How do we learn something new? How do tasks at a new job, lyrics to the latest hit song or directions to a friend’s house become encoded in our brains? The broad answer is that our brains undergo adaptations to accommodate new information. In order to follow a new behavior or retain newly introduced information, the brain’s circuity undergoes change. Such modifications are orchestrated across trillions of synapses — the connections between individual nerve cells, called neurons — where brain communication takes place. In an intricately coordinated ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 19:00 BST / 14:00 ET THURSDAY 17 APRIL 2025 Sugar-mimicking molecule central to virulence of a common crop disease, study finds In plants, the space between cells is a key battleground during infection. To avoid recognition in this space, a strain of the bacterial tomato disease Pseudomonas syringae manipulates plants by producing a substance called glycosyrin. This substance suppresses the immune response and allows the bacteria to remain unnoticed. A new study led by the University of Oxford has revealed ...

Shedding light on how the brain fine-tunes its wiring during learning, a new study finds that different dendritic segments of a single neuron follow distinct rules. The findings challenge the idea that neurons follow a single learning strategy and offer a new perspective on how the brain learns and adapts behavior. The brain's remarkable ability to learn and adapt is rooted in its capacity to modify the connections within its neural circuits – a phenomenon known as synaptic plasticity, in which specific synapses are altered to reshape neural activity and support behavioral change. Neurons, unlike most other cell types, are characterized by their intricate, ...

Solid-state lithium batteries fail for the same reason over-bent paperclips snap – metal fatigue in the anode itself, according to a new study. The findings, which show that this fatigue follows well-documented mechanical behavior, provide a quantitative framework for predicting the cycle life of solid-state batteries, enabling new pathways for designing longer-lasting and safer energy storage systems. Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSBs) promise both high energy and improved safety by combining a lithium ...

NASA’s Curiosity rover has uncovered a hidden chemical archive of ancient Mars’ atmosphere, which suggests that large amounts of carbon dioxide have been locked into the planet’s crust, according to a new study. The findings provide in situ evidence that a carbon cycle once operated on ancient Mars and offer new insights into the planet’s past climate. The Martian landscape shows clear signs that liquid water once flowed across its surface, which would have required ...

Based on data from over 1000 regional studies combined with machine learning, researchers estimate that as many as 1.4 billion people live in areas with soil dangerously polluted by heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead. The study reveals a global risk, but also a previously unrecognized high-risk, metal-enriched zone in low-latitude Eurasia, in particular. The growth in demand for critical metals means toxic heavy metal pollution in soils is only likely to worsen. “We hope that the global soil pollution data presented in this report will ...

Research from NASA’s Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars, bringing scientists closer to an answer on whether the Red Planet was ever capable of supporting life. Lead author Dr. Ben Tutolo, PhD, an associate professor with the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment in the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, is a participating scientist on the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover team. The team is working to understand climate transitions and habitability on ancient Mars as Curiosity explores Gale Crater. The paper, published this week in the journal Science, reveals that ...

Philadelphia, April 17, 2025 – Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) have successfully employed an algorithm to identify potential mutations which increase disease risk in the noncoding regions our DNA, which make up the vast majority of the human genome. The findings could serve as the basis for detecting disease-associated variants in a range of common diseases. The findings were published online today by the American Journal of Human Genetics. While certain sections ...

About The Study: Among U.S. adults ages 20 to 59, the prevalence of obesity by body mass index (BMI) only was nearly identical with the obesity prevalence after confirmation of excess adiposity. Approximately 98% of individuals identified as having obesity based on BMI had excess adiposity. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Michael Fang, PhD, MHS, email mfang9@jh.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.2704) Editor’s Note: Please ...

About The Study: The results of this cohort study suggest that treating hearing loss might delay dementia for a large number of older adults. Public health interventions targeting clinically significant audiometric hearing loss might have broad benefits for dementia prevention. Future research quantifying population attributable fractions should carefully consider which measures are used to define hearing loss, as self-reporting may underestimate hearing-associated dementia risk. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding ...

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common birth defects, occurring in about one in 1,050 births in the United States. These defects, which appear when the tissues that form the lip or the roof of the mouth do not join completely, are believed to be caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors. In a new study, MIT biologists have discovered how a genetic variant often found in people with these facial malformations leads to the development of cleft lip and cleft palate. Their findings suggest that the variant diminishes cells’ supply of transfer RNA, a molecule ...

A new discovery could pave the way for more effective cancer treatment by helping certain drugs work better inside the body. Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and University of Arkansas have found a way to improve the uptake of a promising class of cancer-fighting drugs called PROTACs, which have struggled to enter cells due to their large size. The new method works by taking advantage of a protein called CD36 that helps pull substances into cells. By designing drugs to use this CD36 pathway, researchers delivered 7.7 to 22.3 times more of the drug inside cancer cells, making ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A vaccine under development at the University at Buffalo has demonstrated complete protection in mice against a deadly variant of the virus that causes bird flu. The work, detailed in a study published today (April 17) in the journal Cell Biomaterials, focuses on the H5N1 variant known as 2.3.4.4b, which has caused widespread outbreaks in wild birds and poultry, in addition to infecting dairy cattle, domesticated cats, sea lions and other mammals. In the study, scientists describe a process they’ve developed for creating doses with precise ...

(WASHINGTON, April 17, 2024) — Hydroxyurea remains effective long-term in reducing emergency department visits and hospital days for children living with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to new research published in Blood Advances.   “This is one of the first large, real-world, long-term studies to assess the efficacy of hydroxyurea outside of a controlled setting,” said study author Paul George, MD, a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow and PhD candidate at Emory University School of Medicine and Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s ...

Florida Atlantic University has been recognized as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R) by the National Security Agency (NSA) and its partners in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C). This prestigious designation, awarded through the academic year 2030, affirms the university’s leadership and innovation in the field of cybersecurity research at the doctoral level. This recognition places FAU among an elite group of institutions nationwide that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to cutting-edge research in cyber defense and security. The CAE-R designation is awarded to universities whose programs meet rigorous ...

A research team has decoded the genome of historic potato cultivars and used this resource to develop an efficient method for analysis of hundreds of additional potato genomes. Potatoes are a staple food for over 1.3 billion people. But despite their importance for global food security, breeding successes have been modest. Some of the most popular potato cultivars were bred many decades ago. The reason for this limited success is the complex genome of the potato: there are four copies of the genome in each cell instead of just two. ...

Research Highlights: Among adults ages 18-49 (median age of 41 years) who were born with a hole in the upper chambers of their heart known as patent foramen ovale (PFO), strokes of unknown cause were more strongly associated with nontraditional risk factors, such as migraines, liver disease or cancer, rather than more typical factors such as high blood pressure. Migraine with aura was the top factor linked to strokes of unknown causes, also called cryptogenic strokes, especially among women. Embargoed ...

Three consecutive years of drought contributed to the ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’, a pivotal moment in the history of Roman Britain, a new Cambridge-led study reveals. Researchers argue that Picts, Scotti and Saxons took advantage of famine and societal breakdown caused by an extreme period of drought to inflict crushing blows on weakened Roman defences in 367 CE. While Rome eventually restored order, some historians argue that the province never fully recovered.   The ‘Barbarian Conspiracy’ of 367 CE was one of the most severe threats to Rome’s hold on Britain since the Boudiccan revolt three centuries earlier. Contemporary sources indicate that components ...

If you have ever chickened out of eating chicken, your unease may not have been unreasonable. Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have detected alarming rates of Escherichia albertii, an emerging foodborne pathogen, in retail chicken meat in Bangladesh. Their findings show extensive contamination and significant antimicrobial resistance, underscoring the potential risks to public health. E. albertii is a less known but probably not less dangerous relative of E. coli. First described in Bangladesh in 2003, this bacterium ...

The UK pedigree dog population shrank by a yearly decline of 0.9% between 1990 and 2021, according to research published in Companion Animal Genetics and Health. The study highlights a rise in the populations of crossbreeds and imported pedigree dogs since 1990, but finds that only 13.7% of registered domestic pedigree dogs were used for breeding between 2005 and 2015. There are more than 400 breeds of dogs globally, characterised by different appearances and behaviours. While the overall population of pet dogs in the UK ...

Climate change may significantly impact arsenic levels in paddy rice, a staple food for millions across Asia, reveals a new study from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The research shows that increased temperatures above 2°C, coupled with rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, lead to higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic in rice, potentially raising lifetime health risks for populations in Asia by 2050. Until now, the combined effects of rising CO2 and temperatures on arsenic accumulation in rice have not been studied in detail. The research done ...

European research led by University College London (UCL), together with Amsterdam UMC and the University of Basel shows that a significant proportion of patients who suffer a stroke due to carotid artery narrowing can be treated with medication only. A risky carotid artery operation, currently still the standard treatment for many patients, may then no longer be necessary for this group of patients. This research, published today in the Lancet Neurology, may lead to the global guidelines for the treatment of these patients being adjusted. In the Netherlands, about 2,000 people with carotid artery stenosis ...

Blood pressure: New research shows a changing climate may jeopardise global blood supply    A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health suggests a changing climate threatens the continuous availability of safe blood across the world. Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood say health issues, the spread of infectious disease and extreme weather exacerbated by climate change will impact the ability of people to donate, and at the same time may trigger a rise in the need for blood. Lifeblood researcher and UniSC Adjunct Research Fellow Dr Elvina Viennet said this ...

The start of deer hunting season in the US - when firearms and ammunition are more available in certain states - is associated with increases in both hunting and non-hunting related firearm incidents, including violent crime and suicide, finds a study published by The BMJ today. While increases in hunting related incidents are to be expected at this time, increases in non-hunting related firearm incidents “indicate the potential general effect of greater firearm availability on different ...

Researchers at UCL have tested a new scoring system to measure the risk of stroke in patients with narrowed arteries due to atherosclerosis, which could prevent unnecessary surgeries and stents. Atherosclerosis is a condition where the blood vessels become narrowed and hardened due to the buildup of plaque, including in the carotid arteries, which carry blood from the heart to the brain. Atherosclerosis can lead to serious health problems like strokes and heart attacks. Atherosclerosis is a very common condition that can affect anyone, particularly those over the age of 65, smokers and people with a high cholesterol, hypertension or family ...