EAST LANSING, Mich. – Astronomers have long grappled with the question, “How do planets form?” A new collaboration among Michigan State University, Arizona State University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will seek to answer this question with the help of a powerful telescope and high-performance computers.   The team of researchers will use 154 hours on the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, to probe the atmospheres of seven planets beyond our solar system – all of which were formed less than 300 million years ago, around the time dinosaurs roamed ...

Since the discovery of actin in relation to muscle function more than 80 years ago by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi in Szeged, Hungary, actin research has become extremely diverse and now extends to plants and prokaryotes, as well as biochemical, biophysical, molecular, and cellular biology fields. The need for an international actin conference with comprehensive topics, where the latest results and research directions are presented, is critical for the community. Therefore, we decided to bring together the best experts in actin biology from across the world to build research synergies to tackle long-standing questions ...

Astronomers have long grappled with the question, “How do planets form?” A new collaboration among Arizona State University (ASU) , Michigan State University (MSU) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will seek to answer this question with the help of a powerful telescope and high-performance computers.  The team of researchers will use 154 hours on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to probe the atmospheres of seven planets beyond our solar system – all of which were formed less than 300 million years ago, around the time dinosaurs roamed the Earth. In conjunction with JWST, this collaboration, called the KRONOS program, will use computers ...

WASHINGTON — For the first time, researchers have used high-speed laser writing to create lines spaced just 100 nm apart on a glass substrate. The optimized printing approach could enable super-resolution 3D direct laser writing (DLW) of microlenses, photonics crystals, micro-optical devices, metamaterials and more. DLW is an additive manufacturing technique that uses a focused laser beam to selectively solidify, or polymerize, a material with nanoscale precision. DLW typically uses multi-photon polymerization to polymerize materials in a precise, ...

Scientists at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified an innovative combination of treatment strategies that work collaboratively to effectively kill acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, a frequently incurable form of cancer. New research findings — published in the Nature family journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy — suggest that a class of drugs known as MCL-1 (myeloid leukemia cell-1) inhibitors interact with a type of kinase inhibitor that targets the SRC gene to efficiently trigger cell death in AML cells. “Results from this research could add another approach ...

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that mental health visits for patients with depression from high-wealth neighborhoods in Maryland were significantly more likely to happen via telehealth compared to patients with depression from low-wealth neighborhoods in Maryland from mid-2021 through mid-2024. Telehealth visits by phone or web-based teleconferencing became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic after in-person health care options were scaled back and telehealth restrictions relaxed. The researchers investigated how mental health care visits changed from before and over the course ...

A new AI-based system for analyzing images taken over time can accurately detect changes and predict outcomes, according to a study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell’s Ithaca campus and Cornell Tech. The system’s sensitivity and flexibility could make it useful across a wide range of medical and scientific applications. The new system, termed LILAC (Learning-based Inference of Longitudinal imAge Changes), is based on an AI approach called machine learning. In the study, which appears Feb. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers developed the system and demonstrated it on diverse time-series of images—also ...

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2025 – Research led by York University’s Faculty of Health reveals how a specific mutation in a protein called TRAF1 can shut down an overactive immune response, dramatically reducing inflammation in mice. Lead researcher Ali Abdul-Sater says this discovery could pave the way for a new class of drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis.   “Rheumatoid arthritis is a common health condition which can interfere with many aspects of daily life and based on the limited efficacy ...

A new trans-Atlantic space initiative has launched, linking Texas and France in an ambitious effort to fuel startup growth, drive research and forge international partnerships. Announced at the 2025 ASCENDxTexas event Feb. 27, the Texas-France Space Hub aims to unite academic institutions and private enterprises, expanding commercial space presence in both countries. The three-year initiative fosters global partnerships in aerospace, bringing together Rice University, Stellar Access and Houston Spaceport in Texas with France’s space agency CNES and ...

Planetary-mass objects (PMOs) are cosmic nomads: they drift freely through space, unbound to any star, and weigh less than 13 times the mass of Jupiter. While they have been spotted in abundance in young star clusters such as the Trapezium Cluster in Orion (Fig. 1), their origin has puzzled scientists. Traditional theories have suggested that they might be failed stars or planets ejected from their solar systems. An international team of astronomers, in collaboration with the University of Zurich (UZH), has used advanced simulations to demonstrate that these enigmatic objects can form directly from the violent interactions of disks around young stars. “PMOs don’t ...

Bacteremia, or blood poisoning, occurs when bacteria overcome the body’s immune defenses. Bacteremia can worsen into sepsis, a condition that accounts for more than 1 in 3 hospital deaths per year. Yet people are routinely exposed to and fight off bacteria from the environment without this deadly series of events occurring. Scientists are trying to figure out exactly how bacteria spread throughout the body to cause systemic infection in the hopes of eventually stopping this process in its tracks. Michael Bachman, M.D., Ph.D., clinical associate professor of pathology and microbiology and immunology at U-M Medical School and former postdoc Caitlyn Holmes, Ph.D., ...

The Indiana University School of Medicine is accepting nominations until May 15, 2025, for the 2026 August M. Watanabe Prize in Translational Research. The Watanabe Prize is one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious research awards recognizing senior investigators focused on shepherding scientific discoveries into new therapies for patients. Nominees should be members of the scientific or medical communities who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in translational research. The winner of the 2026 Watanabe Prize in Translational Research will receive a $100,000 award and spend time in Indianapolis from September 16-18, ...

A new analysis of social media posts finds public support for solar energy remains high, though that support declined significantly from 2016 to 2022. The study also found solar power has become an increasingly polarized issue, with the shift in support being driven largely by opposition to solar power among people in regions that lean Republican. “The U.S. saw significant growth in the solar energy sector between 2013 and 2022, but that growth has not been spread evenly across the country – some areas have seen more deployment of solar energy technologies than other areas,” says Serena Kim, corresponding author of ...

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common, especially among athletes. Each year, over 400 000 ACL reconstruction (ACLR) surgeries are carried out globally. While the success rate of ACLR is reported to be over 90%, a significant number of patients still face issues like revision surgery and long-term osteoarthritis. This has spurred research into better graft materials, and artificial ligaments have emerged as a potential solution. A recent review article published in Engineering delves into the current state and future prospects of artificial ligaments for ACLR.   Artificial ...

1 Gene Variant Is Poised to Cure a Devastating Inherited Disease Scientists compared five families and multiple generations to find a gene variant that prevents COPA Syndrome and opens the door to a new gene therapy for the condition. For more than 15 years, Anthony Shum, MD, a pulmonologist at UC San Francisco, has tried to understand the random path of devastation that a rare genetic condition carves through the families it affects.   While many of those who carry the mutation develop severe lung hemorrhaging as children others never get the disease ...

In the rapidly developing contest between human creativity and artificial intelligence algorithms, professional artists still have an edge in producing more creative AI-assisted artwork than the AI programs themselves or novice artists, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.  The rapid advancement of AI raises some existential questions about the nature of creativity, said lead researcher Paul Seli, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University.  “Creativity ...

Despite improvements to air filtration technology in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the smallest particles — those of automobile and factory emissions — can still make their way through less efficient, but common filters. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering have introduced a new way to improve textile-based filters by coating them with a type of two-dimensional nanomaterial called MXene. Recently published in C Journal ...

Digital Science has today announced new enhancements to Symplectic Elements, which will now offer the ability to embed AI-generated summaries for publication abstracts within a researcher’s public profile.  Symplectic Elements, a leading research information management system (RIMS), enables the creation of comprehensive public profiles. These profiles are hosted on sleek, modern, and intuitive online portals that offer advanced search and discovery capabilities while ensuring alignment with organizational branding. Profiles can be made available not only for researchers and faculty but also for ...

New University of Sheffield research shows that combining solar panels with farming (agrivoltaics) can meet UK solar energy targets without sacrificing agricultural land The coverage potential for the technology is so high that it could meet UK electricity demand more than four times over Regions identified for the effective deployment of agrivoltaics include Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, and the broader East and South East of England The approach counters criticism of traditional solar farms, which are often opposed ...

Biomass burning—whether from wildfires, wood stoves or agricultural fires—sends massive amounts of tiny particles and chemicals into the air. These emissions are not just an environmental issue; they pose serious health risks, especially for our lungs. An Environmental Pollution study, co-authored by Dr. Jason Surratt, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, reveals how two key components of biomass smoke—levoglucosan and 4-nitrocatechol—affect human lung cells. Their findings suggest that aged ...

For a few hundred dollars, a bedroom can be refreshed with the latest flat-pack offerings. Wood particleboard furniture is affordable and generally easy to assemble, but particleboard is often held together with formaldehyde-based resins that make it hard or impossible to recycle. Now, with the help of science, old pressed-wood furnishings could be repurposed, and new modular decor could incorporate more environmentally friendly materials. Four articles published in ACS journals reveal how. Reporters can request free access to these papers ...

Biological tissues are made up of different cell types arranged in specific patterns, which are essential to their proper functioning. Understanding these spatial arrangements is important when studying how cells interact and respond to changes in their environment, as well as the intricacies of pathologies like cancer. Spatial transcriptomics (ST) techniques, which have been rapidly evolving over the past decade, allow scientists to map gene activity within tissues while keeping their structure intact, ...

The varicella zoster virus (VZV), an infectious virus from the herpes virus family, is primarily known to cause varicella in children and shingles in adults. But lately, this virus has also been reported to trigger severe complications like central nervous system (CNS) infections. Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, conducted a comprehensive study spanning 10 years (2013–2022), to identify the VZV-related infections affecting the CNS. Their study reveals a marked increase in adult VZV-related CNS infections, ...

CABI has led a team of scientists who have used DNA barcodes to narrow down the possible sources of introductions of an invasive banana skipper butterfly, with implications as to the threat of it spreading to Africa and tropical America. The banana skipper, Erionota torus Evans (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Hesperiinae, Erionotini) is a South-east Asian pest of banana that, in the last 60 years, has spread to the southern Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and La Réunion. The new research, published in the journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, analysed a partial library of DNA barcodes from the indigenous and introduced ranges and suggests that aircraft are likely ...

Global partnerships that embed scientific research into clinical care are revolutionising the diagnosis and treatments for children with rare genetic diseases, according to a new report. The white paper found despite advances in genomic technologies, which can detect rare genetic diseases within days, there remained significant challenges to ensuring this leads to improved child health outcomes. But global collaborations, such as the International Precision Child Health Partnership (IPCHiP), using evidence-based approaches to inform decisions in real-time, are overhauling patient care. The paper was led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), The Hospital for Sick ...