Bar Harbor, Maine — As people age, muscles naturally lose mass and strength, a condition known as sarcopenia. The decline can make everyday activities harder and increases the risk of falls, disability and early death. At the moment, the best defense is regular exercise throughout our lives, as effective treatments to slow or prevent muscle atrophy are limited. Progress has been slowed in part because in most vertebrates, aging unfolds over many years, making it difficult for biomedical researchers to study quickly in the laboratory. Now, MDI Biological Laboratory Associate Professor Romain Madelaine, ...

A key molecular mechanism drives the growth of liver cell cancer while simultaneously suppressing the body's immune response to the tumor. This has now been published in the journal Nature by a team led by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the University Hospital of Tübingen, and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in La Jolla, California. However, the results also show that this very mechanism could help identify patients who respond particularly well to immunotherapy in the future, thus opening up new therapeutic approaches. Liver cell cancer is particularly difficult to treat ...

MADISON — Parts of the ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought. New research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has uncovered chemical signatures in zircons, the planet’s oldest minerals, that are consistent with subduction and extensive continental crust during the Hadean Eon, more than 4 billion years ago. The findings challenge models that have long considered Earth's earliest times as dominated by a rigid, unmoving ...

Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute of Neurophysiology at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in Germany have deciphered the molecular signature of so-called sleeping nociceptors—a type of pain-sensing nerve cell that normally remains quiet and does not respond to touch or pressure, but can become overactive and drive chronic pain. The findings will be published on Wednedsay, February 4 in the renowned scientific journal Cell. Approximately ten percent of the population lives with neuropathic (nerve-related) pain, which is frequently associated with abnormal activity of sleeping nociceptors. ...

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives in health care institutions, programs were associated with an increased workforce diversity. These findings support the continued use of EDI initiatives to promote a more inclusive and equitable health care culture. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Manish M. Sood, MD, MSc, email Msood@toh.on.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.55896) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this study, semaglutide for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease was effective but meeting conventional cost-effectiveness thresholds will require additional price reductions. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MSc, MS, email dkazi@bidmc.harvard.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2025.5243) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other ...

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial, a ketogenic diet had antidepressant benefits compared with a well-matched control diet at 6 weeks. However, the clinical relevance is uncertain, as the mean effect size compared with the control was modest and not evident in secondary analyses.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Min Gao, PhD, email min.gao@phc.ox.ac.uk. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.4431) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

Cambridge, Mass. -- You can tell a lot about a material based on the type of light you shine at it: Optical light illuminates a material’s surface, while X-rays reveal its internal structures and infrared captures a material’s radiating heat.  Now, MIT physicists have used terahertz light to reveal inherent, quantum vibrations in a superconducting material, which have not been observable until now.  Terahertz light is a form of energy that lies between microwaves and infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. It oscillates over a trillion times ...

Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder affecting more than 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million globally, is characterized by debilitating symptoms such as tremors, movement difficulties, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairments. While current treatments, including long-term medication and invasive deep brain stimulation (DBS), can alleviate symptoms, they cannot halt progression or cure the disease. A new international study led by China’s Changping Laboratory, in collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...

Keeping up with the latest research is vital for scientists, but given that millions of scientific papers are published every year, that can prove difficult. Artificial intelligence systems show promise for quickly synthesizing seas of information, but they still tend to make things up, or “hallucinate.”  For instance, when a team led by researchers at the University of Washington and The Allen Institute for AI, or Ai2, studied a recent OpenAI model, GPT-4o, they found it fabricated 78-90% of its research citations. And general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT often can’t access papers that were ...

University of Toronto researchers have expanded our understanding of bacterial immunity with the discovery of a new protein that can both sense and counteract viral infections. In the new study, published today in Nature, researchers from U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine describe how a single protein named Rip1 recognizes bacteriophages, the viruses that infect bacteria, and cause infected bacteria to die prematurely, thereby ending the chain of transmission. “There are a lot of parallels between our immune system and bacterial ...

Gene regulation is far more predictable than previously believed, scientists conclude after developing deep learning model PARM. This might bring an end to a scientific mystery: how genes know when to switch on or off. Today, scientists publish in Nature about their relentless back-and-forth between lab experiments and computation that enabled them to build this lightweight model. Scientists around the world can now start using this tool for reading these genetic instructions, creating leads for new cancer diagnostics, patient stratification, and future therapies. “The ...

UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have identified a molecule that blocks the gene responsible for glioblastoma, raising hopes that the molecule could become a much-needed new treatment for the deadliest brain cancer.  Researcher Hui Li, PhD, previously discovered the “oncogene” responsible for glioblastoma, a cancer for which there are no treatments that extend life for more than a few months. In his follow-up work, published in Science Translational Medicine, Li reports the identification of a small molecule that blocked the gene’s activity in both cell samples and lab mice. In mice, ...

Did you skip your last high school reunion? If so, you may want to reconsider when the next anniversary rolls around. The experience could lead to increased feelings of gratitude, according to a new study led by Jeffrey Green, Ph.D., a professor of psychology in Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences. That’s because engaging in nostalgic experiences – or even just listening to nostalgic music, or drifting into a nostalgic reverie – can strengthen feelings of social connection, ...

Researchers studying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum have discovered a previously unknown stage in its life cycle that appears to be crucial for reproduction. This is important because malaria depends on the parasite’s rapid ability to multiply inside the human body, so stopping its reproduction could help prevent severe disease and save lives. Using a new live-imaging method, the team found that before the parasite can divide, a key structure inside the cell must reshape into a “Crown” form and connect to the cell’s nucleus. This ...

SAN ANTONIO — February 4, 2026 — Dr. Stephen Fuselier has been appointed as vice president of the Space Science Division of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). A noted heliophysicist, Fuselier recently served as the co-chair of the National Academies of Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey. NASA uses its recommendations to identify and prioritize the scientific questions and necessary observations required to answer them over the next 10 years. “I’m thrilled to lead SwRI’s Space Science Division,” Fuselier said. ...

New York, NY — The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the release of silverlinings.bio, an interactive report and simulation tool developed by AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD, with support from AFAR, the Amaranth Foundation, and the Methuselah Foundation. Dr. Romanni-Klein spent the last two years working with a team of economists from Harvard, the Abundance Institute, and the University of Southern Carolina to develop an interactive simulation tool with returns on investments (ROI) for specific research & development (R&D) advancements in aging science ...

Chemicals brought in to help protect our ozone layer have had the unintended consequences of spreading vast quantities of a potentially toxic ‘forever chemical’ around the globe, a new study shows. Atmospheric scientists, led by researchers at Lancaster University, have for the first time calculated that CFC replacement chemicals and anaesthetics are behind around a third of a million tonnes (335,500 tonnes) of a persistent forever chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) being deposited from the atmosphere across the Earth’s surface between the years 2000 and 2022. And the rate ...

PULLMAN, Wash. — The secret to youthful appearance and repairing scars may lie in a microscopic skin structure humans share with pigs and grizzly bears — but, surprisingly, not monkeys. While it had been thought these ridge and valley-like skin microstructures — called rete ridges — form during fetal growth, researchers at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine found they actually develop shortly after birth and identified a key molecular signal that drives their development. The findings, published in the journal Nature, could lead to new therapies designed to reverse or slow skin aging and improve wound and scar ...

CLEVELAND—A Case Western Reserve University professor has developed an innovative card deck designed to help children manage stress and build emotional resilience in today’s challenging world. Following the COVID-19 pandemic—and amid ongoing global and societal stressors—Jennifer King, an associate professor and co-director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve, realized that people needed to know the fundamentals of stress management. She created “Take a Break” micropractice cards in 2022 to help people relax, ...

Images of the students and researchers Twenty-seven University of Michigan students and faculty scholars have been awarded Fulbright grants for the 2025-26 academic year, putting the university among the top-producing institutions in the country.   The grants—one of the U.S. government's most prestigious awards—will fund overseas research of 25 students and 2 faculty scholars from the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses for 6-12 months.   A recent graduate of U-M's Biomolecular Science and Spanish programs, Ava Kuiper ...

Eligibility Criteria Endorse the journal's editorial philosophy. Make significant contributions to the journal in areas such as peer review, evaluation and promotion. Specialize in Robotics, Biomedical Engineering or Neuro Engineering. Be actively engaged in research, with an international academic perspective. Candidates should typically be under 40 years old, holding a position such as Associate Professor/Associate Chief Physician, or Assistant Professor or higher in a tenure-track system. Outstanding candidates may be given more lenient requirements. Have published at least 10 articles as the first author or corresponding author in leading journals of their field. May ...

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common health problems worldwide, affecting people of all ages and placing a heavy burden on healthcare systems. Many patients experience persistent discomfort that interferes with work, sleep, and daily activities. Yet in most cases, doctors cannot identify a clear structural cause, making long-term treatment difficult. A new study published in Volume 14 of the journal Bone Research on January 22, 2026, suggests that a hormone treatment may help relieve chronic back pain by limiting abnormal nerve growth inside damaged spinal ...

Plants are a rich and renewable source of compounds used in medicines, food ingredients, and cosmetics. Since growing an entire plant just to extract a few specific compounds is rather inefficient, scientists are turning to plant cell cultures as a more sustainable alternative. Cultured plant cells can act as ideal ‘biofactories’ that multiply quickly indoors and are unaffected by weather or seasons. Unfortunately, this strategy faces a long-standing problem: although plant cells contain thousands of genes capable of making diverse chemicals, only a small fraction of them are active under standard culture conditions. One possible ...

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [February 4, 2026] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—an alliance of leading cancer centers based in the United States—and the NCCN Foundation® is honoring World Cancer Day with an announcement about more frequent updates to its free educational resources intended to empower shared decision-making. World Cancer Day is an international day observed every February 4th to raise awareness about cancer, encourage its prevention, and mobilize action. The day is led by the Union for International ...