In the Andes, the rise of agriculture to replace foraging was not the result of hardship and resource scarcity, but instead a time of economic resilience and innovation, according to a study published June 25, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Luis Flores-Blanco of the University of California Davis and Arizona State University, U.S., and colleagues. The transition from foraging to farming was a major shift in human history that laid the foundations for the expansion of modern civilization. The current prevailing ...

In an international study, participants’ attitudes towards certain social groups—namely, politicians and Black people—were more strongly related to their attitudes towards the men than the women of each group, suggesting that men are the “default” for attitudes towards these groups. Curtis Edward Phills of the University of Oregon, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on June 25, 2025. Prior research has shown how people often discuss some social groups as though they are primarily made up ...

A U.K. study of data on more than 30,000 crimes sheds new light on crime after dark, suggesting that the overall risk of crime rises when darkness falls, but that risk varies depending on type of crime and geographical area. Jim Uttley of the University of Sheffield, U.K., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on June 25, 2025. Prior research has shown that darkness reduces people’s feelings of safety, and that improved street lighting can help people feel safer being out after dark. However, research on whether the risk ...

Data from Poland, Indonesia and Nepal indicate that affectionate behavior is associated with higher relationship satisfaction - though cultural differences impact how affection is displayed and perceived Article URL: https://plos.io/3FLkDOt Article title: To hug or not to hug? Public and private displays of affection and relationship satisfaction among people from Indonesia, Nepal, and Poland Author countries: Poland, Nepal, Indonesia Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

"Boomerang" made from mammoth tusk is likely one of the oldest known in Europe at around 40,000 years old, per analysis of this artifact from a Polish Upper Paleolithic cave Article URL: https://plos.io/43ScZex Article title: Boomerang and bones: Refining the chronology of the Early Upper Paleolithic at Obłazowa Cave, Poland Author countries: Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Poland, U.K., Germany. Funding: This research was supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement ...

Cod used to be giants. With their impressive size — over a metre in length and weighing up to 40 kilograms — and abundance, they, alongside herring, were the backbone of the Baltic fishery. Today, a fully grown cod would fit neatly on a dinner plate. That is, if fishing them were still permitted: due to the collapse of the stock, a ban on targeted cod fishing has been in place since 2019. The shrinking of the cod population, in terms of both number and in size, is the result of human influence. In their new study, scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have demonstrated ...

Even low levels of nitrate—a common agricultural runoff and drinking water contaminant—are associated with increased risks of preterm birth and low birthweight babies, according to a new study published June 25 in PLOS Water by Jason Semprini of Des Moines University College of Health Sciences, US. Nitrate is a naturally occurring compound increasingly found in inorganic fertilizers and, through runoff, in groundwater. When consumed by humans, nitrates can interfere with the blood’s capacity to ...

When and where the earliest modern human populations migrated and settled in East Asia are relatively well known. However, how these populations moved between islands on treacherous stretches of sea is still shrouded in mystery. In two new papers, researchers from Japan and Taiwan led by Professor Yousuke Kaifu from the University of Tokyo simulated methods ancient peoples would have needed to accomplish these journeys, and they used period-accurate tools to create the canoes to make the journey themselves. Evidence suggests that around 30,000 ...

Babies as young as eight months old can adapt their learning style to changing situations, according to research by Francesco Poli of the Donders Institute at Radboud University. This is the first time that babies have been shown to learn in such a flexible way. “The conventional wisdom is that eight-month-old babies passively absorb knowledge,” says neuroscientist Francesco Poli. New research now shows that this is not the case. 'We see that babies are able to adapt their learning strategies to their environment from a very young age. Monster here, monster there Poli investigated this by showing babies a screen displaying a colourful ...

An almost universal phenomenon in humans is the use of child-directed speech, where caregivers communicate with children often involving a particular speech style also termed “baby-talk”. Numerous studies have linked the amount of child-directed speech children hear to better learning outcomes (e.g. vocabulary size or literacy skills). This practice seems to facilitate the acquisition of language. But how did this trait evolve? To explore this, researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) and the University of Neuchâtel (UNINE), members of the NCCR Evolving Language, and colleagues from universities in France, Germany ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — New findings by a team of molecular biologists at Brown University on the critical role of a protein called AIMP3 in heart function could inform new treatments for heart disease. In a study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, the researchers showed that removing AIMP3 from heart cells in mice led to severe heart problems, including inflammation, scarring and fatal heart failure. “AIMP3 is a protein that had never been studied in the heart and was of unclear function,” said study author Federica Accornero, an associate professor of biochemistry at Brown who ...

University of Mississippi researchers have linked exposure to high levels of black carbon in the air to an increase in respiratory-related hospital admissions in Mississippi’s capital city, according to a study published in Environmental Pollution.   Courtney Roper, assistant professor of environmental toxicology, found in a 2023 study that Jackson’s air contains the state’s highest concentration of black carbon, commonly referred to as soot. In a new study published this summer, her team found that this pollutant may be contributing to a rise in hospital visits for respiratory issues among older adults.  “We can see that ...

It can be found inside gas giants such as Jupiter and is briefly created during meteorite impacts or in laser fusion experiments: warm dense matter. This exotic state of matter combines features of solid, liquid and gaseous phases. Until now, simulating warm dense matter accurately has been considered a major challenge. An international team led by researchers from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has succeeded in describing this state of matter much more accurately than before using a new computational method. The approach ...

About The Article: This Viewpoint discusses how physicians should counsel patients on vaccine safety in the wake of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to remove COVID-19 vaccinations as a recommended vaccine for children and pregnant women.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amos Grünebaum, MD, email agrunebaum@northwell.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.11328) Editor’s ...

Landmark study uncovers role of tumour microenvironment in nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression which supports personalised treatment Molecular profiling of over 1,000 nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients’ tumours reveals distinct differences in tumour microenvironment of locoregionally advanced NPC, supporting the use of personalised treatment Current treatment does not account for these biological differences, resulting in suboptimal outcomes The study is the result of a 7-year-effort by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), and validates ongoing clinical trials aimed at improving standards of ...

Developing technology that allows quantum information to be both stable and accessible is a critical challenge in the development of useful quantum computers that operate at scale. Research published today in the prestigious journal Nature provides a pathway for scaling the number of quantum transistors (known as qubits) on a chip from current numbers under 100 to the millions needed to make quantum computation a practical reality. The result is enabled by new cryogenic control electronics, that operate at close to absolute zero, developed at The University of Sydney. Lead researcher Professor David Reilly ...

Scientists at Nagoya University in Japan studied what happens when macrophages—a type of immune cell—encounter dying cancer cells in tumors and discovered a mechanism that accelerates tumor growth. When cancer cells begin to die within tumors, they expose signals on their surface that indicate they are dying. Macrophages then detect these signals and engage in phagocytosis, where they eat dying cancer cells. Using fruit flies as a model organism, the scientists found this triggers production of proteins called cytokines, which activate growth ...

Every decision begins invisibly. Long before someone acts, the brain is already hard at work gathering evidence, weighing options, and gradually committing to a choice. But even when faced with the same evidence, people can arrive at different outcomes, especially when the decision is difficult. Two different drivers in rush hour traffic, for example, see the same congested road, yet one might speed up to merge while another cautiously brakes. How the brain, made up of billions of specialized cells, makes ...

New research has underlined the surprising extent to which pervasive surveillance of people and their habits is powered by computer vision research – and shone a spotlight on how vulnerable individuals and communities are at risk. Analyses of over 40,000 documents, computer vision (CV) papers and downstream patents spanning four decades has shown a five-fold increase in the number of computer vision papers linked to downstream surveillance patents. The work also highlights the rise of obfuscating language that is used to normalise and even hide the existence of surveillance.  The research, ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL JUNE 25TH 16:00 UK TIME New Global Index Aims to Help People and Nature Thrive Together Researchers at Oxford University join the United Nations Development Programme to propose an optimistic, practical approach to inspire stronger action on nature. Oxford, 25 June 2025 — As the world faces an escalating planetary crisis, a new paper published today in Nature offers something we don’t often hear - hope. Rather than focussing on what we’re doing wrong, the paper proposes a bold new way forward; a global framework that measures how well people and nature are thriving together. The ...

About The Study: In this study, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication remained associated with reduced risks of several serious real-world outcomes (self-harm, unintentional injury, traffic crashes, and crime). However, the magnitude of these associations appears to have decreased alongside rising prescription rates over time. Thus, it is important to regularly evaluate medication use in different patient populations.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Zheng Chang, PhD, (zheng.chang@ki.se) ...

In a first-of-its-kind study, Stanford researchers have measured how the abundance of ocean life has changed over the past half-billion years of Earth’s history.  Overall, the total mass of marine organisms has generally increased over the past 500 million years, the study showed, albeit with setbacks after major extinction events. The findings align with evidence for a similar rise in marine biodiversity – the total variety of organisms – over the past half-eon from studies dating as far back as the 19th century, suggesting an evolutionary connection between biomass and biodiversity. ...

About The Study: In this case-control study of vaccine effectiveness, 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines were estimated to provide additional effectiveness against medically attended COVID-19, with the highest and most sustained estimates against critical illness. These results highlight the importance of receiving recommended COVID-19 vaccination for adults 18 years or older.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, MPH, email hzt7@cdc.gov. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link ...

LOS ANGELES — Yuman Fong, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery at City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States with its National Medical Center named a Top 5 “Best Hospital” in the nation for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report, this month delivered the Lister Legacy Lecture at the triennial conference of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. This presentation honors the long-term impact of Baron Joseph Lister, M.D., who brought antiseptic ...

Chemists from The University of Manchester and The Australian National University (ANU) have engineered a new type of molecule that can store information at temperatures as cold as the dark side of the moon at night, with major implications for the future of data storage technologies.   The findings, published in Nature, could pave the way for next-generation hardware about the size of a postage stamp that can store 100 times more digital data than current technologies.  “The ...