Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the US space agency NASA have made an unexpected discovery that challenges one of the basic rules of chemistry and provides new knowledge about Saturn’s enigmatic moon Titan. In its extremely cold environment, normally incompatible substances can still be mixed. This discovery broadens our understanding of chemistry before the emergence of life.  Scientists have long been interested in Saturn’s largest, orange-coloured moon as its evolution can teach us more about our own planet and the earliest chemical steps ...

The VICT3R project is expanding its consortium by adding new beneficiaries and organisations to the network of contract research organisations (CROs) associated with the project. This expansion increases the project budget to €30 million and reinforces VICT3R's mission to transform the way safety is assessed in drug and chemical development, reducing reliance on laboratory animals. New beneficiaries include leading industrial partners such as Servier Group and Zoetis Belgium SA. Servier is an independent international pharmaceutical group governed by a foundation, ...

Thursday, 16 October 2025: A new clinical trial co-led by researchers at FutureNeuro and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences is investigating how advanced brain monitoring could improve the diagnosis and management of epilepsy. Led in Ireland by consultant neurologists Professor Norman Delanty of RCSI and Beaumont Hospital and Dr Daniel Costello of Cork University Hospital (CUH) – two of the country’s busiest neurology departments – the trial involves multiple sites across Europe, with Irish patients making up more than ...

Dogs aren’t just our best friends, they’re also key allies in the fight against terrorism. Thousands of teams of explosive detection dogs and their handlers work 24/7 at airports, transit systems, cargo facilities, and public events around the globe to keep us safe. But canine detection is an art as well as a science: success depends not only on the skill of both dog and human, but also on their bond, and may vary with their physiological state and environmental conditions. Practices are often passed down informally between handlers, which can further hamper the consistency of performance across teams. To remedy this, the American ...

The most reliable predictor of an ex-smoker’s relapse isn’t strong urges to smoke or low confidence in the ability to stay off tobacco – it’s weariness with the efforts to remain a non-smoker, according to a new study published today in Addiction.  Ex-smokers appear to return to smoking most often because they’re exhausted from the constant vigilance needed to remain a non-smoker.  This effect is called psychological cessation fatigue, and its influence on ex-smokers is not affected by how long you’ve been an ex-smoker or whether you vape to reduce ...

Chemists at Université de Montréal have developed "signaling cascades" made with DNA molecules to report and quantify the concentration of various molecules in a drop of blood, all within 5 minutes. Their findings, validated by experiments on mice, are published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may aid efforts to build point-of-care devices for monitoring and optimizing the treatment of various diseases. This breakthrough was made by a research group led by UdeM chemistry professor Alexis Vallée-Bélisle. “One of the key factors ...

As global demand for green hydrogen grows, scientists are exploring direct seawater electrolysis as a sustainable way to produce hydrogen without consuming scarce freshwater. Yet, seawater contains abundant chloride ions, which corrode electrodes and drastically shorten device lifetimes — a major barrier to commercialization.   A recent study by Shen et al., published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS, 2025), presents a promising breakthrough: a rare-earth oxide protection layer that shields seawater ...

As wearable health technologies evolve, smart contact lenses (SCLs) are emerging as powerful platforms for non-invasive, real-time ocular diagnostics. Now, researchers from Istanbul Okan University and Istinye University, led by Prof. Ali Zarrabi and Dr. Siavash Iravani, have presented a comprehensive review on MXene-based smart contact lenses, highlighting their transformative potential in vision care and ophthalmic health monitoring. This work outlines how MXenes—2D transition metal carbides—can revolutionize contact lens functionality through biosensing, therapy, and user comfort. Why MXene-Based Contact Lenses Matter Multifunctionality: Enable real-time ...

Acetaldehyde is a key chemical intermediate traditionally produced via the ethylene-based Wacker oxidation process, which is both costly and environmentally harmful. Selective oxidation of bioethanol to acetaldehyde offers a greener and more sustainable alternative, yet most reported catalysts struggle with the usual trade-off between activity and selectivity, typically yielding less than 90% acetaldehyde.   Notably, Liu and Hensen demonstrated a specific Au0-Cu+ synergy in the state-of-the-art Au/MgCuCr2O4 catalyst, achieving over 95% AC yield at 250oC with stable performance for over ...

Primary amines are extensively used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and material science. Among various reported methods to access primary amines, the direct amination of alcohols with ammonia is most promising and environmentally benign since alcohols can be derived from renewable biomass and the sole byproduct is water. While a large number of catalyst systems have been developed for alcohol amination, challenges remain to be addressed such as the low selectivity to primary amines at high alcohol ...

Turning agricultural and organic waste into biochar could help store more carbon in the soil and slow climate change, according to a new study published in Biochar. Researchers from Prairie View A&M University reviewed recent findings showing that biochar improves soil health, boosts microbial diversity, and captures carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Biochar is a charcoal-like material produced by heating plant or animal waste under limited oxygen conditions. The review found that when added to soil, biochar acts as a long-lasting carbon sink and enhances several soil processes ...

A team of researchers in China has developed a new low-cost biochar material that can efficiently remove persistent metal complexes from water, offering a promising tool for improving water quality and environmental safety. The study, published in Biochar X, describes how ferromanganese oxide-modified biochar can capture copper–citrate complexes, which are difficult to remove using conventional water treatment methods. These metal–organic complexes are common in industrial wastewater and pose serious environmental and health concerns due ...

New research by UCLA Health has found a simple blood test could provide faster and more accurate diagnosis of ALS by measuring cell-free DNA. The noninvasive test could not only allow neurologists to rule out other neurological diseases but also detect ALS disease earlier to provide better treatment and potentially improve life expectancy. The study, published in the journal Genome Medicine, is the first to test cell-free DNA — fragments of DNA released into the blood from dying cells — as a potential ALS biomarker. Commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and currently incurable neurodegenerative ...

A new study, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that combining certain types of dietary supplements is more effective than single prebiotics or omega-3 in supporting immune and metabolic health, which could lower the risk of conditions linked to chronic inflammation. The findings of the study, which are published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, show that a synbiotic - a combination of naturally fermented kefir and a diverse prebiotic fibre mix - produces the most powerful anti-inflammatory effects among the three common dietary supplements tested. The kefir and prebiotic mix was provided by Chuckling Goat ...

For patients with knee osteoarthritis, aerobic activities such as walking, cycling, or swimming are likely to be the best exercise for improving pain, function, gait performance, and quality of life, finds a study published by The BMJ today. While other exercises may offer complementary benefits to patients, they should not replace aerobic exercise as the main strategy, say the researchers. Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of bones wears away, causing pain, swelling, and impaired movement. While any joint can be affected, ...

Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors used to treat type 2 diabetes are associated with an 11% lower risk of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, compared with another group of diabetes drugs called sulfonylureas, finds a study from South Korea published by The BMJ today. Autoimmune rheumatic diseases occur when the body mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissues, leading to inflammation and damage to joints, skin, muscles, and other organs. Common conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma. Previous studies have shown that SGLT-2 inhibitors can inhibit the body’s immune response, but ...

Imposter participants threaten the integrity of health research and, by extension, the policies and clinical decisions built on it, warn experts in The BMJ today.   Eileen Morrow and colleagues at the University of Oxford say the research community “must acknowledge the problem and dedicate resources to testing and implementing safeguards .. to ensure that the data guiding clinical care reflect the real patient voice.”   Imposter participants are individuals who provide deceptive or inaccurate data in order to take part in health research or automated computer ‘bots’ which mimic human behaviour and responses.   The ...

Ants make a series of clever architectural adjustments to their nests to prevent the spread of disease, University of Bristol research has uncovered.  The study, published today (Thursday, 16 October) in the journal Science, found the nests built by colonies exposed to disease had far more widely spread entrances and were more separated, with fewer direct connexions between chambers. Study lead author Luke Leckie, a PhD researcher in Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: “We already know that ants change their digging behaviour in response to other soil factors, such as temperature and soil composition. ...

‘Pundits’ kept Sanskrit scholarship alive in remote settlements as British control swept across India, a major new research project will show. The largely forgotten literary figures and their works – ranging from erotic plays to legal treatises – are neglected treasures of Indian intellectual achievement, argue Cambridge researchers.   English speakers are familiar with the word ‘pundit’ but few know that it comes from the Sanskrit word paṇḍita, meaning ‘learned’. Now a Cambridge University-led project is ...

A new breakthrough in a rare genetic disease which causes children to age rapidly has been discovered using ‘longevity genes’ found in people who live exceptionally long lives - over 100 years old. The research, by the University of Bristol and IRCCS MultiMedica, found these genes which helps keep the heart and blood vessels healthy during aging could reverse the damage caused by this life-limiting disease. This is the first study, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, to show that a gene from long-lived people can slow down heart aging in a progeria model. Also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), Progeria is a rare, fatal genetic condition ...

Human-driven climate change made wildfires in parts of South America and Southern California many times larger and more destructive, according to an annual assessment by international experts. According to climate models, the Los Angeles wildfires in January were twice as likely and 25 times larger, in terms of burned area, in the current climate than they would have been in a world with no human-caused global warming. It also made last year’s burning in the Pantanal-Chiquitano region in South America 35 times larger, while also driving record-breaking fires in the Amazon and Congo. However, it is still too early to tell ...

Key takeaways A blood stem cell gene therapy co-developed by UCLA’s Dr. Donald Kohn restored immune function in 59 of 62 children with ADA-SCID, a rare and fatal immune disorder, with no serious complications reported.  Without treatment, ADA-SCID is often fatal within the first two years of life, and current standard therapies — a stem cell transplant from a matched donor or lifelong enzyme injections — carry risks and high costs. The new study represents the largest and longest follow-up ...

Boston Children’s Hospital, along with Broad Clinical Labs and Roche Sequencing Solutions, has demonstrated that rapid genomic sequencing and interpretation are achievable in a matter of hours. This milestone not only sets a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the fastest human whole genome sequencing to date but represents a significant clinical development that would expedite more precise treatments to critically ill babies in the NICU. The team’s pilot data was published today in New England Journal of Medicine. Current clinically available rapid genomic ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Materials scientists can learn a lot about a sample material by shooting lasers at it. With nonlinear optical microscopy — a specialized imaging technique that looks for a change in the color of intense laser light — researchers can collect data on how the light interacts with the sample and, through time-consuming and sometimes expensive analyses, characterize the material’s structure and other properties. Now, researchers at Penn State have developed a computational framework that can interpret the nonlinear optical microscopy images to characterize the material in microscopic ...

Catonsville, MD, Oct. 15, 2025 – When a politician uses emotionality in social media to engage with his or her constituents, two things happen. One is the politician sees an increase in engagement with individual constituents and then at scale. The second outcome is that the politician may actually expand his or her following. A new study, however, has shed light on just how much engagement can be expected from more emotionally charged communications, and whether this engagement actually leads to an expanded following or support base. The research was published in the INFORMS journal Information Systems Research in an article entitled, “Emotionality in Political ...