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Medicine21 Mar 2025

New drug therapy combination shows promise for advanced melanoma patients

A federally funded research team led by Sheri Holmen, PhD, investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah (the U), is testing a new combination drug therapy that could both treat and prevent melanoma metastasis, or spreading from its original site, to the brain. “Once melanoma has spread to the brain, it’s very hard to treat. Metastasis to the brain is one of the main causes of death from melanoma,” says Holmen. “We wanted to find a solution to an unmet clinical need for those patients who had no other treatment options ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

Nature’s warriors: How rice plants detect and defend against viral invaders

Peking University, March 20, 2025: A groundbreaking study led by Li Yi, professor at the School of Life Sciences, was published in Nature on March 12, titled “Perception of viral infections and initiation of antiviral defence in rice”, uncovering a molecular mechanism by which rice cells perceive viral infections and initiate antiviral response, which significantly contributes to understanding of virus-host interactions for further disease resistance breeding. Why it matters: Viruses affecting rice, a staple food for more than half of the world population, pose ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

How the brain responds to prices: Scientists discover neural marker for price perception

Russian scientists have discovered how the brain makes purchasing decisions. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), researchers found that the brain responds almost instantly when a product's price deviates from expectations. This response engages brain regions involved in evaluating rewards and learning from past decisions. Thus, perceiving a product's value is not merely a conscious choice but also a function of automatic cognitive mechanisms. The results have been published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Every day, people are faced with prices of food, technology, and services. Sometimes, a product seems overpriced, ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Boosting brain’s waste removal system improves memory in old mice

As aging bodies decline, the brain loses the ability to cleanse itself of waste, a scenario that scientists think could be contributing to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among others. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have found a way around that problem by targeting the network of vessels that drain waste from the brain. Rejuvenating those vessels, they have shown, improves memory in old mice. The study, published online March 21 in the journal Cell, lays the groundwork to develop therapies for age-related cognitive decline that overcome ...

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Energy21 Mar 2025

New study sheds light on risks from residential heat and energy burdens in Miami

A new study on indoor extreme heat connects these two burdens to reveal how the co-occurrence of escalating energy bills and dangerously hot homes in Miami-Dade County exacerbates health and well-being risks for vulnerable households across months of the year. “Our findings help us understand which types of households are struggling with high indoor heat and high energy bills in a place like Miami, which is hot for many months of the year,” said Lynée Turek-Hankins, the lead author of the study that was conducted during her doctoral studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Abess Center for Ecosystem ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Racial and ethnic inequalities in actual vs nearest delivery hospitals

About The Study: This cohort study found that American Indian and Black individuals delivered at lower-quality hospitals than white individuals. The disparity in care between Black and white birthing individuals would have been reduced if individuals had delivered at their nearest hospital. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nansi S. Boghossian, PhD, email nboghoss@email.sc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.1404) Editor’s ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

State earned income tax credits and firearm suicides

About The Study: In this cohort study, the presence and generosity of state refundable earned income tax credits were associated with a decrease in firearm suicide rates, supporting the growing body of literature highlighting the importance of antipoverty policies for reducing firearm suicide. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nicole Asa, MPH, email nasa3@uw.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.1398) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

VR study reveals how pain and fear weaken sense of body ownership

A study from Hiroshima University found that when people were told to imagine their virtual bodies in pain, their brains resisted the illusion of ownership. Their findings could provide insights into why some people may struggle with feeling connected to their own bodies, particularly in contexts involving depersonalization or negative physical states. The sense of body ownership—the feeling that our body belongs to us—is crucial in distinguishing ourselves from objects and responding to threats. Researchers study it using techniques like the rubber hand illusion (RHI) and full-body illusion (FBI), in which an individual is somehow ...

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Technology21 Mar 2025

Quantum leap: Graphene unlocks orbital hybridization

Peking University, March 19, 2025: A research team led by Professor Sun Qing-Feng in colloboration with Professor He Lin’s research group from Beijing Normal University has achieved orbital hybridization in graphene-based artificial atoms for the first time. Their findings, entitled “Orbital hybridization in graphene-based artificial atoms” was published in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08620-z). This work marks a significant milestone in the field of quantum physics and materials science, bridging the gap between artificial and real atomic behaviors. Why it matters: 1. Quantum dots, often called artificial atoms, can mimic atomic orbitals but have not yet ...

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Space21 Mar 2025

How black holes could nurture life

At the center of most large galaxies, including our own Milky Way, sits a supermassive black hole. Interstellar gas periodically falls into the orbit of these bottomless pits, switching the black hole into active galactic nucleus (AGN)-mode, blasting high-energy radiation across the galaxy. It's not an environment you'd expect a plant or animal to thrive in. But in a surprising new study in the Astrophysical Journal, researchers at Dartmouth and the University of Exeter show that AGN radiation can have a paradoxically nurturing effect on life. Rather ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Dr. Amit Bar-Or, penn medicine neuroimmunologist, awarded the 2025 John Dystel prize for multiple sclerosis research

Amit Bar-Or, MD, a distinguished researcher and neurologist at Penn Medicine, is the winner of the 2025 John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research, awarded jointly by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Academy of Neurology. He is being honored for advancing our knowledge of neuroimmunology, precision medicine, and biomarkers in MS. Dr. Bar-Or will deliver the Dystel Prize lecture and receive his award at the American Academy of Neurology 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego, California on April 8, 2025. “Dr. Bar-Or has been a key player in shaping the evolving conceptual framework of MS, including how the ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

Recent study in mice provides key insights on the impact of excessive sucrose consumption in specific organs

Researchers at the Advanced Research Unit on Metabolism, Development & Aging (ARUMDA), in the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, Mumbai and TIFR Hyderabad), have unveiled a comprehensive understanding of the harmful effects of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) on human health, using a preclinical mouse model that closely mimics human consumption patterns. The study, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, sheds light on how chronic sucrose-water intake (10%) alters key physiological, molecular, and metabolic processes across various organs, driving ...

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Engineering21 Mar 2025

A less toxic way to manufacture daily goods

Diisocyanates are used in the preparation of all polyurethanes, ranging from the foams used in shoe soles to the thermoplastics used in cell phone cases. Aromatic diisocyanates, which give polyurethane foams their structure, are commonly prepared on the megaton scale in highly secure facilities due to the use of phosgene, a highly reactive and toxic chemical reagent. Michael Burkart’s lab at UC San Diego recently reported the preparation of fully bio-based aromatic diisocyanates from a simple monosaccharide, D-galactose. This new route avoids the use of transition metals, gaseous reagents or any high-pressure/temperature reactions. As an application, the team demonstrates ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Nearly half of depression diagnoses could be considered treatment-resistant

Almost half of patients diagnosed with depression classify as being ‘treatment-resistant’ as new research suggests that many don’t respond to multiple antidepressant options. The new study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry was led by academics from the University of Birmingham and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. The study found that 48% of patients whose electronic healthcare records reported a diagnosis of depression had tried at least two antidepressants, and 37% had tried four or more different options. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Deadly bacteria developed the ability to produce antimicrobials and wiped-out competitors

A drug-resistant type of bacteria that has adapted to health care settings evolved in the past several years to weaponize an antimicrobial genetic tool, eliminating its cousins and replacing them as the dominate strain. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists made the discovery when combing through local hospital data – and then confirmed that it was a global phenomenon. The finding, published today in Nature Microbiology, may be the impetus for new approaches in developing therapeutics against some of the world’s deadliest bacteria. It also validates a new use for a system developed at Pitt and UPMC that couples genomic sequencing ...

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Technology21 Mar 2025

Device enables direct communication among multiple quantum processors

Quantum computers have the potential to solve complex problems that would be impossible for the most powerful classical supercomputer to crack. Just like a classical computer has separate, yet interconnected, components that must work together, such as a memory chip and a CPU on a motherboard, a quantum computer will need to communicate quantum information between multiple processors. Current architectures used to interconnect superconducting quantum processors are “point-to-point” in connectivity, meaning they require a series of transfers between network nodes, with compounding error rates. On the way ...

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Technology21 Mar 2025

Nanotech-induced cooling improves crop yields in arid climates

Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed and combined a new nanoplastic and biodegradable mulch to passively cool greenhouses in hot, arid climates like those in the Middle East. Applying their technology, they lowered temperatures of miniature greenhouses by 25 degrees Celsius and increased crop yields of Chinese cabbage by nearly 200%. The study can be read in Nexus. The nanoplastic consists of polyethylene, the most widely produced plastic in the world, infused with nanoparticles consisting of the molecule cesium tungsten oxide. These nanoparticles absorb ...

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Social Science21 Mar 2025

Home sweet home: some great hammerhead sharks stick to the perfect neighborhood in the Bahamas instead of migrating

New research shows that some great hammerhead sharks are homebodies. Scientists studying great hammerheads around Andros in the Bahamas shark sanctuary have found that while some individuals migrate, others prefer to stay at home — potentially because their environment provides them with everything they need. This information could help protect the critically endangered species. “The global population of great hammerheads is thought to have reduced by more than 80% over the last three generations, and genomic ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

Bubbly idea: Ultrafine bubble showers suppress atopic dermatitis

Bubble baths might be soothing soaks, but bubble showers could be the next thing in keeping the skin clean. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led medical research team found that ultrafine bubble showers might help prevent atopic dermatitis. Graduate School of Medicine student Ayaki Matsumoto and Associate Professor Hisayoshi Imanishi led the study into using ultrafine bubbles, often used to clean medical equipment, on mice with atopic dermatitis. The scientists found that in mice with atopic dermatitis due to external factors, inflammation was markedly suppressed when the affected skin ...

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Science21 Mar 2025

Aotearoa once home to elephant seals

Southern elephant seals are the “canary in the coal mine” for the Southern Ocean, offering insight into how the ecosystem may react to future climate change and human impact, new research shows. Joint senior author Associate Professor Nic Rawlence, Director of the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, says while elephant seals now only inhabit the subantarctic islands and South America, Aotearoa beaches used to be “heaving” with the colossal animals. “At the time of human arrival in New Zealand, you would be hard pressed to find room on the beaches, with fur seals on the rocky headlands, prehistoric sealions and elephant seals ...

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Environment21 Mar 2025

Green recipe: Engineered yeast boosts D-lactic acid production

Great recipes require the perfect combination of ingredients — biotechnology recipes are no exception. Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have discovered the ideal genetic “recipe” to turn yeast into a tiny yet powerful eco-friendly factory that converts methanol into D-lactic acid, a key compound used in biodegradable plastics and pharmaceuticals. This approach could help reduce reliance on petroleum-based processes and contribute to more sustainable chemical production. Lactic acid is widely used in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and bioplastics. It exists in two forms: L-lactic acid ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Computational drug discovery: Exploring natural products targeting SARS-CoV-2

Ikoma, Japan—The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for effective therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2. Although vaccines helped control the spread of the virus, the emergence of new variants continues to challenge global health efforts. Small-molecule inhibitors targeting viral proteins could serve as an effective alternative for controlling the spread of COVID-19 at both individual and community levels. In this vein, a recent study led by Associate Professor Md. Altaf-Ul-Amin, along with Muhammad Alqaaf, Ahmad Kamal Nasution, Mohammad Bozlul Karim, Mahfujul Islam ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Almost half of children with complicated appendicitis can recover from surgery at home

Almost half of children who require surgery for complicated appendicitis can safely complete their recovery at home, according to a new study. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, found more than 40 per cent who received care in the home following a complex appendectomy recovered faster and had fewer complications. More than 300 patients present with appendicitis to The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) every year, with about one in three ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Sensory t-shirt collects patient data and enables shorter postoperative hospital stay

A t-shirt that monitors a patient’s vitals after urological surgery for cancer could help people return from hospital sooner to recover at home. The device, worn for around two weeks under clothes for three-hour windows each day, enabled patients to feel safer and more reassured than a control group in a pilot study of 70 individuals. The results are presented this weekend at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Madrid. Telemedicine in medical practice allows patients and clinicians to maintain contact remotely so that care, interventions and monitoring ...

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Medicine21 Mar 2025

Worse outcomes for men who avoid prostate cancer screening

Men who consistently avoid prostate cancer screening appointments face a disproportionately higher risk of dying from the disease, finds research identifying a new high-risk group. An analysis of data from across seven countries from the world’s largest prostate cancer screening study, the European Randomized study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), is presented this weekend at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Madrid. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men in 112 countries, with prevalence expected to double by 2040. If introduced on a national scale, prostate ...

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