Although El Niño suppresses overall monsoon season rainfall across India, a new study finds that it also, counterintuitively, sharply increases the likelihood of extreme daily downpours in the country’s wetter regions. The findings suggest that the processes that drive this intensification may play an important role in driving extreme rainfall variability under climate change in other tropical locations. It’s long been known that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) exerts a ...

Two of the world’s deadliest mosquito vectors – Aedes aegypti and Anopheles funestus – have evolved, spread, and adapted in ways that complicate global disease control, two studies show. The findings trace the human-linked origins of Ae. aegypti’s invasive lineage. They also reveal the rapid emergence of insecticide resistance in An. funestus. Collectively, they reveal the urgent need for more tailored and innovative interventions against malaria and dengue. Top of Form“Both [studies] provide important insights into the … the complex role that human activity, both passive and intentional, ...

Zebra finches can not only distinguish the full range of their species’ vocalizations but also organize them by meaning, according to a new study. The results suggest a surprising level of semantic understanding in the birds. Many social animals use a rich repertoire of vocalizations to communicate their needs, emotions, and awareness of the environment. Researchers have long tried to decode these sounds – essentially the species’ “language” – by grouping them into call types based on how they sound, the situations in which they are used, and how other animals respond. However, it is unclear whether these ...

In the United States, Republican control of the House or presidency has often coincided with higher federal science appropriations, say Alexandar Furnas and colleagues in a Policy Forum. They base their findings – which challenge the conventional wisdom about partisan support for science – on an analysis of decades of U.S. science- and research-related appropriations data. “Overall, our findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between political control and federal science funding,” write the authors. “[The analysis] underscores the importance of framing science ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the great challenges of ecology is to understand the factors that maintain, or undermine, diversity in ecosystems, researchers write in a new report in the journal Science. The researchers detail their development of a new model that — using a tree census and genomic data collected from multiple species in a forest — can predict future fluctuations in the relative abundance of those species. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign plant biology professor James O’Dwyer led the new research with Andy Jones, a professor ...

UNSW engineers have made a significant advance in quantum computing: they created ‘quantum entangled states’ – where two separate particles become so deeply linked they no longer behave independently – using the spins of two atomic nuclei. Such states of entanglement are the key resource that gives quantum computers their edge over conventional ones. The research was published today in the journal Science, and is an important step towards building large-scale quantum computers – one of the most exciting scientific and technological ...

New research into the genetics of Anopheles funestus (An. funestus), one of the most neglected but prolific malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa, has revealed how this species is evolving in response to malaria control efforts. Reported today (18 September) in Science, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute together with leading scientists across Africa sequenced hundreds of An. funestus mosquitoes collected throughout the continent to explore the genetic variation in the species, ...

A hydrogen battery that operates at just 90 °C has been developed by researchers from Japan, overcoming the high-temperature and low-capacity limits of earlier methods. The device works by moving hydride ions through a solid electrolyte, allowing magnesium hydride, which acts as the anode, to repeatedly store and release hydrogen at full capacity. This battery offers a practical way to store hydrogen fuel, paving the way for hydrogen-powered vehicles and clean energy systems. One of the most pressing challenges facing the use of hydrogen ...

According to the World Health Organisation, tuberculosis accounts for one in three deaths among people living with HIV. In fact, even when receiving effective antiretroviral treatment, HIV-positive individuals are 15 to 30 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than HIV-uninfected people. In a study to be published in PLOS Pathogens, the CNRS-led research team1 highlights the key role played by Tat2 – a viral protein secreted by HIV-infected cells – in this hyper-vulnerability phenomenon. Studies conducted on human cells and zebrafish larvae revealed that this protein blocks the cell defence mechanism ...

Through a collaboration between U.S. and Kenyan researchers and Turkana communities of northern Kenya, scientists have uncovered key genetic adaptations underlying survival in hot and dry environments, revealing how natural selection has enabled this pastoralist population to thrive in a challenging landscape. A new analysis of Turkana genomes through a collaboration between US and Kenyan institutions shows how the activity of key genes has changed over millennia to allow them to thrive in extreme desert conditions. The comprehensive study, published in Science, reveals how the Turkana ...

Decoding the selfish gene, from evolutionary cheaters to disease control   Scientists from the University of Sheffield have uncovered how to potentially control harmful insect populations by studying a "selfish gene" that manipulates inheritance The new research focuses on meiotic drive, a process where a selfish gene gives itself a better chance of being passed on to the next generation, disrupting the normal 50/50 inheritance pattern By studying the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, researchers discovered that a selfish gene can damage rival sperm carrying a Y chromosome, leading to a population ...

Postpartum hemorrhage, severe bleeding after childbirth, is a leading cause of maternal mortality around the world. But many of these deaths can be prevented—and a real-time blood-monitoring technology called viscoelastic testing (VET) could play a crucial role. Though used in parts of Europe, VET is not yet a standard part of maternity care in the United States. A new sweeping review from the Southern California Evidence Review Center, part of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, brings U.S. hospitals a step closer ...

Targeted editing of genetic information has advanced at an extraordinary pace in recent years. Tools such as the CRISPR-Cas9 “gene scissors” and base editing—a technique that makes precise, single-letter changes to DNA without cutting it—have already become standard in research and clinical development. These technologies are being used to treat genetic disorders, enhance crop resistance, and engineer bacteria for biotechnological purposes. Turning the battle between bacteria and viruses into scientific progress Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute ...

Rakesh Jain, PhD, director of the Edwin Steele Laboratories for Tumor Biology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Andrew Werk Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, is senior and corresponding author of a new paper in PNAS, “Wnt Inhibition Alleviates Resistance to Anti-PD1 Therapy and Improves Anti-Tumor Immunity in Glioblastoma." Q: How would you summarize your study for a lay audience? Brain tumor patients with glioblastoma (GBM) face extremely limited treatment options and show poor responses to current immunotherapies. New treatment strategies are ...

Key Takeaways  University of Houston College of Optometry professor is co-leading a national $25 million NIH-funded clinical trial to delay the development of myopia.  Researchers are testing whether low-concentrate atropine drops can delay onset of myopia in children.  The more nearsighted someone becomes, the greater their risk of sight-threatening complications later as an adult.  The University of Houston is co-leading a national study, the first of its kind in the United States, ...

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The NRG Oncology NRG-GU009 (PREDICT-RT) study evaluating intensified and de-intensified concurrent radiation regimens based on the genomic risk of patients with high-risk prostate cancer completed accrual and met its accrual milestone of 2,478 patients approximately two years earlier than the trial’s anticipated accrual completion date. “The incidence of men receiving high-risk prostate cancer diagnoses is on the increase in recent years. The PREDICT-RT study was designed to improve quality of life and outcomes for these patients while tailoring treatments to meet each individual’s needs based on their Decipher Prostate Genomic Classifier ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time, researchers are leading a national study to see if the onset of nearsightedness can be delayed – and consequently reduced in magnitude over a lifetime – with the use of eyedrops in young children. Scientists at The Ohio State University and the University of Houston have received two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $25 million to test daily drops of atropine as a nearsightedness preventive therapy in children age 6-11 years old. “The more nearsightedness you have, the ...

As infants, humans naturally learn new words and their associations—like the fact that forks are related to bowls because both are used to consume food. In a study publishing in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 18, a team of animal behavior experts demonstrate that dogs can categorize objects by function, too. In a series of playful interactions with their owners, a group of Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs were able to distinguish between toys used for tugging versus fetching, even when the toys in question didn’t share any obvious physical ...

LOS ANGELES — More than a third of the world’s population is affected by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, the most common chronic liver disease in the world.   MASLD occurs when fat builds up in the liver and is associated with one or more of five conditions: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and low HDL cholesterol, known as “good” cholesterol. These conditions are characterized as cardiometabolic risk ...

BUDAPEST, Hungary — A new study publishing in Current Biology on September 18 by the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University reveals that dogs with a vocabulary of toy names—known as Gifted Word Learners—can extend learned labels to entirely new objects, not because the objects look similar, but because they are used in the same way. In humans, “label extension” is a cornerstone of early language development. In non-humans, until now, it had only been documented in few so-called language-trained individual animals, after years of intensive training in captivity. But ...

The first amber deposits in South America containing preserved insects have been discovered in a quarry in Ecuador, reports a paper in Communications Earth & Environment. The finding provides a snapshot of a 112-million-year-old forest on the supercontinent Gondwana, and presents new possibilities for studying a currently little-known ancient ecosystem. Amber (fossilised tree resin) samples have a wide date range, with the earliest dated to 320 million years ago, but there is a notable increase in the number of samples in the fossil record between 120 million and 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous era ...

Twenty-seven species of bacteria and fungi among the hundreds that live in people’s mouths have been collectively tied to a 3.5 times greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer, a study led by NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center shows. Experts have long observed that those with poor oral health are more vulnerable to pancreatic cancer than those with healthier mouths. More recently, scientists have uncovered a mechanism that could help explain this connection, finding that bacteria can travel through swallowed saliva into the pancreas, an organ that helps with digestion. However, precisely which species may contribute to the condition ...

NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 18, 2025)--A brain imaging technique developed by Columbia researchers has identified areas in the brain’s cerebral cortex—just behind the forehead—that are most damaged by the repetitive impacts from heading a soccer ball. Their study also found that the damage leads to cognitive deficits seen in soccer players who head the ball frequently.   The study, published Sept. 18 in JAMA Network Open, was conducted in amateur adult soccer players from New York City.  “What’s ...

Wildfires burning across Canada and the Western United States are spewing smoke over millions of Americans – the latest examples of ashy haze becoming a regular experience, with health impacts far greater than scientists previously estimated.  Although wildfires have long been part of life in the Western U.S., warmer, drier conditions are fueling bigger blazes that occur more often and for longer. Smoke from these blazes is spreading farther and lingering longer than in the past. In a Sept. 18 study in Nature, Stanford University researchers estimate that continued global warming could lead ...

About The Study: In this decision analytical modeling study of COVID-19 burden in the U.S. in 2024 to 2025, ensemble projections suggested that although vaccinating high-risk groups had substantial benefits in reducing disease burden, maintaining the vaccine recommendation for all individuals had the potential to save thousands more lives. Despite divergence of projections from observed disease trends in 2024 to 2025—possibly driven by variant emergence patterns and immune escape—averted COVID-19 burden due to vaccination was robust across ...