Background Sepsis is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by dysregulated immune responses, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ dysfunction. It involves intricate interactions among multiple signaling pathways, including NF-κB, JAK/STAT, TLR, MAPK, HIF-1α, and Nrf2/Keap1, which collectively regulate immune activation, inflammation, and cellular metabolism. Mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic reprogramming further contribute to its pathogenesis by impairing energy production and immune cell function. Conventional treatments, primarily reliant on antibiotics and early goal-directed therapy, often ...

Solid-state lithium-metal batteries (SSLMBs) are the holy-grail of next-generation energy storage, but their commercialization has been stymied by dendrite growth, fragile interfaces, and the ion-conductivity vs. mechanical-strength trade-off. Now, researchers from Sichuan University, led by Prof. Yu Wang and Prof. Xuewei Fu, have introduced a “lithium-ion dynamic interface (Li⁺-DI)” strategy that turns charged halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) into nano-interfacial engineers, delivering composite polymer electrolytes ...

Every 27 minutes, someone in Australia is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Best known for its tremors, movement and balance issues, it also brings another, often overlooked burden – persistent pain.   Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that many people with Parkinson’s are struggling to manage their pain, with researchers calling for more individualised, multidisciplinary and empathetic care.   In two studies that assessed how people with Parkinson’s manage pain and their experiences of pain care services, researchers found notable gaps in support, ...

A team of UC Riverside researchers has uncovered a potential breakthrough in solar desalination that could reduce the need for energy-intensive saltwater treatment. Led by Luat Vuong, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, the team has demonstrated for the first time how the highest frequencies of sunlight—specifically invisible ultraviolet (UV) light—can break the stubborn bonds between salt and water. “To our knowledge, nobody else has yet articulated this deep UV channel for salt-water separation,” Vuong said. “UV light in the wavelength range of 300-400 nanometers is used ...

How do stem cells know what to become? Nearly three decades after scientists isolated the first human embryonic stem cells, researchers are still working hard to understand precisely how a single, undifferentiated cell can become any one of the roughly 200 cell types that make up the human body. A new study offers key insights, describing how cellular storage units known as “P bodies” heavily influence a cell’s fate. By manipulating P bodies, the scientists were able to efficiently create hard-to-develop cell types in the lab, including “germ cells” (the cells that precede sperm and egg) and “totipotent” cells, which can become ...

Key Points:  Shifting to more plant-based diets could reduce global agricultural labour needs by 5–28 per cent by 2030, the equivalent of 18–106 million full-time jobs.  The global rebalancing of food production could cut agricultural labour costs by US $290–995 billion each year, equal to around 0.2–0.6 per cent of global GDP.  Countries with livestock-heavy agriculture would see the biggest declines in labour demand, while others - especially lower-income nations - could need 18–56 million more ...

Scientists have developed an innovative planning framework that could help protect fragile ecosystems in cold regions while supporting sustainable development. The study, published in Agricultural Ecology and Environment, introduces a new “connectivity–ecological risk–economic efficiency” (CRE) approach that integrates environmental, economic, and climatic factors into a single model for ecological security planning. Cold regions such as Northeast China’s Songhua River Basin are vital for ...

A team of scientists has discovered that the crystal structure of naturally occurring iron minerals plays a crucial role in breaking down harmful chemical additives released from plastics. The findings could improve predictions of how these pollutants behave in the environment and guide strategies for reducing their long-term risks. The study, published in Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes, examined how three types of iron oxyhydroxide nanominerals, goethite, akaganeite, and lepidocrocite, catalyze the breakdown of organophosphate esters (OPEs). OPEs are ...

A new University of California San Diego study uncovers a hidden driver of global crop vulnerability: the origin of rainfall itself.  Published in Nature Sustainability, the research traces atmospheric moisture back to its source—whether it evaporated from the ocean or from land surfaces such as soil, lakes and forests. When the sun heats these surfaces, water turns into vapor, rises into the atmosphere, and later falls again as rain.  Ocean-sourced moisture travels long distances on global winds, often through large-scale weather systems such as atmospheric ...

Cambridge, MA – Managing a power grid is like trying to solve an enormous puzzle. Grid operators must ensure the proper amount of power is flowing to the right areas at the exact time when it is needed, and they must do this in a way that minimizes costs without overloading physical infrastructure. Even more, they must solve this complicated problem repeatedly, as rapidly as possible, to meet constantly changing demand. To help crack this consistent conundrum, MIT researchers developed a problem-solving tool that finds the optimal solution ...

Because researchers have made such striking progress in developing drugs to treat neuromuscular diseases, Scott Delp, PhD, was surprised to learn that scientists conducting clinical trials were still relying on a decidedly low-tech tool to track whether those treatments were working: a stopwatch. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Delp, a professor of bioengineering, and his collaborators showed that a smartphone could do the job as well or better. With two smartphone cameras and a free app, they ...

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Patients with implanted medical devices like orthopedic joint replacements, pacemakers, and artificial heart valves run a small but significant risk that these devices get infected with bacterial pathogens. This starts them on a burdensome path requiring “redo” (revision) surgeries, prolonged antibiotic treatments, or in severe cases amputation. If the infections spread in patients’ bodies, they can even become fatal. “In the U.S. alone, about ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 3 November 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, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.    ----------------------------     1. ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell University researchers and collaborators have developed a neural implant so small that it can rest on a grain of salt, yet it can wirelessly transmit brain activity data in a living animal for more than a year. The breakthrough, detailed Nov. 3 in Nature Electronics, demonstrates that microelectronic systems can function at an unprecedentedly small scale, opening new possibilities for neural monitoring, bio-integrated sensing and other applications. Development of the device, called a microscale optoelectronic tetherless electrode, or MOTE, was co-led ...

Vertebrates have extremely different brain sizes: even with the same body size, brain size can vary a hundredfold. As a rule, mammals and birds have the largest brains in relation to their body size, followed by sharks and reptiles. Amphibians and most fish, on the other hand, have the smallest brains of all vertebrates. Why is this the case? In some animal groups, species that live in groups have larger brains than solitary species. They have to cope with rapidly changing social situations and therefore need ...

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed biosensor technology that when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) shows promise for detecting lung cancer through breath analysis. The electrochemical biosensor identifies eight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are potential biomarkers for thoracic cancers, which include lung and esophageal cancers. AI then analyzes the biochemical characteristics of the compounds to determine whether they are a match to those linked to various thoracic cancers. “We built a screening tool that could allow physicians to catch the disease ...

Remote physiologic monitoring (RPM)—digital tools that track patients’ health data between visits—shows promise for improving chronic disease management and reshaping primary care delivery, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. While prior studies have examined how RPM affects patients who use the technology, this is the first study to quantify the impact of RPM on practices, including its effects on practice revenue, care delivery, and ...

New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that the enzyme biliverdin reductase A (BVRA) plays a direct protective role against oxidative stress in neurons, independent of its role producing the yellow pigment bilirubin. In this study of genetically engineered mice, the scientists say BVRA protected brain cells from oxidative stress, an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants that protect cells, by modulating another key protein, NRF2, which regulates the levels of protective proteins and antioxidants in cells. Oxidative stress is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.   A report describing the research, funded by the ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A fermentation byproduct might help to solve two major global challenges: world hunger and the environmental impact of fast fashion. The leftover yeast from brewing beer, wine or even to make some pharmaceuticals can be repurposed to produce high-performance fibers stronger than natural fibers with significantly less environmental impact, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State and published today (Nov 3) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The yeast biomass — ...

In an era when social media blurs the line between public and private speech, how do people decide whether to speak their minds or stay silent? A new study from researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Michigan, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, offers a groundbreaking look at the strategic trade-offs individuals make when facing the threat of punishment for dissent. The work, co-authored by Professor Stephanie Forrest and Assistant Professor Joshua J. Daymude in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the ...

An international team of scientists, led by the University of Oxford, has achieved a world-first by creating plasma "fireballs" using the Super Proton Synchrotron accelerator at CERN, Geneva, to study the stability of plasma jets emanating from blazars. The results, published today (3 November) in PNAS, could shed new light on a long-standing mystery about the Universe’s hidden magnetic fields and missing gamma rays. Blazars are active galaxies powered by supermassive black holes that launch narrow, near-light-speed ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- By stimulating cancer cells to produce a molecule that activates a signaling pathway in nearby immune cells, MIT researchers have found a way to force tumors to trigger their own destruction. Activating this signaling pathway, known as the cGAS-STING pathway, worked even better when combined with existing immunotherapy drugs known as checkpoint blockade inhibitors, in a study of mice. That dual treatment was successfully able to control tumor growth. The researchers turned on the cGAS-STING pathway in immune cells using messenger RNA delivered to cancer cells. This approach may avoid the side effects of delivering large doses of a STING activator, and takes ...

Rivers perform a vital role in environmental balance. Keeping them in good condition depends not only on water quality, but also on the life they host and the processes that take place within them: plant respiration, decomposition of organic matter, and transformation of nutrients, among others. “The good condition of a river means taking into account both the organisms that inhabit it and the way it functions,” explained Luz Boyero, an Ikerbasque Research Professor at the EHU. Human activity may alter this natural dynamic, so tools need to be available to enable its effects to be detected in a timely manner. With the aim of standardising methods for assessing river ...

Sleep patterns and eating habits can influence each other, but the link between these behaviors remains unclear. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by William Ja, from the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, used fruit flies (Drosophila) to explore how different kinds of sleep deprivation influence subsequent sleeping and feeding behavior.  The researchers tested different sleep loss conditions and discovered that when fruit flies are sleep deprived to the point of energy loss, they compensate by feeding and sleeping more to restore their energy. When ...

Some people with psychiatric conditions, including addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, struggle to control their urges or make decisions under uncertainty. In a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the University of British Columbia, Tristan Hynes and colleagues used rats to explore the role of a specific reward-related neuron population in shaping impulsivity and risky decision-making during a gambling task.  As reported in their JNeurosci paper, the researchers manipulated the neuron population’s activity as rats chose between ...