Plants do not rely only on their leaves to feed on carbon dioxide. A new study in Carbon Research reveals that maize roots can act as an active “second mouth” for carbon, taking up CO2 from the soil and helping regulate the carbon cycle between soil, plants and the air. A new look at plant carbon For decades, biology textbooks have emphasized that plants absorb CO2 only through chlorophyll containing leaves. The new research challenges this simplified view by showing that roots can also absorb CO2 from the soil atmosphere under certain conditions. This underground carbon intake ...

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers are applying fuel cell technology to new applications like sustainable energy and water treatment. In a study published in Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology, the researchers examined a type of membrane called a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer membrane, or PFSA polymer membrane. These membranes act as filters, allowing protons to move through, but blocking electrons and gases. In the study, the researchers examined how boiling these membranes — a common treatment applied to the material — affects their performance and helps them work as specialized tools for ...

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) congratulates UN Member States for recognizing that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is a major cause of disability and death requiring urgent action and welcomes the call for increased access to diagnosis and inhaled medicines included in the Political Declaration.  480 million people live with COPD, and 3.7 million die each year.  COPD is the third commonest cause of death globally.  It also creates massive economic costs and a recent study estimated ...

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – December 16, 2025) St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists identified a promising combination approach to treat a rare, but catastrophic pediatric brain cancer called atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT). Reactivating and maintaining p53, a protein responsible for tumor suppression, using the drugs idasantulin and selinexor, respectively, was well-tolerated, reduced tumor burden and increased survival in a laboratory model. Further, the researchers identified a route by which cells may develop resistance to the combination and outlined strategies to offset this phenomenon. The findings were published in Neuro-Oncology ...

A new study led by scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Shark Lab reveals a critical link between seasonal seabird nesting and the movements of top marine predators in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The research, published this month in the journal Ecosphere, found that the annual summer arrival of fledgling seabirds at French Frigate Shoals (FFS) concentrates tiger sharks in specific areas, forcing other species, including gray reef and Galapagos sharks, to drastically shift their own habitat use to avoid predation and competition. The discovery highlights a profound, indirect connection between terrestrial ...

Legalized sports betting comes with a hidden public safety cost: a measurable rise in violent and impulsive crime on game days––even in states without gambling, according to new research led by the University of Michigan.   Researchers from U-M and Rice University analyzed crime incident data from 2017 to 2021 and found that states that legalized sports betting after the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA saw significant increases in assaults, larceny and vehicle theft during and immediately following professional sports games. Crime levels ...

Scientists at NYU Abu Dhabi have developed a powerful new artificial intelligence tool called LA⁴SR that can rapidly identify previously overlooked proteins in microalgae - tiny organisms that produce much of the Earth’s oxygen and support entire aquatic ecosystems. This breakthrough will allow scientists to speed up the search for new natural compounds and enzymes that could support future clean energy solutions. It will also help researchers better understand how microscopic life adapts to changing environments and open new possibilities for monitoring water quality and tracking how ecosystems respond to climate shifts. Microalgae are essential ...

Starting in 2026, the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests at the University of Freiburg will investigate how forests and their use can be adapted to global change and retain their important ecological and social functions. The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation has now announced its intention to provide extensive support for the work of Future Forests through a new funding initiative. The foundation will fund a new tenure track endowed professorship for silviculture and climate change adaptation, an international research laboratory on forest adaptation, ...

Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve our microplastic problem. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society they report a new type of plastic made from plant cellulose, the world’s most abundant organic compound. The new plastic is strong, flexible, and capable of rapid decomposition in natural environments, setting it apart from other plastics marketed ...

Machine learning methods have emerged as promising tools to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and uncover resistance determinants from genomic data. This study shows that sampling biases driven by population structure severely undermine the accuracy of AMR prediction models even with large datasets, providing recommendations for evaluating the accuracy of future methods.   In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: https://plos.io/44mryGI   Article title: Biased sampling driven by bacterial population structure confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance Author countries: United States, ...

Are authors fairly judged by assessment of the prestige of the journals in which their work is published? This study compares article level metrics with journal level metrics, finding that the vast majority of influential papers are published in lower tier journals, and that more authors, regardless of demographics, would be better recognized with article level data.   In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: https://plos.io/43D3JKG Article title: Most researchers ...

A protein essential to the human body for managing energy and regulating appetite relies on a partner protein, according to new research, and the findings could help researchers better understand genetic obesity.   In a paper published in Science Signalling today (Tuesday 16 December), an international research team led by academics from the University of Birmingham, looked at the supporting role of a partner protein called MRAP2 with an appetite regulating protein called MC3R, which coordinates whether the body stores energy or burns it.     Previous studies ...

Though the 2025 hurricane season was relatively quiet for the United States, researchers are combining massive amounts of observational data with wildly complex computer models to predict the impact of future storms on coastal communities.   The University of Florida’s Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure & Environment, or ESSIE, is part of a project that recently received the Excellence in Partnering Award by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program for its collaborative, ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — In the midst of the COVID pandemic, scientists embarked on an ambitious research expedition to the North Atlantic to investigate the inner workings of the ocean’s carbon cycle. A series of storms hammered the three vessels, among the most advanced research ships in the world, while bureaucratic mayhem threatened to scrub the voyage entirely. Despite these challenges, the multinational, interdisciplinary team and able crew were wildly productive. A resulting study, led by UC Santa Barbara’s David Siegel, published in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles, reveals important insights for our understanding of ...

What keeps our cells the right size? Scientists have long puzzled over this fundamental question, since cells that are too large or too small are linked to many diseases. Until now, the genetic basis behind cell size has largely been a mystery. New research has, for the first time, identified a gene in the non-coding genome that can directly control cell size. In a study published in Nature Communications, a team at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) found that a gene called CISTR-ACT acts as a controller of ...

A joint research team from NIMS, The University of Tokyo, Kyoto Institute of Technology and Tohoku University has demonstrated that thin films of ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂) exhibit altermagnetism—the defining property of what is now recognized as the third fundamental class of magnetic materials. Altermagnets have the potential to overcome limitations associated with current magnetic random access memory using conventional ferromagnets and are attracting attention as promising materials for next-generation high-speed, high-density memory devices. In addition ...

PHILADELPHIA— The largest-ever study testing the effectiveness of an evidence-based approach to increasing physical activity using smartphone fitness trackers gamification to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease will launch at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Ascension, one of the nation’s leading non-profit health systems , thanks to a $25 million award. The six-year study, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), will build on the highly successful BE ACTIVE trial, published in 2024, which demonstrated sustained increases in daily step counts using a behavioral economics based approach ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Every day, Americans face health care decisions without the information needed to fully understand the potential benefits and risks of different treatment options. To help close these evidence gaps and empower individuals and their caregivers with the information needed to make more informed health care decisions, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) announced funding awards for new patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies addressing a range of adult and pediatric health concerns.   “Patient-centered comparative ...

The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the Chilean Andes is one of the most powerful radio telescope facilities in the world. Researchers use it to study dark and distant regions of the universe in order to better understand how stars, planets, galaxies and life itself are formed. To do this, ALMA measures the millimeter and submillimeter radiation emitted by cold molecular clouds, for example. Molecular clouds are interstellar gas clouds with a temperature of only a few tens of Kelvin, in which stars form when the density and temperature are right. ALMA has a total of 66 individual parabolic antennas with ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2025 — Zoom in far enough on an empress cicada wing, and a strange landscape materializes. At the nanoscale, densely packed spires rise from the surface, covering the wing in an endless grove of bowling pins.  These spires, though, are more than just an eerie sight. The highly ordered, evenly spaced spikes can be modified to act as an optical metamaterial, using their tiny geometry to modify interactions between light waves and matter.  In AIP Advances, by AIP Publishing, researchers from China Medical University and National Taiwan University showed that these natural nanostructures can be tuned to amplify signals in molecular ...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2025 — Helium leaks are hard to detect. Helium is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and does not react with other chemical substances.  Not only can we not see or smell it, but traditional gas sensors have trouble detecting the element because they rely on chemical reactions. Despite this, identifying a helium leak is still crucial, because excess helium can displace oxygen in a confined space, leaving less oxygen for people to breathe.  In Applied Physics Letters, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Nanjing University developed a device that utilizes ...

About The Study: With the use of a mobile app, this study captured detailed time use data among individuals with advanced ovarian and metastatic breast cancer receiving treatment. Half of participants spent approximately 7 hours per week on cancer-related tasks, with most reporting cancer-related tasks daily. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Rachel I. Vogel, PhD, email isak0023@umn.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.49957) Editor’s ...

At a glance: A new study reveals that pathology AI models for cancer diagnosis perform unequally across demographic groups. The researchers identified three explanations for the bias and developed a tool that reduced it. The findings highlight the need to systematically check for bias in pathology AI to ensure equitable care for patients. Pathology has long been the cornerstone of cancer diagnosis and treatment. A pathologist carefully examines an ultrathin slice of human tissue under a microscope for clues that indicate the presence, type, and stage of cancer. To a human expert, looking at a swirly pink tissue sample ...

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have uncovered how and why traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and their work suggests a potential way to prevent that increased risk.   John Lukens, PhD, director of UVA's Harrison Family Translational Research Center in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, and his collaborators found that a single mild TBI brings about harmful changes in the brain that facilitate the onset of Alzheimer’s. But they also were able to prevent those changes in lab mice by using a hollowed-out virus to deliver repair supplies into the brain’s ...

In April 2025, the MASTER project launched its 2nd Open Call, inviting educational institutions, content creation services engaging students in XR application testing, and SMEs or large companies (as challenge providers only) from EU Member States, associated overseas countries and territories, and third countries linked to Horizon Europe. Applicants were asked to address specific challenges and submit proposals for evaluation. Following a rigorous assessment process conducted by both internal and external experts, 24 projects were selected for funding, ...