Toronto, ON – As children's screen time continues to rise, so does their exposure to age-inappropriate content, including R-rated movies and violent video games. A new study published in BMC Pediatrics underscores the critical role parents play in shaping their children’s media consumption. As child media consumption increases along with their exposure to mature media content, a new study finds that parent media practices play a key role in shaping preteens’ consumption of mature video games and R-rated movies. Researchers found that parents’ own screen habits—such as using screens in front of their children and allowing screens during meals ...

The study of ‘starquakes’ (like earthquakes, but in stars) promises to give us important new insights into the properties of neutron stars (the collapsed remnants of massive stars), according to new research led by the University of Bath in the UK. Such explorations have the potential to challenge our current approaches to studying nuclear matter, with important impacts for the future of both nuclear physics and astronomy. Longer term, there may also be implications in the fields of health, security and energy. The value of studying asteroseismology – as these vibrations and flares are known – has emerged from research carried ...

The bacteria in your mouth and on your tongue may be linked to changes in brain function as you age, new research suggested.   The study, led by the University of Exeter, found that certain bacteria were associated with better memory and attention, while others were linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.  The researchers identified two possible ways these bacteria may impact brain health. This includes harmful bacteria directly entering the bloodstream, potentially causing damage to the brain. Alternatively, an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria can reduce the conversion of ...

Investigators have found that a product called cellular concrete may be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional concrete for constructing earthquake-resistant buildings. In research published in Structural Concrete, the team analyzed the environmental impact of constructing a seven-story archetype residential building in Quito-Ecuador with cellular concrete, which is produced by incorporating a foaming agent that generates air pockets within the concrete matrix to decrease the material’s density while maintaining sufficient structural ...

Citrus fruit rind color has long been used as an indicator of ripeness, but for some fruits such as mandarin fruit in the Chongqing region of China, the peel and flesh do not ripen synchronously, with the flesh usually reaching maturity while the peel is still green. This is a characteristic that seriously affects its commercial value. In new research published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, investigators have discovered how red and blue LED light can stimulate color change in mandarin fruit. Experiments showed that this light exposure causes ...

With bloated bellies and hairy legs, female flies try to look bigger to get food from courting mates. But male flies, in turn, have sharpened their eyesight to call their bluff. A new study by researchers from the Universities of Gothenburg and Stockholm suggests that this is an ongoing evolution where both sexes try to outsmart each other. For the first time, researchers have been able to show that also males can develop traits that help them pass on their genes despite the manipulative adaptations of the opposite sex. In different species of dance flies, there is a clear correlation between how richly decorated the female ...

Students attending schools that ban the use of phones throughout the school day aren’t necessarily experiencing better mental health and wellbeing, as the first worldwide study of its kind has found that just banning smartphones is not enough to tackle their negative impacts.   In a landmark study published today (Wednesday 5 Feb) in Lancet Regional Health Europe, 1227 students from 30 schools across England provided data about smartphone and social media usage and a range of mental health, wellbeing and other outcomes. ...

Imagine being summoned as a juror in a murder trial. The expert responsible for analyzing DNA traces at the crime scene has just explained that they match the defendant’s profile. “Then the culprit must be them,” you think. At this point, however, the expert adds: “The sample, however, is partially degraded.” What does this mean? How does this information affect your judgment? The scientist further explains that there is a one-in-a-billion probability that other people could match the identified genetic profile. ...

Osaka, Japan – High-speed electronic devices that do not use much power are useful for wireless communication. High-speed operation has traditionally been achieved by making devices smaller, but as devices become smaller, fabrication becomes increasingly difficult. Have we reached a dead end? Not yet! A research team at Osaka University is exploring another way to improve device performance: placing a patterned metal layer, i.e., a structural metamaterial, on top of a traditional substrate, e.g., silicon, to accelerate ...

There’s a 26 per cent annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a recent UBC study. While the chance of debris hitting an aircraft is very low, the research highlights that the potential for uncontrolled space rocket junk to disrupt flights and create additional costs for airlines and passengers is not. Space junk disrupting air traffic is far from unheard of. In 2022, a re-entering 20-tonne piece of rocket prompted Spanish and French aviation authorities to close parts ...

Women who go through menopause later in life have healthier blood vessels for years to come than those who go through it earlier, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research. The study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research, offers new insight into why females who stop menstruating at age 55 or later are significantly less likely to have heart attacks and strokes in their postmenopausal years.  Arriving just in time for Women's Heart Health Month, in February, the findings could help lead to new therapies, including dietary interventions, to reduce risk of heart ...

RNA-based medicines are one of the most promising ways to fight human disease, as demonstrated by the recent successes of RNA vaccines and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) therapies. But while health care providers can now successfully develop drugs that use dsRNA to accurately target and silence disease-causing genes, a major challenge remains: getting these potentially life-saving RNA molecules into cells efficiently. A new study published in the journal eLife on February 4, 2025, may lead to breakthroughs in RNA-based drug development. University of Maryland researchers used microscopic roundworms ...

Women health sector leaders are good for a nation’s wealth, health, innovation, and ethics, among other things, finds a review of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health. Yet despite their unique and positive impact, they are a major underused resource, particularly in low and middle income countries, say the researchers, who call for more and sustained investment to maximise women’s potential and reap the benefits of their contribution. Despite making up 70% of the healthcare workforce, as a whole, and 90% of the nursing ...

‘Good’ (HDL) cholesterol, usually considered to be beneficial for health, may be linked to a heightened risk of the serious eye condition, glaucoma—at least among the over 55s— suggest the results of a large observational study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Paradoxically, ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol, usually regarded as harmful to health, may be associated with a lower risk of glaucoma, a condition that damages the optic nerve, potentially leading to irreversible sight ...

The GLP-1 drug, exenatide, has no positive impact on the movement, symptoms or brain imaging of people with Parkinson’s, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The world’s largest and longest trial of exenatide in people with Parkinson’s disease was funded by the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) with support for sub-studies from Cure Parkinson’s and Van Andel Institute. For their research, published in The Lancet, the team designed a randomised controlled phase 3 trial to definitively determine whether exenatide use was associated with any benefit in people with Parkinson’s and ...

Generally, things really do seem better in the morning, with clear differences in self-reported mental health and wellbeing across the day, suggest the findings of a large study published in the open access journal BMJ Mental Health. People generally wake up feeling in the best frame of mind in the morning but in the worst around midnight, the findings indicate, with day of the week and season of the year also playing their part. Mental health and wellbeing are dynamic in nature, and subject to change over both short and extended periods, note the researchers. But relatively few studies have looked at how these might change over the course of the day, and those studies that ...

“Most people think of juicing as a healthy cleanse, but this study offers a reality check” CHICAGO --- Think your juice cleanse is making you healthier? A new Northwestern University study suggests it might be doing the opposite. The study, recently published in Nutrients, found that a vegetable and fruit juice-only diet — even for just three days — can trigger shifts in gut and oral bacteria linked to inflammation and cognitive decline. How was the study conducted? Northwestern scientists studied three groups of healthy adults. One group consumed only juice, another had juice with whole ...

URBANA, Ill. – Many U.S. forests are privately owned, particularly in the Eastern and North Central part of the country. This makes control of invasive plants and pests challenging because efforts must be coordinated across landowners. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how differences in ownership motivation affects willingness to control, and how economic incentives can be implemented most efficiently. “Some own the land for recreational purposes, some own it because they want to produce timber, and some are a combination of both. If one landowner controls invasive species ...

In many parts of India, a single noxious pollutant from coal-fired power stations drags down annual wheat and rice yields by 10% or more, according to a new study by Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability researchers. The two grains are critical for food security in India, the second most populous country in the world and home to a quarter of all undernourished people globally.  “We wanted to understand the impact of India’s coal electricity emissions on its agriculture because there might be ...

The University of Southern California has been approved for $10.8 million in research funding by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to compare approaches to treating older adults with a fracture of the hip. Led by principal investigator  Joseph Patterson, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in fracture care at Keck Medicine of USC, the “FASTER-Hip” trial aims to determine whether patients with a certain type of hip fracture fare better with a hip replacement or a simpler surgery known as internal fixation. The trial leadership team includes ...

CLEVELAND -- University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center is one of the most recognizable hospitals among doctors in the U.S. and around the world, according to an annual survey. UH Cleveland Medical Center was ranked eighth in the U.S. and 16th globally in a survey of the strongest Academic Medical Center brands, according to Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy. “This ranking is a reflection of all we do at University Hospitals to provide compassionate care for patients, work to find the next generation of therapies and treatments, invest ...

Rice University physicist Emilia Morosan is part of an international research collaboration that has been awarded multimillion-dollar funding from The Kavli Foundation to develop and test next-generation superconductors through artificial intelligence and quantum geometry. This global initiative, spearheaded by Päivi Törmä of Aalto University in Finland, seeks to push the boundaries of quantum materials science and superconductivity. The project includes funding from the Klaus ...

Researchers from Imperial College Business School and University of Leeds published a Journal of Marketing study that examines the impact of BNPL installment payments on retail sales. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Buy Now Pay Later: Impact of Installment Payments on Customer Purchases” and is authored by Stijn Maesen and Dionysius Ang.  Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) is an increasingly popular payment method, allowing customers to spread payment into interest-free installments over a few weeks or months. Worldwide ...

Professor Leslie Wolf, a Distinguished University Professor and Ben F. Johnson Jr. Chair in Law at Georgia State University College of Law, is a part of a research team that has been provided $1.9 million to conduct research designed to increase participation in biomedical studies by involving participants in the research design process. The award has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract. Wolf, along with colleagues at the ...

Biochar: bridging a gap in carbon removal strategies   As the world works to meet net-zero carbon goals, a new study offers a critical reminder: precision matters. The researchers suggest refining how we assess a natural carbon storage strategy to ensure the technology lives up to its potential as a climate change solution.   Biochar, a charcoal-like material derived from plant biomass, has long been hailed as a promising tool for carbon dioxide removal. However, a new study by Stanford researchers highlights a critical issue: current methods for assessing biochar's carbon storage potential may significantly undervalue its true ...