Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, found in large quantities in soil. While Si is not essential for land plants, many plants, such as rice and grasses, have used Si to develop powerful defense mechanisms against various environmental stresses. Si accumulates in plant leaves and aerial organs as amorphous silica (SiO2), which offers protection against pathogens, herbivores, and environmental challenges like drought. Understanding the processes through which plants manage this beneficial element could enhance crop resilience and productivity, especially in the face of climate change. In a breakthrough study, ...

An international collaboration has achieved an important breakthrough in understanding the genetic mechanisms that allow bacteria to build resistance to drugs. Bacteria have multiple defence mechanisms they can use to build resistance to antibiotics, one of the major problems facing public health globally.  One of these mechanisms involves plasmids, small DNA molecules in bacterial cells, which have their own independent genome and carry antibiotic resistance. If we can work out the roles plasmids play inside bacteria, then we can use the information to develop a new generation of therapeutics that can target drug resistant infections. John ...

Proteins are life’s engines, powering processes like muscle movement, vision, and chemical reactions. Their environments—water, lipid membranes, or other condensed phases—are critical to their function, shaping their structure and interactions. Yet many modern protein-design methods, including AI-based tools, often ignore how these surroundings influence proteins. This gap limits our ability to create proteins with new functions, slowing progress in medicine and bioengineering. One group of proteins working in such specialized ...

Bethesda, MD (Jan. 22, 2025) — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has unveiled an updated clinical practice guideline in Gastroenterology addressing the prevention and management of hepatitis B virus reactivation (HBVr) in patients on immunosuppressive drugs. The use of immunosuppressive drugs has increased significantly since 2013, according to data gathered via the National Health Interview Survey. New tailored risk assessments can help health care providers and patients navigate challenges posed by the newer immunosuppressive therapies used for oncology, rheumatology, and gastrointestinal diseases. As the ...

Adults who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be living shorter lives than they should, finds a world-first study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, analysed anonymised primary care data from 30,029 adults across the UK with diagnosed ADHD. They then compared this group with 300,390 participants without ADHD, who were matched by age, sex, and primary care practice. The researchers found an apparent reduction in life expectancy for men with diagnosed ADHD of between 4.5 and 9 years, and between 6.5 and 11 years for women. Senior author, ...

The fossilised neck bone of a flying reptile unearthed in Canada shows tell-tale signs of being bitten by a crocodile-like creature 76 million years ago, according to a new study published today [23 January] in the Journal of Palaeontology. The juvenile pterosaur vertebra, discovered in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, bears a circular four-millimetre-wide puncture mark from a crocodilian tooth. Researchers from the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (Canada), the University of Reading (UK) and the University of New England (Australia) say this rare evidence provides insight into predator-prey dynamics ...

The results of cowslip observations carried out with the help of citizen scientists from 32 countries in over 5,200 locations shed light on the well-being of insect-pollinated plants under changing climate and land use conditions. The study was made possible thanks to the contribution of European science enthusiasts. It revealed some surprising results recently published in the Journal of Ecology, one of the longest-standing top-level journals in this field.  The cowslip (Primula veris) is considered a model species for studying insect-pollinated plants. Cowslips can have two types of flowers: long-styled (L-morph) and short-styled (S-morph). In L-morph flowers, ...

Photomechanical materials made of photochromic crystals, which change their molecular structure reversibly in response to light, have the potential to impact fields from semiconductors to pharmaceuticals. For the first time in the world, an Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed a crystal patterning method demonstrating that it is possible to control the orientation of photochromic crystals known as diarylethenes. Diarylethene crystals not only change color when exposed to UV light, but also undergo various shape changes as the molecular structure ...

Quantum entanglement – a phenomenon where particles are mysteriously linked no matter how far apart they are – presents a long-standing challenge in the physical world, particularly in understanding its behaviour within complex quantum systems. A research team from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and their collaborators have recently developed a novel algorithm in quantum physics known as ‘entanglement microscopy’ that enables visualisation and mapping of this extraordinary phenomenon at a microscopic scale. By zooming in on the intricate ...

Evolution is the basis of biological diversity, driven by mechanisms that allow organisms to adapt and survive. One such mechanism is polyploidy, where organisms carry extra copies of their genomes. While polyploidy provides genetic redundancy by allowing mutations without affecting survival, it can also slow evolutionary progress by diluting beneficial mutations. This paradox has intrigued scientists for many years now, and a recent study from Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo offers new insights into polyploidy's role in evolution. Led by ELSI’s ...

A new study published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that opioid smoking appears to be associated with lower mortality risk compared with opioid injecting. The authors, however, caution that opioid smoking still carries a substantial overdose risk and that these results should not be interpreted as suggesting that opioid smoking is safe. The study analysed substance use treatment data from 2006 to 2021, comparing 287,481 individuals who reported smoking opioids as their primary form of substance use and an equal weighted number of individuals who reported ...

Deep learning techniques are drawing more and more attention to Web developers. A lot of Web apps perform inference of deep neural network (DNN) models within Web browsers to provide intelligent services for their users. Typically, GPU acceleration is required during DNN inference, especially on end devices. However, it has been revealed that GPU acceleration in Web browsers has an unacceptably long warm-up time, harming the quality of service (QoS). To solve the problems, a research team led by Yun MA published their new research on ...

Ovarian cancer, a deadly gynecologic malignancy, has seen a significant shift in its treatment paradigm with the introduction of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, which are now standard in the maintenance setting following first-line chemotherapy. This retrospective cohort study investigates the real-world effectiveness and safety of olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, in patients with newly diagnosed advanced-stage, high-grade serous ovarian cancer who are HRD positive but BRCA wild-type, a demographic less extensively explored in previous research. The primary goal was to assess the 1-year progression-free ...

Camel milk udderly good alterative to traditional dairy       In addition to being hypoallergenic, camel milk could potentially protect the gut from harmful enzymes and create healthier digestion.   New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that camel milk contained more naturally occurring bioactive peptides when compared to its bovine counterpart.   “This is a good thing. We now know that camel milk has the potential to be hypoallergenic compared to cow’s milk, but also that it has higher potential to yield bioactive peptides which can have antimicrobial ...

We humans excel at generalization. If you taught a toddler to identify the color red by showing her a red ball, a red truck and a red rose, she will most likely correctly identify the color of a tomato, even if it is the first time she sees one. An important milestone in learning to generalize is compositionality: the ability to compose and decompose a whole into reusable parts, like the redness of an object. How we get this ability is a key question in developmental neuroscience – and in AI research. The earliest ...

Game, set, match: Exploring the experiences of women coaches in tennis As the Australian Open continues in full swing, a new study can reveal female tennis coaches experience significantly more barriers in their profession – including discrimination and marginalisation – than their male counterparts, with fewer than half seeing themselves continuing as coaches long term. Led by Dr Jasmine Petersen from Flinders University’s Caring Futures Institute, the study interviewed 243 Australian tennis coaches, a third of which were women, assessing their motivation and barriers towards coaching and the support they received. “Women coaches continue ...

There was a 65% increase in the number of children and young people being admitted to general acute medical wards in hospitals in England because of a mental health concern between 2012 and 2022, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR GOSH BRC), analysed data on all admissions of five- to 18-year-olds to medical wards in England from April 1st 2012 to March 31st 2022. General acute medical wards are specialised hospital wards designed to provide rapid ...

A new study published in The BMJ suggests that prehabilitation (also called prehab) may be able to reduce complications and length of hospitalization after surgery, while also improving quality of life and physical recovery. The systematic review and meta-analysis, which is the largest of its kind, examined data from more than 15,000 patients who participated in 186 randomized controlled clinical trials around the world. The researchers looked at various kinds of prehab, including exercise, nutritional enhancement, psychological support, cognitive ...

Actively preparing for major surgery by exercising and improving diet (known as “prehabilitation”) is associated with fewer complications, less time in hospital, and improved recovery and quality of life in adults, finds an analysis of clinical trials published by The BMJ today. The researchers stress that the certainty of evidence for all comparisons was generally low to very low, but they say prehabilitation based on exercise, nutrition, or exercise combined with other components, may be beneficial. Existing evidence suggests that prehabilitation can improve outcomes after surgery, but there’s a lack of clarity about which components, ...

Adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes who are given the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor drug dapagliflozin alongside moderate calorie restriction achieve much higher rates of remission compared with calorie restriction alone, finds a trial published by The BMJ today. The researchers say this study provides a practical strategy to achieve remission for patients with early type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes affects over 400 million adults worldwide. It’s not necessarily a permanent condition and can be reversed by intensive weight management, ...

Gather around, and let Susan Hough tell you the tale of the Summerville Light. Legend has it that the strange orb sometimes seen hovering over the railroad tracks in the remote area around Summerville, South Carolina is a lantern borne by a ghost whose husband lost his head in a train accident. But Hough, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, wonders if there might be a less ethereal but no less intriguing possibility: is the source of the Summerville Light a phenomenon known as earthquake ...

(SACRAMENTO) — Nearly a quarter of adults in the U.S. have chronic pain, but a new study from the UC Davis School of Medicine shows a concerning drop in residents applying to pain medicine fellowship programs. The study was published in PAIN Practice. It found the number of anesthesiology residents applying for pain medicine fellowships — historically the key pool of applicants — dropped 45% between 2019 and 2023. “While the demand for pain specialists is growing in the U.S., the pipeline of new doctors to fill these roles is drying up,” said Scott Pritzlaff, the study’s ...

Key takeaways The team used the environmental circumstances and fecal samples collected from the six years prior to the El Niño drought to study the relationship between the endocrinologic stress response and survival in the white-faced capuchins. Monkeys who showed a steeper rise in these stress hormones during the mild droughts were more likely to survive the severe El Niño drought. As weather intensifies globally, longitudinal studies of how wild animals cope with changes in temperature, rainfall and food availability can help us understand which species ...

In a joint experimental-theoretical work, a team of researchers, including theorists from UC San Diego, have shown for the first time that heat transfer in the form of infrared radiation can influence chemical reactions more strongly than traditional convection and conduction methods. Using an optical cavity to confine infrared light waves, researchers focused on the thermal dehydration of an inorganic crystal, copper sulfate pentahydrate. They found that light-matter vibrational coupling (resulting in states known as polaritons) lowered ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A few things come to mind when we imagine the “alpha male” type. They’re the ones calling the shots, who get all the girls. But there’s a downside to being a strong and powerful alpha stud -- at least if you’re a baboon. Studies show that despite their high rank, the No. 1 males in baboon society are also some of the most stressed out, as measured by their high levels of glucocorticoids, the hormones involved in the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. But the leaders’ stress burden comes from a surprising source. New research reveals ...