By leveraging the structural parallels between genomic sequences and natural language, these AI-driven models can decode complex genetic information, offering unprecedented insights into plant biology. This advancement holds promise for accelerating crop improvement, enhancing biodiversity conservation, and bolstering food security in the face of global challenges. Traditionally, plant genomics has grappled with the intricacies of vast and complex datasets, often limited by the specificity of traditional machine learning models and the scarcity of annotated ...

 This research provides key insights into how microbial inoculants can offer a cost-effective, eco-friendly strategy to enhance crop resilience in saline soils. Soil salinization is a major global challenge that severely impacts agricultural productivity, with over 3% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface affected. It threatens food security by causing osmotic, ionic, and oxidative stress, which can reduce crop yields by more than 50%. Traditional remediation methods, such as physical and chemical interventions, are often prohibitively expensive. However, ...

While moms have traditionally gotten much of the focus when it comes to children’s eating habits, a new study highlights the importance of dads in shaping a child’s relationship with food. According to the study, young children were more likely to consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables if their father ate a healthier diet during his teen years.   The study is based on data from 669 men who answered questionnaires about their eating habits during adolescence and then, years later, provided information about their attitudes and behaviors surrounding their children’s diet.   “Our ...

May 31, 2025 — A phase II clinical trial led by the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has met its primary endpoint, demonstrating that the combination of avelumab and cetuximab improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared to avelumab alone in patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). The results, presented as an oral abstract at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest a promising new approach for patients with this aggressive form of skin cancer. “These results show that combining immune checkpoint inhibition targeting the PD-1: PD-L1 pathway ...

In patients with an advanced type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), those who received the combination of the immunotherapy drug avelumab and targeted agent cetuximab had almost four times longer median progression-free survival compared to patients who received avelumab alone, according to the results of a phase 2 trial presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and concurrently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “It is both an honor and humbling to develop clinical trials ...

Merremia boisiana, a member of the Convolvulaceae family, a fast-growing vine native to tropical rainforests and known for its vibrant golden flowers and astonishing climbing ability, grows at speeds exceeding 12 cm per day, often overwhelming native vegetation and disrupting forest ecosystems. Despite its ecological importance and genetic proximity to economically vital crops like sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), little was known about its genomic makeup until now. A study (DOI:10.48130/tp-0025-0007) published in Tropical Plants on 24 March 2025 by Fei Chen and Wenquan Wang’s team, Hainan University, marks a significant leap ...

At present, it takes an average of 18 months for a supercomputer to evaluate a single 3D part and accurately predict its lifespan or expected date of failure. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Structures Uniquely Resolved to Guarantee Endurance (SURGE) program has tasked grantees with compressing this evaluation time to three days and significantly simplifying the process so that it can be performed on a laptop computer.  Four members of the Texas A&M University faculty have responded to that ...

Many men with aggressive prostate cancer can experience a high rate of recurrence despite treatment. A new Phase 2 clinical trial at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center unveiled clues as to why these patients are doing poorly and may offer hope in the form of targeted therapy. The findings will be presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference on June 3 in Chicago. . Pilot trial sheds new clues                                                                                                                                        ...

SAN ANTONIO, May 30, 2025 – People who are at higher risk for heart disease also seem more likely to develop dementia. And research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) has discovered new associations between various lipid, or fat, levels in the blood and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia worldwide. The findings mean that using blood lipid profiles could help better understand, predict and possibly even prevent the disease in the future. In more than 800 older adults who were part of the long-running Framingham Heart Study, the researchers ...

Alexandria, VA – AADOCR and the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application (SCADA) Alumni Association are pleased to announce the AADOCR SCADA/Dentsply Sirona Research Award. The new award was created to support dentist-scientists, including SCADA program alumni, in their research careers. The award’s immediate goal is to support early-stage dentist-scientists such as post-doctoral scholars and pre-tenure faculty members, with a long-term objective of increasing the number of successfully funded dentist-scientists ...

Researchers from Mass General Brigham will present research discoveries and outcomes from clinical trials in cancer at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held May 30-June 3, in Chicago. ASCO brings together leading experts in clinical oncology to share the latest breakthroughs in cancer research, science and medicine. Presentations from Mass General Brigham investigators include an update on the INCIPIENT trial (using CAR-T in patients with glioblastoma), advances in skin cancer and gynecologic cancer treatment, a new way to radiate multiple brain metastases at the same time, and an app created to help caregivers ...

University of Texas at Arlington biochemistry major Debby Sunday showcased her research at a recent American Chemistry Society conference at East Texas A&M in Commerce. Her findings on photosynthesizers and bacteria earned second place in the undergraduate competition. “This was the first research conference I ever attended, and my experience was very educational,” said Sunday, a graduate of Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield. “Other chemists from across the metroplex presented their various research, from inorganic chemistry to physical chemistry to biochemistry. Not ...

The Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, and Breakthrough Energy Discovery, a Breakthrough Energy platform focused on pre-venture, early-stage clean technology, have announced a new partnership to advance transformative climate and energy solutions. This collaboration brings together two organizations with a shared commitment to advancing scientific innovation and supporting exceptional talent. By connecting Breakthrough Energy’s innovation platform with the Hertz Foundation’s renowned community of scientific leaders, the partnership will create new opportunities ...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A newly published study in the Journal of Neurophysiology reveals how blow flies (Calliphora vicina)—despite their minimal body weight—reliably detect forces through specialized sensory organs in their legs. The research offers new insights into insect biomechanics and presents promising applications for the design of next-generation walking robots.  Researchers at Marshall University and West Virginia University examined the behavior of campaniform sensilla—strain-detecting ...

Chinese researchers have developed a groundbreaking technology that sheds light on how the three-dimensional (3D) organization of plant genomes influences gene expression—especially in photosynthesis. The research, which was led by Prof. XIAO Jun at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with BGI Research, was published in Science Advances on May 30.   The innovative method not only provides a more precise tool for understanding the intricate 3D interactions between genes, but also highlights the critical role of long-range chromatin interactions ...

The calcitic layers of the eggshells of archosaurs (including crocodilians and birds) and turtles are composed of distinctive crystalline structures known as eggshell units. Those growing from the shell membrane are called primary eggshell units (PEUs), while those forming within the calcitic layer are called secondary eggshell units (SEUs). Although rare in modern bird eggs, SEUs are common in dinosaur eggs. Due to the lack of in-depth research on this structure, however, scientists are uncertain whether they are biogenic or abiogenic in origin. To tackle this issue, an international ...

The University of Pittsburgh’s Natasa Miskov-Zivanov, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award of $581,503 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her project titled “Artificial Intelligence-Driven Framework for Efficient and Explainable Immunotherapy Design.” Through her novel approach and the development of an automated system that leverages AI and knowledge graphs to design more effective lymphocytes, she hopes to transform the ...

More than two decades ago, Denise Hines began investigating a topic most researchers wouldn’t touch: men as victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). She and collaborator Emily Douglas were the first in the U.S. to earn federal funding for this line of research, publishing studies that challenged entrenched gender assumptions and provoked debate in the field.  Their new book, The Routledge Handbook of Men’s Victimization in Intimate Relationships, offers the most thorough international synthesis ...

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH – A new study led by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh geologist Timothy Paulsen and University of Colorado Boulder thermochronologist Jeff Benowitz advances the understanding of the geologic history of Transantarctic Mountains bedrock, with implications for understanding the evolution of landscapes lying beneath the ice sheets covering Antarctica.  The team of researchers analyzed the chemistry of mineral grains commonly found in igneous rocks, like granite, from the Transantarctic Mountains. The research team includes other scientists from the University of Arizona, St. Louis University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Alaska ...

In the world of black holes, there are generally three size categories: stellar-mass black holes (about five to 50 times the mass of the sun), supermassive black holes (millions to billions of times the mass of the sun), and intermediate-mass black holes with masses somewhere in between. While we know that intermediate-mass black holes should exist, little is known about their origins or characteristics—they are considered the rare “missing links” in black hole evolution. However, four new studies have ...

Below ocean wind farms, oil rigs and other offshore installations are mammoth networks of underwater structures, including pipelines, anchors, risers and cables, that are essential to harness the energy source. But much like terrestrial structures, these subsea constructions are also vulnerable to natural events, like submarine landslides, that can hamper the productivity of installations below the sea. Researchers at Texas A&M may now be able to accurately predict the occurrence of marine landslides using underwater site characterization data.  “One ...

America’s primary care doctors are burning out, cutting back their hours, and leaving their practices early, driven in part by the demands of handling the flood of digital messages from their patients. But a trio of new University of Michigan studies offer hope for easing this crisis, and improving both the care that patients get and the work lives of those who provide it. The studies could help primary care clinics nationwide take steps to keep the bedrock of American health care from crumbling further. All three papers, published in the Journal of ...

What if some of the smallest ocean currents turned out to be some of the most powerful forces shaping our planet’s climate? This question is at the center of new research co-led by Texas A&M University Department of Oceanography Associate Professor Jinbo Wang, whose work is featured on the cover of the April 17 issue of Nature. It’s a big moment for Wang and his colleagues and the global science community — marking a milestone in a billion-dollar, international water mission two decades in the making, and reflecting Texas A&M University’s long-term strategy ...

The job of a catalyst is to ultimately speed up reactions, which could reduce an hour-long process into several minutes. It has recently been shown that using external magnetic fields to modulate spin states of single-atom catalysts (SACs) is highly effective - enhancing oxygen evolution reaction magnetocurrent by a staggering 2,880%. With this in mind, researchers at Tohoku University proposed a completely novel strategy to apply an external magnetic field to modulate spin states, and thereby improve electrocatalytic performance. This study provides valuable insights regarding the development of efficient and sustainable electrochemical technologies ...

Researchers have proposed an metasurface-integrated quantum analog computing system. This system ingeniously combines multi-channel metasurfaces with quantum entanglement sources, enabling quantitative phase reconstruction with high signal-to-noise ratio at low signal photon levels. Traditional phase reconstruction often involves complex operation steps, while this technology effectively simplifies the complexity of traditional phase reconstruction. It shows application potential in multiple important fields. For example, in the field of optical chips, it helps improve the performance ...