grant from the parent-caregiver-led Rare Bird Foundation to Weill Cornell Medicine is supporting the launch of a natural history study for a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that causes developmental delays and seizures called MEF2C Haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS). Currently, there are no specific therapies for MCHS, which affects about 400 people worldwide. Patients with the condition may experience developmental delays, difficulties communicating, and frequent seizures. The goal of the study, coined the Volāre Study, is to collect vital information about the ...

Tokyo, Japan - Megathrust earthquakes are large earthquakes that occur on faults found along the boundaries between tectonic plates. The Nankai Trough is a megathrust earthquake zone lying off the southwestern coast of Japan, and experts estimate that this zone could generate a potentially devastating (magnitude 8 or 9) large earthquake sometime in the next 30 years. In addition to the direct catastrophic impact of such powerful ground shaking, a seismic event of this magnitude could trigger cascading ...

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS, President Lee Ho Seong) has successfully developed a length measurement system that achieves a level of precision approaching the theoretical limit allowed by quantum physics. The system boasts world-leading measurement accuracy while maintaining a compact and robust design suitable for field deployment, making it a strong candidate to serve as the new benchmark for next-generation length metrology. Currently, the most precise instruments for measuring length are national length ...

Biologging – an innovative, non-invasive method of tracking animals in the wild – is transforming how scientists study movement, behavior and social interactions. Using compact electronic devices that can remain attached for hours or even months, researchers can now gather detailed data with minimal disruption to the animals’ natural lives. Although biologging has been widely applied to marine mammals such as turtles and sharks, skates and stingrays (batoids) have been overlooked. This oversight is concerning, as many batoid species are increasingly at risk of extinction yet play ...

A visionary $100 million matching grant from the Weill Family Foundation is bringing together two leading cancer centers to launch the Weill Cancer Hub West -– an innovative collaboration among some of the nation’s most talented scientists that will transform cancer research and care in the next decade.  The initiative will harness the expertise and resources of two world-class institutions -– the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Stanford Cancer Institute -– to lead cross-specialty collaborations that accelerate new discoveries and speed the development of innovative ...

Temporary tattoos aren’t just for kids anymore — semi-permanent versions have become a favorite among adults who don’t want the commitment of the real thing. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have created their own temporary tattoo sticker that has a hidden, but possibly lifesaving, purpose: detecting the presence of one drug used to “spike” alcoholic beverages and facilitate sexual assault. The sticker responds within 1 second to even low concentrations of the drug γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Unfortunately, consuming a drink spiked with drugs including Rohypnol (commonly known as ...

DALLAS, July 23, 2025 — Elevated lipoprotein(a), also known as Lp(a), is an independent, inherited and causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.[1] Lp(a) is similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, yet is caused by genetics and is not impacted by lifestyle modifications. While it is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans have high Lp(a) levels, many people are not aware of their risk. Research has found less than 1% of people with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), which is caused by plaque buildup in the arteries, ...

New research from the University of Waterloo’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute demonstrates that any artificial intelligence (AI) image watermark can be removed, without the attacker needing to know the design of the watermark, or even whether an image is watermarked to begin with.  As AI-generated images and videos became more realistic, citizens and legislators are increasingly concerned about the potential impact of “deepfakes” across politics, the legal system and everyday life.  “People want a way ...

Air pollution is a global health concern, with over 90% of the world’s population breathing air that exceeds World Health Organization safety standards. Fine and coarse particulate matter are especially dangerous, as they can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. While the link between air pollution and respiratory diseases is well established, how these pollutants disrupt immune responses in the lungs has remained unclear. In a recent study, a team of researchers led by Professor Changwan Hong from Pusan National University ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 23, 2025 — A groundbreaking brain imaging study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine confirms a vital step toward new Alzheimer’s disease treatments: Intranasal insulin, delivered via a simple nasal spray, safely and effectively reaches key memory regions of the brain in older adults. The study also revealed that people with early cognitive decline absorb it differently.  This research, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, describes the ...

In a twist worthy of a detective novel, a long-misidentified fossil at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) has emerged as a key discovery in early animal evolution. Originally described in 1865 as a caterpillar, Palaeocampa anthrax shuffled between classifications—worm, millipede, and eventually a marine polychaete—until 130 years later, when researchers realized its true identity: the first-known nonmarine lobopodian and the earliest one ever discovered. Lobopodians are extinct, soft-bodied creatures that bridge the evolutionary gap between a primitive worm-like ancestor and modern ...

People with any type of substance use disorder (SUD) stand a 24% higher risk of having an unplanned hospital readmission within 30 days of a previous discharge compared with those without the disorder, new UCLA-led research finds. People with opioid use disorder had the highest 30-day readmission rates, at nearly 40%, the researchers found.  Overall, people with SUDs comprise a disproportionate share of patients with multiple unplanned readmissions. The higher risk was true only for people with substance use disorders who were discharged to homes without having been provided with post-acute care, said study co-author Steven Shoptaw, director of the Center for ...

Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have taken a major step forward in tackling one of the world’s most dangerous viruses, the Nipah virus, by evaluating vaccine candidates for pigs. The Nipah virus is zoonotic, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. Originating in Old World fruit bats, the virus primarily affects pigs and humans. The virus was first identified during a major outbreak in 1998-99 in Malaysia which led to the culling of nearly half the country's pig population and resulted in significant economic losses. Since then, the virus has continued to cause outbreaks in South and Southeast ...

Promoting pyroptosis—an inflammatory form of programmed cell death—has become a promising treatment strategy for cancer. In research published in The FASEB Journal, investigators purified a long-chain sugar molecule, or exopolysaccharide, from deep-sea bacteria and demonstrated that it triggers pyroptosis to inhibit tumor growth. The compound, called EPS3.9, consists of mannose and glucose and is produced by the Spongiibacter nanhainus CSC3.9 bacterial strain and other members of the genus ...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a well-known cause of infections in children, but it’s understudied in older individuals. In a retrospective study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, adults aged 65 and older hospitalized for RSV in Ontario, Canada experienced significantly higher rates of adverse outcomes such as longer length of hospital stay, transfer to intensive care, and 30-day mortality, compared with patients hospitalized with influenza, urinary tract infection, or fracture. Interestingly, RSV hospitalization was also associated with higher rates of heart failure and atrial fibrillation up to 1-year post-discharge, regardless ...

A review published in Advanced Science highlights the evolution of research related to implantable brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs), which decode brain signals that are then translated into commands for external devices to potentially benefit individuals with impairments such as loss of limb function or speech. A comprehensive systematic review identified 112 studies, nearly half of which have been published since 2020. Eighty iBCI participants were identified, mostly participating in studies concentrated in the United States, but with growing numbers of studies from Europe, China, and Australia. The ...

New research in Plants, People, Planet indicates that bread wheat’s micronutrient content can be increased by cultivating it with a specific type of fungus. When investigators grew different types of wheat with and without the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis, they observed that crops grown with fungi developed larger grains with greater amounts of phosphorus and zinc. The higher amount of phosphorus in the grain did not result in an increase in phytate (a compound that can hinder digestion of zinc and iron). As a result, bread wheat grown with fungi had higher bioavailability of zinc and iron overall compared ...

Bethesda, MD (July 18, 2025) — Researchers employed a machine learning technique known as random forest analysis and found that it significantly outperformed traditional methods in predicting which hospitalized patients with cirrhosis are at risk of death, according to a new paper published in Gastroenterology. “This gives us a crystal ball — it helps hospital teams, transplant centers, GI and ICU services to triage and prioritize patients more effectively,” said Dr. Jasmohan S. ...

A research team in South Korea has developed a breakthrough transfer printing technology that forms protective thin layers on lithium metal surfaces—an innovation poised to solve the long-standing dendrite issue plaguing next-generation lithium-metal batteries. Dr. Jungdon Suk’s team (Advanced Battery Research Center) at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has successfully transferred hybrid protective layers composed of solid polymers and ceramics onto lithium metal using a solvent-free process. Unlike conventional wet coating methods, this technique enables uniform coating over large areas without ...

The blood pressure lowering effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice in older people may be due to specific changes in their oral microbiome, according to the largest study of its kind. Researchers at the University of Exeter conducted the study, published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, comparing responses between a group of older adults to that of younger adults. Previous research has shown that a high nitrate diet can reduce blood pressure, which can help reduce risk of heart disease. Nitrate is crucial to the body and is consumed as a natural part of a vegetable-rich diet.  When the older adults drank a concentrated beetroot juice ‘shot’ ...

Researcher at Guangdong University of Technology has developed a new method to build powerful, compact energy storage devices—called thin-film supercapacitors (TFSCs)—without using metal parts or traditional separators. Their tiny 3.8 cm³ device is even capable of outputting 200 volts—enough to light 100 LEDs for 30 seconds or a 3-watt bulb for 7 seconds. The method, detailed in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, could help power next-generation microelectronic devices, especially those used in harsh or space-constrained environments. At ...

Metformin is a widely used first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes, and studies increasingly point to its protective effects on the kidney. However, the mechanisms underlying metformin’s renal benefits, especially how it acts in different anatomical regions of the kidney, have remained unclear. A recent study, published in Life Metabolism, employed cutting-edge spatial multi-omics to produce the first detailed map of how metformin modulates metabolism and protein expression across different zones of the diabetic ...