People have a lot of misconceptions about what the brain’s left and right hemispheres do, but one well-known aspect of this division may be even more true than people realize: The brain not only splits up visual spatial perception—processing what’s on our left in the right hemisphere and what’s on our right in the left hemisphere—it takes cognitive advantage of that. A new review by MIT neuroscientists explains what the field has learned about this division of labor, the trade-off it involves and how the brain ultimately bridges the divide. “People hear all these myths about the left brain ...

The single-celled parasite Entamoeba histolytica infects 50 million people each year, killing nearly 70,000. Usually, this wily, shape-shifting amoeba causes nothing worse than diarrhea. But sometimes it triggers severe, even fatal disease by chewing ulcers in the colon, liquefying parts of the liver and invading the brain and lungs. “It can kill anything you throw at it, any kind of human cell,” said Katherine Ralston, an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. E. histolytica can even evade the immune ...

Lebanon’s consociational democracy is geared towards maintaining political stability in a society that is deeply divided along religious lines. Under this power-sharing system, seats in the parliament and top government offices are allocated to representatives of the nation’s major religious sects. However, the democratic system is characterized by severe political rivalry, which has often resulted in political vacuums. The lack of political consensus has resulted in major positions such as the seat of president laying vacant for several months and severe delays in government formation. Hezbollah, a major political party in Lebanon, is often ...

Researchers have discovered how to block cells dying, in a finding that could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The team at WEHI in Melbourne, Australia, have identified a small molecule that can selectively block cell death. Published in Science Advances, the findings lay the groundwork for next-generation neuroprotective drugs for degenerative conditions, which currently have no cure or treatments to stop their progression.  At a glance Researchers ...

LONG BEACH, Wash. — Scientists at Washington State University have found that juvenile European green crabs can do as much damage as adults to shellfish and native sea plants, calling into question current methods to eradicate the invasive crustaceans. Green crabs are a massive threat to Washington state’s shellfish industry as well as its native eelgrass, a plant vital to local seawater ecology. For several years, shellfish growers have been trapping green crabs in huge numbers. Trappers traditionally target ...

From a small California winery to a large-scale energy project in China, floating photovoltaics — or “floatovoltaics”— are gaining in popularity. Commonly installed over artificial water bodies, from irrigation ponds and reservoirs to wastewater treatment plants, floating solar projects can maximize space for producing clean energy while sparing natural lands. But where there is water, there are waterbirds. Little is known about the impacts — positive or negative — floating solar projects may have on birds and other wildlife. A paper from the University of California, Davis, published in the journal Nature Water, ...

A new study has dug deep into the past of the coastal dunes of an iconic Queensland location in a bid to better understand how microscopic processes in the soil support some of the most biodiverse landscapes on Earth. Published in Nature Geoscience, the team of researchers from Griffith University, University of Sydney and Stockholm University investigated a sequence of coastal dunes of different ages (from 0-700,000 years old) in Cooloola National Park near Rainbow Beach to understand how soil microorganisms coped with severely declining levels of nutrients such as phosphorus in soil ...

Boccia’s appeal and rising popularity comes from its showcase as a Paralympic sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed an extended reality version of the game as a rehabilitation program, showing how the game that requires accuracy and strategy can aid motor and cognitive skills. Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science Associate Professor Masataka Kataoka’s research group developed Boccia XR so that the program can be introduced even in environments with limited space. The researchers ...

Vibrational sum-frequency generation (VSFG) is a nonlinear spectroscopic method widely used to investigate the molecular structure and dynamics of surface systems. However, in far-field observations, the spatial resolution of this method is constrained by the diffraction limit, which restricts its ability to resolve molecular details in inhomogeneous structures smaller than the wavelength of light. To address this limitation, we developed a tip-enhanced VSFG (TE-SFG) spectroscopy system based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Using this system, we ...

VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE In an effort to curb misuse of opioids and prevent overdose deaths, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia released a legally enforceable practice standard, Safe Prescribing of Drugs with Potential for Misuse/Diversion, in 2016. This document limited prescribing of opioids for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) with specific prescribing practices that clinicians were obligated to follow. In research that tested the effects of the 2016 practice standard on prescribing to patients with CNCP, researchers found ...

Promising new AI tools are being developed to protect and preserve the cultural traditions and heritage of marginalized or indigenous communities, including language, folklore, oral traditions, and community wisdom. These advances have prompted industry experts to highlight the potential for culturally aware AI systems, which can ensure unique traditions are not only remembered but also shared and reimagined across generations. But to continue this positive trend, tech companies must ensure the AI-based systems they develop are representative and build bridges across cultures, experts ...

A major new international study has found that young adults in low- and middle-income countries who are sex workers, gay men, transgender or living with HIV are facing a surge in online abuse - from harassment and blackmail to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.   Researchers from The University of Warwick’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies warn this abuse is becoming increasingly normalised and is moving between online and in-person threats, with most victims having little access to support or justice.  The study — the largest of its kind — focuses ...

Overconfident chief executives and their risky behaviours can be partly restrained through credit ratings, new research finds. Researchers led by Bangor University in Wales in the United Kingdom and other institutions including Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, Vlerick Business School in Brussels, Belgium and The University of Aberdeen in Scotland found that the creditworthiness of a company can hugely influence how its chief executive behaves – especially during corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The research, which is published in the journal, European Financial Management, is based on data from 916 firms in the United States who were rated by American ...

In a new editorial in the AAAS publication Science & Diplomacy, Kimberly Montgomery, Director of International Affairs and Science Diplomacy at AAAS, reflects on whether the United States should develop a national science diplomacy strategy amid significant change to U.S. federal policy. Montgomery believes that the Trump administration should develop such a strategy – to help define a vision and direction for the U.S. It should outline how related policies “can advance U.S. diplomatic objectives, including fostering economic growth,” she writes. “And that strategy should detail how it will work with the private ...

Early in the covid-19 pandemic, the failure of UK government advisers to follow World Health Organization (WHO) advice and emerging evidence from East Asia that suppression could bring the virus under control quickly led to avoidable UK deaths, argues an expert in The BMJ today. Suppression aims to avoid national lockdowns and maintain economic activity for most of the population by introducing surveillance systems to bring new outbreaks under control quickly, thus reducing the reproductive rate of infection (R0) to below 1 and ...

New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May) and published in the journal eClinicalMedicine finds that first generation weight-loss medications like liraglutide and exenatide appear to show anti-cancer benefits beyond weight loss. “Our study found a similar incidence of obesity-related cancer among patients treated with first-generation glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) and with bariatric surgery over an average of ...

Individuals who lived with obesity as children are less likely to be in work or studying in their mid-20s than their peers, new research being presented at year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) has found. They are also more likely to be on long-term sick leave, the Swedish study of the long-term labour market outcomes of childhood obesity found. “Rates of childhood obesity are higher in individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds than in those from higher socio-economic positions,” explains Dr Emilia Hagman, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. “The reasons for this are complex but one contributing factor may be ...

New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May) reveals that adverse waist-to-height ratio trajectories (a marker for central obesity) during childhood may increase cardiometabolic and cardiovascular risk at 10 years old. Notably, children with gradually increasing central obesity from birth were more likely to show early signs of metabolic and cardiovascular risk by age 10. This included elevated blood pressure and higher levels of biomarkers linked to systemic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction, ...

Endocrine diseases affect millions of people in Europe, yet research into hormone health remains underfunded and fragmented. EndoCompass aims to change this. By identifying key research priorities and knowledge gaps, the roadmap will guide future studies, funding programmes and policy decisions at European and national levels. Although the full publication is still to come, two dedicated sessions at the Joint Congress will offer an exclusive preview: • On Sunday 11 May, a Scientific Symposium will introduce key findings from ...

Exposure to junk food advertisements (relative to non-food) results in children and adolescents  consuming significantly more calories during the day, regardless of the type of media advertising, according to a randomised crossover trial being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May). The study found that 7–15 year-olds exposed to just 5 minutes of adverts for foods high in saturated fats, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS) consumed on average 130 kcals per day extra, which is equivalent to the calories in two slices of bread. The timely research is presented as many countries across Europe and globally are considering ...

Several areas of the brain, including regions that play a critical role in learning and memory and in the control of emotions, are larger in adolescents who are living with obesity, new research being presented at year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) has found. The finding, from a study of thousands of teenagers in the US, raises concerns that obesity affects not only physical health but also learning, memory and control of emotions, says lead researcher Dr Augusto César F. De Moraes, of UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin, Department of Epidemiology, Texas, USA.  ...

Three months of time-restricted eating (TRE), irrespective of whether it is earlier or later in the day, may be a promising strategy for sustaining long-term weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, according to preliminary results of a randomised controlled trial being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May). “Our study found that restricting the eating window to 8 hours at any time of the day for 3 months can result in significant weight ...

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) can lead to significant weight loss and improve blood sugar control in adults with severe mental illness, as well as having positive effects on mood, well-being, and quality of life in those both with and without mental illness, according to a systematic review of the available evidence being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May). “Our findings suggest that GLP-1RAs might be just as safe and effective in adults with mental illness as they are in mentally healthy individuals, significantly reducing psychotropic ...

Boys who enter puberty later than average are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes as adults, irrespective of their weight or socio-economic factors, according to research presented at the first Joint Congress between the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE). The findings may uncover a potential new risk factor for boys developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes that results from the body’s inability to make enough insulin or properly use insulin. Over 90% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, ...

A new model of tiny human ovary organoids, or ovaroids, has been developed from stem cells, according to research presented at the first Joint Congress between the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE). This achievement may help to understand and develop treatments for conditions in which these organs do not develop or function properly, including differences in sex development and infertility. During human embryo development, sex determination occurs at a very early stage, making the process difficult to study and understand. Typically, gonads begin to form at about four weeks, and the decision to become testes ...