Supersulfide molecules, metabolites from plants that are important in cellular metabolism, are attracting attention in the medical and nutritional fields for their potential in supporting health and disease prevention. Natto, a Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with the Bacillus subtilis var. natto microorganism, is rich in these molecules. However, the mechanism by which they are produced during fermentation has remained unclear.  To better understand this complex process, a research group led by Professor Hideshi Ihara at Osaka Metropolitan University’s ...

A new study from researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine finds that regular family dinners may help prevent substance use for a majority of U.S. adolescents, but suggests that the strategy is not effective for youth who have experienced significant childhood adversity.  The findings provide important insights for practitioners looking to help families prevent substance use, as well as for researchers aiming to develop interventions that better account for adolescents’ unique experiences.  For the study, ...

Kumamoto University announced that Professor Kazuya Yamagata, of the Faculty of Life Sciences (Department of Pathophysiological Biochemistry), has been awarded Second Prize at the 62nd (FY2025) Erwin von Bälz Prize, a prestigious international medical award recognizing outstanding research that advances collaboration between Japan and Germany. Established in 1964, the Erwin von Bälz Prize is a long-standing and highly respected medical award that honors exceptional research achievements in medicine each year. It aims to promote academic exchange ...

From dyes to pharmaceuticals to emulsifiers - ethylamine (EA) is a versatile component used in many industries. The downside of EA is that its production is terribly complicated and energy intensive. However, it is not a simple task to simplify EA production in a way that can also be scaled up to industrial levels. Researchers at Tohoku University's WPI-AIMR may have found an answer to this problem. Rare earth Eu atoms were modified on Cu2O nanoneedles to produce a catalyst (Eu-Cu2O) that can increase the efficiency of ...

Australian researchers have developed a high‑performance coating made from peppermint essential oil that can be applied to the surfaces of many commonly used medical devices, offering a safer way to protect patients from infection and inflammation. Matthew Flinders Professor and senior author of the new study, Professor Krasimir Vasilev, says the idea emerged after noticing that eating peppermint leaves from his drink significantly relieved his sore throat, inspiring him to explore whether its bioactivity could be converted into a durable coating using ...

As federal policymakers weigh potential changes to how biomedical research is funded and regulated in the United States, a Virginia Tech scientist highlights the importance of preserving the nation’s ability to turn discovery into life‑saving therapies. In a commentary published this week in Nature Biotechnology, Robert Gourdie, professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, notes that well‑intentioned but overly restrictive policies could inadvertently undermine the technology‑transfer ecosystem ...

In Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, vast areas spanning up to 300,000 square kilometers have emerged over thousands of years as plants grow and thrive in dense tropical peat swamp forests, then die and slowly decompose in waterlogged, low-oxygen conditions. As a result, large amounts of carbon get stored in the soil rather than released into the atmosphere. Heavy rainfall keeps these landscapes flooded for much of the year, allowing layers of dead vegetation to build up and gradually compress into dense, carbon-rich peat. New research from Hokkaido University suggests that the ...

Gene therapy holds the promise of preventing and curing disease by manipulating gene expression within a patient's cells. However, to be effective, the new gene must make it into a cell’s nucleus. The inability to consistently, efficiently do so has hampered progress in advancing treatment. University of California San Diego researchers, led by Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Professor Neal Devaraj’s lab, have unveiled a new method that greatly increases the efficacy of gene delivery while minimizing harmful side effects to the cell. Their work appears in Nature Communications. For ...

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Lin Cai, Professor and Frank Gunsaulus Faculty Fellow in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Boris S. Pervan, and Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering Thomas Wong, all faculty members at Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), have been selected as fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.   This distinction, reflecting their extraordinary accomplishments, is given to less than 0.1 percent of ...

Cancer cells carry thousands of mutations, but not all mutations are created equal. Some make tumors highly visible to the immune system, while others help cancers hide. In this study, researchers have discovered that across thousands of human cancers, there are five dominant patterns of protein-altering mutations — called amino acid substitution signatures — and these patterns help determine how tumors interact with the immune system. When DNA in a cell is damaged by environmental exposures (like tobacco smoke or UV light) or internal errors during replication and repair, the resulting mutations change the building ...

Autism has long been viewed as a condition that predominantly affects male individuals, but a study from Sweden published by The BMJ shows that autism may actually occur at comparable rates among male and female individuals.   The results show a clear female catch-up effect during adolescence, which the researchers say highlights the need to investigate why female individuals receive diagnoses later than male individuals.   The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased over the past three decades, with a high male-to-female diagnosis ratio of around 4:1.   The increase in prevalence is thought to ...

Testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus (HPV) could be a “robust alternative or replacement” for current cervical cancer screening by a clinician, finds a study from China published by The BMJ today.   The researchers say using menstrual blood for HPV testing is convenient and non-invasive, allowing women to collect samples at home, and therefore could offer a practical pathway to expand access to screening.   Certain types of HPV infection can develop into cervical cancer and HPV testing is a key part of cervical screening. But not all women attend screening appointments for reasons including fear of pain, concerns about privacy and ...

More images available via the link in the Notes Section Summary: Some Argentinian penguins are experiencing high levels of predation from pumas recolonising their historical territory. A new study has quantified the risk on long-term penguin population survival. Over four years, pumas at a national park on the Argentinian Patagonia coast are thought to have killed over 7,000 adult penguins (7.6% of the colony’s adult population) – but left many uneaten. Long-term, however, puma predation alone is unlikely to threaten colony viability, while low breeding success and reduced juvenile survival appear to be ...

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON PRESS RELEASE Under embargo until 00:01 GMT Thursday 5 February Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People  Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests  Humans’ exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme injury, according to new research.  For ...

ANN ARBOR—The fastest land animal in North America is the American pronghorn, and previously, researchers thought it evolved its speed because of pressure from the now-extinct American cheetah. But recently, that theory has come under fire. Now, a University of Michigan study examining fossilized ankle bones of ancient relatives of the American pronghorn has shown that the pronghorn was evolving to be faster more than 5 million years before the American cheetah appeared on the continent. The study, ...

Scientists have developed an improved method to convert municipal wastewater sludge into higher quality renewable fuel while significantly reducing harmful nitrogen compounds, offering a promising pathway for cleaner energy and sustainable waste management. Municipal sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment that is produced in massive quantities worldwide. Managing this material remains a growing environmental challenge. Traditional treatment methods often involve high costs, pollution risks, and limited resource recovery. ...

A new study reveals that soil acidity plays a critical role in determining how wheat competes with soil microorganisms for nitrogen, a nutrient essential for plant growth and global food production. The findings provide new insight into how farmers may optimize nitrogen use efficiency and improve crop productivity by considering soil chemical conditions. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients limiting plant growth worldwide. Plants typically absorb nitrogen from the soil in two primary forms: ammonium and nitrate. However, plants are not the only organisms that rely on these nutrients. Soil microorganisms ...

Researchers have developed a new algae-based biochar material that shows remarkable ability to break down perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most persistent and hazardous members of the PFAS chemical family. The new material combines advanced nanotechnology with sustainable biomass resources and may provide a promising strategy for removing difficult contaminants from water. The study, published in Biochar, introduces a unique photocatalytic nanoreactor constructed from biochar derived from Ulva, a common marine algae. The material forms a cage-like structure ...

Washington (Feb. 4, 2026) -- Radiologists are struggling to balance the pressure to provide high-quality, high-volume care while training the next generation of physicians. With this in mind, the Journal of the American College of Radiology's Focus on Economics of Education issue explores a range of related topics, including radiology education funding, resident teaching while maintaining productivity, alternative approaches to resident education, trends in radiology residency applications, and investing in radiology medical education in the pre-clinical years. “Healthcare delivery is changing rapidly, leading to alterations in how radiologists function ...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4:00 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2026 Highlights: Following a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of all types of stroke among women, according to a new study. The study does not prove that the diet causes the lower risk; it only shows an association. Women with the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet were 18% less likely to experience any stroke, including a 16% lower risk of ischemic stroke and a 25% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish, ...

How to reduce suffering in children with advanced cancer remains an ongoing but urgent question. A Mass General Brigham-led study examined whether systematically surveying children with advanced cancer and their parents about their symptoms and quality of life, providing feedback to children, families, and clinicians—and acting on that information by implementing personalized palliative care—could improve patients’ experiences. Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest that integrating feedback along ...

Every year, millions of newborns undergo routine screening as a preventive strategy to detect inherited disorders before symptoms emerge. Newborn screening (NBS) programs have traditionally relied on biochemical markers to identify specific groups of treatable conditions, achieving remarkable success at a population level. However, as researchers increasingly uncover genetically driven diseases that manifest early in life, questions are emerging about whether existing screening frameworks are adequate ...

Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and their international colleagues have determined the molecular signature of human sleeping —­ or silent —­ nociceptors: sensory neurons that are unresponsive to touch or pressure yet are key culprits in neuropathic pain. The findings suggest a potential pathway for finding drug targets to relieve chronic pain, said Dr. Ted Price BS’97, Ashbel Smith Professor of neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) ...

Selecting the healthiest embryo is one of the most important steps in in‑vitro fertilization (IVF), yet it remains one of the most uncertain. Roughly 15 percent of couples worldwide experience infertility, and IVF success rates often remain below 33 percent. A major challenge is that embryologists must choose a single embryo to implant, relying on what they can see under a microscope. Even small visual details, such as how cells divide or how the embryo’s internal structures form, can signal whether it is likely to lead to a healthy pregnancy. Clear imaging, therefore, is essential. With that goal in mind, researchers have explored newer “well‑of‑the‑well” ...

Chlamydia pneumoniae—a common bacterium that causes pneumonia and sinus infections—can linger in the eye and brain for years and may aggravate Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study from Cedars-Sinai. Published in Nature Communications, the discovery suggests this bacterium can amplify Alzheimer’s disease and points to potential interventions including inflammation-limiting therapies and early antibiotic treatment. The study shows for the first time that Chlamydia pneumoniae can reach the retina—the tissue lining the back of the eye—where it triggers ...