Something strange goes on inside the material platinum-bismuth-two (PtBi₂). A new study by researchers at IFW Dresden and the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat demonstrates that while PtBi₂ may look like a typical shiny grey crystal, electrons moving through it do some things never seen before. In 2024, the research team demonstrated that the top and bottom surfaces of the material superconduct, meaning electrons pair up and move without resistance. Now, they reveal that this pairing works differently from any superconductor ...

Craniopharyngiomas account for 2–5% of all primary brain tumors and 5–10% of pediatric brain tumors. Despite their benign histology, their location near the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and optic pathways complicates management. Gross total resection, while effective, carries high risks of visual, endocrine, and hypothalamic dysfunction. Adjuvant radiotherapy after subtotal resection offers comparable control with fewer complications, but conventional fractionated radiotherapy is associated with long-term risks such as cognitive decline, secondary malignancies, and ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – A Washington State University-led study in Guatemala found the sources of drinking water people believe to be safe and clean often contain potentially dangerous bacteria. Focusing on the Western Highlands region of Guatemala, researchers examined how community perceptions of water safety compared with actual water quality. While residents overwhelmingly believed bottled water sold in large refillable jugs to be the safest option for drinking, researchers found that of 11 water sources tested it was the most frequently contaminated with coliform bacteria – an indicator of fecal contamination. ...

Move over, colonoscopies — researchers report in ACS Sensors that they’ve developed a sensor made of tiny microspheres packed with blood-sensing bacteria that detect markers of gastrointestinal disease. Taken orally, the miniature “pills” also contain magnetic particles that make them easy to collect from stool. Once excreted from mouse models with colitis, the bacterial sensor detected gastrointestinal bleeding within minutes. The researchers say the bacteria in the sensor could be adapted to detect other gut diseases. “This ...

Jennifer Munson, a cancer researcher at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, has been awarded two new National Institutes of Health grants to advance greater understanding and improved treatment of a deadly brain cancer. While the grants from the National Cancer Institute fund different projects, both involve identifying how the movement of fluid surrounding tumor cells contributes to the spread of glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor, into neighboring brain areas, allowing the cancer to return after surgery or radiation. Munson and her team are identifying how liquid called interstitial fluid moves between ...

While many global road maps exist, few include detailed surface information or keep pace with rapid infrastructure change. The new HeiGIT dataset closes this gap by combining 3–4 meter resolution PlanetScope imagery (2020–2024) with deep-learning models to analyze 9.2 million kilometers of major transport routes connecting cities and rural regions. The result is a high-accuracy global classification (89.2%), outperforming widely used open datasets by over 20 percentage points. A central component of the dataset is the Humanitarian Passability Score — an index that combines surface type and ...

Middle-aged Australians are keeping the country running - but it’s taking a hefty toll on their wellbeing, a new report shows. ‘A Balancing Act: Life, work and connection in the middle years’, the latest report by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, finds Australians aged 35 to 55 are facing mounting pressures as they balance work, family and financial demands, with life satisfaction dipping to its lowest point in midlife. Report lead and co-author Dr Daniel Kiely from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, said while people ...

Why do the world’s most prestigious firms—such as McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and other elite consulting giants, investment banks, and law practices—hire the brightest talents, train them intensively, and then, after a few years, send many of them packing? A recent study in the American Economic Review concludes that so-called adverse selection is not a flaw but rather a sign that the system is working precisely as intended. Two financial economists, from the University of Rochester and the University of Wisconsin–Madison respectively, created a model that explains how reputation, information, ...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline such as memory loss and behavioral disturbances that severely impair quality of life. Despite decades of research, effective disease-modifying therapies remain elusive, underscoring the urgent need for novel neuroprotective strategies. Lithium (LIT), a well-known mood stabilizer for the treatment of bipolar disorder, shows neuroprotective effects, including inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta, ...

Wiley, a global leader in authoritative content and research intelligence, today announced the release of additional data to its IR, Raman, LC-MS, and SmartSpectra libraries, significantly broadening compound coverage. The expansion brings Wiley's spectral database offerings to over 9.5 million high-quality spectra, delivering researchers enhanced capabilities for faster, more confident compound identification.  "These updates deliver what researchers need ...

COPENHAGEN (November 19, 2025)—New clinical trial results presented by TB Alliance at the Union World Conference on Lung Health show that the novel antibiotic candidate sorfequiline (TBAJ-876), a next-generation diarylquinoline, has the potential to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment when combined with pretomanid and linezolid in a treatment regimen known as “SPaL.” The NC-009 trial (a pan-Phase 2 clinical trial) showed that, overall, sorfequiline had greater activity than bedaquiline. The 100 mg SPaL regimen had greater activity against TB than the standard of care HRZE (isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol), indicating the potential ...

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing challenges to global public health as harmful microbes evolve to evade these medications. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego and their colleagues have developed a new method to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria using bacteriophages, or phages, for short — viruses that infect and kill bacteria — as an alternative to traditional antibiotics.  The researchers targeted Klebsiella pneumoniae, a species of bacteria notorious for its ability to resist multiple antibiotics. The dangerous pathogen can cause severe infections in hospital settings, including pneumonia and ...

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that the magnetic component of light plays a direct role in the Faraday Effect, overturning a 180-year-old assumption that only its electric field mattered. Their findings show that light can magnetically influence matter, not just illuminate it. The discovery opens new possibilities in optics, spintronics, and quantum technologies. Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered that the magnetic component of light, not ...

An AI tool that can analyse abnormalities in the shape and form of blood cells, and with greater accuracy and reliability than human experts, could change the way conditions such as leukaemia are diagnosed. Researchers have created a system called CytoDiffusion that uses generative AI – the same type of technology behind image generators such as DALL-E – to study the shape and structure of blood cells. Unlike many AI models, which are trained to simply recognise patterns, the researchers – ...

[Vienna, 19.11.2025]—Cities are often seen as hotspots of violence, with the assumption that larger cities are inherently more violent than smaller ones. This “universal law” of urban scaling has long shaped scientific thinking. But new research led by Complexity Science Hub (CSH) researcher Rafael Prieto-Curiel challenges this assumption. Published in Nature Communications, the study shows that it is not simply city size, but a city’s level of isolation, that plays a crucial role in determining violence in Africa. “Our analysis shows that the 10% most populous cities in Africa (216 cities in total) contain 66% of the urban population but only ...

An international research group directed by UMC Utrecht have developed and characterized two first-in-class antibodies that specifically block the high-affinity IgG receptor FcγRI. Their findings open new perspectives for therapeutic modulation of FcγRI-driven inflammation in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). FcγRI, also known as CD64, is a high-affinity receptor on myeloid cells that binds to the Fc region of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. It plays a key role in the immune defense by triggering cellular functions such as phagocytosis ...

Warsaw, 19 November 2025: The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is pleased to announce the opening of the 2025 European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE), Europe’s leading annual conference for applied research and best practice in infectious disease prevention and control. Held from 19 to 21 November in Warsaw, Poland, as well as online, the conference brings together over 3 000 participants to exchange knowledge and strengthen collaboration in the fight against infectious disease. Online participation is open and free for anyone interested in applied infectious disease epidemiology ...

Spiders of the Clubiona genus, which are among the most important natural enemies of pests found in orchards, are active during the winter. New research in The FEBS Journal reveals the characteristics of antifreeze proteins that these spiders produce that bind to ice crystals and prevent their growth at sub-zero temperatures, which helps the animals avoid freezing. Using mass spectrometry to investigate these proteins at a molecular level, investigators found that although the Clubiona antifreeze proteins resemble those found in beetles and moths, ...

Research published in Contemporary Economic Policy reveals that despite widespread adoption of indoor vaccine mandates in major US cities during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no consistent evidence that these policies significantly increased vaccination rates or reduced COVID-19–related outcomes. The findings contrast with those from other countries, as national mandates abroad boosted vaccine uptake. For the study, investigators estimated how mandates that restricted access to indoor venues for unvaccinated individuals impacted first-dose uptake, COVID-19 cases, and deaths across 9 US cities through what’s called the synthetic ...

In research based on 2009–2020 data from 509 publicly listed US firms, lower and higher levels of adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) were associated with reduced job satisfaction, whereas moderate levels were linked to greater job satisfaction. The findings are published in the Journal of Management Studies. Investigators also found that firms’ exploration orientation—their tendency towards concepts such as risk taking, experimentation, flexibility, and innovation—significantly shaped this relationship. Employees ...

In research published in Insect Conservation and Diversity, investigators analyzed records from social media to explore which arthropods—including insects and spiders—are most preyed upon by domestic cats in urban environments. The scientists, who conduct their research at the University of Campinas, in Brazil, searched TikTok and iStock, analyzing more than 17,000 photos and videos, which yielded 550 records of predation events by domestic cats. In total, they recorded 14 distinct arthropod orders killed by domestic cats. Orthoptera (which includes grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets) was the most frequently preyed upon order, accounting for 20.7% of records. Hemiptera (which ...

Young Americans are gaining weight. An analysis published in The Lancet predicts that one in three Americans age 15 to 24 will meet the criteria for obesity by 2050, putting their health at risk. While genetics, inactivity, and many other factors are at play, diet features prominently. Ultra-processed foods — which make up 55 to 65 percent of what young adults eat in the U.S. — have been associated with metabolic syndrome, poor cardiovascular health, and other conditions in adolescents. Researchers at Virginia Tech wanted to investigate the effects on 18- to 25-year-olds of a diet high in ultra-processed food and a diet without ...

The LMS is pleased to announce today during London Life Sciences Week that it has received a £1m award from the MRC Business Engagement Fund to strengthen and expand its industry partnerships. The funding will be matched by significant industry support and will enable eight new collaborations over 18 months between LMS and Imperial College London research teams and a broad range of commercial companies, from local White City Innovation District-based spinouts to global pharmaceutical leaders. Importantly, this investment is designed not just to fund individual projects, but to ...

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, hereinafter “KIMM”) has launched a new initiative to build a global research collaboration network connecting China and Vietnam, opening a new chapter in machinery technology cooperation across Asia. KIMM announced that it will significantly strengthen research collaboration with Jilin University (President Zhang Xi) in China in cutting-edge fields such as 3D printing, precision manufacturing, and biomimetic technology. On November 17 (Monday), KIMM President Seog-Hyeon ...

In World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW), Applied Microbiology International (AMI) has urged global policymakers to strengthen the revised Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (GAP-AMR), calling for a more inclusive, clear and equitable approach to tackling one of the world’s most urgent health challenges. The learned society warned that the updated GAP-AMR must go beyond bacterial and fungal pathogens to include all AMR-causing organisms, such as parasitic and viral pathogens. In its submission to the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform (MSPP) consultation, AMI brought together 15 microbiologists from ...