Highlights Associate Professor Yuji Ogihara of Aoyama Gakuin University reviews empirical studies that examined temporal changes in the frequency of (un)common names. Accumulated evidence has demonstrated that uncommon names increased over time in many nations: Germany, the U.S., the U.K., France, Japan, China, and Indonesia. All the nations that were examined have shown an increase in uncommon names. Thus, the phenomenon is observed more generally, not locally in some limited nations. This increase in uncommon names reflects broader ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 10 AM GMT / 05:00 ET WEDNESDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2026 Windows into the past: Genetic analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals a unique genetic time capsule in the Balkans MORE IMAGES AVAILABLE VIA THE LINK IN THE NOTES SECTION A new genetic study has revealed that the people of Deep Mani, who inhabit one of the remotest regions of mainland Greece, represent one of the most genetically distinctive populations in Europe, shaped by more than a millennium of isolation. The findings, published today (4 February) ...

Researchers have quantified the role of obesity in common long-term conditions, showing for the first time the effect of losing weight in preventing multiple diseases.   Conditions that often occur together may share an underlying cause, which can be key to prevention or treatment. The picture of which conditions co-occur is complex, so researchers paired them together, to allow them to identify shared causes more simply. The study found that obesity is the ...

Australian researchers have developed a powerful new way to target deadly, drug-resistant bacteria by designing antibodies that recognise a sugar found only on bacterial cells – an advance that could underpin a new generation of immunotherapies for multidrug resistant hospital-acquired infections. Published in Nature Chemical Biology, the research shows that a laboratory-made antibody can clear an otherwise lethal bacterial infection in mice by homing in on a distinctive bacterial sugar and flagging the pathogen ...

A major new World Health Organization publication sets out, for the first time, a practical, evidence-based package of care to address the mental health impacts of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and the stigma that can prevent people from seeking care and participating fully in society. The Essential care package to address mental health and stigma for persons with neglected tropical diseases responds to growing evidence that people living with NTDs experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, distress and suicidal behaviours than the general population, driven not only by the direct effects of illness but by stigma, discrimination ...

In the plant world, when two different species mate, their offspring often don’t survive. The reason lies in their DNA: incompatible genes often mix in their offspring, triggering a fatal breakdown known as hybrid lethality that acts as a reproductive barrier to keep species separate. Using tobacco plants and their wild relatives, a research group led by graduate student Shota Nagai and Associate Professor Takahiro Tezuka at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University, explored what ...

The aviation industry accounts for a significant share of global carbon emissions. In response, the international community is expanding mandatory use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which is produced from organic waste or biomass and is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil-based jet fuel. However, high production costs remain a major challenge, leading some airlines in Europe and Japan to pass SAF-related costs on to consumers. Against this backdrop, a research team led by Dr. Yun-Jo Lee at the ...

Bottom Line: Cancer survivors who consumed higher amounts of ultraprocessed foods as part of their diet had a significantly increased risk of both all-cause and cancer-specific death. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)  Author: Marialaura Bonaccio, PhD, of the Research Unit of Epidemiology and Prevention at IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy Background: Ultraprocessed foods can be considered unhealthy because they are often low in ...

Embargo: 00.05 (GMT) 4 February 2026 / 7.05 pm ET 3 February 2026    Precocial animals, the ones that move autonomously within hours after hatching or birth, have many biases they are born with that help them survive, finds a new Royal Society paper led by Queen Mary University of London.  The new model proposed by the researchers suggest that naïve animals like newborn turtles and chicks are not blank slates but are supported by the presence of multiple biases that interact. Researchers found that early biases are surprisingly widespread among newborns of various species. However, these choice biases are not ...

Spotted lanternflies are adapting to the pressures of city life such as heat, pollution, and pesticides, according to genomic analyses of the invasive insects in the US and their native China.  The findings, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, show how urbanization may be shaping the spotted lanternfly’s spread into new environments.  “Cities can act as evolutionary incubators that may help an invasive species to better deal with pressures like heat and pesticides, which then helps them to better adapt to new environments,” ...

The introduction of mandatory photo ID in the 2024 general election may not have provided the security boost promised by the government, new research suggests.  Polling clerks operating during the UK’s first mandatory voter ID election made mistakes in 36% of cases when tested with real ID documents, according to the research. Even on a simpler test comparing high-quality photos taken seconds apart, the clerks made errors 16% of the time. The findings of the study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, challenge ...

4 February 2026 How mindfulness can support GenAI use in transforming project management New research that surveyed more than 440 project managers worldwide has highlighted the critical connection between mindfulness and the adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the workplace. Lead author of the study, Dr Eden Li from the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University (ECU) said that effective GenAI adoption requires not only technical skills but also mindfulness to navigate its complexities and challenges. GenAI is ...

Transgender women might have more muscle mass than cisgender women 1 to 3 years after hormone therapy, but their physical fitness is comparable, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   While the current body of evidence is of variable quality, and doesn’t look at the potential for any advantage at the elite athlete level, it doesn’t back up prevailing theories about the inherent athletic advantage of transgender women, ...

Patients with duplicate medical records are 5 times more likely to die after being admitted to hospital and 3 times more likely to require intensive care than those with a single medical record, reveals US research published online in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety.   The findings prompt the researchers to call for improvements in data integrity and policy changes in health information management to boost patient safety.   Duplication occurs when a single patient is assigned multiple medical record numbers within an electronic health record, and prevalence is thought to ...

Air ambulance pre-hospital care (HEMS) may make surviving critical injury more likely as it’s associated with saving 5 more lives than would be expected in every 100 major trauma cases, suggests an analysis of survival data for one regional service in South East England, and published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.   International evidence for the impact on survival of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in major trauma has been hampered by methodological differences, inadequate ...

Despite significant improvements in the availability of 24/7 emergency air ambulance services (HEMS) across the UK since 2009, persistent regional gaps remain, finds research published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.   And the provision of advanced potentially life saving interventions, such as blood transfusion and a minimally invasive procedure to staunch severe bleeding and stabilise blood pressure (resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta) remains variable, the findings indicate.   Helicopter ...

As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now ‘urgently practical,’ according to a new study. ‘More than 50 years ago,’ explains clinical embryologist Giles Palmer from the International IVF Initiative Inc, ‘two scientific breakthroughs reshaped what was thought biologically and physically possible - the first Moon landing and the first proof of human fertilisation in vitro. Now, more than half a century later, we argue in this report that these once-separate revolutions ...

Almost all the rise in US polarisation over political issues since the late 1980s occurred from 2008 onwards, a new study suggests.   Most of this has been driven by the American left becoming more socially liberal over time.   Far more Americans now adopt party and ideological labels in line with their opinions than did in the late 1980s.   Despite deeper divides, the US left and right remain equal in size, in contrast to the rest of the world. Divisions within the US population on social and political issues have increased ...

In collaboration with the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Oshima College, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) succeeded in developing a new regenerator material composed solely of abundant elements, such as copper, iron, and aluminum, that can achieve cryogenic temperatures (approx. 4 K = −269°C or below) without using any rare-earth metals or liquid helium. By utilizing a special property called "frustration" found in some magnetic materials, where the spins cannot simultaneously satisfy each other's orientations in a triangular lattice, the team demonstrated a novel method that replaces the ...

First-ever measurements of melatonin in wild sharks show that artificial light from coastal cities can disrupt nighttime hormone levels, with resident species more affected than highly mobile sharks. MIAMI — Artificial light from major coastal cities can disrupt the nighttime biology of sharks, according to new research that provides the first-ever measurements of melatonin—a hormone tied to biological rhythms—in wild sharks. The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, found that sharks living in brightly lit coastal waters near large urban areas had altered melatonin levels at night compared to ...

Key Takeaways Pregnancy and breastfeeding may improve long-term cognitive function in women.  The study found that an increase in cumulative time spent pregnant and time spent breastfeeding correlated with greater cognition, verbal memory and visual memory later in life.  The findings may open the door to potential advancements in preventative strategies targeting women at greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Female brains have historically evolved to adapt to pregnancy, undergoing structural and functional changes. But the cognitive health implications of these adaptations have long ...

The vibrant colors in our clothes and consumer goods often come at a heavy environmental price. Organic dyes are notorious water pollutants, stubbornly resisting traditional treatment and threatening aquatic ecosystems. Now, a comprehensive review published in Carbon Research highlights a brilliant new solution: using microscopic "carbon dots" and common polymers to harness the power of light for cleaning up contaminated water. Leading this research is Professor Elena F. Krivoshapkina from ITMO University in St. Petersburg. Her team’s ...

A new study reveals that biochar can create tiny but powerful soil microenvironments that significantly reduce cadmium contamination in crops. The findings offer fresh insight into how this carbon-rich material can improve food safety and environmental health when applied to polluted farmland. The research, published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, shows that when biochar is mixed into soil, it forms a distinct zone known as the “charosphere.” Within only a few millimeters around each biochar particle, soil chemistry changes in ways that ...

Scientists are exploring how graphene-based materials could help solve one of the most pressing environmental challenges of the modern era: the growing spread of new contaminants in water, soil, and ecosystems. In a newly published perspective article, researchers highlight how advanced graphene-based technologies may provide powerful tools for removing emerging pollutants, including microplastics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceutical residues, and radioactive contaminants. These substances are increasingly detected in natural and engineered environments but remain difficult to remove using conventional treatment methods. New contaminants, ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new analysis shows that the Pacific Northwest’s mature and old-growth forests are most at risk of severe wildfire in areas that historically burned frequently at lower severity. The study by scientists at Oregon State University and USDA Forest Service Research & Development is important because those forests are culturally, economically and ecologically significant, supporting biodiversity while storing vast amounts of carbon, and they are under increasing threat of stand-replacing wildfire. Researchers used state-of-the-art modeling techniques to gain knowledge that can help guide ...