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Medicine20 May 2025

Research team traces evolutionary history of bacterial circadian clock on ancient Earth

To better understand the circadian clock in modern-day cyanobacteria, a Japanese research team has studied ancient timekeeping systems. They examined the oscillation of the clock proteins KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC (Kai-proteins) in modern cyanobacteria, comparing it to the function of ancestral Kai proteins. Their research is published in the Nature Communications on May 15th, 2025. “Extant cyanobacteria utilize a circadian clock to predict the light-dark environmental cycle by Earth’s rotation in order to achieve efficient photosynthetic reactions. We wanted to know the evolutionary history of when ancient bacteria acquired the circadian clock ...

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Science20 May 2025

Majority of youth overdose deaths from 2018 to 2022 were driven by fentanyl alone

(New York, NY) Fatal drug overdoses among youth aged 15 to 24 in the United States involving synthetic opioids alone—not mixed with other substances—soared by 168 percent over the five-year time period of 2018 to 2022, a new study shows. Published online May 20 in the journal Pediatrics, the work also found that youth overdose rates and drug combinations varied significantly across age, sex and race/ethnicity. Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study is the first, say investigators, to identify which specific combinations of drugs drove synthetic opioid-involved ...

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Science20 May 2025

Reducing wait times for hip and knee replacement surgeries

How can we reduce wait times for much needed hip and knee replacement surgery in Canada? Coordinated referral and team-based care models show promise, according to research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.241755. In Canada, there are long wait times for scheduled surgeries, such as hip and knee joint replacements, which can lead to worsening pain and mobility problems and affect overall health. Canada falls well behind in international comparisons of health systems based on wait times. To address this issue, some Canadian provinces have been experimenting with private for-profit delivery of some surgeries, ...

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Medicine20 May 2025

Clinician entrepreneurs can benefit Canada’s health and economy

Clinical entrepreneurs — physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals — who understand Canada’s health care challenges first-hand could help improve the health system and grow the economy, argue 2 physicians in a commentary published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250235. “Successful Canadian-controlled private corporations developed by these entrepreneurs could fuel economic growth and help protect the sovereignty of our health care system,” ...

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Science20 May 2025

Scientists discover NELL2’s dual role: boosting bone formation while curbing fat accumulation

A recent study identifies Neural EGFL-like 2 (NELL2), a secreted protein, as a key regulator of bone homeostasis, offering potential therapeutic applications for osteoporosis. NELL2 promotes osteoblast differentiation and inhibits adipocyte formation in bone marrow stromal cells, addressing the bone remodeling imbalance in osteoporosis. The study further uncovers the molecular mechanism of NELL2’s action, revealing its activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK)/AKT signaling pathway through interactions with Fibronectin 1 and integrins. NELL2's administration via adeno-associated virus (AAV) significantly improved bone density in osteoporotic ...

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Science19 May 2025

Bees facing new threats, putting our survival and theirs at risk

Warzones, microplastics and light pollution pose serious new risks to bees and other pollinators over the next decade, according to a landmark report on today’s World Bee Day. The report from Bee:wild, a new science-led global campaign to save pollinators, identifies the top 12 emerging threats that could accelerate pollinator losses within the next 5-15 years, according to ten of the world’s leading experts. It also outlines steps we can take to protect them and reverse the decline. Pollinators like bees, butterflies, some birds and bats are vital to nature and our food supply with almost 90% of flowering plants and over three-quarters of ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

Deep learning can predict lung cancer risk from single LDCT scan

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 2:15 p.m., Monday, May 19, 2025 DEEP LEARNING CAN PREDICT LUNG CANCER RISK FROM SINGLE LDCT SCAN The AI model could be especially useful in people who have never smoked. Session: B100—Revolutionizing Nodule Management and Lung Cancer Diagnosis Validation of Sybil Deep Learning Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Model in Asian High- and Low-Risk Individuals Date and Time: Monday, May 19, 2025, 2:15 p.m. Location: Room 211-212 (South Building, Level 2) Moscone Center ATS ...

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Science19 May 2025

Genomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak

LA JOLLA, CA—Historically, most human mpox infections have resulted from zoonotic transmission—meaning from animals to humans—and these spillovers have rarely led to human-to-human transmission. But during the 2022 global outbreak, mpox began spreading readily between people. A new study now shows the virus was circulating long before then. Published in Nature on May 19, 2025, the study notes that mpox transmitted among humans in Nigeria for eight years before sparking the international outbreak in 2022. Using genomic tracing, the researchers estimate that the virus’ ancestor first emerged in southern Nigeria in August 2014 and spread to 11 states before ...

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Physics19 May 2025

Research spotlight: Gender differences in primary care physician earnings and outcomes

Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, and Nicholas E. Daley, AB, of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital are co-authors of a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, “Gender Differences in Primary Care Physician Earnings and Outcomes Under Medicare Advantage Value-Based Payment.” Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? Despite often achieving better patient outcomes, women primary care physicians (PCPs) face a significant and ongoing wage gap compared to their male counterparts. This disparity is partly due to volume-based payment models, where doctors are compensated per visit or service. ...

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Science19 May 2025

Eating craved foods with meals lessens cravings, boosts weight loss

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food cravings are the downfall of many dieters, who feel locked in an eternal battle with their willpower to resist the tempting sweets, snacks and other foods they love. However, researchers in food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say in a new study that eating dessert may be the optimal strategy for losing weight, keeping it off and keeping cravings at bay. Dieters in a clinical trial who incorporated craved foods into a balanced meal plan lost more weight during ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

Limited evidence suggests calorie restriction may slightly reduce depressive symptoms in people with elevated cardiometabolic risk

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 19 May 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 ...

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Science19 May 2025

U of A researchers developing world's first petahertz-speed phototransistor in ambient conditions

What if ultrafast pulses of light could operate computers at speeds a million times faster than today's best processors? A team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Arizona, are working to make that possible. In a groundbreaking international effort, researchers from the Department of Physics in the College of Science and the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences demonstrated a way to manipulate electrons in graphene using pulses of light that last less than a trillionth of a second. By leveraging a quantum effect known as tunneling, they recorded electrons bypassing a physical barrier almost instantaneously, a feat that redefines the ...

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Engineering19 May 2025

NRL hosts Innovation Day for Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) hosted Innovation Day for Industry, May 7, at NRL-DC headquarters to inform industry and to assess interest in a focused set of six emerging technologies that are ready for collaboration with industry partners. The event showcased a range of NRL-developed technologies ready for further development, prototyping and commercialization through partnerships with industry. The nearly 30 industry attendees gained valuable insights into NRL’s research and development efforts, including presentations, facility tours, and networking opportunities with NRL scientists, ...

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Space19 May 2025

Here comes the boom! Studying the effects of rocket launch sonic booms on neighboring communities #ASA188

NEW ORLEANS, May 19, 2025 – Rocket launches are amazing spectacles, but close-up viewers know to bring a set of earplugs or earmuffs to protect their hearing. However, the boom of a launch isn’t reserved for those who sign up to watch it – it can also be heard and felt in surrounding communities. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a rocket used for both human and nonhuman space missions. Since 2010, the rocket has been launched over 400 times, and one of the launch sites for Falcon 9 is the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. “Although Ventura County is 60-100 miles from the Vandenberg ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

Researchers capture brain activity with imager that is smaller than an eyelash

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed an extremely thin, flexible imager that could be useful for noninvasively acquiring images from inside the body. The new technology could one day enable early and precise disease detection, providing critical insights to guide timely and effective treatment. “As opposed to existing prohibitively large endoscopes made of cameras and optical lenses or bulky fiber optic bundles, our microimager is very compact,” said research team leader Maysam Chamanzar from Carnegie Mellon University. “Much thinner than a typical eyelash, ...

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Science19 May 2025

A head and a hundred tails: how a branching worm manages reproductive complexity

Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean’s most bizzare animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a truly extraordinary way. Living hidden in tropical waters, this worm grows multiple body branches within a host sponge, each tail capable of producing separate living reproductive units called “stolons”. But how does a single animal coordinate sexual reproduction across so many branches? To find out, researchers led by the University of Göttingen analysed gene expression across different body regions and between male, female ...

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Environment19 May 2025

Investment risk for energy infrastructure construction is highest for nuclear power plants, lowest for solar

Between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency projects that more than $100 trillion will be spent on building net-zero energy infrastructure globally. Yet every single one of these projects runs the risk of higher-than-expected construction costs or time delays. Newer technologies introduced in the past decade, such as hydrogen or geothermal energy, are even more difficult to evaluate as government agencies, energy developers, utilities, investors, and other stakeholders decide which sustainable energy systems are best for future projects. In a new state-of-the-art ...

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Science19 May 2025

Personality traits influence the development of insomnia

A study conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil examined the influence of personality traits on the development and perpetuation of insomnia and found that there is a direct relationship between the two. Two findings caught the researchers’ attention: high levels of openness were associated with low levels of insomnia, while high levels of neuroticism (characterized by emotional instability) were very common in people with the sleep disorder. The results were published in the Journal of Sleep Research. “We decided ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

Controlling these 8 risk factors may eliminate early death risk for those with high blood pressure

A new study led by researchers at Tulane University suggests that people with high blood pressure can significantly reduce — and possibly eliminate — their increased risk of premature death by controlling several key health risk factors at once. The study, published in Precision Clinical Medicine, tracked more than 70,000 people with hypertension and over 224,000 without it, using data from the UK Biobank. Researchers followed participants for nearly 14 years to understand how managing these risk factors affected early mortality — ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

A groundbreaking discovery of a common master switch to cure Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other brain-related diseases

The 21st edition of Sustainability Through Science and Technology Summit 2025 (SIPS 2025), dedicated to Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, to be held in Cebu, Philippines, from 17-20 November 2025, has confirmed the participation of Davis Joseph as an invited summit plenary lecturer for his recent ground-breaking discovery of the common master switch for numerous brain-related diseases. Davis Joseph discovered something that could not be found in the entire scientific history of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research: a common master switch that can potentially cure both these and other brain-related diseases ...

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Technology19 May 2025

Novel data streaming software chases light speed from accelerator to supercomputer

Analyzing massive datasets from nuclear physics experiments can take hours or days to process, but researchers are working to radically reduce that time to mere seconds using special software being developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge national laboratories. DELERIA — short for Distributed Event-Level Experiment Readout and Integrated Analysis — is a novel software platform designed specifically to support the GRETA spectrometer, a cutting-edge instrument for nuclear physics experiments. The Gamma Ray Energy Tracking Array, or GRETA, ...

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Science19 May 2025

UK child sexual abuse survivors lack support - report

Over 640 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the UK have shared their stories in a global effort to raise awareness about the realities of sexual violence against children, the challenges of disclosure and recovery, and its enduring impact on their lives. Their voices are amplified through a powerful report published by the Finnish child-rights organisation Protect Children in collaboration with the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI), part of Anglia Ruskin University in England. At IPPPRI25 - the research institute’s annual conference dedicated to tackling online harms - on ...

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Science19 May 2025

Rice’s Mikos elected to the European Academy of Sciences

HOUSTON – (May 19, 2025) – Antonios Mikos, the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC), an international body that recognizes excellence in scientific research and technological innovation. A global leader in biomaterials and tissue engineering, Mikos is widely known for his groundbreaking work in regenerative medicine, controlled drug delivery, gene therapy and disease modeling. ...

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Science19 May 2025

Hari Kalva, Ph.D., inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame

Hari Kalva, Ph.D., a pioneering innovator in video technology and professor and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been named a 2025 inductee of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Kalva is one of 10 inventors selected for the 2025 class, which spans disciplines from nanotech and regenerative medicine to clean energy and next-gen video systems. Their work has defined new frontiers, advanced scientific breakthroughs, and embodied the spirit of innovation that drives Florida’s expanding landscape ...

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Medicine19 May 2025

Machine learning model helps identify patients at risk of postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 15 percent of individuals after childbirth. Early identification of patients at risk of PPD could improve proactive mental health support. Mass General Brigham researchers developed a machine learning model that can evaluate patients’ PPD risk using readily accessible clinical and demographic factors. Findings demonstrating the model’s promising predictive capabilities are published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “Postpartum depression is one of the biggest challenges that some parents may experience in the period after childbirth – a time ...

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