Imagine being able to flip a light switch to control disease pathways inside a living cell. A team of visionary researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) is making this dream a reality with their groundbreaking genetic tools known as photo-inducible binary interaction tools, or PhoBITs. Published in Nature Communications, the study describes how PhoBITs enable researchers to harness the precision of a conductor leading an orchestra—using pulses of blue light to command specific proteins to start or stop their activity inside living cells with unparalleled ...

A multilayer film that reflects heat while letting through light needed for photosynthesis could make greenhouse agriculture more energy- and water-efficient. Such a film has been developed by engineers at the University of California, Davis, and is described in a recent paper in Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research.  Greenhouses enable higher yields of fruits and vegetables while conserving land,water, and fertilizers. But in warm climates, such as California’s Central Valley, the Mediterranean, or the Middle East, they can become extremely hot, which damages crops. Cooling greenhouses usually involves mechanical ventilation (fans) or evaporative cooling, which ...

SEATTLE, Wash. – Sept. 8, 2025 – A large portion of the global population with diabetes remains undiagnosed or is not receiving optimal care, according to a new study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a global network of collaborators conducted the analysis of the diabetes care cascade for all ages, both sexes, and 204 countries and territories from 2000 to 2023. In 2023, an estimated 44% of people aged 15 and older with diabetes ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic wound down, so did the federal government’s funding to states that allowed all Medicaid enrollees to keep their coverage even if they no longer would have been eligible otherwise. This “great unwinding” at the end of March 2023 meant that more than 25 million people—about 30 percent of all Medicaid recipients—were removed from the program. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers have analyzed how the unwinding affected the payer mix for children’s emergency department visits in Texas. During ...

Bright children from poorer backgrounds are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital with mental health problems than high-achievers with affluent upbringings.    That’s according to a new study of tens of thousands of secondary school pupils in England, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Oxford Review of Education, which also demonstrates poorer teens are more likely to be treated for alcohol and drug use and self-harm.  The paper, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, shows too they are more likely to become pregnant.    The ...

Researchers have developed a material that can sense tiny changes within the body, such as during an arthritis flare-up, and release drugs exactly where and when they are needed. The squishy material can be loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs that are released in response to small changes in pH in the body. During an arthritis flare-up, a joint becomes inflamed and slightly more acidic than the surrounding tissue. The material, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, has been designed to respond to this natural change in pH. As acidity increases, the material becomes softer and more jelly-like, triggering the release of drug molecules that can be encapsulated ...

People with both type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obstructive sleep apnoea have a higher risk of death, but treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may reduce that risk by around 26%, according to new research being presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept). The Swedish researchers said the results underscore the importance of treating sleep apnoea as part of a broader effort to control type 2 diabetes ...

In Brazil, a group led by researchers from São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Jaboticabal, in collaboration with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to assess the stress levels of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), the most widely produced native fish in Brazil. The study was published in the journal Aquaculture. The results could impact both animal welfare and the selection of specimens that are more tolerant of the farming environment. Tambaqui is an Amazonian species primarily farmed in the ...

The five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) will fund Cole’s research on dual decline while integrating advanced training in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and systems biology of aging. Older adults experiencing dual decline are at greater risk of developing dementia than those with changes in only one area.  “Research into dual decline may help researchers identify predictors and treatment targets, potentially transforming early detection and intervention strategies for aging adults with an elevated risk of physical and cognitive decline,” ...

University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean, Mark T. Gladwin, MD, announced today the appointment of distinguished parasitologist and immunologist Stefan Kappe, PhD, to be the new Director of the school’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD). He will also serve as the Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH Professor of Vaccinology in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Kappe is a Professor and the Associate Vice Chair of Basic Science Research in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is also a senior principal investigator at the Center for Global ...

23andMe Research Institute, Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies (TWP), and Lifebit today announced the official launch of an open-source data platform for the Lung Cancer Genetics Study. Launched in 2024, the Lung Cancer Genetics Study aims to enroll 10,000 individuals diagnosed with lung cancer by 2027. The study already includes more than 1,200 participants and is one of the most diverse cohorts ever assembled for lung cancer genetics research.  This marks a new phase in the study — with researchers now able to request access to de-identified data from consenting study participants and begin conducting analyses. This unique research program ...

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 8 September 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 ...

Boston University has appointed pioneering biomedical engineer and experienced higher education leader Kenneth Lutchen as its new vice president and associate provost for research. He will lead BU’s $500 million research enterprise, which spurs new knowledge and impactful advances. In the past year alone, BU researchers have launched a global AI-powered infectious diseases monitoring tool, engineered devices that could improve cancer treatment, and landed a telescope on the moon. Lutchen has held a variety of teaching and leadership positions since ...

The market for video-on-demand platforms has grown rapidly in the last decade, with nearly 90% of U.S. households subscribing to a service, and most subscribers having four or more platforms. In this context, and as more than a third of U.S. subscribers cancel their subscriptions within short periods, retaining subscribers and maximizing engagement have become crucial to the industry. In a new study, researchers examined how the release strategy of shows—gradually or all at once—influences users’ engagement and subscription rates at a video-on-demand platform. The study found that each approach has its merits, but that gradually releasing shows boosts consumers’ ...

As every bodybuilder knows, a deep, restful sleep boosts levels of growth hormone to build strong muscle and bone and burn fat. And as every teenager should know, they won't reach their full height potential without adequate growth hormone from a full night's sleep. But why lack of sleep — in particular the early, deep phase called non-REM sleep — lowers levels of growth hormone has been a mystery. In a study published in the current issue of the journal Cell, researchers from University ...

Research Highlights: Only 1 in 7 online stock images of blood pressure monitoring aligned with the procedures recommended by clinical guidelines. Online stock images depicting blood pressure monitoring in the home were approximately three times more accurate than images depicting blood pressure monitoring in a physician’s office, health care facility or hospital. This study is among the first to review online images of people having their blood pressure measured from major stock photo websites. Embargoed until 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET Monday, ...

Run. Red. World. Pronouncing the “r” sound in these words requires precise control of the tongue. For most children, this happens naturally, but many children struggle with residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) in which speech errors persist past the age of eight. In a large-scale study, researchers in speech pathology tested a promising treatment approach that incorporates biofeedback—a method that uses technology to provide visual feedback to improve speech. They found that children’s ability to say the “r” sound improved at a ...

Scientists have discovered why older people are more likely to suffer severely from the flu, and can now use their findings to address this risk. In a new study, which is published in PNAS, experts discovered that older people produce a glycosylated protein called apoplipoprotein D (ApoD), which is involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation, at much higher levels than in younger people. This has the effect of reducing the patient’s ability to resist virus infection, resulting in a more serious disease outcome. The team established that highly elevated ApoD production ...

In northern California, salmon are more than just fish—they’re a cornerstone of tribal traditions, a driver of tourism and a sign of healthy rivers. So it may not come as a surprise that NAU and University of California Berkeley scientists working along the region’s Eel River have discovered a micro-scale nutrient factory that keeps rivers healthy and allows salmon to thrive.   The scientists’ new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reveals how a partnership ...

During and after chemotherapy, nearly half of cancer patients endure circadian rhythm disruptions, which worsens treatment side effects. Because the body’s primary rhythm pacemaker is in the brain, this suggests that perhaps chemotherapeutics target the brain to disrupt circadian rhythms. However, research shows that cancer treatments do not penetrate the brain well. To shed light on this discrepancy, researchers led by Leah Pyter at Ohio State University explored whether paclitaxel, a frequently used breast cancer treatment, disrupts the biological clock in the brain to impair circadian rhythms.  In their eNeuro paper, the researchers used a paclitaxel treatment regimen ...

People who repeatedly observe aggression have a higher likelihood of engaging in violent behavior later in life. In a new JNeurosci paper, Jacob Nordman and colleagues, from Southern University of Illinois School of Medicine, used mice to explore the environmental factors and neural mechanisms that lead to the aggression that witnesses later acquire.  In a behavioral paradigm created by this research group, mice observed known peers or unfamiliar strangers attack intruder mice. Only male witnesses later displayed increased aggression themselves, and this happened only after watching familiar peers attack intruders.  What neural mechanism might be driving ...

Do colors trigger unique brain responses? And do different people have the same brain responses to colors? In a new JNeurosci paper, Michael Bannert and Andreas Bartels, from the University of Tübingen, explored color representation in the human brain to address these questions.   The researchers measured color-induced brain responses from one set of participants. Next, they predicted what colors other participants were observing by comparing each individual’s brain activity to color-induced responses of the first set of observers. Bannert and Bartels found that ...

In a landmark study of Hispanic and Latino adults, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a link between self-reported cognitive decline and blood-based biomarkers, which could pave the way for a simple blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This approach could be faster, less-invasive and more affordable than existing screening tools. The results are published in JAMA Network Open. “We need ways to identify underlying neurodegenerative ...

A joint team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany and the University of Melbourne in Australia has developed a new method for the straightforward analysis of tiny nanoplastic particles in environmental samples. One needs only an ordinary optical microscope and a newly developed test strip—the optical sieve. The research results have now been published in “Nature Photonics” (doi: 10.1038/s41566-025-01733-x). “The test strip can serve as a simple analysis tool in environmental and health research,” explains Prof. ...

Theoretical study by Limor Raviv, Damian Blasi and Vera Kempe, argues that children are not likely to be the main force behind linguistic innovation. For more than a century, scholars have repeated a powerful idea: that the mistakes children make when learning to speak are the seeds of language change. From 19th-century linguist Henry Sweet’s famous claim that “if languages were learnt perfectly by the children of each generation, then languages would not change,” to contemporary studies, the notion that children drive language evolution has been ...