There seem to be reciprocal links between certain groups of gut bacteria and the risk of insomnia, suggests a Mendelian randomisation study, published in the open access journal General Psychiatry. Certain types of bacteria seem to boost or lower the risk of the sleep disorder while insomnia itself seems to alter the abundance of certain types of bacteria, the findings indicate. Several studies have explored the effects of the gut microbiome on various sleep characteristics, but it’s not yet clear how different groups ...

Taste and price, rather than calorie content, seem to be the key considerations for those ordering takeaways online, despite calorie labelling legislation designed to help consumers make healthier food choices, suggests an analysis of survey responses, published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. These orders tend to be favoured by younger people and those living with obesity, the responses indicate. And the limited impact of calorie labelling, despite relatively high awareness of the regulations, suggests that additional strategies are needed, say the researchers. Takeaways are ...

Patients are still more likely to trust doctors and consider them more professional when they wear white coats, although women doctors in this attire are often misidentified as nurses or medical assistants, finds a review of the available research on the topic, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. But patient preferences for doctors’ attire seem to be strongly influenced by clinical context and medical specialty, with a growing acceptance of scrubs, especially in emergency or high-risk settings, the findings indicate. In the 19th century, doctors primarily wore black, because medical encounters were viewed as serious and formal occasions. ...

The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology: Routine AI assistance may lead to loss of skills in health professionals who perform colonoscopies, study suggests   An observational study of over 1,400 colonoscopies found the rate at which experienced health professionals detect precancerous growths in the colon in non-AI assisted colonoscopies decreased by 20% (from 28.4% to 22.4%) several months after the routine introduction of AI. Several studies have suggested that AI assistance may help doctors identify some cancers, but this is the first study to suggest the implementation of AI could lead to a reduction in the ability of ...

Overweight patients waiting for operations could safely use a particular type of weight-loss treatment to reduce the risk of surgical complications linked to their obesity, a new study reveals.  The study highlights glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) as a promising medication given before surgery that help control blood sugar and support weight loss - potentially improving surgical outcomes and reducing healthcare burdens associated with obesity.   However, the researchers stress an urgent need for high-quality randomised trials to validate these findings, assess cost-effectiveness, and guide implementation of the drug ...

Nearly a quarter of people over the age of 40 experience painful osteoarthritis, making it a leading cause of disability in adults. Osteoarthritis degrades joint-cushioning cartilage, and there is currently no way of reversing this damage: the only option is to manage pain with medication, and eventually, joint replacement.   Researchers from the University of Utah, New York University and Stanford University are now demonstrating the potential for another option: gait retraining.  By making a small adjustment to the angle of their foot while walking, participants in a year-long randomized control trial ...

Mental health services must urgently increase investment in lifestyle interventions to improve care and help close the 15-year life expectancy gap faced by people with mental illness, a new Lancet Psychiatry Commission report warns.   Lifestyle interventions targeting physical activity, nutrition, sleep and smoking are key to mental health care, not optional extras, according to the report by a team of 30 authors from 19 countries.   “Our lifestyles can change the trajectory of our mental and physical health,” said lead author Dr Scott Teasdale, a dietitian and Senior ...

Embargoed until 19:01 EDT Tuesday 12 August 2025 / 00:01 BST on Wednesday 13 August 2025 -With pictures- A new tool to understand how people imagine differently when reading could have potential implications for the treatment of mental ill health. The ReaderBank Imagination Quiz has been developed by a team of researchers led by Durham University, UK. The quiz identifies four “forces” of imagination - space and vision, voice and language, people models, and perspective. These forces have strong and specific connections to mental imagery, immersion in a story, daydreaming, and intrusive thoughts. This shows the complexity of people’s reading ...

A large-scale study from the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota finds no evidence for a long-believed association between musical training and enhanced neural processing of sounds at the early stages of auditory processing. Researchers attempted to recreate several results from past studies and found no evidence of several key findings. In this latest study, musicians demonstrated no greater ability to process speech in background sounds than non-musicians. Musicians also didn't have superior abilities to process changes in the pitch of speech. The study did find that early brain ...

For many breast cancer survivors, fatigue may linger long after treatment ends, which can have a significant impact on cognitive function, ability to work, and overall quality of life. A new study from George Mason University’s College of Public Health suggests that this is not just a subjective feeling but a measurable reality.  Ali Weinstein, professor of global and community health and senior scholar at the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being studied how breast cancer ...

ROCKVILLE, MD – Enrique M. De La Cruz has been elected President-elect of the Biophysical Society (BPS). He will assume the office of President-elect at the 2026 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California.  De La Cruz is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University-Newark College of Arts and Sciences and a PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In addition to his commitment to research, De La Cruz has dedicated significant time and energy ...

Philadelphia and Gordonville, PA, August 12, 2025 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Clinic for Special Children found that complement factor I (CFI) deficiency, an ultra-rare genetic disorder that can cause debilitating neuroinflammation, is more than 4500 times more likely to be found in individuals of Old Order Amish ancestry than the rest of the global population. These findings could help clinicians better recognize the disease and develop a standard-of-care, ...

HOUSTON, August 12, 2025 — For the first time, gamers and fans of the celebrated EA SPORTS College Football can compete for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award — part of a new relationship with the American Heart Association, changing the future of health for all. The relationship between the American Heart Association and EA SPORTS™ allows players taking part in EA SPORTS College Football 26’s “Dynasty Mode” have a chance to win the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award as the game’s ...

In the quest for energy independence, researchers have studied solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) as a promising source of solar electricity generation. Unlike the photovoltaics currently used in most solar panels, STEGs can harness all kinds of thermal energy in addition to sunlight. The simple devices have hot and cold sides with semiconductor materials in between, and the difference in temperature between the sides generates electricity through a physical phenomenon known as the Seebeck effect. But ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Last year, onlookers observed a startling site on China’s Qiantang River: waves forming a grid-like pattern. Dubbed the “matrix tide,” this complex wave pattern was caused by the river’s famed tidal bores that surge upstream against the current. Specifically, two shockwave-like tidal bores, known as undular bores, that spread along two different directions like ripples on a pond and collided with each other. This phenomenon is so complex that mathematicians don’t ...

August 12, 2025 Personalized pricing can backfire on companies, says study Toronto - Personalized pricing, where merchants adjust prices according to the pile of data about a consumer’s willingness to pay, has been criticized for its potential to unfairly drive-up prices for certain customers. But new research shows that the practice can also hurt sellers' profits. Consumers commonly experience personalized pricing through digital coupons or other discount offers they receive either as ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Animals like bats, whales and insects have long used acoustic signals for communication and navigation. Now, an international team of scientists have taken a page from nature's playbook to model micro-sized robots that use sound waves to coordinate into large swarms that exhibit intelligent-like behavior. The robot groups could one day carry out complex tasks like exploring disaster zones, cleaning up pollution, or performing medical treatments from inside the body, according to team lead Igor Aronson, Huck Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering, ...

Researchers at the Optics and Photonics Research Center (CePOF) have succeeded in increasing the susceptibility of the fungus Candida albicans to drug treatment through light-activated therapy. The results of the study offer a promising alternative in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, a growing global problem that occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other parasites develop genetic mutations that render them resistant to drugs. In the study, published in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology, the researchers evaluated photodynamic inactivation (PDI) combined with the antifungal ...

The underlying physics governing the center of our galaxy (the Galactic Center), due to its chaotic and complex nature, has been difficult to observe, model, and predict. Studying the region’s interactions and the environment where they occur helps to unravel the mystery and lead to a better understanding of the center of our, and even other, galaxies. The central region of the Milky Way, known as the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), is a vast reservoir of interstellar gas and dust orbiting the center of the galaxy and an ideal place to study astrophysics in extreme environments. One particular site within the CMZ named ...

OKLAHOMA CITY – University of Oklahoma researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study to determine whether cannabis use affects recovery from the wounds associated with head and neck cancer surgery. The outcomes may have implications for other types of surgery and conditions. Lurdes Queimado, M.D., Ph.D., and Mark Mims, M.D., have been funded by the Presbyterian Health Foundation in Oklahoma City to lead the research, which will include 220 adult patients undergoing surgery for head and neck cancer and reconstruction after the tumor removal. Many such surgeries compromise both appearance and physiological ...

With large eyes, razor sharp teeth and a compact body built for hunting, Janjucetus dullardi is nothing like the gentle giants we know today, but this newly discovered ancient whale is one of their earliest cousins. Scientists at Museums Victoria’s Research Institute have described a new species of ancient whale from a 26-million-year-old fossil found near Jan Juc, on Wadawurrung Country, along Victoria’s Surf Coast. The discovery offers remarkable insight into the early evolution of baleen whales – the filter-feeding giants that now cruise our oceans. Janjucetus dullardi was no ocean giant – it was a fast, sharp-toothed ...

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and STEMCELL Technologies are proud to announce a new partnership to produce a free, on-demand course for researchers seeking to incorporate the ISSCR Standards for Human Stem Cell Use in Research in their work. This collaborative educational initiative will provide researchers, students, and technicians with practical guidance on how to apply the ISSCR Standards – launched in 2023 – to responsibly use human pluripotent and tissue stem cells. Through interactive modules and expert instruction, the ...

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 12, 2025 — According to research by the University of California, Irvine, women with Down syndrome have more advanced signs of Alzheimer’s disease than men do at the average age of diagnosis, which is the same for both sexes. The findings, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, can shape how we understand and approach treatments for Alzheimer’s in this population and beyond. The National Institutes of Health supported the study. “If women with ...

(Chicago, Ill Aug 12, 2025)  While the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be widely studied and debated, the financial toll of the COVID-19 pandemic for individual patients is less understood. To address this gap, Rush University Medical Center analyzed self-reported data from more than 3,600 participants in the INSPIRE (Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry) to assess return-to-work, work productivity, and financial toxicity. The INSPIRE study found that individuals with long COVID-19 experienced worse financial and employment outcomes – lasting up to three years after their initial infection. Notably, vaccination against COVID-19 ...

NEW YORK, (August 11, 2025) – The American Cancer Society (ACS) has awarded The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai a $4.08 million grant to establish the Cancer Health Research Center at Mount Sinai, a new initiative dedicated to reducing cancer-related health inequities across New York City. The Center aims to become a leading model for community-driven research that addresses disparities across the cancer care continuum, from prevention to end-of-life support. The primary goal of the Center is to conduct research focused on community-engaged navigation to address multi-level social determinants of health. The center will collaborate ...