Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered that immune cells known as macrophages remain poised to fight repeat infections due to the persistent presence of signaling molecules left behind during previous infections. The study, to be published February 18 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), provides surprising new details about how the body’s innate immune system retains memories of previous immune threats, and suggests new ways to reduce the activity of misprogrammed macrophages that contribute to ...

(WASHINGTON – Feb. 18, 2026) – Extreme endurance running damages red blood cells in ways that may affect their ability to function properly, according to a study published in the American Society of Hematology’s journal Blood Red Cells & Iron. Although the duration and long-term implications of the damage are unclear, the study adds to a growing body of evidence that extreme forms of exercise may harm, rather than support, overall health. While previous studies have shown that ultramarathon runners experience breakdown of normal red blood cells during races – ...

A traditional Chinese mind-body practice that combines slow, structured movement, deep breathing and meditative focus lowered blood pressure as effectively as brisk walking in a large randomized clinical trial published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology. Blood pressure reductions were seen after three months and sustained for one year. High blood pressure is one of the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease. Clinical guidelines recommend regular physical activity, yet long-term adherence to exercise programs is challenging for many ...

SAN ANTONIO — February 18, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is creating a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system that stores and organizes decades of scattered records and data. The U.S. Air Force Academy project aims to improve aircraft efficiency and safety through prognostic engineering, which involves using data, modeling and analytics to perform repairs and maintenance before problems occur. For decades, SwRI has worked with the U.S. military to sustain fleets of aging aircraft with monitoring, new technology and inspection methods while addressing problems associated with information security ...

The common view of natural selection is based solely on the individual: A trait allows an organism to out-compete its rivals and is thus passed down to its offspring. To suggest otherwise can provoke the ire of certain segments of the scientific community, acknowledged Binghamton University Associate Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences Anne Clark. But a bibliometric review of 280 scientific studies shows that natural selection can occur on multiple levels of biological organization simultaneously, and not just in social species. Clark is a co-author of the article “Abundant empirical evidence of multilevel selection revealed by a bibliometric review,” which recently ...

A national research program strategy on the use of liquid metals in fusion systems was discussed on Jan. 22 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The meeting, which was the first of its kind, also provided valuable insights into liquid metal infrastructure needs, along with current technology and science gaps, outlined in the DOE’s Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap published in October 2025. Research suggests that liquid metals could protect the components that directly face the intense heat of plasma and improve fusion system performance. Partly due ...

New York, NY (February 19, 2026) — Researchers at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Heart Center led a multicenter effort to develop and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can analyze a standard electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot who may be at risk for harmful heart changes typically detected by cardiac MRI. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, was published in the European Heart Journal: Digital Health. Tetralogy of Fallot is a congenital heart ...

Gainesville, Fla — Global unprovoked shark bites returned to near-average levels in 2025, following a sharp reduction the year prior. There was a total of 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, slightly less than the most recent 10-year average of 72. Nine of last year’s bites resulted in fatalities, compared to the ten-year average of six. “The International Shark Attack Files provide baseline data about shark attacks on people that are rigorously and scientifically investigated, evaluated and summarized on an annual basis. While a significant fraction of incidents likely go unreported, the temporal trends, and local and global patterns of incidents ...

Highlights: Heart health and heart disease risk go beyond the heart. Diabetes and kidney disease are major risk factors for heart disease, yet many cases are undiagnosed. Regular screening of connected health factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose (sugar), waist circumference and kidney function, and appropriate treatment when needed can help prevent heart disease. DALLAS, Feb. 18, 2026 — Diabetes and kidney disease are major risk factors for heart disease, yet many cases are undiagnosed. In addition, a consumer survey done ...

For five Januarys starting in 2016, researchers and students from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) travelled to a small valley outside of Svalbard’s main city with big jugs of liquid water and an unusual goal: To encase selected plant plots in a thick cover of ice. Their focus was a plant community dominated by the polar willow, a critical year-round food for Svalbard’s reindeer population. They wanted to see what happens to these plant communities during winter weather extremes, where prolonged rain instead of snow can freeze the ground solid and encase ...

Los Angeles, CA – February 18, 2026 - Dr. Vadim Jucaud’s lab at the Terasaki Institute has developed a vascularized liver tissueoid-on-a-chip (LToC) platform that recapitulates key structural, functional, and immunological features of human liver tissue, enabling the study of liver regeneration and immune-mediated allograft rejection in a physiologically relevant human system. Liver transplantation remains the primary therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease, yet progress in understanding transplant rejection and tissue regeneration has been limited by the lack of experimental models that accurately reflect human liver architecture and immune interactions. ...

EVERETT, Wash. – Restaurants looking for new ways to engage and inform customers may benefit from incorporating augmented reality (AR) technology into their menus, according to new research from Washington State University. The study, published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, finds that AR menus can significantly increase customers’ interest in visiting a restaurant and may result in more positive word-of-mouth marketing, when compared to printed or QR-code menus. Led by Soobin Seo, professor of hospitality business ...

Why do some systems collapse suddenly after what seems like a minor disturbance? A single transmission line failure can cascade into widespread blackouts. A delayed shipment can ripple through a global supply chain, emptying store shelves far from the original disruption. A rumor spreading in a small online network can spark nationwide panic. In nature, a slight environmental shift can throw an ecosystem into chaos, and a local disease outbreak can quickly escalate into an epidemic. New research suggests that in many of these cases, ...

Background and objectives Thalassemia is a group of anemias that result from inherited defects in the production of the beta chain of hemoglobin. It is stabilized by gamma globin, which combines to form fetal hemoglobin. One therapeutic approach is to target histone deacetylase (HDAC), which plays an important role in controlling beta thalassemia. This study sought to identify a natural inducer for treating this disease. Methods Twenty-five Andrographis paniculata compounds were screened using Schrödinger Suite 2020 (Maestro 12.3) for ligand preparation, grid generation, glide extra precision docking and molecular mechanics/generalized ...

In an international study, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified a gene variant that controls the body’s capability to form new blood vessels in muscles – a mechanism that affects physical performance, health and recovery. The favourable gene variant is considerably more common among top athletes in endurance sports, compared with both top athletes in explosive sports and non-athletes. Key facts • Discovery: The gene RAB3GAP2 regulates the number of blood vessels in muscles. • Significance: Affects muscle function, endurance and metabolism. • Sports: The favourable variant ...

Glenview, Illinois –The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is pleased to announce the first class of advanced practice providers (APPs) to earn the CHEST Critical Care Advanced Practice Provider (CCAPP) designation.  Available to nurse practitioners and physician assistants/associates, this achievement underscores the dedication of the APP to maintaining the highest professional standards and commitment to patient-centered care. The CCAPP designation recognizes APPs who play an essential role on the critical care team and support high-quality care for patients who are critically ill across ICU settings. “Earning ...

Radioactive cesium ions, due to their high-water solubility, pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. Conventional adsorbents such as Prussian blue (PB), although effective for cesium removal, often involve complex fabrication and high operational costs. Researchers have now developed an innovative electrochemical electrode by depositing PB onto chemically treated carbon cloth, achieving high cesium adsorption capacity and excellent reusability, with strong potential for practical wastewater treatment applications. Although regarded as a clean and sustainable energy source, nuclear fission requires ...

Living cells are highly organized, yet they are not assembled using rigid blueprints or by following a predetermined plan. Instead, order emerges on its own from countless interactions between molecules that are constantly moving and rearranging. One of the most striking examples of this emerging order is the left–right asymmetry. This type of chirality—the property of an object that makes it different from its mirror image—is essential for many biological processes and can be observed throughout nature. Interestingly, how both small- and large-scale order arise from interactions ...

While there are plenty of historical topics U.S. citizens agree on—generally events and figures from the Civil War up to the end of the Cold War—the birth of the nation isn’t one of them, according to a new report from Johns Hopkins SNF Agora Institute and a nonprofit called Millions of Conversations.  The country’s founding has become one of the most polarizing eras in history, the new research finds, just as the United States is starting to celebrate its 250th anniversary this year. Older generations in the survey believe American ...

CLEVELAND—Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a way to breach one of cancer’s most stubborn defenses: the impenetrable fortress that solid tumors build around themselves. By injecting nanobubbles filled with inert gas into tumors and “jiggling” them with ultrasound, the team successfully broke down tumor barriers enough for treatment-bearing molecules to get inside, according to results of a new study published in ACS Nano. “The physical barrier is limiting delivery of cancer drugs, especially for new immunotherapies,” ...

Plastics have become an integral part of modern society thanks to their durability and resistance to water. However, precisely these properties turn them into persistent disruptors of ecological cycles. As a result, unrecovered plastic is accumulating across ecosystems and becoming an increasingly ubiquitous component of global food chains, raising growing concerns about potential impacts on human health. In an effort to address this challenge, the use of biomaterials as substitutes for conventional plastics has long been explored. However, their widespread adoption has been limited by a fundamental drawback: most biological materials weaken when ...

Studying foraging behavior in marine mammals is especially difficult. Unlike terrestrial animals, which can often be directly observed, marine mammals feed underwater and across vast, remote areas, making it challenging to determine where and what they eat. Most diet studies rely on stomach contents of stranded animals, making it impossible to know where or when feeding occurred. In the Arctic, however, where Inuit communities hunt marine mammals as part of a subsistence lifestyle, this limitation can be overcome. By comparing ...

The days of dropping a thermal imaging camera and replacing an expensive lens are coming to an end with a new repairable lens developed by Flinders University scientists.  A high-performance lens for infrared cameras invented by Flinders researchers is emerging as a lower cost, more sustainable option for industries whish use thermal imaging cameras, including security and surveillance, medicine, electrical engineering, electronics, defence and autonomous vehicle operation.  The new infrared thermal imaging lens, ...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in common foodborne bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter continues to be a public health concern across Europe, according to a new joint report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). While resistance to commonly used antimicrobials remains widespread in foodborne bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter, several countries have reported progress in reducing resistance levels in humans and in food-producing animals. Because these foodborne bacteria can spread from animals and food to humans, causing severe infections ...

CLEVELAND—Among the enduring challenges of storing energy—for wind or solar farms, or backup storage for the energy grid or data centers—is batteries that can hold large amounts of electricity for a long time. In addition to having a large capacity—potentially enough to power a neighborhood or small city for days or weeks—ideally these batteries would be safe, affordable and environmentally harmless. With an eye toward meeting those benchmarks, researchers at Case Western Reserve University are developing novel electrolytes—fluids that can conduct ions—for ...