HOUSTON – (Dec. 2, 2025) – Tracking how genes switch on and off in the brain is essential for understanding many neurological diseases, yet the tools to monitor this activity are often invasive or unable to capture subtler changes over time. One emerging alternative is to use engineered serum markers ⎯ small proteins produced by targeted brain cells that can travel into the bloodstream, where they can be measured with a simple blood test. Referred to as released markers of activity, or RMAs, ...

About one third of lung transplant recipients have a genetic variant that makes them more likely to develop chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), the primary cause of mortality after lung transplantation. However, it is unclear why some lung transplant recipients progress to CLAD while others do not. A study led by UCLA Health found that the cause could be a variant in the C3 gene, which makes it harder for the body to regulate the complement system, the part of the immune system that helps the body recognize and clear infections and debris, such as those occurring in the transplanted lung.    “Lung transplantation has the poorest long-term survival ...

Atmospheric dust plays an important role in the way Earth absorbs and reflects sunlight, impacting the global climate, cloud formation, and precipitation. Much of this dust comes from the continuous reshaping of Earth’s surface through the erosion of rocks and sediments, and understanding how this process has shaped landscapes can help us decipher our planet’s history – and its future. Although an ephemeral phenomenon by nature, dust emissions through ...

Creating a safe, gender-specific, supportive environment—one that is free of body shaming and idealised female forms, for example—is key to minimising female athletes’ future risks of injury and protecting their health, emphasises the Female/woman/girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) Consensus Statement—the first of its kind—published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.   Women and girls have increasingly been taking part in sports, which has led to a concomitant rise in their risk of injury. But how best to minimise this risk has been hampered by a lack of comprehensive and practical gender-specific evidence.   In a bid ...

Overreliance on generative AI risks eroding new and future doctors’ critical thinking skills, while potentially reinforcing existing data bias and inequity, warns an editorial published in the online journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.   GenAI tools are already being widely used amid few institutional policies and regulatory guidance, point out the authors, who urge medical educators to exercise vigilance and adjust curricula and training to mitigate the technology’s pitfalls.   The use of AI is now used in a vast array of different tasks, but along with its burgeoning potential comes an increasing risk of overreliance on it and a host of potential issues ...

Eating disorders in mums-to-be are linked to a heightened risk of asthma and wheezing in their children, irrespective of the type of disorder, presence of co-existing depression/anxiety, or the timing of their child’s exposure, finds research published online in the journal Thorax.   The findings prompt the researchers to call for the inclusion of dedicated support in the healthcare of pregnant women with eating disorders to improve the respiratory health of their children.   To date, research on the effects of maternal mental health on children’s respiratory health has focused predominantly on depression, anxiety, and broadly defined stress, ...

Routine strength exercise warm-ups should be mandated to reduce leg injuries in female athletes across all ages and levels of competitive sport, according to a new set of global recommendations co-led by La Trobe University, the University of Calgary and supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).   Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the Female, woman, girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) Consensus ...

SEATTLE, Wash. Dec. 2, 2025 – Nearly one million children around the globe fail to reach their fifth birthday every year due to devastating health consequences linked to child growth failure, making it the third leading risk factor for mortality and morbidity in children under five. That’s among the new findings in the latest Global Burden of Disease 2023 study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health today. Estimates show the number of deaths associated with child growth failure (CGF) declined from 2.75 million in 2000 to 880,000 in 2023; however, the adverse health effects remain substantial ...

New research shows how the combination of extreme climate events, sea-level rise and land subsidence could create larger and deeper floods in coastal cities in future.    The study focused on Shanghai, in China, which is threatened with flooding by large and strong typhoons, or tropical storms, producing storm surge and waves.    When these events coincide with other causes of flooding, such as high water flows in the Yangtze River, they can combine to create even more catastrophic floods, as happened with Typhoon Winnie in 1997.    The study was carried ...

The UK’s Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), based at Heriot-Watt University, is excited to embark on a new strategic initiative, supported by £2 million from UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), to continue its vital work in catalysing industrial decarbonisation to support clean industrial growth. This funding represents a significant step forward in advancing the transition to a clean industrial future in the UK and builds on five successful years of IDRIC’s impact in driving industrial decarbonisation at pace and scale. Activity will centre ...

A major new study by UCL researchers has revealed the challenges faced by London’s 1.3m night workers, including pay inequality, health problems, transport difficulties, safety concerns and a lack of workplace dignity. Night workers, those who typically work between 6pm and 6am, make up around a quarter of London’s 5.3m workforce and 16% of the UK’s night workforce.* They include nurses, bus drivers, security guards, waiters, performers, cleaners and delivery riders and drivers. More than 220,000* commute from outside the capital, and are disproportionately from ethnic minority groups, and/or not born in the UK. Many are women and LGBTQ+. The Data after Dark ...

A new study published in New Contaminants reveals that black carbon formed during wheat straw burning can significantly reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in soil and soybean crops, offering a promising strategy for safer and more sustainable farming in regions burdened by plastic mulch debris. Every year, millions of hectares of farmland accumulate fragments of polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films. These residues gradually break down into microplastics that reshape soil chemistry, disrupt microbial communities, and accelerate ...

WASHINGTON—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) and Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) today announce a new collaboration to elevate the field of interventional cardiology through shared education programming, legislative activities, and future research initiatives. As part of the collaboration, CRT is offering SCAI members discounted registration for CRT 2026, where the two organizations will also offer joint education. Supporting SCAI and CRT’s strong advocacy focus, SCAI ...

With more than four billion people around the globe owning a smartphone, researchers are now looking at ways to reduce a growing public health concern—problematic smartphone use. Dr. Susan Holtzman teaches psychology in UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She recently published a study in Mindfulness examining the overuse or dependence on smartphones and how it might be curbed with mindfulness techniques. She discusses the issue and provides a few tips for people who might be “addicted to their devices”. Can you explain problematic ...

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will host the world’s first academic symposium dedicated to addressing the impact of “brain rot” and “AI slop”. Taking place on Friday, 5 December, the event builds on research from ARU’s Centre for Media, Arts, and Creative Industries, and delegates from 23 countries will take part either online or in person at ARU in Cambridge, England. Brain rot, named Oxford’s Word of the Year in 2024, refers to the “deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When University at Buffalo chemists analyzed samples of water, fish, and bird eggs, they weren’t surprised to find plenty of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). After all, these “forever chemicals” turn up nearly everywhere in the environment.  But they were intrigued that one of the most hazardous PFAS — perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), once used in nonstick pans and firefighting foam — appeared in slightly different structural forms, known ...

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) presents a roundup of six research articles recently published across its esteemed journals. Widely recognized for fostering innovation and advancing ecological knowledge, ESA’s journals consistently feature illuminating and impactful studies. This compilation of papers explores urban pollinator navigation, the relationship between aging tree roots and soil fungi, sea urchin “halos”, gaps in international agreements for migratory birds, the impacts of an introduced prawn and the power of environmental education.   From Ecological Applications: A long and winding road for ...

Researchers examined five AI models on multiple genomic tasks to see how well they performed Models performed well overall, with each having strengths and weaknesses based on the desired task Study provides a framework for researchers to choose optimal AI models for specific genomic tasks HOUSTON, DECEMBER 2, 2025 ― Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have performed a comprehensive evaluation of five artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on genomic sequences, known as DNA foundation language models. These comparisons provide valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses and offer a framework for selecting appropriate models based ...

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 2, 2025 — A study led by health communications experts at the University of California, Irvine has yielded a new way to monitor heat equity in real time, facilitating the design of heat warning systems and targeted mitigation efforts in California’s most vulnerable communities. Researchers at UC Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health explored online posts by Californians about extreme heat to help inform the development of targeted public health interventions. The study was supported by the National Science ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have confirmed that a species of Rickettsia first seen in dogs in 2018 is a new species of bacteria. The new species, dubbed Rickettsia finnyi, is associated with symptoms similar to those of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in dogs, but has not yet been found in humans. Rickettsia pathogens are categorized into four groups; of those, spotted-fever group Rickettsia (which is transmitted by ticks) is the most commonly known ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As health care costs continue to soar across the U.S., a growing number of states are setting limits on how much hospitals can charge. These policies, known as hospital payment caps, aim to curb spending by tying hospital prices to Medicare rates, which are typically far lower than what commercial insurers pay. In 2019, Oregon became the first state to implement such a cap, applying it to the health plan covering state employees. Under the policy, hospitals cannot charge ...

CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR RELEASE: Dec. 2, 2025   Kaitlyn Serrao 607-882-1140 kms465@cornell.edu   Could water, sunlight, and air be all that’s needed to make hydrogen peroxide?   ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell University scientists have discovered a potentially transformative approach to manufacturing one of the world’s most widely used chemicals – hydrogen peroxide – using nothing more than sunlight, water and air. “Currently, hydrogen peroxide ...

HONOLULU, Dec. 2, 2025 — Dental anxiety, also known as odontophobia, prevents people from getting their regular cleanings and keeping up with necessary dental hygiene. One aspect of the anxiety comes from the sound of the dental drill, which makes a high-pitched whining sound. As a dentist, Tomomi Yamada has witnessed discomfort and fear in her patients firsthand. “Originally, I was doing research on dental materials, but I realized that almost no one — not even dentists — was tackling this sound problem scientifically,” Yamada said. Yamada, an assistant professor at the University of Osaka’s graduate ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study highlights how important uninterrupted sleep is to recovery after a traumatic brain injury, finding that fragmented sleep in injured mice is linked to a loss of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and increased fatigue. Specifically, the research shows that fragmented sleep worsens symptoms that a traumatic brain injury (TBI) alone produces – and that mice without a head injury can make up for some REM sleep loss brought on by interruptions to sleep, but injured mice do not. REM sleep has a major role in helping the brain consolidate and process new information and is associated with better concentration and ...

Researchers led by Tzyy-Nan Huang and Ming-Hui Lin from Academia Sinica in Taiwan report that a low-dose mixture of zinc, serine, and branch-chain amino acids can alleviate behavioral deficits in three different mouse models of autism. Published December 2nd in the open-access journal in PLOS Biology, the study shows that when combined together, these three dietary supplements promote communication between neurons in the brain and improve social behaviors. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is known to result from abnormal neural development that affects how neurons are connected. ...