Mercury is released by environmental and human-driven processes. And some forms, specifically methylmercury, are toxic to humans. Therefore, policies and regulations to limit mercury emissions have been implemented across the globe. And, according to research published in ACS ES&T Air, those efforts may be working. Researchers found that atmospheric mercury levels have decreased by almost 70% in the last 20 years, mainly because human-caused emissions have been reduced. “By tracking mercury pollution over four decades at the top of the world, we show that global efforts to reduce pollution ...

A research team from AMOLF in Amsterdam created a soft robot that walks, hops, and swims — all without a brain, electronics, or AI. Just soft tubes, air, and some clever physics.  The study published this week in Science describes one of the fastest soft robots yet, and one of the simplest. It has no computer, no software, and no sensors. And still, it moves with surprising coordination and autonomy, simply because of its body and how it interacts with the world.  So, what’s really driving it? Underneath the movement is a principle you’ve probably seen, though maybe overlooked. Think of those wobbly, ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Researchers from MIT and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered that a class of peptides expressed in pancreatic cancer cells could be a promising target for T-cell therapies and other approaches that attack pancreatic tumors. Known as cryptic peptides, these molecules are produced from sequences in the genome that were not thought to encode proteins. Such peptides can also be found in some healthy cells, but in this study, the researchers identified about 500 that appear to be found only in pancreatic ...

Some plants lure pollinators not with sweet fragrances, but with the rank stench of decay. In a new study, researchers show how plants pull this off. In Asarum flowers, a gene typically used for detoxifying smelly compounds has instead evolved to produce unpleasant odors, the researchers report. The findings shed light on how plants co-opt widely conserved metabolic pathways for ecological advantage. A key feature of foul-smelling flowers is the release of malodorous volatile compounds, particularly oligosulfides like dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) and dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS). These compounds mimic the chemical signals given off by decaying material. ...

Simple and inexpensive interventions aimed at making changes in how Bangladesh’s informal brink kilns operate could dramatically cut emissions and boost profits for producers, according to a new study. The findings may offer a scalable model for tackling pollution in hard-to-regulate informal industries, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In many LMICs, weak regulatory systems limit the effectiveness of pollution control, especially in informal industries that tend to operate outside formal governance and ...

A new ultrasound-guided 3D printing technique could make it possible to fabricate medical implants in vivo and deliver tailored therapies to tissues deep inside the body – all without invasive surgery, researchers report. 3D bioprinting technologies offer significant promise to modern medicine by enabling the creation of customized implants, intricate medical devices, and engineered tissues tailored to individual patients. However, most current approaches require invasive surgical implantation. Although in vivo bioprinting – “3D printing” tissue directly within the body – offers ...

Using only airflow and simple physical design – resulting in a structure that looks like a roadside “inflatable tube dancer” – researchers have developed soft robots that achieve coordinated, autonomous movement without relying on complex electronic controllers. In nature, animals often move with remarkable efficiency. They do this by seamlessly integrating the nervous system, body mechanics, and environmental interactions. This decentralized coordination allows animals to move efficiently without relying on constant direction from the brain. In contrast, most robots depend ...

Brick manufacturing is a central component of the economy in South Asia, but also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, as the practice releases carbon dioxide (CO₂), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and other contaminants into the environment. This coal-powered industry poses a serious threat to human health, agriculture, and the environment in low- and middle-income countries that lack the capacity to monitor and regulate these largely informal operations. As scientists continue to sound the alarm on the increasing dangers of fossil fuels, a new study by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), Stanford ...

-With images- A peculiar spiny fossil, once thought to represent one of the earliest molluscs, has now been conclusively reclassified by scientists from Durham University and Yunnan University as something entirely different – a distant relative of sponge-like creatures known as chancelloriids. This striking revelation is set to reshape our understanding of early animal evolution. The fossil, named Shishania aculeata, hails from 500-million-year-old Cambrian deposits in Yunnan Province, southern China, ...

New report shows drastic decline in endangered primates and calls for conservation measures An international team of primate researchers has published the 25 most endangered primate species in Asia, Africa, Madagascar and South America for the years 2023 to 2025. The publication, supported by the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen, emphasizes how urgently global conservation measures need to be implemented now to save irreplaceable biodiversity. "The situation is dramatic. If we don't act now, we will lose some of these species forever," warns Christian Roos, geneticist at the German Primate Center. “But ...

Imagine if doctors could precisely print miniature capsules capable of delivering cells needed for tissue repair exactly where they are needed inside a beating heart. A team of scientists led by Caltech has taken a significant step toward that ultimate goal, having developed a method for 3D printing polymers at specific locations deep within living animals. The technique relies on sound for localization and has already been used to print polymer capsules for selective drug delivery as well as glue-like polymers to seal internal wounds. Previously, scientists have used infrared light ...

KINGSTON, JAMAICA – May 8, 2025 – The Global Virus Network (GVN), in partnership with The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus and the State University of New York (SUNY) at the University of Buffalo, convened top virologists, epidemiologists, public health experts, and government officials for the 2025 GVN Regional Meeting: Caribbean and Latin America in Kingston, Jamaica held May 1-2, 2025. The two-day summit focused on collaborative strategies to bolster viral surveillance, diagnostics, vaccine research, and pandemic preparedness ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Comprehensive spatial map provides insights into pancreatic cancer metastases Read summary | Read in Nature Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat, resulting in a five-year survival rate of roughly 12%. Approximately half of patients develop metastases shortly ...

A new analysis of a fatal landslide that occurred on 13 February 2024 at theÇöpler Gold Mine in Türkiye reveals that the site of the landslide had been slowly moving for at least four years prior to the failure. “Additionally, our analyses detected deformation anomalies in other sectors of the mining operation, which could potentially lead to similar catastrophes,” said Pınar Büyükakpınar of the GFZ German Research Centre For Geosciences, who published the study in The Seismic Record with her colleagues. The Çöpler Gold ...

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have developed a new approach to countering citrus greening and potato zebra chip diseases, two economically devastating agricultural diseases in the U.S. Their method uses spinach antimicrobial peptides, known as defensins, which naturally defend plants against a broad range of pathogens. In a recent study published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, researchers showed that some spinach defensins can confer similar protection to citrus and potatoes — and possibly other crops. The effects show significant progress toward recovering ...

About The Study: Between February 28, 2025, and April 8, 2025, 694 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants were terminated across 24 of the 26 institutes and centers (including the Office of the Director) that administered active NIH grants. Targeted grant terminations have affected more than $1.8 billion in NIH funding. Terminations were spread across nearly all NIH institutes and centers, although cuts disproportionately impacted the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (30% of all funding). Corresponding ...

Sulfur applied to sugarcane crops in South Florida is flowing into wetlands upgradient of Everglades National Park, triggering a chemical reaction that converts mercury into toxic methylmercury, which accumulates in fish, new research from University of California, Davis finds. In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers collected water and mosquito fish across wetlands fed by agricultural canals. They documented how sulfur runoff can dramatically increase methylmercury concentrations in fish — sometimes up to 10 million times greater than the waters in which they lived, posing a risk ...

A study published today in the journal Cell marks the first reported instance of generative AI designing synthetic molecules that can successfully control gene expression in healthy mammalian cells. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) created an AI tool which dreams up DNA regulatory sequences not seen before in nature. The model can be told to create synthetic fragments of DNA with custom criteria, for example: ‘switch this gene on in stem cells which will turn into red-blood-cells but not platelets.’  The model then predicts which combination of DNA letters (A, T, C, G) are needed for the gene expression patterns required in specific types of cells. Researchers ...

U.S. veterans with depression had a 14% higher risk of heart failure, a new Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led study found, even after adjusting for traditional risk factors. The study, “Depression and Heart Failure in U.S. Veterans,” was published May 8 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Corresponding author Evan Brittain, MD, MSCI, professor of Medicine, said the study suggests implications for patient care. “Patients and clinicians have another reason to screen for and treat depression in order to prevent potential future heart failure,” he said.  Brittain, who holds the Cardiology Division Directorship, noted the study is the largest ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of 12,480 mother-offspring pairs, researchers found that pre-pregnancy obesity, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, alone or in various combinations, were prospectively associated with higher offspring blood pressure at an early age and with an increased rate of blood pressure change from age 2 to 18 years, with the most profound associations with diastolic blood pressure among female offspring and with systolic blood pressure among Black offspring. These findings suggest that ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, depression among veterans was associated with an increased hazard of incident heart failure after controlling for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Higher incident heart failure rates in patients with depression remained consistent in an otherwise low-risk cohort. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Evan L. Brittain, MD, MSc, email evan.brittain@vumc.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.9246) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, a patient-centered measure of adverse experiences in vulvovaginal care was developed. Participants reported common past experiences with gaslighting (a patient’s concerns are dismissed without proper evaluation) and substantial distress; they frequently considered ceasing care. There is an urgent need for education supporting a biopsychosocial, trauma-informed approach to vulvovaginal pain and continued development of validated instruments to quantify patient experiences. Corresponding Author: To ...

A vitamin supplement that improves metabolism in the eye appears to slow down damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma. Promising results have been published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The researchers behind the study have now started a clinical trial on patients. In glaucoma, the optic nerve is gradually damaged, leading to vision loss and, in the worst cases, blindness. High pressure in the eye drives the disease, and eye drops, laser treatment or surgery are therefore used to lower the pressure in the eye and thus slow down the disease. Unfortunately, however, the effect ...

Eggs are less likely to crack when dropped on their side than when dropped vertically, finds research published in Communications Physics. Controlled trials simulating the ‘egg drop challenge’, a common classroom science experiment, found that the shell of an egg can better withstand an impact when dropped side-on. The goal of the ‘egg drop challenge’ is for students to prevent an egg from cracking when dropped from a set height. A common belief is that an egg is stronger and less likely to crack when dropped vertically, with this assumption often ...

Children born to mothers with obesity, gestational diabetes mellitus or a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than children born to mothers without these risk factors, according to a new USC study. Among children whose mothers had at least one risk factor, blood pressure also rose more quickly between ages 2 and 18 compared to their peers. The findings, which suggest that blood pressure interventions could start as early as pregnancy, were just published in JAMA Network Open. Across the ...