October 15, 2025 – A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, found that discontinuing universal free school meal (UFSM) policies significantly increases school meal debt, student stigma, and declines in participation. The research, based on a survey of nearly 1,000 school food authorities (SFAs) across eight states, also found that states continuing UFSM through state-level policies reported more stable revenues and greater student access to nutritious meals. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey in the spring of 2023 with 941 SFAs from states that either ...

As a revolutionary 3D cell culture system, organoids bridge the gap between traditional 2D models and animal studies. This review synthesizes the current state of organoid engineering, from fundamental methods to transformative applications. Organoid Construction Key methods enable the generation of complex organoids: Air-Liquid Interface (ALI) Culture: Ideal for modeling hollow organs and co-culturing with immune cells to study the tumor microenvironment. Bioreactor Culture: Uses agitation to enhance nutrient exchange, supporting ...

In a Policy Forum, Dawson White and colleagues argue that international drug policy must distinguish between the coca leaf – a sacred plant long cultivated in South America – and its purified chemical derivative, cocaine. The World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) is now reassessing the plant’s status, which, according to the authors, presents a rare opportunity to realign global drug policy with scientific evidence and Indigenous rights. Currently, the coca bush is classified under international law as a Schedule I drug, a group that also includes cocaine and heroin. While these drugs have a well-documented history of addiction and harm, ...

The Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN), in collaboration with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), has developed a comprehensive roadmap toward an integrated biological and environmental data network. The initiative, known as the Building an Integrated, Open, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (BIOFAIR) Data Network project, addresses the urgent need to connect fragmented data held in biodiversity collections and other biological and environmental data repositories to tackle pressing societal challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, invasive ...

SAN ANTONIO — October 15, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and 8 Rivers have patented a system that leverages fluctuations in energy demand by using liquid oxygen storage (LOX) to make power plants more cost-effective and efficient. To accomplish this, the Institute modified a recently developed power cycle, the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle, which combusts fuel, like natural gas, using an oxygen and carbon dioxide mixture to allow complete carbon capture, producing minimal greenhouse gas emissions. The Allam-Fetvedt Cycle ...

For thousands of years, people in the Andes have chewed the leaves of the coca plant to stave off hunger, treat altitude sickness, and sustain energy. Yet under international law, this ancient crop is treated as harshly as cocaine and fentanyl. Now, scientists say it’s time to end that contradiction. A new international perspective published in Science argues that scientific evidence clearly supports the coca leaf as a benign, useful, and culturally paramount crop plant that should be removed from the list of Schedule I substances – where it currently ...

When the experimental fusion system known as JT-60SA comes online in 2026, it will be the world’s largest fusion machine: a crowning achievement for Japan and Europe, which partnered to build it. Now, the research team has turned to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) for critical measurement equipment. The effort is part of a new agreement between PPPL, the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) of Japan and Europe’s Fusion for Energy (F4E), allowing for broader collaboration between the researchers. “PPPL is among the first U.S. institutions to have its equipment installed ...

New York, NY (October 15, 2025) – The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has received a prestigious $4.5 million, five-year K12 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a pioneering program that will train the next generation of leaders in women’s health research. The program, called the Mount Sinai Life-course Exposomics Analytic Program (LEAP) in Women’s Health, is led by Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH, Dean for Public Health and Chair of the Department of Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine. LEAP is part ...

WASHINGTON—People with excess body fat who build and keep muscle may be less likely to develop obesity-induced heart, liver, or kidney damage or die early, according to a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Despite clear evidence that excess body fat can directly cause illness, obesity is often viewed as a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes rather than a chronic disease. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. BMI is ...

Lung cancer screening might be the best-kept secret in health care today. Only about 16 percent of those who are eligible in the U.S. get screened for lung cancer, but a study coming out in NEJM Catalyst on Wednesday provides a roadmap for how health systems can improve those numbers. The study details how the UR Medicine primary care network reached a nearly 72 percent lung cancer screening rate. “Our biggest success was not only screening a high percentage of eligible patients, but also enrolling those patients in the comprehensive program to ensure they receive the necessary annual follow-up screenings,” said Robert Fortuna, MD, ...

Have you ever wondered what makes shark skin so tough and sleek? It’s dermal denticles – tiny, tooth-like structures that cover a shark’s skin. Made of the same material as teeth and shaped like small scales with grooves, these microscopic armor plates aren’t just for show. Dermal denticles serve important roles in helping sharks glide effortlessly, and protect their skin, especially during mating. Although much is known, researchers still lack a full understanding of how dermal denticle shape changes across different parts of the shark’s body as it grows and if there are differences between ...

New York, NY [October 15, 2025]—Doctors often must make critical decisions in minutes, relying on incomplete information. While electronic health records contain vast amounts of patient data, much of it remains difficult to interpret quickly—especially for patients with rare diseases or unusual symptoms. Now, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have developed an artificial intelligence system, called InfEHR, that links unconnected medical events over time, creating a diagnostic web that reveals hidden patterns. Published in the September 26 online issue of Nature Communications, the study shows that Inference on Electronic Health ...

A new study in eGastroenterology links gut dysbiosis with severe steatosis in metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In a 61-patient cohort, those with the inflammation-linked Bact2 enterotype developed severe steatosis at lower thresholds. Adding microbiota status to standard clinical tools improved diagnostic accuracy from 80% to 90%, suggesting a path toward earlier detection and personalized care. MASLD: A Growing Global Burden Metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease ...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- An estimated 90% of patients receiving home health care have at least one discrepancy between their medication lists and what they’re actually taking — making it more likely they will end up in the hospital. A Washington State University initiative helped a Spokane home health care agency ensure its patients’ medication lists were in proper order and reduced hospitalizations of high-risk heart-failure patients by more than half over a 10-week period. The project aimed to help nurses and other in-home clinicians “think like a pharmacist” when reviewing medication lists for patients. It combined interdisciplinary teamwork, training ...

The Sahara Desert is one of the driest areas in the world. It gets just 3 inches of precipitation per year — one-tenth of the amount of Chicago’s rain, sleet and snow. But by the second half of the 21st century, rising global temperatures could make the Sahara much wetter, according to UIC researchers. By that time, the North African desert could see 75% more precipitation than its historical norm, as reported in Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. Under extreme climate conditions, rainfall is expected to increase in southeastern and south-central Africa, too, the researchers said. “Changing rainfall patterns will affect ...

Studies have shown that lighted nets can reduce bycatch of sea turtles and sharks, but the idea has faced many hurdles to adoption. The batteries are short lived, expensive to replace and raise disposal concerns. The lights are too heavy and prone to snagging nets. Fishers find them difficult to work with. To get past these hurdles, researchers at Arizona State University collaborated with a team of coastal gillnet fishers to develop solar-powered lights that function as buoys, like any others threaded onto the float line of a fishing net. The LED lights flash on and off to conserve energy and can stay active for over five days with no sunlight. The net-illuminating gear is highly effective ...

Researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have devised a battery powered by vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and glucose. Inspired by how human bodies break down glucose for energy using enzymes, the team incorporated riboflavin into a prototype flow cell battery. The riboflavin mediator helped shuttle electrons between the battery’s electrodes and the glucose electrolyte, generating an electrochemical flow from the energy stored in the sugar. “Riboflavin and glucose flow cells can generate electricity from naturally ...

Iron-deficiency anemia is a common condition marked by tiredness, headaches or ice cravings. But the oral iron supplements used to treat it can leave behind excess iron that causes inflammation and an upset stomach. A new supplement reported in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces combines iron, prebiotics and probiotics. In trials, the treatment successfully restored blood iron levels in anemic mice without initiating an inflammatory response or throwing off the balance of the gut microbiota. “By advancing biomaterial-based iron delivery, this research offers a transformative approach to address ...

For children and young adults diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a common type of bone cancer for that age group, the odds of survival can be devastatingly low (20-30%) when the disease spreads to the lungs. “Treatments for osteosarcoma haven’t changed since the 1980s,” Balakrishna Koneru, Ph.D., said. “That leaves us with a critical need for more effective and innovative therapies for these patients.” In an effort to improve the outcomes for these young patients, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded a two-year, $198,822 grant to Koneru, an assistant professor of pediatrics ...

A new study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports indicates that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) have an extremely high geographic association, even after controlling for race, gender, wealth, latitude, and access to neurological healthcare.  “The results of the study are surprising because previous studies have typically concluded there was no evidence for a mechanistic or genetic link between the two diseases,” explains study author Melissa Schilling, a professor at New York University’s Stern ...

More than a third of Canadian teens say climate change is impacting their mental health, according to a national study led by Athabasca University researchers. A survey of 800 Canadian youth aged 13 to 18 found that 37% reported their mental health was impacting their mental health to some extent. Teens indicated climate change has led to feelings of anxiety, stress, and worry, and fuels concerns and uncertainty for the future. “We’re seeing a lot of increased attention around how young people are feeling around climate change. A lot of that ...

Endovascular aneurysm repair is a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms—life-threatening bulges in the aorta's abdominal section. However, it carries the risk of recurrence owing to endoleaks after stent graft implantation, necessitating regular follow-up especially since these leaks cannot be easily linked to specific symptoms. Unfortunately, only imaging-based monitoring such as computed tomography angiography or magnetic resonance imaging is available at the moment. This conventional follow-up protocol ...

Beta-blockers are widely prescribed pharmaceuticals used to manage cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, arrhythmias, and post-heart attack recovery. Among them, atenolol (ATL) and metoprolol (MTL) are particularly common. Their high chemical stability benefits therapeutic efficacy but also means they degrade slowly, persisting in the environment. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are largely ineffective at removing these compounds, allowing them to enter rivers and lakes, where even low concentrations can exert chronic toxic effects on algae, fish, and other aquatic organisms. To remove such persistent pharmaceuticals, researchers have explored the development ...

Child maltreatment, which includes abuse and neglect, is one of the most serious public health concerns worldwide. These adversities leave a lasting impact on the emotional well-being, memory, and social development of affected individuals. The problem, however, reaches far beyond its psychological impact, affecting the brain and biological processes through genetic changes, which have remained unclear until now. A recent study led by Senior Asst. Professor Shota Nishitani and Professor Akemi Tomoda from the Research Center for Child Mental Development at University of Fukui, Japan, in collaboration with Professor Masataka Nagao from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct. 15, 2025 — The conditions where you live may influence your brain health and risk for dementia, according to a new study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine  The study, published today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found that individuals living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social vulnerability, environmental injustice and socioeconomic disadvantage showed measurable differences in brain structure and function.  “This study is consistent with other research showing that the state of the social environment in which people ...