New York, NY—July 16, 2025—Today’s robots are stuck—their bodies are usually closed systems that can neither grow nor self-repair, nor adapt to their environment. Now, scientists at Columbia University have developed robots that can physically “grow,” “heal,” and improve themselves by integrating material from their environment or from other robots. Described in a new study published in Science Advances, this new process, called "Robot Metabolism," enables machines to absorb and reuse parts from other robots or their surroundings. "True autonomy means robots must not only ...

Promising therapeutic strategies for lung cancer, AML and advanced solid tumors Novel insights into ovarian cancer, blood disorders and chemotherapy-related secondary cancers New-onset diabetes as an early marker of pancreatic cancer HOUSTON, JULY 16, 2025 ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Specific co-mutations in KRAS-mutant NSCLC improve treatment response Read ...

A new Simon Fraser University-led study reveals interbreeding between humans and their ancient cousins, Neanderthals, as the likely origin of a neurological condition estimated to impact up to one per cent of people today. The study, published this week in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, was led by Kimberly Plomp, a recent postdoctoral fellow at SFU and Mark Collard, the Canada Research Chair in Human Evolutionary Studies and a professor in the Department of Archaeology. Their findings suggest that Chiari Malformation Type 1, a serious ...

Samples of extremely small crystal clots, each polished to the thickness of a human hair or thinner, have revealed information about the process triggering the major 2006 eruption of Alaska’s Augustine Volcano. Graduate student researcher Valerie Wasser at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute determined that the addition of hot new magma into Augustine’s reservoir of cooler, older magma increased the pressure enough to trigger the 2006 eruption. Wasser’s analysis of Augustine crystal clots was published May 29 in Geology, the journal ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 16, 2025 CONTACT: Camille Jewell cjewell@vancomm.com or 202-248-5460 NASHVILLE — The six-month follow-up results from the pioneering trial of robotic-assisted neuroendovascular aneurysm embolization using the CorPath GRX system were presented today by Vitor Pereira, MD on behalf of the investigators at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting.   The adjudicated six-month results from the prospective, single-arm, international, multicenter, non-inferiority study demonstrated ...

Elephants that live near farms are more daring than their deep-forest counterparts, and that behavior could be the key to helping people and elephants get along. That’s the central finding of new research by CUNY Graduate Center alumna Sarah Jacobson (Ph.D. ’24, Psychology), published in Royal Society Open Science. Working with Professor Joshua Plotnik (GC/Hunter, Psychology), Jacobson found that wild elephants on the edge of agricultural land in Thailand were more curious and exploratory when presented with unfamiliar objects than elephants living in protected forests. The paper is a chapter of Jacobson’s dissertation, completed under Plotnik’s mentorship. ...

Autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), the most common genetic optic neuropathy, is an insidious disease. It often presents slowly during childhood by way of blurry vision, trouble reading or focusing, and sometimes only as a failed vision test. But behind these subtle signs lies progressive, irreversible vision loss in both eyes caused by deterioration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) — the neurons responsible for carrying information from the eyes to the brain. In most cases, the damage is linked to mutations ...

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (July 16, 2025) – Findings from a newly published randomized controlled trial offer surprising insights for the one in three adults at greater risk of heart disease because of prediabetes. The study explored how snacking on avocado at night affects health markers the next morning, in line with the “second-meal effect” – the idea that the composition of a previous meal can affect how the body processes the next meal. The results suggest snacking on avocado at night may promote healthier triglyceride metabolism the next morning. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in the body, but elevated levels can be a sign of insulin resistance, ...

HOUSTON – July 16, 2025 – Chemotherapy used to target and kill bladder cancer cells may trigger an inflammatory response that ultimately may make the cancer more resistant to treatment, according to new research from scientists at Houston Methodist. The findings are highlighted in “Caspase-1–dependent pyroptosis converts αSMA+CAFs into collagen-III high iCAFs to fuel chemoresistantcancer stem cells,” which was recently published in Science Advances. The researchers examined why ...

Birds have developed a unique evolutionary solution to ensure the survival of males – a powerful microRNA. This tiny gene allows male embryos to survive despite a genetic imbalance between the sexes by balancing the activity of the sex chromosomes. An international research team led by biologists from Heidelberg University and the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) has discovered this previously unknown mechanism, which differs significantly from the system that mammals have developed in the course of evolution ...

Research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is shedding new light on how ovarian cancer evolves — insights that could help researchers develop more effective treatment strategies. While ovarian cancer diagnoses and deaths have decreased over recent decades, the disease remains a leading cause of cancer-related death in women. This is largely because the cancer often spreads at a microscopic level within the abdomen early on, resulting in diagnosis at an advanced stage when treatment is less effective. A ...

What if neighbourhoods could lower their electricity bills without investing in expensive battery systems? An international study led by researchers at CWI (the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands) suggests exactly that: by leasing capacity from large, commercially operated batteries, communities can access the benefits of energy storage without the high upfront costs or additional technical challenges. In collaboration with GIGA Storage, a leading operator of grid-connected batteries in the Netherlands, the University of Glasgow (UK) and ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., (July 16, 2025) – Researchers now have a powerful new way to understand the types of brain cells that are affected in neurodegenerative diseases and to uncover connections between conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other forms of dementia. The Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative and Allen Institute are joining forces to unlock insights into Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases through an expansion of the Allen Brain Cell (ABC) Atlas visualization tool – uniting data from millions of human brain cells and enabling researchers to explore the brain ...

NEW YORK, NY (July 16, 2025)--With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), an inexpensive test found in many doctors’ offices may soon be used to screen for hidden heart disease.   Structural heart disease, including valve disease, congenital heart disease, and other issues that impair heart function, affects millions of people worldwide. Yet in the absence of a routine, affordable screening test, many structural heart problems go undetected until significant function has been lost.   “We have colonoscopies, we have mammograms, but we have ...

Just like any living organism, the soil has its own metabolism. Plants, worms, insects, and most importantly, microorganisms in the soil, break down organic matter, consume and generate nutrients, and process other materials to give the soil a life of its own. Soil microbiomes, which drive much of the metabolism in these ecosystems, are immensely complex – comprised of thousands of species with untold interactions and dynamics. Given the complexity of the soil, however, it can be nearly impossible to understand how the communities of microbes living there respond to changes in the environment, such as temperature, moisture, acidity, and nutrient availability. Solving this problem is ...

Rutgers researchers have found that firearm owners are more likely to consider temporary out-of-home storage when worried about the safety of others. Their study reveals that firearm owners prioritize the safety of household members over their own self-protection when deciding whether to temporarily store their firearms outside the home. At the same time, many remain concerned about leaving the home defenseless. Researchers surveyed 3,018 U.S. adults living in households with firearms through an online survey. The respondents were asked who lived in a home with a firearm and their willingness to temporarily store their firearms with either ...

Boston, MA—Living near Coldwater Creek—a Missouri River tributary north of St. Louis that was polluted by nuclear waste from the development of the first atomic bomb—in childhood in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s was associated with an elevated risk of cancer, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers say the findings corroborate health concerns long held by community members. The study will be published July 16 in JAMA Network Open. It coincides with Congress having passed an expanded version of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) as part of the Trump tax ...

About The Study: In this nationally representative cross-sectional study of U.S. children and adolescents, prevalence of extremely severe obesity significantly increased over time, particularly among older adolescents and non-Hispanic Black participants. Extremely severe obesity was associated with severe metabolic and cardiovascular complications, including metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, prediabetes or diabetes, severe insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. These findings emphasize the urgent need for public health interventions and policies to address pediatric obesity broadly.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

About The Study: In this analytical model study, influenza vaccination provided substantial benefit in reducing infections to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated portions of the population. Even when both vaccine effectiveness and vaccine uptake were low, vaccination showed marked reductions in disease burden for transmission levels characteristic of seasonal influenza. However, when the level of transmission was very high, even a highly effective vaccine did not protect unvaccinated individuals. These findings underscore the importance of vaccination in disease prevention and ...

About The Study: This analysis indicates that proposed Medicaid reforms would have far-reaching consequences beyond federal budget savings, including negative health outcomes, economic losses, and health care system disruptions, with rural and underserved communities disproportionately affected. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Sanjay Y. Basu, MD, PhD, email sanjay.basu@ucsf.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.3187) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

When electrical activity travels across the brain, it moves like ripples on a pond. The motion of these “brain waves,” first observed in the 1920s, can now be seen more clearly than ever before thanks to instruments and techniques created by a Stanford-led team. The technology, described in the journal Cell, involves two ultra-sensitive optical instruments that can detect signals of genetically engineered proteins, known as “voltage indicators,” revealing neuronal brain wave activity in mice. While limited to research animals, the advance has already shown its potential. Using these instruments, the researchers ...

AMHERST, Mass. — Immigrants in the United States earn 10.6% less than similarly educated U.S.-born workers, largely because they are concentrated in lower-paying industries, occupations and companies, according to a major new study published today in Nature, co-authored by a University of Massachusetts Amherst sociologist who studies equal opportunity in employment. The research—one of the most comprehensive global comparisons of immigrant labor market integration to date—analyzes linked employer-employee ...

Waymark, a public benefit company dedicated to improving access and quality of care in Medicaid, today published peer-reviewed research in JAMA Health Forum examining the projected health system and economic impacts of 2025 Medicaid policy changes. The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reveals that H.R. 1, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" recently passed by Congress, could result in devastating consequences for vulnerable populations, rural communities, and local economies nationwide. Numerous studies from multiple organizations, including the nonpartisan ...

Just as people from different countries speak different languages, AI models also create various internal “languages” – a unique set of tokens understood only by each model. Until recently, there was no way for models developed by different companies to communicate directly, collaborate or combine their strengths to improve performance. This week, at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) in Vancouver, Canada, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Intel Labs are presenting a ...

How do animals decide when to fight and when to walk, fly, slither, or swim away? Most research on animal conflict has focused on the short-term costs of single interactions, but a pair of behavioral ecologists argue that these one-time events might paint an incomplete picture. In an opinion paper publishing July 16 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, the researchers say that to really understand the consequences of animal conflict, we need to also consider its long-term and cumulative impact on an individual’s longevity and reproduction.  “By linking individual contests to lifetime reproductive success, we ...