They may look good in the landscape, but are they, in fact, useful? This is a subject of frequent debate. In recent years, flower strips along fields and ditches have become popular both in Denmark and abroad. One of the purposes of the strips is to attract more predatory insects that can naturally control pests in the fields, rather than relying on pesticides. The EU aims to reduce pesticide use by 50 percent by 2030. A meta-analysis from the University of Copenhagen shows that flower strips are effective. At least if they have two or more flower species. ...

Birth rates are declining worldwide, while dog parenting practices are gaining popularity. What does this growing “furry children” trend reveal about our societies? Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University suggest that, while dogs do not actually replace children, they may, in some cases, offer an opportunity to fulfil a nurturing drive similar to parenting, but with fewer demands than raising biological offspring. Their review, published in European Psychologist, also examines how the shifting roles of dogs within modern family structures are influenced by individual circumstances, but also by cultural norms. Many wealthy and developed countries—including ...

Ammonia is a chemical essential to many agricultural and industrial processes, but it’s mode of production comes with an incredibly high energy cost. Various attempts have, and are, being made to produce ammonia more efficiently. For the first time, a group including researchers from the University of Tokyo combined atmospheric nitrogen, water and sunlight, and using two catalysts, produced sizable quantities of ammonia without a high energy cost. Their processes mirror natural processes found in plants utilizing ...

When we think of cholera, most of us picture contaminated water and tragic outbreaks in vulnerable regions. But behind the scenes, cholera bacteria are locked in a fierce, microscopic war—one that could shape the course of pandemics. Cholera bacteria aren’t just battling antibiotics and public health measures—they are also constantly under attack from bacteriophages (phages), viruses that infect and kill bacteria. These viruses don’t just influence individual infections; they can make or break entire epidemics. In fact, certain bacteriophages ...

Scientists have developed a method for analysing the structure of lipid nanoparticles that could be used to improve vaccine and drug delivery, targeting a wide range of health issues. A team led by scientists at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy demonstrated a new cryogenic mass spectrometry approach for depth profiling frozen tiny lipid nanoparticles to reveal the layers and orientation of the constituent molecules. The findings have been published today in Nature’s Mass Spectrometry Method Development collection. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP’s) came to ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University scientists are using microwave technology to extend the shelf life of hummus while eliminating the need for chemical preservatives, as demonstrated in a recent Journal of Food Process Engineering paper. The Middle Eastern dip, which is growing in popularity around the world, was associated with 20 illness outbreaks in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018 that resulted in 65 hospitalizations and five deaths. Because of those outbreaks, many commercial hummus makers use chemical preservatives ...

The European Platform for Neurodegenerative Diseases (EPND) is proud to announce the release of the ATN dataset from its first biomarker case study, now accessible via the EPND Hub. This marks a major step forward in collaborative, cross-disease research tackling neurodegenerative conditions that affect millions across Europe. The release underlines EPND’s mission to foster data and biosample sharing to accelerate breakthroughs in neurodegenerative disease research.  A multi-cohort dataset to study shared disease mechanisms  The biomarker case study builds on the invaluable contributions of cohort investigators and research teams who provided biosamples ...

Richmond Hill, Canada – 6 May 2025 — Forests once hailed as reliable carbon sinks are rapidly becoming “super‑emitters” as record‑breaking wildfires sweep boreal, Amazonian, and Australian landscapes. Today’s climate policies and voluntary carbon markets seldom account for the sharp rise in fire‑driven emissions. A new publication by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU‑INWEH), Beyond Planting Trees: Taking Advantage of Satellite Observations to Improve Forest Carbon Management and Wildfire Prevention, warns about the unintended consequences of current ...

Tokyo, Japan – Tumors are made up of millions of cells, and removing all of these cells surgically or eliminating them with medication becomes much more difficult after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Now, in a study published this month in iScience, an interdisciplinary team comprising researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Kanazawa University, Institute of Science Tokyo, and Kyorin University School of Medicine has determined exactly how these tumor cells are able to accomplish intrabody travel to form tumors elsewhere. Small clusters of circulating tumor cells, which are cells that detach from tumors ...

Bone-destructive diseases such as osteoporosis and chronic inflammatory arthritis affect millions of people worldwide, causing pain, fractures, and decreased quality of life. These conditions often result from the dysregulation of osteoclasts—specialized cells responsible for breaking down bone tissue. Today, many promising treatments target the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-RANK-tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) signaling pathway, which controls ...

Knowing the molecule behind light sensitivity in migraines could open the door to better treatments Scientists in the UK, Australia and China have identified a brain molecule called NEAT1 that appears to play a central role in triggering light sensitivity (photophobia), a common and debilitating symptom of migraines. Their findings, published in The Journal of Headache and Pain, highlight how this molecule affects the brain's pain response, contributing to the uncomfortable reaction to light that's common during migraines. NEAT1 belongs to a group of molecules known as long noncoding RNAs. Unlike most RNA, which carries instructions for making ...

There is a strong association between an older person’s view of how they are ageing and how well they will physically recover after a fall. That is the finding of a new research study from Imperial College London and Coventry University, which is the first to suggest how important psychological factors may be in post-fall physical recovery. The study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Falls in older adults are a major health concern because they can lead to high levels of physical disability and hospitalisation, as well as affecting people’s ability to live independently. The consequences of falls in older ...

The Lancet: Additional imaging techniques detect early stage cancers missed by mammograms in women with dense breasts, finds trial In women with dense breasts (breasts with relatively low levels of fatty tissue) and a negative mammogram, supplemental imaging techniques detect early-stage cancers, with imaging techniques three times more effective than ultrasound, finds a phase 3 randomised control trial published in The Lancet. Women with extremely dense breasts, about 10% of those aged 50-70 years in the UK, face a fourfold increased ...

People who have been taking antidepressants for more than two years are substantially more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms compared to short-term users when they come off the medication, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Long-term users also tend to experience worse withdrawal symptoms, and for a longer period of time, than short-term users, and are less likely to be able to stop taking the drug when they attempt to do so, according to the findings published in Psychiatry Research. The study’s lead author Dr Mark Horowitz, visiting clinical researcher at UCL Division of Psychiatry, said: “Our findings confirm what many researchers ...

URBANA, Ill. – Gully erosion is the most severe form of soil erosion, and it can seriously impact agricultural fields, contributing to sediment loss and nutrient runoff into waterways. Gullies can be triggered suddenly by a single heavy rainfall event, creating deep channels that are difficult to rehabilitate even with heavy machinery. Accurately predicting where gully erosion is likely to occur allows agricultural producers and land managers to target their conservation efforts more effectively. In a new study, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers use a new AI-driven approach that combines machine learning with an interpretability ...

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have shed light on what populations are more likely to be prescribed a high dose of opioid medication. This increases their risk of developing opioid use disorder. Opioids like hydrocodone or oxycodone are typically prescribed to relieve intense pain. A prescription can become an addiction; side effects include building a tolerance to the medication – so the patient has to take a higher dose to feel relief – or becoming physically dependent on the drug. These ...

Irvine, Calif., May 21, 2025 — In a paper published today in Science Advances, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University and other international institutions report that the application of personal care products such as fragrances and body lotions suppresses a potentially unhealthy “human oxidation field” that exists around our bodies.   This zone, which was the subject of a paper by the same team published in Science in 2022, is created when oils and fats on skin react with ozone, an important oxidant in the indoor environment. ...

Many grooves and dimples on the surface of the brain are unique to humans, but they're often dismissed as an uninteresting consequence of packing an unusually large brain into a too-small skull. But neuroscientists are finding that these folds are not mere artifacts, like the puffy folds you get when forcing a sleeping bag into a stuff sack. The depths of some of the smallest of these grooves seem to be linked to increased interconnectedness in the brain and better reasoning ability. In a study published May 19 in The Journal of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley, researchers show that in children and adolescents, the depths of some small grooves are correlated with ...

Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers have discovered a new class of materials – called intercrystals – with unique electronic properties that could power future technologies. Intercrystals exhibit newly discovered forms of electronic properties that could pave the way for advancements in more efficient electronic components, quantum computing and environmentally friendly materials, the scientists said. As described in a report in the science journal Nature Materials, the scientists stacked two ultrathin layers of graphene, each a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS — There’s good news for people with migraine who take common drugs before or during pregnancy—a new study found no increase in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD in their children. The study, which looked at drugs used for migraine attacks called triptans, is published on May 21, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study does not prove that there is a link between these drugs and neurodevelopment disorders.   “These results are encouraging for people with migraine, who may be taking these drugs before they even ...

Results from the VITAL randomized controlled trial reveal that vitamin D supplementation helps maintain telomeres, protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during aging and are linked to the development of certain diseases. The new report, which is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is based on data from a VITAL sub-study co-led by researchers at Mass General Brigham and the Medical College of Georgia, and supports a promising role in slowing a pathway for biological aging.  “VITAL is the first large-scale and long-term randomized trial to show that vitamin D supplements protect telomeres and preserve ...

SAN ANTONIO — May 21, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute tapped into its drug formulation and manufacturing expertise to fabricate two bed netting prototypes targeting malaria-causing blood parasites. In a collaboration with researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)/Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC), SwRI designed netting systems to deliver antimalarial drugs called Endochin-like Quinolones (ELQs) that destroy Plasmodium parasites ...

Policies that impact social determinants of health may influence an individual’s risk of depression, according to a new study published May 21, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mary Nicolaou of the Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands, and colleagues. Globally, depression is one of the leading causes of burden of disease worldwide. Interventions focused on individual behaviors, while effective, reduce depression incidence by only about 20%, meaning that most risk factors are left unaddressed. ...

Fuel breaks for forest fires could be more effective in reducing potential risks and impacts if planned using a new optimization approach, which accounts for uncertain wildfire behavior in fire-prone landscapes of Alberta, Canada Article URL: https://plos.io/42Oi8ni Article title: Evaluating fuelbreak strategies for compartmentalizing a fire-prone forest landscape in Alberta, Canada Author countries: Canada, U.S. Funding: Funding for this work was provided by Natural Resource Canada’s Canadian Forest Service Wildfire Risk Management ...

The benefits of positive expressive writing for psychological health and wellbeing depend on the particular approach and on individual differences, according to a systematic review published on May 21, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Lauren Hoult from Northumbria University, U.K., and colleagues. Writing interventions first explored in research direct people to write about stressful or negative topics repeatedly over the course of several consecutive days, which often improves mental health in the long run, but risks heightening negative emotions in the moment. Positive expressive writing, on the other hand, emphasizes self-reflection, gratitude, ...