A board game through which players use images on cards to develop and tell their own stories could be particularly appreciated among people with autism as it offers a means to explain their thoughts and feelings, a new study has shown. Dixit, an award-winning game published by the French company Libellud, invites participants to select one of 84 illustrated cards which they feel matches a title suggested by the designated storyteller. For this study, researchers asked 35 autistic participants – split into groups of between five and eight – to place a card that they felt best described autism, and then being asked to explain the reasoning ...

Research Background: Turbulence in nature refers to the complex, time-dependent, and spatially varying fluctuations that develop in fluids such as water, air, and plasma. It is a universal phenomenon that appears across a vast range of scales and systems—from atmospheric and oceanic currents on Earth, to interstellar gas in stars and galaxies, and even within jet engines and blood flow in human arteries. Turbulence is not merely chaotic; rather, it consists of an evolving hierarchy of interacting vortices, which may organize into ...

About The Study: Although phase 3 trials are often interpreted as demonstrating superiority, overall survival and quality of life (QOL), which may be the most relevant end points to patients, are uncommonly improved. To increase the meaningfulness of late-phase research, future trial designs and regulatory processes should be refocused toward overall survival and QOL improvements. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Alexander D. Sherry, MD, email alexanderdsherry@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.1002) Editor’s ...

Results from a new animal study suggest that microscopic plastic particles found in food and beverages may affect glucose metabolism and harm organs such as the liver. The findings raise concerns about potential health risks in people and point to the need for more research.   As plastic breaks down, it forms micro- (<5 mm) and nanoparticles (<100 nm), which can enter the food chain and end up in seafood and other foods people eat. Studies estimate that a person may ingest around 40,000 ...

A new study that followed almost 200,000 people for several decades has found that when it comes to heart health, the quality of food consumed matters as much as following a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet. The results suggest that choosing healthy, high-quality foods is key to protecting the heart.   In the past two decades, low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets have been promoted for their potential health benefits, such as weight management and improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels. However, the impact of these diets on reducing heart disease risk has remained an ongoing debate.   “We found that what you eat on low-carb or low-fat ...

With rates of obesity and anxiety both on the rise—especially among younger Americans—new research suggests that the two conditions may be connected through interactions between the gut and the brain. The study, conducted in mice, links diet-induced obesity with anxiety-like symptoms, alterations in brain signaling and differences in gut microbes that may contribute to impaired brain functioning.   “Several studies have pointed to a link between obesity and anxiety, though it is still unclear whether obesity directly causes anxiety or if the association is influenced by societal pressures,” said Desiree ...

New research that used blood markers to measure linoleic acid levels and their relation to cardiometabolic risk adds evidence that this omega-6 fatty acid may help to lower risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The findings challenge claims that seed oils are harmful to cardiometabolic health.   Linoleic acid, which is found in vegetable oils—especially seed oils like soybean and corn oil—and plant foods, is the primary omega-6 fatty acid consumed in the diet.   “There has been increasing ...

CHICAGO – A dual-target CAR T cell therapy approach shows promise for slowing tumor growth in a notoriously aggressive and fast-growing brain cancer. Tumors became smaller after the experimental CAR T cell therapy in nearly two-thirds of patients. While survival data is still accumulating, several patients lived 12 months or longer after receiving the investigational therapy, which is notable given the typical survival for this patient population is less than a year.  The findings were presented today at the 2025 American Society of ...

BOSTON, June 1, 2025 – Combining standard adjuvant chemotherapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (atezolizumab) leads to a significant improvement in disease-free survival in a subset of patients with stage 3 colon cancer that is deficient in DNA mismatch repair (dMMR), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigator Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt and his colleagues report at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. These results stem from the ATOMIC trial, a phase 3 multicenter, randomized, ...

BOSTON, June 1, 2025 – Patients with colon cancer who consumed an anti-inflammatory diet during a phase 3 clinical trial showed longer overall survival post-treatment compared to those on a proinflammatory diet, according to a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute analysis. Engaging in higher levels of physical activity may amplify the positive influence on survival. “One of the most common questions that patients ask is what they should do after treatment to maximally reduce their risk of cancer recurrence and improve survival,” says first author Dr. Sara Char, a clinical fellow in Hematology and Oncology at Dana-Farber ...

A large prospective, randomized clinical trial in patients with advanced breast cancer has found that the use of liquid biopsy blood tests for early detection of a treatment-resistance mutation, followed by a switch to a new type of treatment, substantially extends the period of tumor control compared to standard care. The SERENA-6 study, published June 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented concurrently at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, was conducted at multiple medical centers, principally in Europe, East Asia and the United States, including at Weill ...

June 1, 2025 — The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology announced today results from ATOMIC (A021502), a phase III trial evaluating standard chemotherapy alone or combined with atezolizumab (Tecentriq®) in treating patients who have surgically resected stage III colon cancer and deficient deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mismatch repair (dMMR). The study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and conducted in partnership with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically ...

Late-breaking abstract featured at ASCO 2025 ROCHESTER, Minn. — Colon cancer is the third most prevalent form of cancer in the U.S., and while screening has helped detect and prevent colon cancer from spreading, major advancements in treating colon cancer have lagged. Now, new research led by Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center found that adding immunotherapy to chemotherapy after surgery for patients with stage 3 (node-positive) colon cancer — and with a specific ...

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 ...