On the path toward a fusion power plant, stellarators are among the most promising concepts. In the future, they could generate usable energy by fusing light atomic nuclei. This reaction must take place in a plasma — a hot gas of ionized particles heated to many tens of millions of degrees Celsius. Stellarators use magnetic confinement to hold the plasma: the plasma is trapped by a complex and powerful magnetic field, floating inside a donut-shaped vacuum chamber. With Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X), the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, with support from the European fusion consortium EUROfusion, is operating the world's ...

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press research article, scientists have uncovered remarkable insights into how the earliest brain connections shape infant emotional development, potentially offering new ways to identify children at risk for future behavioral and emotional challenges. The groundbreaking study, led by Dr. Yicheng Zhang and Dr. Mary L. Phillips at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, examined 95 infant-caregiver pairs using advanced brain imaging techniques. Researchers discovered that the microstructure of white matter ...

ATLANTA, Georgia, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press interview published today in Psychedelics, Dr. Deanna M. Kaplan reveals how her journey from journalism student to clinical psychologist led to revolutionary advances in capturing human experiences through voice technology. As Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of Health Technologies for Spiritual Health at Emory Healthcare, Dr. Kaplan has transformed how researchers understand the impact of clinical ...

HEFEI, Anhui, China, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive peer-reviewed Genomic Press Thought Leaders Invited Review, researchers have unveiled critical insights into how the number of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sessions influences treatment outcomes for depression, potentially transforming clinical decision-making for one of psychiatry's most effective yet controversial treatments. The review, published in Brain Medicine, synthesizes decades of research to address a fundamental question that has long puzzled clinicians: How many ECT sessions are optimal for treating severe depression while minimizing cognitive side effects? "ECT is like a powerful ...

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published today, Dr. Erin E. Mauney reveals how her pioneering research brings psychedelic medicine into gastroenterology for the first time, potentially transforming treatment for millions suffering from intractable irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The assistant professor of pediatrics at Tufts University, who maintains a research appointment at Massachusetts General Hospital, leads the first clinical trial examining psilocybin's effects on treatment-resistant IBS. Her work addresses a critical gap in medicine: the substantial population ...

MILANO, Italy, 3 June 2025 – In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published in Brain Medicine, Professor Francesco Benedetti shares his transformative journey from confronting childhood awareness of mental illness to becoming a leading figure in psychiatric research. As founder and leader of the Psychiatry & Clinical Psychobiology research unit at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Dr. Benedetti has dedicated decades to reclaiming psychiatry's rightful place within medical science. Professor ...

What happened to all the megafauna? From moas to mammoths, many large animals went extinct between 50 and 10,000 years ago. Learning why could provide crucial evidence about prehistoric ecosystems and help us understand future potential extinctions. But surviving fossils are often too fragmented to determine the original species, and DNA is not always recoverable, especially in hot or damp environments. Now scientists have isolated collagen peptide markers which allow them to identify three key megafauna ...

ing time in or around nature can provide people suffering from chronic lower back pain with a degree of escapism that helps them better manage their physical discomfort, a new study has shown. The research, published in The Journal of Pain, is the first of its kind to ask people experiencing chronic lower back pain – in some cases for almost 40 years – about the role nature plays in any coping strategies they employ to help manage their condition. The researchers found that people able to get out in nature said it enabled them to connect with ...

Brussels, Belgium — 2 June 2025 — A randomized controlled trial (RCT) carried out by researchers from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, has provided new evidence that texture-derived differences in meal eating rate influence energy intake from diets composed of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Over a 14-day period, participants consuming a UPF diet with textures that reduced their eating rate, had an average energy intake reduction of 369 kcal per day, compared to when they followed a 14-day UPF diet with textures that promoted a faster ...

Thousands more UK women who are having children have been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition now compared to the beginning of the millennium. In a paper published in Lancet Rheumatology today, researchers involved in the MuM-PreDiCT project run by the University of Birmingham and funded by the Medical Research Council have found that there has been increase by 4.7% in expectant mothers beginning pregnancy with autoimmune conditions. Analysis of electronic healthcare records (CPRD) taken from 2000-2021 found that there was a ...

Some two-thirds of riders and drivers for food delivery and ride-hailing apps in the UK may work in fear of “unfair feedback” and experience anxiety over sudden changes to working hours, a new survey study led by the University of Cambridge suggests.* Three-quarters of riders and drivers in the study report anxiety over potential for income to drop, with over half (51%) saying they risk health and safety while working. Some 42% of delivery and driver gig workers say they suffer physical pain resulting from work. Riders ...

Between upgrades and breakdowns to cellphones, tablets, laptops, and appliances, so many electronics are getting tossed in the trash that they've taken on a name of their own: e-waste. According to a 2024 report issued by the United Nations, the amount of e-waste worldwide has almost doubled in the past 12 years, from 34 billion to 62 billion kilograms — the equivalent of 1.55 million shipping trucks — and it's estimated to hit 82 billion kilograms by 2030. Just 13.8 billion kilograms — about 20 percent of the total — is expected to be recycled, a number ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 2 June 2025    Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, threads, and Linkedin         Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.    ----------------------------       Cognitive ...

Sarah Wakeman, MD, Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham, is the co-senior author and Will Oles, BS, of Harvard Medical School, is a corresponding author of a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, “Geographic Trends in Opioid and Polysubstance Overdose Deaths in the US, 2014-2023.”  Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience?  In May 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a national decline in the ...

Results from a new clinical trial suggest that a high-fiber plant-based diet could benefit patients at risk for developing multiple myeloma, the second most common type of blood cancer. The study showed that the diet was not only feasible and well-received but also improved several factors that could potentially delay the progression of precancerous conditions that can lead to multiple myeloma.     Multiple myeloma is often preceded by early, non-cancerous conditions involving abnormal plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow. Having a high body weight, ...

More than half of older Americans now get their Medicare coverage through an insurance company’s Medicare Advantage plan. But many go on to switch plans or even leave for traditional Medicare when Open Enrollment comes around each autumn. Researchers have had a hard time getting access to data that could help them understand what drives these changes, which have major implications for federal spending on Medicare as well as individuals’ health. Now, a new study in the June issue of Health Affairs peels back the curtain on what motivates people to switch ...

Blastic plasmacytoid dendric cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare, aggressive blood cancer that often involves the bone marrow, skin and, sometimes, lymph nodes. First-in-class antibody-drug conjugate, pivekimab sunirine (PVEK), was safe and effective. PVEK achieved an overall response rate of 85% and complete response rate of 70% as frontline treatment in newly diagnosed patients with BPDCN. Findings suggest this treatment should be considered as a new standard of care for these patients. ABSTRACT: 6502  CHICAGO, JUNE 2, 2025 ― The first-in-class ...

In a report recently published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, the Ochsner Health system delves into the multifaceted implementation of pharmacogenomics—a rapidly evolving field that examines how genetics influence individual responses to medication. This comprehensive article, led by Dr. Catherine Oliver and a team of experts in pharmacy services, provides an insightful blueprint for health systems aiming to integrate pharmacogenomics into clinical practice.  "Pharmacogenomics embodies a new frontier in precision medicine, enabling us to fine-tune treatments ...

Key takeaways Ibudilast is a drug approved in Japan for the treatment of asthma and post-stroke dizziness by targeting inflammation; previous research suggested it could also help people reduce their drinking.  A UCLA clinical trial, however, has now shown that ibudilast worked no better than a placebo for trial participants in reducing alcohol consumption, although it did have a positive effect on women. Women tend to have higher levels of inflammation than men, and the results of ibudilast testing with women point toward ...

Researchers have created dynamic structures that leap into the air on a predetermined schedule without intervention from computers or external stimuli. Precisely when these “metashells” jump, and how high they jump, is engineered into the physical structure of the materials. “There are structures that ‘jump’ immediately when loading is removed – such as when a coiled spring is released,” says Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University. “We wanted to create a structure that does not rely on external stimuli and allows us to dictate the timing ...

Along with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, iron is essential for the growth of microscopic phytoplankton in the ocean. However, a new study led by oceanographers at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa revealed that iron released from industrial processes, such as coal combustion and steel making, is altering the ecosystem in the North Pacific Transition Zone, a region just north of Hawai‘i that is important for fisheries in the Pacific. The study was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. “This ...

Imagine a world where crops can thrive regardless of climate or disease and provide all the essential nutrients our bodies need. Researchers at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry are now part of a U.K.-based initiative to explore that very possibility.   The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), the U.K.’s research and development funding agency, announced June 2 that Schulich Medicine & Dentistry professor Bogumil Karas has been named ...

CLEVELAND – A new visionary gift from the Veale Foundation will establish the University Hospitals Veale Healthcare Transformation Institute. The $23.5 million in support represents an investment in University Hospitals’ value-based care initiatives. Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, UH Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, will serve as the institute’s founding and first president. “Healthcare today tells a story of scarcity – it harms too often, costs too much and learns and ...

In a new JNeurosci paper, Adrian Rothenfluh and colleagues from the University of Utah developed a fruit fly model of cocaine self-administration that can be used to explore the genetic underpinnings of cocaine addiction.   To model voluntary cocaine intake in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, the researchers first assessed cocaine consumption and preferences of this insect. Cocaine was innately aversive to fruit flies because it activated their bitter-sensing receptors. In other words, the fruit flies did not like cocaine’s ...

For the first time, researchers have created genetically modified fruit flies that can become addicted to cocaine. The flies will self-administer cocaine if given the option. The new model could prove immensely valuable for the development of new therapies to prevent and treat cocaine use disorder, a growing and deadly concern that affects about 1.5 million people nationwide. Heredity strongly impacts the risk of developing cocaine use disorder, but the large number of genes implicated in addiction risk has made it difficult to determine which might be the best targets for therapeutics. With their new fruit fly model ...