Iguanas have often been spotted rafting around the Caribbean on vegetation and, ages ago, evidently caught a 600-mile ride from Central America to colonize the Galapagos Islands. But for long distance travel, the Fiji iguanas can't be touched. A new analysis conducted by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco (USF) suggests that sometime after about 34 million years ago, Fiji iguanas landed on the isolated group of South Pacific islands after voyaging 5,000 miles from the western coast of North America — the longest known transoceanic dispersal of any terrestrial vertebrate. Overwater ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — It may someday be possible to listen to a favorite podcast or song without disturbing the people around you, even without wearing headphones. In a new advancement in audio engineering, a team of researchers led by Yun Jing, professor of acoustics in the Penn State College of Engineering, has precisely narrowed where sound is perceived by creating localized pockets of sound zones, called audible enclaves. In an enclave, a listener can hear sound, while others standing nearby cannot, even if the people are in an enclosed space, like a vehicle, or standing ...

By taking two flakes of special materials that are just one atom thick and twisting them at high angles, researchers at the University of Rochester have unlocked unique optical properties that could be used in quantum computers and other quantum technologies. In a new study published in Nano Letters, the researchers show that precisely layering nano-thin materials creates excitons—essentially, artificial atoms—that can act as quantum information bits, or qubits. “If we had just a single ...

Backgrounds and objectives Gastrointestinal complications are common in patients after ischemic stroke. Gastric motility is regulated by gastric pace-making activity (also called gastric myoelectrical activity (GMA)) and autonomic function. The aim of this study was to evaluate GMA, assessed by noninvasive electrogastrography (EGG), and autonomic function, measured via spectral analysis of heart rate variability derived from the electrocardiogram in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods EGG and electrocardiogram were simultaneously recorded in both fasting and postprandial states in 14 patients with ischemic stroke and 11 healthy controls. ...

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has issued its first Concise Clinical Guidance (CCG) to create more streamlined and efficient processes to implement best practices in patient care. This CCG focuses on evaluating and managing cardiogenic shock (CS), addressing important questions around clinical decision-making and providing actionable guidance for health care providers. “ACC has a long history of developing clinical policy to complement clinical practice guidelines and to inform clinicians about areas where evidence is new and evolving or where randomized data is more limited. Despite this, ...

A new analysis led by surgeons at UCLA Health finds that psychological prehabilitation can significantly enhance recovery after surgery. The research, led by Anne E. Hall in the lab of Dr. Justine Lee analyzed data from 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted between 2004 and 2024, involving a total of 2,376 patients. It is published in the Annals of Surgery What is Psychological Prehabilitation? Prehabilitation is a proactive approach aimed at improving surgical outcomes through preventive measures. Traditionally, ...

Trial of strength at the cellular level: cells are in constant competition with each other and so eliminate diseased or unwanted cells. Cell competition is therefore a central principle for maintaining the health of tissues and organs. Researchers have investigated the success factors of superior cells and discovered a previously unknown winning strategy in mechanical cell competition. They identified a variety in the ability of cells to exert mechanical forces onto other cells as the decisive regulator. With their results ...

Milan, Italy – March 2025 – The Italian Association of Science Writers, SWIM, has announced an extension of the application deadline for the 2025 SWIM Award. Candidates now have until March 31, 2025, at 23:59 CET to submit their applications for the prestigious award, which has been recognizing excellence and innovation in science journalism in Italy since 2021. The SWIM Award highlights the critical role of science journalists in fostering public understanding and dialogue on scientific issues. The competition also serves as the Italian selection process for the European ...

On first inspection, the Cuban blue-headed quail dove doesn’t look like much: drab brown feathers, a slender beak, a pronounced strut in their walk typical of most other doves. You’d be forgiven for overlooking it in favor of Cuba’s prismatic parrots. But looks aren’t everything. For decades, this unassuming bird has perplexed biologists, who have no idea where it came from, how it got to the island or what it’s related to. Now, for the first time, scientists have sequenced DNA from the blue-headed quail dove with the goal of finally getting to the bottom of things. Instead, they’re even more perplexed now than when they started. “This ...

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is opening 12 postdoctoral positions for international researchers, with a specific focus on American scholars working in socially significant fields. These prestigious fellowships come with substantial funding (€2.5 million) as part of the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) program. Additionally, as part of the Brains for Brussels initiative, VUB aims to actively attract American professors looking to relocate. In collaboration with its Francophone sister university ULB, VUB is also providing 18 apartments for international ...

Researchers have widely accepted that what sets humans apart from nonhuman primates are prefrontal cortex–driven behaviors such as decision-making, reasoning, planning, and attention. In a new JNeurosci paper, research led by Rogier Mars, at University of Oxford, and Katherine Bryant, at Aix-Marseille University, provides a better picture of the cortical evolution that distinguishes human brains from other primates.   The researchers compared cortical organization not only between humans and macaques, which is a standard for human and nonhuman primate ...

How stress impacts behavioral outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a major gap in knowledge. This oversight is especially felt by those in the military due to the high prevalence of TBI and the abundance of stress that they endure. In a study funded by the US Department of Defense, researchers led by Pamela VandeVord at Virginia Tech discovered that prior stress exposure influences TBI outcomes in a sex-dependent manner.   In their eNeuro paper, VandeVord and colleagues used an unpredictable stress paradigm ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 17, 2025, AT NOON EDT) – Glioblastoma has remained one of the toughest cancers to treat, resisting even the latest advances in immunotherapy. But new research from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, suggests a way forward: suppressing a protein called ZNF638 triggers an antiviral immune response, making immune checkpoint inhibitors more effective. The discovery not only offers a potential new treatment strategy but also identifies ...

In a randomized trial, Mass General Brigham researchers found the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids was effective for children with snoring and mild sleep apnea An estimated 6 to 17 percent of children have sleep-disordered breathing, ranging from snoring to sleep apnea, which can cause behavioral, neurocognitive, cardiovascular, and cardiometabolic issues. A new study from Mass General Brigham researchers reveals that adenotonsillectomy—the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids—is an effective early intervention for these children. Their results are published in JAMA Pediatrics. “To ...

About The Study: This cohort study found that statin use was associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic decompensation in patients with chronic liver disease. These findings provide support for the potential role of statins in prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver disease progression.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Jonggi Choi, MD, PhD, (j.choi@amc.seoul.kr) and Raymond T. Chung, MD, (chung.raymond@mgh.harvard.edu). To ...

About The Study: In this longitudinal observational cohort study, gender-affirming hormone therapy was associated with lower rates of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of gender-affirming primary care models for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Sari L. Reisner, ScD, MA, email sreisner@umich.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0955) Editor’s ...

What: Surgical removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids in children with mild sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) appears to significantly reduce the frequency of medical office visits and prescription medicine use in this group, according to a clinical study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, show that the surgery, called adenotonsillectomy, was tied to a 32% reduction in medical visits and a 48% reduction in prescription use among children with a mild form of the condition.   SDB refers to breathing disturbances during sleep ...

Stuttgart – A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart developed a biohybrid micro swimmer covered with magnetic material, whose swimming ability is largely unaffected by the coating. The team from the Physical Intelligence Department at MPI-IS published their work in the journal Matter, which covers a wide range of materials science research. In nature, the ten-micron small, single-cell microalgae are fantastic swimmers, propelled by their two whip-like ...

Impact Journals is proud to participate in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, taking place April 25-30 in Chicago, Illinois. BUFFALO, NY- March 17, 2025 – Impact Journals is pleased to announce its participation as an exhibitor at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025. The meeting is scheduled for April 25-30, 2025, at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. The 2025 AACR Annual Meeting theme, “Unifying Cancer Science and Medicine: A Continuum of Innovation ...

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies. The observations provide strong evidence that the system’s four giant planets formed in much the same way as Jupiter and Saturn, by slowly building solid cores. They also confirm Webb can do more than infer atmospheric composition from starlight measurements—it can directly analyze the chemistry ...

A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical trial of a candidate vaccine to prevent Lassa fever has begun enrolling participants at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal and that causes permanent hearing loss in up to one-third of those who contract it. Lassa virus is spread by rodents, known as multimammate rats, that are native to many countries in West Africa. The virus can also be spread from person to person. Currently, there are no specific drug treatments or vaccines for Lassa fever. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and ...

(Note: The following press release was prepared by Brunel University of London.) Abortion is murder – the emotive rallying cry popular with pro-life campaigners keen to convert others to their cause. But what if opposition to abortion isn’t all about sanctity-of-life concerns, and instead at least partly about discouraging casual sex? That’s what psychology researchers found in experiments designed to test what really drives anti-abortion attitudes in the USA. The study, published today in ...

As global electricity demand grows, traditional energy sources are under strain. Oceans, which cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface, offer vast potential for clean energy from renewable resources such as ocean currents and waves. However, marine renewable energy development is still in its early stages compared to wind and solar power. One challenge is identifying the most feasible and economically viable locations for ocean current energy projects. While many studies have focused on regional ocean current energy resource assessment, a global evaluation based on actual data has been lacking – until now. Using more ...

New York, NY [March 17, 2025]—Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night’s sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192 hours of sleep. Details on their findings were reported in the March 13 online issue of the journal Sleep [https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf061]. The model, called patch foundational transformer for sleep (PFTSleep), ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A combination of cosmic processes shapes the formation of one of the most common types of planets outside of our solar system, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. The research team used data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to study young sub-Neptunes — planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune — that orbit close to their stars. The work provides insights into how these planets might migrate inward or lose their atmosphere during their early stages. A paper describing the ...