LOS ANGELES — Scientists at City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S., and a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, have uncovered a gene called SMOC1 that plays a surprising role in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by converting pancreatic cells that normally produce insulin into those that increase blood sugar.   The findings, published in Nature Communications, identify an important new therapeutic target for T2D and ...

A few years ago, researchers in Michal Lipson’s lab noticed something remarkable.  They were working on a project to improve LiDAR, a technology that uses lightwaves to measure distance. The lab was designing high-power chips that could produce brighter beams of light.  “As we sent more and more power through the chip, we noticed that it was creating what we call a frequency comb,” says Andres Gil-Molina, a former postdoctoral researcher in Lipson’s lab.  A frequency comb is a special type of light that contains many colors lined up next to each other in an orderly pattern, kind of like ...

Survey of 166 international experts highlights concerns about protecting human and wildlife health from environmental pollutants Less than a third of industry scientists support including behavioural tests in chemical safety assessments, compared to 80 per cent of academics and 91 per cent of government scientists Despite almost all scientists (97 per cent) agreeing that chemicals can affect wildlife behaviour, most testing is done by universities rather than chemical companies, leaving gaps ...

Cells all require the transport of materials to maintain their function. In nerve cells, a tiny motor made of protein called KIF1A is responsible for that. Mutations in this protein can lead to neurological disorders, including difficulties in walking, intellectual impairment and nerve degradation. It’s known that mutations in KIF1A also result in a weakened motor performance, but this has been difficult to measure so far. Researchers including those from the University of Tokyo and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan have measured changes in the force of KIF1A using a nanospring, a tiny, coiled structure, ...

A unique collaboration, the Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN, Japan’s premier research institute, have released “Envisioning Futures: Women’s Leadership and Gender Equity in Japanese Research,” a comprehensive report that shines a spotlight on the journeys, achievements and challenges faced by women research leaders in Japan. The report blends data-driven analysis with compelling personal narratives, offering a timely roadmap for institutional change and a call to action for the advancement of women in science and innovation. The report shows that despite Japan’s global reputation for technological ...

Four-limbed vertebrates, known as tetrapods, have two enlarged areas in their spinal cords. The two enlargements have a correlation with the forelimbs and hind limbs, respectively. These enlargements are thought to be caused by the complex muscular system and the rich sensory networks supplying nerves to the limbs. Meanwhile, it was long thought that fish had no enlarged areas in their spinal cords due to the absence of limbs. However, a recent study by scientists from Nagoya University in Japan has revealed that zebrafish, in fact, have enlarged areas in their spinal cords, although these areas are not visible ...

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, CANADA, 7 October 2025 -- In a compelling Genomic Press Interview published today in Genomic Psychiatry, Dr. Martin Alda illuminates how decoding psychiatric heterogeneity holds the key to revolutionizing mental health treatment worldwide. The interview reveals how this internationally acclaimed researcher transformed our global understanding of bipolar disorder by proving that what appears as one condition actually represents multiple genetically distinct disorders, fundamentally ...

The most common first diagnosis of Alport syndrome in Japan is during the universal age-3 urine screening. In 60% of these children, the disease had already progressed far enough to qualify for treatment. Therefore, universal early-age urinalysis may be an apt means for both better prognoses and reduced costs of medical care. Alport syndrome is a genetic disease that affects about one in 5,000 people. Patients cannot produce a certain type of collagen which leads to kidney failure, and may also lead to hearing loss and ...

A good night’s sleep has long been understood to help us consolidate new memories, but we don’t understand how. Associations with negative feelings like fear or stress can improve recall, but intentionally trying to remember can also be effective. But these two mechanisms are very different — one involuntary, one deliberate. Which influences memory most? To investigate, researchers asked participants to remember or forget words, some of which had negative emotional associations. They found that instructions improved recall ...

Solar energy is now so cost-effective that, in the sunniest countries, it costs as little as £0.02 to produce one unit of power, making it cheaper than electricity generated from coal, gas or wind, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.  In a study published in Energy and Environment Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) argue that solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now the key driver of the world’s transition to clean, renewable power.  Professor Ravi Silva, co-author of the study and Director of the ATI at the University ...

A research team co-led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and West China Hospital Sichuan University (WCHSU), working with partners in the UK, has demonstrated a nanotechnology strategy that reverses Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Unlike traditional nanomedicine, which relies on nanoparticles as carriers for therapeutic molecules, this approach employs nanoparticles that are bioactive in their own right: “supramolecular drugs.” Instead of targeting neurons directly, the therapy restores the proper function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the vascular gatekeeper ...

Research led by the University of Cambridge has found the first clear evidence that the ‘good’ gut bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in pregnant mothers regulates the placenta’s production of hormones critical for a healthy pregnancy. In a study in mice, the researchers compared the placentas of mice with no gut bacteria to those of mice with Bifidobacterium breve in their gut during pregnancy. Pregnant mice without Bifidobacterium breve in their gut had a higher rate of complications including fetal growth restriction and fetal low blood sugar, and increased fetal loss. This gut bacteria seems to play a crucial role in prompting the placenta ...

A team of researchers at the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has created a new breakthrough in photonics: the design of the first optical device that follows the emerging framework of optical thermodynamics. The work, reported in Nature Photonics, introduces a fundamentally new way of routing light in nonlinear systems—meaning systems that do not require switches, external control, or digital addressing. Instead, light naturally finds its way through the device, guided by simple thermodynamic principles. From Valves to Routers to Light Universal routing is a familiar engineering ...

Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study  (Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, 7 October 2025) New research presented today at UEG Week 2025 shows that microplastics – plastic particles smaller than 5mm commonly found in the environment – can alter the human gut microbiome, with some changes resembling patterns linked to depression and colorectal cancer.1 This study, conducted within the framework of microONE, a pioneering COMET Module programme project led by CBmed research center in collaboration with international partners, is among the first ...

Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds (Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, 7 October 2025) A major new study reveals that both sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages (LNSSBs) are significantly associated with a higher risk of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).1 The study, presented today at UEG Week 2025, followed 123,788 UK Biobank participants without liver disease at baseline. Beverage consumption was assessed using repeated ...

We often think of plastic pollution as a problem of oceans and seabirds. But beneath our feet, in the quiet dark of agricultural soils, a new kind of contamination is unfolding—one with profound implications for climate, crops, and carbon. A pioneering two-year field study has revealed that biodegradable microplastics, often hailed as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, are quietly reshaping the chemistry of farmland soils in unexpected and complex ways. Published on August 22, 2025, in Carbon Research as an open-access original article, this research was co-led by Dr. Jie ...

Our bodies are made up mostly of water. If this water is removed, our cells cannot survive, even when water is reintroduced. But some organisms can completely dry out yet return to life when rehydrated. A new study in Cell Systems helps explain how organisms can come back from desiccation (the removal of water or moisture) while others fail by looking at the cell’s proteins. In the first survey of its kind, a team of researchers profiled thousands of proteins at once for their ability to survive dehydration and ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 6 October 2025    Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin              Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, ...

New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body Researchers at Western University and the University of Calgary have discovered how HIV hides in different parts of the body by embedding itself into the DNA of cells in a tissue-specific manner, offering new insights into why the virus is so difficult to eliminate and cure – even decades after infection and treatment. The study, led by Western University’s Stephen Barr and UCalgary’s Guido van Marle, reveals that HIV cloaks itself in the DNA of infected cells using unique DNA patterns in the ...

Over the last decade, poisonings and deaths linked to the use of local anesthetics have decreased. Even so, poisonings from one commonly used anesthetic, lidocaine, have increased in the United States, according to two new studies from the University of Illinois Chicago. By analyzing data from reports to national Poison Control Centers and to the Food and Drug Administration from 2010 to 2020, UIC researchers found total reports of poisonings fell 50% in that period. But poisonings from lidocaine increased more than 50% in less than half that ...

Nobody wants to admit that a lowly bumper sticker can influence their behavior. But researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that drivers were far more likely to honk after being cut off by a vehicle bearing a political bumper sticker, particularly one for the opposing political party. “Bumper stickers are a meaningful way in which partisan divides are reinforced in everyday life,” UC researchers concluded. “They have tangible impacts on road safety. Partisan bumper stickers may be mundane, but they are not trivial.” For a study published in the journal Frontiers in Political Science, UC Assistant ...

JUPITER, Fla. — In a quest to develop new antiviral drugs for COVID-19 and other diseases, a collaboration led by scientists at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute has identified a potential new drug against the virus that causes COVID-19. In the process, the team devised a powerful new platform for finding medicines to fight many types of infectious diseases. Writing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, in an online article posted on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, the scientists said they began by seeking ...

A new method of taking microscopic images of a live mouse’s retina through the eye allows to record the reaction of brain cells to disease and treatment. The Kobe University development is more easily applicable than previous methods and promises to advance research on and treatment of vision-related diseases. Diabetic retinopathy, a form of diabetic eye disease, is one of the leading causes of blindness around the globe. “It’s understood that vision is lost due to damage to the blood vessels in the retina, but recent research has identified that abnormalities in neurons and immune cells begin prior to vascular damage,” says Kobe ...

Rockville, MD. (October 6, 2025) – The 2025 NFCR Global Summit and Award Ceremonies for Cancer Research & Entrepreneurship will convene an extraordinary roster of world-renowned scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and patient advocates on October 24, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This is a signature annual gathering where the leaders driving the future of oncology come together under one roof to challenge the status quo, reveal bold ideas, share insights, and spark collaborations that shape what’s next in cancer research ...

Key takeaways Internal organ tissues often don’t heal after illness or injury and lose some function, such as the heart after a heart attack. UCLA cardiologists have identified a protein that interferes with healing. Funded entirely by federal and state grants, the researchers developed a drug to block this protein and promote tissue regeneration. The FDA has now granted approval to begin Phase I clinical trials of the first-in-class drug for tissue repair, called AD-NP1, in humans. The body’s tissues can get injured in many ways, but while some injuries ...