In the latest evidence that meaningful social connections bolster health, a team from The University of Texas at Austin and University of Massachusetts Boston has found that regular time spent helping outside the home significantly slows cognitive decline in middle-age and older adults. The new study of more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. looking at individuals over two decades found that the rate of cognitive decline associated with aging fell by 15%-20% for people who formally volunteer their services or who help in more informal ways with neighbors, family or friends outside the home on a regular basis. This cognitive benefit was consistently observed when individuals ...

A CU Boulder-led initiative to reduce youth violence in hard-hit Denver neighborhoods was associated with a 75% decline in arrests for murder, assault, robbery and other youth crimes in recent years, new research shows. “We now have concrete data to show that when communities come together and mobilize, we can prevent youth violence, even in urban settings with a very high burden,” said senior author Beverly Kingston, director of CU’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV).  The study, published ...

Drug treatment for people with newly diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with significantly reduced risks of suicidal behaviours, substance misuse, transport accidents, and criminality, finds a study published by The BMJ today.  The researchers say this is the first study of its kind to show beneficial effects of ADHD drug treatment on broader clinical outcomes for all ADHD patients and should help inform clinical practice. ADHD affects around 5% of children and 2.5% of adults worldwide and is associated with adverse outcomes including suicidal behaviours, substance ...

AI Chatbots that provide human-like interactions are used by millions of people every day, however new research has revealed that they can be easily manipulated to encourage users to reveal even more personal information. Intentionally malicious AI chatbots can influence users to reveal up to 12.5 times more of their personal information, a new study by King’s College London has found. For the first time, the research shows how conversational AI (CAIs) programmed to deliberately extract data can successfully encourage users to reveal private information using known prompt techniques and psychological ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – August 13, 2025) Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness, which, when untreated, prevents infants with the most severe form from gaining motor development — never gaining the ability to sit — and typically leads to death before 2 years of age. The oral drug risdiplam benefits symptomatic patients with improved motor function and increased survival, but had only been Food and Drug Administration–approved for use in patients aged 2 months and older. An international consortium, co-led by Richard Finkel, MD, of St. ...

As the nation gears up for the rollout of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, a new study shows the economic benefits of continued broad vaccination in adults. In fact, the country would ultimately save more money that it would spend on vaccinating every person over age 65 with a single dose of an updated mRNA vaccine against coronavirus, the study concludes. That’s because of the power of the vaccine to prevent deaths, hospitalizations, short- and long-term illness and lost productivity such as lost workdays in this age group, the researchers report based on a computer model. The model focused on people without immunocompromising conditions or medications. Meanwhile, ...

Study after study shows that walking is very good for those who are able, and generally more is better. A 2023 study found that even 4,000 steps a day improves all-cause mortality risk. (The U.S average is 4,000 to 5,000.) For each 1,000 extra daily steps, risk decreased by 15%. Walk Scores have been used since 2007 to quantify how quickly people can typically walk to amenities like grocery stores and schools in an area. Cities are assigned scores from 0 to 100; for instance, Seattle’s 74 means it’s “very walkable.” It may seem self-evident that in cities ...

Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in childhood. This is in part due to cancer-associated genes called oncogenes that can be found far from chromosomes in cell nuclei on ring-shaped DNA inside tumor cells. Circular extra-chromosomal DNA elements (ecDNA) are pieces of DNA that have broken off normal chromosomes and then been wrongly stitched together by DNA repair mechanisms. This phenomenon leads to circular DNA elements floating around in a cancer cell. “We have shown that these ecDNAs are ...

If you’ve been to a routine eye exam at the optometrist’s office, chances are you’ve had to place your chin and forehead up close to a bioimaging device.  It’s known as optical coherence tomography (OCT), and it’s widely used in eye clinics around the world. OCT uses light waves to take high-resolution, cross-sectional images of the retina in a non-invasive manner. These images can be essential for diagnosing and monitoring eye conditions.  In any bioimaging—either retinal or in-vivo imaging that takes place inside the human body—devices ...

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request.  Why this matters: Microbes, or microorganisms, are all around us and play an important role in bodily functions. MSU researchers found that microbes can also impact brain development. This work is significant because modern obstetric practices like peripartum antibiotic use and Cesarean delivery disturb the microbiome of mothers and newborns. EAST LANSING, Mich. – New research from Michigan State University finds that microbes play an important role in shaping early brain development, specifically in a key brain region that controls stress, social behavior, and vital body ...

NEW YORK, NY (Aug. 13, 2025)--For a few dozen people in the world, the downside of living with a rare immune condition comes with a surprising superpower—the ability to fight off all viruses.   Columbia immunologist Dusan Bogunovic discovered the individuals’ antiviral powers about 15 years ago, soon after he identified the genetic mutation that causes the condition.  At first, the condition only seemed to increase vulnerability to some bacterial infections. But as more patients were identified, its unexpected antiviral benefits became ...

Alexandria, VA – The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have announced the publication of a new study in JDR Clinical & Translational Research that demonstrates that arginine dentifrices reduce dental caries in children with active caries as much as, or more than, a sodium fluoride dentifrice, depending on the arginine concentration. Dental caries remain a significant oral health burden globally. Scientific evidence has demonstrated the dose-dependent, anticaries action of fluoride; however, ...

Aug. 11, 2025 MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request.                                           Why this matters: A new MSU study shows that simple, hands-on activities, such as writing letters and pointing out words in daily life, are the most effective way to build early reading skills. Both children with and without speech and/or language impairments experienced literacy gains from print-related activities; however, ...

For the third consecutive year, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center has been recognized with the Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center Award by the Mitral Foundation for demonstrated excellence in heart valve repair. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center is one of 23 centers across the U.S. to receive this award. This award recognizes NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center’s contribution to advancing best practices in the surgical treatment of mitral valve disease, a common valvular problem which occurs when irregularities develop in the heart valve between the left heart chambers. Mitral valve repair is one of the most challenging heart operations, ...

Reston, VA (August 13, 2025) A new study from Denmark shows for the first time that men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer who undergo PSMA PET/CT before salvage radiotherapy have improved survival rates compared to those who do not. Using data collected nationwide over a period of eight years, researchers confirmed that PSMA PET/CT is a valuable tool for identifying patients who are likely to benefit from salvage radiotherapy. This research was published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy occurs in up to 40 percent of prostate cancer patients and salvage radiotherapy ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2025. Highlights: The study included 100 professional athletes who participated in combat sports. Growing up in under-resourced neighborhoods was linked to thinner areas of the brain—a possible early sign of neurodegeneration. Athletes from highly disadvantaged neighborhoods had smaller brain volumes in areas important for movement and memory, including the thalamus, cerebellum and hippocampus. This link remained even after accounting for factors such as race and ethnicity, income and number of fights. The findings support a broader understanding of brain health—one that includes social and environmental ...

WASHINGTON –   A key discovery about the impact of stroke on a person’s ability to read reveals why a deficit occurs – a finding that presents a possible opportunity for new therapeutic strategies to help people recover one of the most important life skills. It’s long been known that people who experience a stroke can struggle with reading, but researchers weren’t clear exactly why. Now, a new study, led by researchers at Georgetown University, reveals that strokes can rob a person’s ability to use the meaning of words to help them recognize the words when reading.  “We usually ...

A Phase 1 human clinical trial to treat chronic spinal cord injury, the first of its kind in the world, has commenced to test the efficacy and safety of a revolutionary new treatment using nasal cells. The Griffith University trial has been three decades in the making and involves taking olfactory ensheathing cells, which are specialised cells involved in our sense of smell, from the nose as they have numerous therapeutic properties for repairing and regenerating nerves. Lead researcher Professor James St John, Head of Griffith’s Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research and Principal Researcher at the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, ...

All information can be found at: https://professional.dkms.org/research-grant Contact: grant@dkms.org   Since 2015, the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden has been supporting young international scientists with a doctoral degree in medicine or natural sciences (MD, PhD or equivalent, completed no more than 10 years ago) through the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant. Possible areas of research include transplant immunology, new approaches to treat complications following stem cell transplantation, donor selection, cell production, and novel diagnostic ...

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have shown that 18FDG-PET, an imaging technique widely used to study other conditions, can also be used to monitor atherosclerosis by measuring cellular metabolism within arterial plaques. The findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, could improve the clinical management of this disease and accelerate the development of new treatments. Atherosclerosis—the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes—is a silent disease that progresses over many years without symptoms. The disease is characterized by the accumulation of fatty ...

In a survey study of more than 1,000 U.S. adults who were in committed, heterosexual relationships during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were more likely than non-parents to report an increased desire for infidelity since before the pandemic, and were also more likely to report having actually cheated on their partner during the pandemic. Dr. Jessica T. Campbell of Indiana University Bloomington, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on August 13, 2025. Prior research has suggested that COVID-19 pandemic ...

Clinicians are more likely to indicate doubt or disbelief in the medical records of Black patients than in those of White patients—a pattern that could contribute to ongoing racial disparities in healthcare. That is the conclusion of a new study, analyzing more than 13 million clinical notes, publishing August 13, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mary Catherine Beach of Johns Hopkins University, U.S. There is mounting evidence that electronic health records (EHR) contain language reflecting the unconscious biases of clinicians, and that this language may undermine the quality of care that patients receive. In the new study, researchers analyzed ...

Binge gaming was associated with depression, anxiety, and poor sleep, with boys more likely to report binge gaming than girls, in Hong Kong survey of 2,592 children and adolescents Article URL: http://plos.io/4moOETZ Article title: The roles of binge gaming in social, academic and mental health outcomes and gender differences: A school-based survey in Hong Kong Author countries: China Funding: This work was supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) [#16171001] and [#17180791] and General Research Fund (GRF) [#14607319] and [#14609820]. HMRF and GRF had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the ...

North American monarch butterflies use magnetic fields to migrate to and from their overwintering sites - using cold temperatures to tune how they use magnetic fields - per experimental study, which might be disrupted under climate change Article URL: http://plos.io/4fhCt8X Article title: Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) only use magnetic cues for migratory directionality with orientation re-calibrated by coldness Author countries: U.S. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Specially adapted drones successfully use a "tap and go" approach to apply monitoring tags to whales, speeding up the process and avoiding human interference Article URL: http://plos.io/4meypZo Article title: Drone-based application of whale tags: A “tap-and-go” approach for scientific animal-borne investigations Author countries: U.S., Dominica, Canada Funding: This study was financially supported by Project CETI (https://www.projectceti.org) via Dalio Philanthropies (https://www.daliophilanthropies.org), OceanX (https://oceanx.org), Sea Grape ...