New report from the World Economic Forum and Frontiers identifies ten technologies with the potential to accelerate climate action, restore ecosystems, and drive sustainable innovation within planetary boundaries. The World Economic Forum and leading open science publisher Frontiers today launched the inaugural 10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health report, a landmark publication spotlighting ten breakthrough innovations that ...

There’s mounting evidence that popular drugs prescribed for diabetes management and weight loss — better known by trade names like Ozempic and Wegovy — could be effective in reducing alcohol use. A study from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, released this month in Scientific Reports, found that these types of GLP-1 agonists slow the speed at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, which also slows the effects on the brain. “People who drink know there’s a difference between nursing a glass of wine and downing a shot of whiskey,” said Alex DiFeliceantonio, ...

Throughout human history, many cultures have developed belief systems that tied nature to the supernatural, fostering practices that preserved and sustained their environments. Forest spirits, river gods, or deities were often seen as guardians of natural domains, and exploiting nature carried the risk of retaliation from these beings. Today, with mounting concerns over the overexploitation of the world’s natural resources, can bringing back some of these supernatural beliefs help deter such behaviors? The underlying idea is that fear of retribution ...

Kyoto, Japan -- Around the world, we are already witnessing the detrimental effects of climate change, which we know will only become more severe. Extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, tropical cyclones, and heat waves are projected to intensify, and this will negatively impact both human society and natural ecosystems. Assessing how climate change affects extreme weather is important not only from a scientific point of view, but also from a practical perspective. It is critical that we start adapting to climate change and mitigating the effects of potential disasters. This situation ...

TORONTO, Canada—A groundbreaking study analyzing data from over 5 million older Americans has found that those who migrate within the U.S. have significantly better health outcomes than those who remain in their birth state, offering compelling evidence of a “healthy migrant effect” within U.S. borders. Published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the study examined the prevalence of five types of disability among Americans aged 65 and older: serious vision and hearing problems, cognitive impairment, limitations in daily activities (ADLs), and physical limitations such as ...

George Gamow® award, established by the Russian-American Association of Scientists (RASA-America, Russian-American Science Association) in memory of the outstanding Russian-American physicist, Professor Georgy Antonovich Gamow (1904-1968) and to encourage members of the Russian-speaking scientific diaspora for outstanding achievements recognized by the wider scientific community, for 2024 is awarded to: Anna Krylov, professor of the University of Southern California “For her pioneering contributions to theoretical and computational chemistry, particularly the development of novel electronic structure ...

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is more than 25 times as potent as CO2 in warming the Earth. Reducing methane emissions is necessary to reduce the impact of global warming. In urban areas, evidence suggests that natural gas use and sewage treatment are responsible for generating methane. However, the extent of the contribution of other sources is unclear, especially in Japan. A research group led by Associate Professor Masahito Ueyama at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Agriculture measured methane and ethane concentrations ...

Many marine species are no strangers to the depths of the oceans. Some animals, like certain sharks, tuna, or turtles, routinely perform extreme dives, whereas for other species such behavior has been observed less frequently. Now, an international team of researchers working in Peru, Indonesia, and New Zealand tagged oceanic manta rays – the largest species of ray – to learn more about the deep-diving behavior of these animals. They published their results in Frontiers in Marine Science. “We show that, ...

Pulsars suggest that ultra–low-frequency gravitational waves are rippling through the cosmos. The signal seen by international pulsar timing array collaborations in 2023 could come from a stochastic gravitational-wave background—the sum of many distant sources—or from a single nearby binary of supermassive black holes. To tell these apart, Hideki Asada, theoretical physicist and Professor at Hirosaki University, and Shun Yamamoto, researcher at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, propose a method that exploits beat phenomena between gravitational waves at nearly the same frequency, searching for ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2025 AT 12:01 AM ET  Age is Just a Number for Hopeful Mothers  New survey shows many are unaware of advancements in obstetrics care ORLANDO, FL — While delaying motherhood is a growing national trend, a new Orlando Health survey reveals a widespread public misconception. Over half of Americans (54%) believe women cannot give birth safely in their 40s. At Orlando Health, doctors are breaking down these misconceptions and empowering hopeful mothers through advanced testing and technology that ensures safer pregnancies. "Pregnant women over the age of 35 are no different than other younger patients," said ...

Bottom Line: Combining an epigenetic therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody, which uses the body’s natural response to viral infections, showed promising results in patients with relapsed or refractory natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (R/R NKTL), a rare and aggressive cancer with limited treatment options. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Authors: Jing Tan, PhD, and Huiqiang Huang, MD, principal investigators in the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, and Choon Kiat Ong, PhD, principal ...

Research groups led by Qing-Yuan Meng from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xiu-Long Yang from Hebei University recently reported a novel acylation reaction for photocatalytic cleavage of olefin double bonds. Using a metal-free continuous photoredox catalytic strategy, they achieved a tertiary amine-mediated acylation of aromatic olefins via carbon-carbon double bond cleavage under mild conditions, resulting in the synthesis of a series of α-aryl ketones. Through controlled experiments and theoretical calculations, they explored the reaction mechanism, including the cleavage of both the π and σ bonds of the olefins, ...

POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) Professor Hyung Joo Lee’s research team, including integrated program students Min Young Shin and Na Rae Kim, has published the results of a study analyzing how the combined effects of droughts and wildfires influence fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in California, U.S., using 15 years of data. The study was published in the international environmental science journal Environment International.   PM2.5 refers to fine particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers (µm) or less. Because these particles can penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled, causing respiratory ...

Uncontrolled bleeding during surgery remains one of the deadliest medical emergencies. Injuries to internal organs such as the liver or spleen are especially dangerous because bleeding is difficult to control and often life-threatening. To tackle this challenge, researchers at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) have developed a composite bioabsorbable hemostatic sponge that can rapidly halt bleeding inside the body.   Conventional hemostatic agents often fail to adhere firmly to the bleeding site or remain in the body without degrading, which can cause secondary complications. To address this, the research team ...

Poorer health is linked to a higher proportion of votes for the populist right wing political party, Reform UK, indicates an analysis of the 2024 general election voting patterns in England, published online in the open access journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research. The findings should prompt policy-makers of all political stripes to step up efforts to improve public health and tackle health inequalities, suggest the researchers. Reform UK secured 14% of votes in last year’s UK general election, winning five of the English constituency seats available. And in May this year, it won a substantial number of council seats in local authority elections ...

Loneliness and social isolation are linked to a heightened risk of death from cancer as well as from all causes among those with the disease, finds a pooled data analysis of the available research published online in the open access journal BMJ Oncology. Globally, new cases of cancer are projected to rise to 35 million, and associated deaths to 18.5 million by 2050, note the researchers.  Loneliness is relatively common among people with cancer, and while loneliness is associated with various health issues, including cognitive ...

Sports footwear manufacturers need to ditch the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach to women’s running shoes, because this is failing to differentiate their distinct anatomical and biomechanical needs across the life course from those of men, concludes a small qualitative study published in the open access journal BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine. Female-, rather than male-based, designs might not only boost women runners’ comfort, but also enhance injury prevention, and their performance, say the researchers. Over the past 50 years, manufacturers have invested billions of dollars on developing running shoes that can prevent injury, maximise comfort, ...

Study outlines tactical playbook deployed by male abusers to “weaponise love” based on in-depth interviews with victims.   Current therapeutic approaches should move away from “victim pathology” and focus on “perpetrator strategy”, argues researcher. Before going on to commit violence, domestic abusers use a mix of intense affection and emotional cruelty, combined with tales of their own childhood trauma, to generate a deep psychological hold that can feel like an “addiction” according to some victims.  A new study by a University of Cambridge criminologist ...

Rapid and urgent action on food is needed if the UK is to reboot its flagging economy, save the NHS billions, ensure national food security, and meet climate commitments, according to a new report. The Roadmap for Resilience: A UK Food Plan for 2050, calls for radical transformation, at a scale and pace not seen since the Second World War. It says if we do not act now, change will be forced upon us by increasing pressures and the UK will lurch from crisis to crisis, including from food price shocks, climate disasters and weakening economic productivity. Acting now however, allows the UK to decide its own future, and must include ...

HOUSTON – (Oct. 14, 2025) – When doctors analyze a medical scan of an organ or area in the body, each part of the image has to be assigned an anatomical label. If the brain is under scrutiny for instance, its different parts have to be labeled as such, pixel by pixel: cerebral cortex, brain stem, cerebellum, etc. The process, called medical image segmentation, guides diagnosis, surgery planning and research. In the days before artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), clinicians performed this crucial yet painstaking and time-consuming task by hand, but over the past decade, U-nets ⎯ a type of ...

A new study in Biochar reveals that nitrogen-fortified nanobiochar could significantly improve soil fertility and rice yields while reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. Researchers from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, India, found that combining a reduced nitrogen fertilizer dose with nanobiochar enhanced both soil properties and crop performance in nitrogen-deficient soils. Nanobiochar, biochar particles engineered at the nanoscale, has attracted attention for its porous ...

ITHACA, N.Y. –  Art infusion theory – the idea that displaying art in retail settings can positively impact consumer behavior – can be applied to the metaverse with similar results, a Cornell design researcher has shown. Employing algorithm-fueled generative art, So-Yeon Yoon, professor of human centered design at Cornell University, found that the installation in a virtual store enhanced perceptions of exclusivity and aesthetic pleasure for both mass-market and luxury retailers. “When we think about art, we think it’s more closely aligned with the luxury market,” ...

Darwin Quiroz is exploring new frontiers in miniature lasers with major biomedical applications. When Quiroz first started working with optics as an undergraduate, he was developing atomic magnetometers. That experience sparked a growing curiosity about how light interacts with matter, an interest that has now led him to a new technique in optical imaging. Quiroz, a PhD student in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, is co-first author of a new study that demonstrates how a fluid-based optical device known as an electrowetting prism can be used to steer lasers at high speeds for advanced imaging applications.  The ...

Trees are essential to cooling down cities. However, a study by Concordia researchers at the Next Generation Cities Institute and the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre shows how tree distribution influences how some residents benefit more from them than others. In a paper published Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, the authors studied the layout of Montreal’s vegetation — its trees, shrubs and grass — and compared it to daytime temperature readings on the ground, or land surface. Using ...

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is a type of molecule and a key building block of the ribosome, the cell’s protein-making machinery. rRNA accounts for much of the RNA in a cell, and it’s crucial for life. “It’s essentially one of the most important molecules that we have,” says Thomas Jefferson University researcher Isidore Rigoutsos, PhD. “But for nearly seven decades, we thought rRNA was only relevant to the ribosome.” Now, a new study from Dr. Rigoutsos’ lab ...