Common respiratory condition nearly triples the risk of death in adults, new study finds A major study presented today at ESCMID Global 2025 has revealed that adults with respiratory syncytial virus-associated acute respiratory infection (RSV-ARI) face a 2.7-fold higher risk of death within one year compared to the general population.1 The findings underscore the significant, yet often under-recognised, long-term health and economic burden of RSV-ARI in adults, particularly among those with underlying conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma.  RSV-ARI refers ...

New research recently published in Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests children’s gender biases can be reflected in their facial emotional expressions.    Psychology professor Doug VanderLaan and his colleagues at the University of Toronto Mississauga, studied 296 children (148 boys and 148 girls) in Canada between the ages of four and nine years old while Wang Ivy Wong, Karen Kwan and their colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University studied 309 children (155 boys and 154 girls) in Hong Kong. All children watched four short stories that included five illustrations with pre-recorded audio narratives. ...

Woods Hole, Mass. (April 11, 2025) - Being a geophysicist can sometimes feel like being a detective —uncovering clues, and then building a case based on the evidence. In a new article published in Science Advances, a collaborative team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), presents a never-before-seen image of an oceanic transform fault from electromagnetic (EM) data collected at the Gofar fault in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The National Science Foundation funded work reveals ...

Reston, VA (April 11, 2025)—New research has been published ahead-of-print by The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). JNM is published by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. Summaries of the newly published research articles are provided below. Tracing Prostate Cancer Beyond the Usual Path Researchers uncovered ...

Using electrodes in a fluid form, researchers at Linköping University have developed a battery that can take any shape. This soft and conformable battery can be integrated into future technology in a completely new way. Their study has been published in the journal Science Advances. “The texture is a bit like toothpaste. The material can, for instance, be used in a 3D printer to shape the battery as you please. This opens up for a new type of technology,” says Aiman Rahmanudin, assistant professor at Linköping University. It is estimated that more than a trillion gadgets will be connected to the Internet in ten years’ time. In addition to traditional ...

Beams of light that can be guided into corkscrew-like shapes called optical vortices are used today in a range of applications. Pushing the limits of structured light, Harvard applied physicists in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) report a new type of optical vortex beam that not only twists as it travels but also changes in different parts at different rates to create unique patterns. The way the light behaves resembles spiral shapes common in nature.  The ...

Ikoma, Japan—People seeking to feel fully immersed in virtual environments will soon be able to experience a revolutionary approach to spatial computing that bridges the gap between real and digital worlds. A collaborative research team from NTT DOCOMO, Inc. and Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan, has developed a novel mixed reality (MR) technology that transforms how users interact with virtual spaces by using everyday real-world doors as natural transition points. Virtual reality (VR) and MR technologies have ...

PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism in the following categories: Magazine “Targeting Cancer, Sparing Patients” By Jyoti S. Madhusoodanan (Photo), Scientific American Newspaper “Fighting stigma, fighting cancer: The rising threat of male breast cancer in Kenya” By Pauline Ongaji Ogada (Photo), Nation Online/Multimedia “Farewell, my stomach” By Teresa Firmino (Photo) and Joana Martins Gonçalves (Photo), Publico   “Women ...

It’s becoming increasingly commonplace for people to develop intimate, long-term relationships with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. At their extreme, people have “married” their AI companions in non-legally binding ceremonies, and at least two people have killed themselves following AI chatbot advice. In an opinion paper publishing April 11 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, psychologists explore ethical issues associated with human-AI relationships, including their potential to disrupt human-human relationships and give harmful advice.  “The ...

Vancouver, BC, April 11, 2025 – A new study finds that, unlike countries across the UK and Europe, abortion rates did not spike in Ontario, Canada from 2020-2022.  Following decades-long declines in nearly all high-income settings, abortion rate trends reversed between 2020 and 2022 in many countries. For example, 2022 and 2023 saw the highest abortion rates on record in Scotland, England, and Wales.   Researchers from the University of British Columbia and ICES found that, after accounting for changes in the abortion rate when the ...

Tropical cyclones are hurricanes that brew over the tropical ocean and can travel over land, inundating coastal regions. The most extreme cyclones can generate devastating storm tides — seawater that is heightened by the tides and swells onto land, causing catastrophic flood events in coastal regions. A new study by MIT scientists finds that, as the planet warms, the recurrence of destructive storm tides will increase tenfold for one of the hardest-hit regions of the world. In a study that will appear in One Earth, the scientists ...

About The Study: In this large U.S. cohort study of children and adolescents, SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a higher risk of adverse postacute kidney outcomes, particularly among those with preexisting chronic kidney disease or acute kidney injury, suggesting the need for vigilant long-term monitoring. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Yong Chen, PhD, email ychen123@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 2022 and 2023, severe RSV disease was more likely among those age 2 or older with pulmonary and neurologic, neuromuscular, or developmental conditions. For children younger than 2 years, age younger than 6 months and prematurity were the main risk factors. These findings support prevention strategies for all younger children, including premature infants, with potential benefit for children age 2 or older ...

A Northwestern University-led international team of scientists has, for the first time, directly observed catalysis in-action at the atomic level. In mesmerizing new videos, single atoms move and shake during a chemical reaction that removes hydrogen atoms from an alcohol molecule. By viewing the process in real time, the researchers discovered several short-lived intermediate molecules involved in the reaction as well as a previously hidden reaction pathway. The observations were made possible by single-molecule atomic-resolution time-resolved electron microscopy (SMART-EM), a powerful instrument that enables researchers to watch individual ...

The University of Virginia has named Mark T. Esser, PhD, a premier expert in the development of new medical treatments and tests, to lead the upcoming Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology and bring to life the institute’s ambitious plans for a healthier tomorrow for people across the world.  In his role as the inaugural chief scientific officer and head of the Manning Institute, Esser will be charged with capitalizing on the cutting-edge biomedical research under way at UVA and UVA Health to tackle some of the greatest challenges in medicine and accelerate the development of new treatments and cures.  In ...

“Inhibitors of GSK3β reduce the cell viability of BRAFi-resistant melanoma cell lines and thus may holds promise as a novel strategy to overcome BRAFi resistance and melanoma progression.” BUFFALO, NY – April 11, 2025 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget, Volume 16, on April 4, 2025, titled “GSK3β activation is a key driver of resistance to Raf inhibition in BRAF mutant melanoma cells.” In this work, first author Diana Crisan and corresponding author Abhijit Basu from the University Hospital Ulm led ...

Castleman disease (CD) is a rare, non-clonal lymphoproliferative disorder that manifests with a wide range of histologic and clinical features. It is classified clinically into unicentric (UCD) and multicentric (MCD) forms and histopathologically into hyaline vascular (HV-CD), plasma cell (PC-CD), and mixed types. UCD typically presents as an isolated lymph node enlargement, often asymptomatic, whereas MCD involves multiple nodal sites and systemic symptoms. MCD may be associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), idiopathic origins (iMCD), POEMS syndrome, or TAFRO ...

Where does the deep sea begin? Definitions vary across science and legal frameworks. For the purposes of their joint analysis, the members of the European Marine Board’s (EMB) Deep Sea and Ocean Health Working Group defined the deep sea as the water column and seabed below 200 metres. Below this point, sunlight barely penetrates the water, and the habitat changes dramatically. According to this definition, the deep sea accounts for about 90 per cent of the ocean’s volume. Its importance for ...

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a complex issue that is often passed on through generations. Studies have shown that parents who were abused as children may perpetuate a similar pattern of mistreating their children, creating a vicious cycle of abuse. A key factor in perpetuating this cycle is impaired empathy in parents who grew up in abusive environments. Simply put, parental empathy, the ability to understand and respond to children’s emotions, plays a critical role in effective parenting. In fact, children who experience abuse tend to have reduced empathy by the age ...

Quasicrystals (QCs) are fascinating solid materials that exhibit an intriguing atomic arrangement. Unlike regular crystals, in which atomic arrangements have an ordered repeating pattern, QCs display long-range atomic order that is not periodic. Due to this ‘quasiperiodic’ nature, QCs have unconventional symmetries that are absent in conventional crystals. Since their Nobel Prize-winning discovery, condensed matter physics researchers have dedicated immense attention towards QCs, attempting to both realize their unique quasiperiodic magnetic order and ...

Although we know that supermassive black holes (millions of times the mass of our Sun) lurk at the centre of most galaxies, their very nature makes them difficult to spot and study. In contrast to the popular idea of black holes constantly ‘gobbling up’ matter, these gravitational monsters can spend long periods of time in a dormant, inactive phase. This was true of the black hole at the heart of SDSS1335+0728, a distant and unremarkable galaxy 300 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. After being inactive for decades, it suddenly lit up and recently began producing unprecedented flashes of X-ray light. The first signs ...

Self-assembly or self-organization in molecular science refers to the phenomena where molecules spontaneously gather and form ordered structures, a unique property of materials used to develop optical and electronic materials. In a step towards fine-tuning this property, researchers from Japan successfully elucidated a technique where a small amount of residual aggregates drastically altered the self-assembly process of photo-responsive molecules. The research team was led by Professor Shiki Yagai from the Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, including Assistant Professor ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Bacteria can be engineered to sense a variety of molecules, such as pollutants or soil nutrients. In most cases, however, these signals can only be detected by looking at the cells under a microscope or similarly sensitive lab equipment, making them impractical for large-scale use. Using a new method that triggers cells to produce molecules that generate unique combinations of color, MIT engineers have shown that they can read out these bacterial signals from as far as 90 meters away. Their work could lead to the development of bacterial sensors for agricultural and other applications, which could be monitored by drones or ...

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from industrial emissions is crucial in the fight against climate change. But current methods, like chemical absorption, are expensive and energy-intensive. Scientists have long eyed graphene—an atom-thin, ultra-strong material—as a promising alternative for gas separation, but making large-area, efficient graphene membranes has been a challenge. Now, a team at EPFL, led by Professor Kumar Agrawal, has developed a scalable technique to create porous graphene membranes ...

Researchers have developed a simple and cost-effective blood test capable of detecting Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms emerge, comparing the current state of diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases to the fight against cancer 50 years ago—when most cases were identified too late for effective treatment. The test quantifies specific RNA fragments in the blood, focusing on a repetitive RNA sequence that accumulates in Parkinson’s patients and a parallel decline in mitochondrial RNA, which deteriorates as the disease progresses. By measuring the ratio between these biomarkers, the test offers a highly accurate, non-invasive, rapid  and affordable diagnostic tool, ...