PULLMAN, Washington -- More than half of survivors of the Sudan Ebola virus still suffer serious health problems two years post-infection and the virus can persist in semen and breast milk for months after recovery, according to the first study examining the virus’s long-term effects. The study, led by researchers at Washington State University, found 57.5% of the survivors of an outbreak in Uganda from 2022-23 reported ongoing and debilitating health issues that interfered with their daily lives. The detection of traces of the virus in semen and breast milk also raised concerns ...

Branching isn’t just for trees. This biological process occurs in animal development, enabling organs to perform complex functions. Branch-like structures form in lungs, kidneys, and breasts, among other places. Importantly, only in female mammary glands does most branching occur years after birth. It happens during puberty and again during pregnancy as milk ducts branch out in preparation for breastfeeding. Disturbances here have been linked to breast cancer. However, studying branching can be difficult and time-consuming. Now, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have developed a tool to quickly quantify changes in the branches of mouse mammary glands. ...

Astronomers have identified an enormous ‘growth spurt’ in a so-called rogue planet. Unlike the planets in our Solar System, these objects do not orbit stars, free-floating on their own instead. The new observations, made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), reveal that this free-floating planet is eating up gas and dust from its surroundings at a rate of six billion tonnes a second. This is the strongest growth rate ever recorded for a rogue planet, or a planet of any kind, providing valuable insights into how they form and grow. “People may think ...

A young rogue planet about 620 light-years away from Earth has experienced a record-breaking “growth spurt,” hoovering up some six billion tons of gas and dust each second over a couple of months.  A team of international researchers have explored changes in the planet’s growth and immediate surroundings. The observations provide insight into how rogue planets—free-floating planetary-mass objects that do not orbit stars—behave and grow in their infancy.   “We’ve caught this newborn rogue planet in the act of gobbling ...

What if the presence of a well-known but misunderstood viral protein explains why some people living with HIV (PLWH) never recover their health, even with antiretroviral treatment? Dr. Madeleine Durand and Andrés Finzi, researchers at the CRCHUM, Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre, will explore this through the launch of a groundbreaking clinical trial this fall. Two studies, one approach With the publication of a remarkable study in 2023, the two scientists and Mehdi Benlarbi, a PhD student in Finzi’s lab, showed a keen interest in the HIV molecule gp120. The virus is known to infect ...

With the rollout of fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications networks and 6G looming on the horizon, the demand for advanced materials that can handle high-frequency signals is rising rapidly. These systems use electromagnetic waves ranging from tens to hundreds of gigahertz (GHz), where signals are highly sensitive to transmission loss, interference, and distortion. To address these issues, scientists and engineers rely on special insulating materials, known as dielectrics, which help guide signals with minimal loss. Polymer-based dielectrics are particularly attractive. ...

Residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems constitute a significant proportion of energy usage in buildings, necessitating energy management optimization. In this context, occupancy aware HVAC control is a promising option with 20-50% energy savings in homes. However, occupancy sensing technology suffers from long payback times, privacy issues, and poor comfort. Moreover, there is an increasing need for further advanced technologies that help regulate indoor air quality in addition to energy control. To meet these expectations, scientists have recently turned to intelligent control methods such as ...

HOUSTON – Oct. 2, 2025 – Obesity has long been acknowledged as a risk factor for a wide range of diseases, but a more precise link between obesity and Alzheimer’s disease has remained a mystery – until now. A first-of-its-kind study from Houston Methodist found that adipose-derived extracellular vesicles, tiny cell-to-cell messengers in the body, can signal the buildup of amyloid-β plaque in obese individuals. These plaques are a key feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “Decoding Adipose–Brain Crosstalk: Distinct Lipid Cargo in Human Adipose-Derived ...

Kyoto, Japan -- With their massive flapping ears and long trunks, it isn't hard to believe that elephants tend to rely on acoustic and olfactory cues for communication. They use gestures and visual displays to communicate as well, but we don't really know how much. Visual communication research has mainly focused on species that are primarily visual, like nonhuman primates. A previous study demonstrated that African savanna elephants can recognize human visual attention based on a person's face and body orientation, but this had yet to be investigated in their Asian cousins. Asian elephants split from African elephants millions of years ago, so their behavior and cognition differ ...

PHILADELPHIA— Researchers at Penn Medicine have identified specific brain circuits that are impacted by psilocybin—the active compound found in some psychedelic mushrooms—which could lead to new paths forward for pain and mental health management options. Chronic pain affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide and is often deeply entangled with depression and anxiety, creating a vicious cycle that amplifies suffering and impairs quality of life. The study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania- ...

A new study has found that UK Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public overestimated the time left to meet a critical deadline for limiting global warming.  Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) surveyed a representative sample of the previous House of Commons, and the public in Britain, Canada, Chile and Germany, on their knowledge of a well-publicised statement from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).   It related to when global ...

Semaglutide or tirzepatide should be the first line treatment for people living with obesity and most of its complications, according to a new framework for the pharmacological treatment of obesity and its complications from the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) to be published in the journal Nature Medicine. “Even though there are several options on the market, the reality is that semaglutide and tirzepatide are so effective that they should be the first choice in almost all cases,” says co-first author Dr Andreea Ciudin. The authors are an international team of obesity experts led by the co-chairs of the EASO Obesity Management Working Group who are Dr ...

Researchers at Integra Therapeutics, in collaboration with the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), have designed and experimentally validated new synthetic proteins that can edit the human genome more efficiently than proteins provided by nature. This work, a global pioneer published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology, will be of great use in improving the current gene editing tools used in biotechnology research and personalized medicine by developing cellular (CAR-T) and gene therapies, especially to treat ...

Firms in the Gulf region are increasingly expected to align with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Yet the link between ESG performance and financial outcomes remains ambiguous. A new study examines whether publicly listed companies in GCC member states that achieve high ESG ratings also deliver superior financial performance. The study “ESG and financial performance in the Gulf Cooperation Council” was authored by Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze, professor of management science and faculty lead of the Master in Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Program at ESMT Berlin, together with Rodrigo Tavares and Catarina Sá from Nova School ...

  University of Michigan researchers have developed a tool powered by artificial intelligence that can help them examine the behavior of a single molecule out of a sea of information in the blink of an eye—or at least overnight.   Understanding the behavior of single molecules is important: it can lead to knowledge of different cellular processes or track how diseases begin and progress. To track the behavior of single molecules, researchers tag the molecules with what's called a fluorophore. They excite these fluorophores with a laser, then use powerful microscopes to follow the behavior of the tagged molecules over time.    But ...

Western cultures tend to view teens as moody, irresponsible, and rebellious. However, in China and in other cultures, the teen years are viewed more positively and seen as a time of learning how to become responsible and fulfilling family obligations. Previous research shows that fulfilling family obligations is an important marker of maturity and that as adolescents continue to improve their skills, they can contribute more to their families.  Past studies also show that when teens are seen ...

A groundbreaking study published today in the European Geosciences Union (EGU) journal Earth System Dynamics provides a critical and previously underestimated connection between Antarctic sea ice, cloud cover, and global warming. This research is important because it shows that a greater extent of Antarctic sea ice today, compared to climate model predictions, means we can expect more significant global warming in the coming decades. The study, led by Linus Vogt from Sorbonne University, utilized an emergent constraint based on data from 28 Earth system models and satellite observations ...

Researchers have found the first direct evidence that tiny particles of air pollution stick to our red blood cells, meaning they can travel freely around the body.   These particles are produced by vehicle exhausts and from brake and tyre wear, and can easily enter the lungs. They have recently been found in the brain and heart, where they are linked to increased risk of disease. However, until now, there has been no conclusive evidence of how pollution particles infiltrate these parts of the body.   In the ...

As most of us have experienced, when multiple people work together, things sometimes turn out better than doing the same task alone. Then, there are the other times, when cooperation actually seems to hinder progress, making things much more inefficient. To understand why this ‘cooperative advantage’ manifests in some cases but not in others, a research group led by Assistant Professor Asuka Takai of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University conducted a task where participants used a robotic arm ...

The University of Gothenburg is establishing the Crown Princess Victoria Professorship in Biodiversity. The professorship is a gift ahead of the Crown Princess's 50th birthday in 2027, in collaboration between Carl Bennet AB and the University of Gothenburg. Biodiversity is a growing field of research, and the University of Gothenburg now has the opportunity to contribute more effectively through a new professorship in biodiversity established in the Crown Princess's name. The Crown Princess has repeatedly expressed her belief that the diversity ...

A groundbreaking technology developed by Heriot-Watt University has received over £475,000 in funding to revolutionise how eczema is diagnosed and treated, potentially ending years of suffering for millions of patients across the UK. The innovative vibroacoustic sensor, which measures material changes in each layer of skin using small vibrations on the surface, has received £275,000 from Scottish Enterprise and just over £200,000 from the Medical Research Council's Gap Fund to advance clinical ...

Commercial sunbeds should be banned in the UK, argue experts in The BMJ today. Using sunbeds causes melanoma and other skin cancers, particularly among young people, yet existing sunbed legislation is ineffective and there is little evidence that stricter rules would help protect the most vulnerable, say Professor Paul Lorigan and colleagues. Indoor tanning is experiencing a boom in popularity, particularly among Gen Z (born 1997-2012), with social media promoting sunbeds as integral to wellness, they explain. For example, a 2024 survey of 2,003 people in the UK by Melanoma Focus ...

The healthcare community has an important role in opposing the death penalty, argues an expert in The BMJ today. Bharat Malkani, reader in law at Cardiff University, says doctors must refuse to participate in the execution process and speak out against a practice that is antithetical to their commitment to promote health and wellbeing. Amnesty International reports that although the number of countries carrying out executions is decreasing, the number of executions in countries where it is legal has increased in recent years, he explains. At least 1518 executions took place globally in 2024, rising from 1153 recorded in 2023, making it the fourth ...

The most comprehensive mapping to date of the global risk of chikungunya suggests India could experience the greatest long-term impact from the mosquito-borne virus. Based on existing evidence of chikungunya transmission, the infectious disease model predicts 14.4 million people could be at risk of infections globally each year, with 5.1 million people at risk in India. It’s likely that chikungunya cases could also spread to regions not currently recording infections or considered at-risk, the analysis found, potentially increasing the number ...

  A new analytical method is revealing how conservationists can further boost breeding programmes dedicated to saving some of the world’s most threatened species, according to new research led by the University of Sheffield and ZSL.  Conservation zoos, and the global breeding programmes they facilitate, are vital to maintaining or restoring populations and boosting genetic diversity of threatened birds. But not every egg produced in ...