A new study led by researchers at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology suggests that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet may be driven, in part, by tiny proteins hidden within our mitochondria, opening a new window into how diet shapes aging and disease risk. The study, led by USC Leonard Davis Instructional Associate Professor of Gerontology Roberto Vicinanza, found that people who closely follow a Mediterranean-style diet have higher levels of two mitochondrial microproteins, humanin and SHMOOSE ...

New research led by Colorado State University highlights a critical need for system-level thinking and innovation in shaping the electric power grid of the future. Professor Zongjie Wang recently published a paper in Scientific Reports, part of the Nature portfolio, that outlines a novel framework. The proposed method helps different how parts of the grid – transmission and distribution operations – work together to make holistic decisions, without requiring system centralization. The research is particularly relevant as power industry leaders and consumers grapple with the impacts of weather-related outages, rising energy costs, and ...

A free open-access webinar will introduce the Cancer Genome Interpreter (CGI), an advanced bioinformatics tool to interpret mutations in cancer genomes developed  by IRB Barcelona and co-created with European hospitals to turn complex cancer genomics into actionable insights. On Thursday, 9 April 2026 (14:00–15:30 CET), the CGI-Clinics consortium will host a free online workshop to present the Cancer Genome Interpreter (CGI), an AI-powered platform designed to support the interpretation of tumour genomes. ...

The National Science Foundation Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, which aims to transform upstate into America's battery tech capital, will receive $45 million over three years for the second phase of the program. The initiative, led by Binghamton University and its core partners — Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Griffiss Institute, Launch-NY, and NY-BEST — is one of nine inaugural Engines launched under NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program.  Since its launch in 2024, the Energy Storage Engine has received $15M from the NSF. The initiative may receive up to ...

This winter was one of the warmest on record across the West; as a result, many snowy, alpine areas have seen bouts of winter rainfall where there would ordinarily only be snow. These unusual weather patterns have contributed to an abysmal ski season, but they can also set the stage for dangerous avalanches. At temperatures close to freezing, precipitation can fall as rain but freeze when it hits the snow, forming an icy crust. Snow that accumulates on top of that crust is unstable and prone to abrupt slides, causing an avalanche that can close down a major highway in moments, endanger backcountry ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Recycled plastics are promoted on everything from water bottles and fleece jackets to shopping bags and yogurt cups. Verifying such claims, however, is another matter because there is no quick and reliable way to measure how much recycled plastic these products contain. University at Buffalo researchers are addressing this problem by combining several scientific tests, as well as artificial intelligence, to create a new method for differentiating recycled plastic from new plastic. Described in a study published today in Nature's Communications Engineering, the method aims to help ...

DALLAS, March 23, 2026 — At a time when American dietary patterns are facing renewed attention, the American Heart Association has announced its inaugural Health Care by Food™ Most Impactful Food Is Medicine Research Award, honoring the year’s most meritorious scientific study exploring effective ways to integrate healthy food into clinical care to address the growing prevalence and cost of cardiovascular disease and other diet‑related chronic diseases. The inaugural award recognizes the research team behind “Pilot study of a heart‑healthy food box intervention for Native Americans with uncontrolled hypertension: methods and results from the Chickasaw ...

Dance like nobody’s watching? Not quite, at least not for honey bees. In recent years, scientists have carefully deciphered details of the honey bee “waggle dance,” which is an advanced form of social communication in the animal kingdom. University of California San Diego biologists and their international colleagues recently unraveled how the dance conveys critical information about food sources for the benefit of fellow hive inhabitants. A new study on the dynamics of the dance, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

NEW YORK, NY — By scanning the brains of mice throughout their lifespans, scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute and the University of Texas at Dallas have discovered that the human brain is not unique in how it changes with age. These findings might one day help researchers pinpoint mechanisms in humans that confer vulnerability to, or grant resilience from, age-related brain decline, diseases and disorders.  Their research was published online today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery ...

Australian researchers have uncovered a critical mechanism driving the growth and spread of glioblastoma – one of the most aggressive and lethal forms of brain cancer – potentially paving the way for more effective treatments. In a new study led by Adelaide University scientists from the Centre for Cancer Biology (CCB), researchers identified a previously unrecognised role for a protein called CD47 in promoting tumour progression, independent of its known function in helping cancer evade the immune system. Glioblastoma is extremely difficult to treat, with most patients surviving less than 18 months after diagnosis. Current ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – March 23, 2026) Neurodegenerative diseases form a tangled biological web with overlapping molecular signatures and symptoms. To decode this complexity, a multi-institute collaboration led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists developed the pan-neurodegeneration atlas (PanNDA). The atlas is a comprehensive survey of neurodegenerative disease “proteomes” containing information about protein levels, modifications and interactions. This resource, published today in Cell, provides a wide-ranging protein-based ...

EDGE is one of two next-generation satellite missions announced in February. The mission will help NASA better understand changes to the Earth’s surface and will create detailed 3D maps of vegetation, as well as ice formations like glaciers and sea ice. It builds on the work of two existing NASA satellites, but will do it better and more precisely. This is particularly important for ecosystems in the semi-arid west, where measuring low-height vegetation such as shrubs and vegetation on steep slopes is challenging. Accurate measurement of vegetation ...

ITHACA, N.Y. - For 150 years, Major League Baseball (MLB) players and fans have accepted that an umpire missing a few balls and strikes is just part of the game. But this spring, MLB is rolling out an artificial intelligence-augmented camera system that will provide a second opinion for players to tap if they think an umpire whiffed. This historic change inspired a Cornell research team to study how MLB stakeholders are integrating the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) – which tracks pitches in real time – into baseball’s sacred gameplay. “We hear so much about AI influencing political views and ...

SAN ANTONIO — March 23, 2026 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) celebrated the grand opening of its new Clinical Supply Facility (CSF). The 21,000-square-foot laboratory adds dedicated suites and HEPA filtered cleanrooms to support pharmaceutical development and bioengineering research, particularly in advanced clinical supplies. The facility expands SwRI’s capability to conduct “Fill Finish” for capsules, sachets, tablets and other advanced formulations for all routes of administration. The facility will facilitate the production ...

RICHMOND, Va. — March 23, 2026 — Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center are leading an international study that advances the understanding of the immunoregulatory nature of human tissues, offering breakthrough insights into how fibroblasts serve as the core regulators of structural immunity in the mouth. Serving as the cover story in the first-ever issue of Cell Press Blue, Kevin Matthew Byrd, D.D.S., Ph.D., a member of the Cancer Biology research program at Massey and assistant professor of oral and craniofacial ...

In a recent study, researchers found that exercise and aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction successfully improved heart health, but these efforts did not produce measurable cognitive benefits over two years in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. In “Effects of Exercise and Intensive Vascular Risk Reduction on Cognitive Function in Older Adults - A Randomized Clinical Trial,” published in JAMA Neurology, researchers, including Dr. Jeffrey Keller of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, shared the results of the Risk Reduction for Alzheimer’s Disease (rrAD) study. They found that interventions ...

The São Paulo School of Advanced Science in Obesity (SPSAS Obesity) will be held on October 19-30, 2026, at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the State University of Campinas (FCM-UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil. SPSAS Obesity offers graduate students and early career researchers two weeks of courses, interaction, connection and scientific discussions with leaders in the fields of medical sciences, physiology, biology, genetics, evolution and healthcare. In response to the urgent global rise in obesity — ...

During a widespread crisis, negative emotions don’t simply go away once the workday begins. Organizational scholars who study how emotions affect employees tend to assume that negative emotions equal negative outcomes. That isn’t always the case, according to new research from David Lebel, associate professor of business administration in the School of Business and director of the Berg Center for Ethics & Leadership.  Working with Pitt doctoral student Jordan Sanders and Jochen Menges at the University of Zurich, Lebel found that during one such crisis–the ...

A new scholarship scheme launched as part of the Scottish Government’s new National Islands Plan aims to encourage postgraduate students to move to Orkney and study specialist clean energy and marine science.   Heriot-Watt University, the Scottish Government and Orkney Islands Council are behind the programme, which is designed to draw more talent to the islands. While the scheme is being piloted in Orkney, the Scottish Government says its findings will inform wider policy efforts ...

In the earliest phase of creating human proteins, the protein complex NAC performs an essential task by starting the first steps towards folding proteins into their correct three-dimensional structures. This discovery was made by an international research team led by scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University. They found that the NAC complex binds to the nascent protein building-blocks formed by the ribosome, i.e., the amino acid chains, and initiates the folding that is essential for functional proteins. According to the scientists, the research ...

Children living with obesity but showing no signs of metabolic complications still have a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood lipid levels later in life. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in JAMA Pediatrics, also shows that these children benefit greatly from obesity treatment. “There has been a debate about whether children with normal blood and liver values and normal blood pressure might not need treatment for their obesity. Our study shows that this assumption is incorrect,” says Claude Marcus, professor at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and ...

Brief facts about the study Alzheimer’s disease // clinical, prospective study // longitudinal // cohort study // peer-reviewed // in vivo // The study is published in The Lancet Neurology Alzheimer's disease is characterised by the accumulation of two proteins in the brain: amyloid-beta and tau. Tau normally stabilises the structure of nerve cells, but in this disease the protein undergoes chemical changes and begins to form tangles in the neurons. This altered form is known as p-tau217 and can be measured in the blood. However, the disease develops slowly over ...

Campo Grande, Brazil — The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) opens here today amid new reports that almost half (49%) of all CMS-listed species have decreasing population trends, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction.  The State of the World's Migratory Species: Interim Report (2026) paints a stark picture of animals under pressure from a combination of overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and invasive species.  Over 2,000 participants ...

Lena Ting, from Emory University, and colleagues explored how brain and muscle activity during balance recovery change due to aging and Parkinson’s.  Previously, Ting’s research group revealed that when they pulled a rug out from under young adults to trigger balance recovery, these individuals experienced an immediate involuntary brainstem and muscle response followed by a second wave of activity in the brain and muscle in more difficult balance disturbances. In this new study on older adults with and without Parkinson’s, published in eNeuro, the researchers discovered that these populations ...

During intensive care after preterm births, babies can experience low oxygen in their tissue and cells—or hypoxia. Hypoxia is linked to poor brain health outcomes and life-long memory issues, but the mechanisms are unclear. Researchers led by Art Riddle and Stephen Back, from Oregon Health and Science University, discovered a contributing mechanism by creating a mouse model for mild hypoxia following premature birth. Riddle emphasizes that, “The field has historically focused on how hypoxia injures white matter in the brain and kills neurons. This is the first study to explore how mild hypoxia ...