Scientists don’t call it the “Great Dying” for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction – the most extreme event of its kind in Earth’s history.  What followed was a mysterious, multimillion-year span that could be called the “Great Dulling,” when marine animal communities looked remarkably alike all over the planet, from the equator to the poles. Researchers have long sought an explanation for this so-called taxonomic homogenization – a scene that played out after other mass extinctions over the past ...

Even in egalitarian Sweden, a "culture of silence" may prevent university staff and students from reporting sexual harassment, with just an 8.1% reporting rate for students who had experienced either rape or attempted rape. #### Article URL: https://plos.io/4bW0elh Article title: What determines the ‘culture of silence’? Disclosing and reporting sexual harassment among university employees and students at a large Swedish public university Author countries: Sweden Funding: This work was funded by the Swedish Research Council, ...

Data from the Healthy Minds Study of 140 college campuses in the US suggests that religiousness may be protective against symptoms of depression in students, although less so in sexual minorities.  #### Article URL: https://plos.io/3XwiyM6 Article Title: Religiousness, sexual orientation, and depression among emerging adults in U.S. higher education: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study Author Countries: Spain, United Kingdom, United States Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

(IDAHO FALLS, Idaho) – The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking an industry sponsor to invest $5 million to $10 million in a privately funded innovation incubator. This program will combine the power of a national laboratory with private sector commercialization knowledge to unleash breakthrough innovations by finding and supporting promising startups in the areas of nuclear energy, integrated energy systems, cybersecurity and advanced materials. The innovation incubator seeks to provide seed-stage startups aligned ...

NEW ORLEANS – Four outstanding Ochsner Health nurses have been named to the Louisiana State Nurses Association’s (LSNA) second annual 40 Under 40 list. The LSNA 40 Under 40 list celebrates 40 future leaders of nursing in Louisiana who are 40 years of age and under, exemplify dedication to the nursing profession, and demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities. “We are immensely proud of our Ochsner honorees. This recognition celebrates our nurses who fuel their purpose each day and use their voice to influence the growth of the nursing profession and how we deliver high-quality care to our patients and communities,” said Tiffany Murdock, senior ...

Time-restricted eating is the latest craze for people looking to lose weight, but whether it works is still the calorie-burning question.   A new study from the University of Mississippi shows that when healthy adults pair an eight-hour eating window with regular exercise, they lose more fat – without sacrificing lean muscle – compared to exercise alone, according to a study released in the International Journal of Obesity, which is published by the Nature Publishing Group.  “We saw that this did lead to more fat loss and reduced body fat percentage over time when healthy adults were following both exercise with time-restricting ...

NEW ORLEANS – Ochsner Health, Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, multi-specialty, healthcare delivery system, has been awarded the 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) for employee engagement. This award recognizes the most engaged companies in the world and highlights Ochsner’s continued dedication to setting a standard of excellence in patient care and the workplace.  "Ochsner Health is honored to receive this recognition," said Pete November, chief executive officer, Ochsner Health. "Our commitment to fostering a supportive and dynamic workplace for our team members is directly ...

Research conducted by the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), published today in ‘Nature’, reveals a mechanism in mice that is triggered just minutes after acute liver damage occurs. This finding opens up avenues for future treatments of serious liver damage to include a diet enriched with the amino acid glutamate. Glutamate supplementation can promote liver regeneration and benefit patients in recovery following hepatectomy or awaiting a transplant, the authors write in ‘Nature’. Activating liver regeneration is key to treating diseases that involve severe liver damage, which are becoming increasingly frequent and are associated ...

The pleasure we get from eating junk food — the dopamine rush from crunching down on salty, greasy French fries and a luscious burger — is often blamed as the cause of overeating and rising obesity rates in our society. But a new study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that pleasure in eating, even eating junk food, is key for maintaining a healthy weight in a society that abounds with cheap, high-fat food. Paradoxically, anecdotal evidence suggests that people with obesity may take less pleasure in eating than those of normal weight. Brain scans of obese individuals ...

CLEVELAND—The body’s cells respond to stress—toxins, mutations, starvation or other assaults—by pausing normal functions to focus on conserving energy, repairing damaged components and boosting defenses. If the stress is manageable, cells resume normal activity; if not, they self-destruct. Scientists have believed for decades this response happens as a linear chain of events: sensors in the cell “sound an alarm” and modify a key protein, which then changes a second protein that slows or shuts down the cell’s normal function. But in a new study published today in the journal Nature, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL: 16:00 GMT / 12 NOON ET WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2025 A new method to recycle fluoride from long-lived PFAS chemicals Images available via the link in the notes section. Oxford Chemistry researchers have developed a method to destroy fluorine-containing PFAS (sometimes labelled ‘forever chemicals’) while recovering their fluorine content for future use. The results have been published today (26 March 2025) in Nature. PFAS – which stands for poly- and perfluoroalkylated substances – have been produced in large ...

The last time a new class of antibiotics reached the market was nearly three decades ago — but that could soon change, thanks to a discovery by researchers at McMaster University. A team led by renowned researcher Gerry Wright has identified a strong candidate to challenge even some of the most drug-resistant bacteria on the planet: a new molecule called lariocidin. The findings were published in the journal Nature on March 26, 2025. The discovery of the all-new class of antibiotics responds to a critical need for new antimicrobial ...

Humans are having a highly detrimental impact on biodiversity worldwide. Not only is the number of species declining, but the composition of species communities is also changing. These are the findings of a study by Eawag and the University of Zurich published in the scientific journal Nature. It is one of the largest studies ever conducted on this topic. Biological diversity is under threat. More and more plant and animal species are disappearing worldwide, and humans are responsible. Until now, however, there has been no synthesis of the extent of human intervention in nature and whether the effects can be found everywhere in the world ...

Compared to sugar, consuming sucralose—a widely used sugar substitute—increases activity in the hypothalamus, a brain region that regulates appetite and body weight, according to a new USC study. Sucralose also changes how the hypothalamus communicates with other brain regions, including those involved in motivation. The study was just published in the journal Nature Metabolism. About 40% of Americans regularly consume sugar substitutes, usually as a way to reduce calories or sugar intake. “But are these substances actually helpful for regulating ...

In a new paper in Nature, a team of researchers from JPMorganChase, Quantinuum, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The University of Texas at Austin describe a milestone in the field of quantum computing, with potential applications in cryptography, fairness and privacy. Using a 56-qubit quantum computer, they have for the first time experimentally demonstrated certified randomness, a way of generating random numbers from a quantum computer and then using a classical supercomputer to prove they are truly random and freshly generated. This could pave the way towards the use of quantum computers for a practical task unattainable through ...

A small molecule shaped like a lasso may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious diseases, according to a new study in Nature co-authored by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.  Lariocidin, a peptide made by bacteria living in soil, was effective against several different microbes responsible for deadly infections. UIC researchers working with collaborators at McMaster University in Canada determined how the new antibiotic works and why the drug evades bacterial resistance.   “The holy grail in the field is to find an antibiotic that binds to a new site target, has a novel mechanism of action and has ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Two recent studies by researchers from Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine explore the effect of the pandemic on colorectal cancer screening tests and diagnostic colonoscopies in Central Indiana. The findings of temporary disruption to the former and minimal impact on the latter are similar to findings across the U.S., contributing to the compendium of knowledge on preventive health uptake and subsequent treatment in various populations during the pandemic. One study, published in PLoS One, examines both non-invasive and colonoscopy screening trends during the pandemic. The other study, ...

A new study by researchers at Peking University and the Chinese PLA General Hospital has found that multimorbidity—living with multiple chronic diseases—is closely associated with worsening fall conditions and mortality among middle-aged and older adults in China. The findings, published in Health Data Science, identify a distinct group at especially high risk: individuals with both cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions, dubbed the “osteo-cardiovascular fallers.”   Falls are a major cause of injury and death in older populations globally, particularly ...

Without clear and effective biological tests for autism based on genes, brain or blood measurements, diagnosis today still largely depends on clinical assessment. The standard way of doing this is by observing how the individual fits the criteria for autism listed in gold standard manuals like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). These criteria are divided into two categories: one for restricted or repetitive behaviours, actions, or activities, and another for differences in social communication and interaction. In the end, however, it is the clinician, relying on years of ...

People with autism are typically diagnosed by clinical observation and assessment. To deconstruct the clinical decision process, which is often subjective and difficult to describe, researchers used a large language model (LLM) to synthesize the behaviors and observations that are most indicative of an autism diagnosis. Their results, publishing in the Cell Press journal Cell, show that repetitive behaviors, special interests, and perception-based behaviors are most associated with an autism diagnosis. These findings have potential to improve diagnostic guidelines ...

About The Study: Patients who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke are at a persistently high risk of subsequent stroke. The findings from this study underscore the need for improving long-term stroke prevention measures in this patient group.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Faizan Khan, PhD, email faizan.khan1@ucalgary.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.2033) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

In diagnosing autism – the developmental variant that affects around 80 million people worldwide – medical practitioners today put too much emphasis on a child's lack of sociability and not enough on their interests and how they naturally behave spontaneously with objects. And so, to be more accurate in their assessments, health authorities should start tapping the vast analytic powers of artificial intelligence, combined with the experience of clinicians, and come up with better diagnostic criteria. That's ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of 3.7 million individuals, living alone with depression or anxiety was associated with an increased risk of suicide, particularly among middle-aged individuals and men. These findings underscore the importance of preventing mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, while addressing living arrangements as a critical factor in suicide risk assessments for individuals with these conditions. Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Hong Jin Jeon, MD, PhD (jhj001001@gmail.com) and Kyungdo Han, PhD (hkd917@naver.com). To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

About The Study: In this survey study of older U.S. adults, most participants agreed that Medicare should cover weight management medications and more than half of those with body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater were interested in using them. These results should inform decisions to include weight management medications in the Medicare and commercial insurance programs, as well as utilization policies to control health care costs. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Lauren Oshman, MD, MPH, email laoshman@umich.edu. To ...

PHILADELPHIA—The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that six distinguished researchers will receive the 2025 Pew fellowship in marine conservation. The scientists—from China, Curaçao, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Africa—join a community of more than 200 Pew marine fellows committed to advancing ocean knowledge and the sustainable use of marine resources.   “The challenges facing our oceans, from habitat destruction to pollution, require bold scientific leadership and innovative solutions,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. ...