Bridging Speed and Accuracy in Radiation Therapy QA Led by Professor Fu Jin, the study addresses a critical challenge in radiation therapy: balancing the computational speed and accuracy of EPID-based dose verification. EPID has emerged as a key tool for real-time in vivo dose verification. However, MC simulation—long regarded as the "gold standard" for dose calculation—faces a dilemma: increasing the number of simulated particles ensures higher accuracy but at the cost of significantly longer computation times, whereas reducing the particle count introduces disruptive noise that compromises result reliability. Integrated MC-DL Technology To address this challenge, the ...

Exploring Lepton Flavor Violation Led by researchers from Sun Yat-sen University, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and multiple collaborating institutions across China, MACE is designed to search for the spontaneous conversion of muonium—a bound state of a positive muon and an electron—into its antimatter counterpart, antimuonium. Such a transition would violate lepton flavor conservation, a symmetry upheld by the Standard Model of particle physics, ...

Professor Jian Wang's research group at Tsinghua University reported a photocatalyzed/nitrogen heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed asymmetric radical α-alkoxycarbonylation reaction of amines. Using dibenzylaniline derivatives and readily available pyrocarbonates as starting materials, chiral α-amino acid esters can be synthesized in one step. Further deprotection reactions yield chiral α-amino acids containing primary, secondary, or tertiary amine groups. This research provides a novel method for obtaining structurally diverse chiral α-amino acid derivatives and has ...

MADISON — The cells in our bodies move in groups during biological processes such as wound healing and tissue development — but because of resistance, or viscosity, those cells can't just neatly glide past each other.   Or can they? Using a pioneering method they developed to directly measure viscosity in a group of cells, University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers have made a surprising discovery that upends understanding of how cells move. It's called "negative viscosity," and it propels cells, rather than impedes ...

The Institute for Data Science in Oncology (IDSO) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced the appointment of Iakovos Toumazis, Ph.D., to lead its focused efforts in advancing decision analytics for health. The goal of this new IDSO focus area is to develop, rigorously validate and implement advanced data‑driven analytics frameworks that support optimal decision‑making to enhance patient outcomes, to strengthen value‑based care delivery, and to enable efficient allocation of health ...

Cities occupy just a small fraction of Earth's land, but they act as the planet's massive carbon engines, pumping out the lion's share of global CO2 emissions. To stop climate change, we first have to measure it accurately—street by street and chimney by chimney. A comprehensive new review published in Carbon Research takes a deep dive into the sophisticated networks designed to "sniff out" these emissions, highlighting both the technological triumphs and the massive gaps still remaining in our global monitoring net. Leading the charge is Professor Gan Zhang from the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology at the Guangzhou Institute ...

As renewable energy expands worldwide, one challenge remains stubbornly unresolved: how to store heat efficiently and sustainably when the sun is not shining or demand fluctuates. A new study shows that agricultural waste, specifically discarded neem seeds, can be transformed into a powerful and environmentally friendly thermal energy storage material. Researchers have developed a biochar based phase change material that can capture, store, and release heat with high efficiency while also locking carbon away. The work demonstrates how the temperature used to produce biochar strongly ...

Biochar, a carbon rich material made by heating biomass under low oxygen conditions, has long been known for its ability to store carbon in soils and improve environmental quality. Now, a new comprehensive review introduces a powerful way to understand and design biochar by mapping what the authors call its “physical genome”, a framework that links biochar’s internal structure to how it performs across a wide range of applications Published online on January 29, 2026, the review brings together decades of research on biochar’s physical properties, including porosity, mechanical strength, ...

A study led by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Global Surgery Program, in partnership with George Regional Hospital in South Africa, reported that a traveling mobile endoscopy team performed more than 500 procedures across five rural hospitals in South Africa’s Western Cape. The study was published in BMJ Open Gastroenterology in December 2025. Between January and November 2024, the team performed procedures on adults at district hospitals where endoscopy is not routinely available. The findings highlighted both the heavy burden of treatable gastrointestinal disease in rural communities and ...

A groundbreaking study from Brown University Health researchers has identified a crucial factor that may help improve treatment for glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and common forms of adult brain cancer. The findings, published November 10 in Cell Reports, reveal how differences among cells within a single tumor influence the cancer’s response to chemotherapy, and introduce a promising new therapy designed to tip the odds in the patients’ favor. Glioblastoma is notoriously difficult to treat.  One of the key ...

Researchers are continually looking for new ways to hack the cellular machinery of microbes like yeast and bacteria to make products that are useful for humans and society. In a new proof-of-concept study, a team from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology showed they can expand the biosynthetic capabilities of these microbes by using light to help access new types of chemical transformations. The paper, published in Nature Catalysis, demonstrates how the bacteria Escherichia coli can be engineered to produce these new molecules in ...

In 2023, more than half of all suicide deaths in the United States involved firearms. “Red flag” laws—also called Extreme Risk Protection Orders or ERPOs—are designed to reduce these deaths by authorizing temporary firearm removal from individuals deemed at high risk of harming themselves or others. ERPO laws had been implemented in 21 states and the District of Columbia as of February 2025.  But the laws’ effectiveness in preventing suicides was still unclear.   However, a new analysis ...

It’s common to wonder as tax season ramps up: Are taxes too high? According to a new study by University of Cincinnati economics professor David Brasington, the answer is no, at least when it comes to Ohio’s city service taxes. These taxes go toward local services such as funds for the fire department, road repair and park upkeep.  “It seems like public services are not over-provided at the local level in Ohio,” Brasington said. “Because good things seem to happen when people renew these taxes instead of cut them.” Brasington, PhD, published a new study in Regional Science and Urban Economics called “Effect ...

Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening condition that occurs in about 1 in 1,000 newborns and is often treated with invasive surgery. Now, a new study offers hope of preventing hydrocephalus before it even occurs. Also known as water on the brain, hydrocephalus is caused by a surplus of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) that increases pressure inside the skull and can damage brain tissue. About 40 per cent of hydrocephalus cases are caused by single gene mutations which impact the brain’s ability to reabsorb CSF ...

Tampa, FL, USA, January 30, 2026:  The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing eminent human and animal virologists from more than 90 Centers of Excellence and Affiliates in over 40 countries dedicated to advancing research, collaboration, and pandemic preparedness, is monitoring reports of a  Nipah virus outbreak in India and emphasizes that such cases, while very concerning and serious, are not unexpected or unprecedented. Sporadic Nipah virus infections have occurred almost annually in parts of South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh, and do not indicate a new or escalating global threat. Nipah ...

Tau protein aggregation is a shared feature in over 20 neurodegenerative diseases (collectively referred to as “tauopathies”). New research led by Boston Children’s Hospital challenges the current "one-size-fits-all" approach to diagnosing and treating these tauopathies. The team, led by senior authors Judith A. Steen, PhD, and Hanno Steen, PhD, and executed by co–first authors Mukesh Kumar, PhD, Christoph N. Schlaffner, PhD, Shaojun Tang, PhD, and Maaike A. Beuvink, analyzed brain tissue from 203 patients spanning several tauopathies, including ...

About The Study: This analysis documents a major demographic transition; non-Hispanic white births now constitute less than half of U.S. births, while Hispanic births exceed one-fourth. These shifts reflect declining fertility across most groups, contrasted with immigration trends and younger ages among Hispanic women that sustain overall birth rates. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amos Grünebaum, MD, email agrunebaum@northwell.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.56659) Editor’s ...

About The Study: In this cohort study of 47,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, after accounting for demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race and ethnicity), behavioral factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use), and chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), males had a 63% greater risk of all-cause mortality than females. These findings suggest that there may be intrinsic biological factors (sex hormones, chromosomes, or immune response) associated with sex differences in mortality. Further research should investigate the effects ...

News Release | Washington University in St. Louis NEWS RELEASE Embargoed until 11 a.m. ET Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 MEDIA CONTACT Abeeha Shamshad · abeeha@wustl.edu · 925-998-0775 Since it was first detected in the U.S. in 2014, H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has jumped from wild birds to farm animals and then to people, causing more than 70 human cases in the U.S. since 2022, including two fatalities. The virus continues to circulate among ...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major unrecognized cause of deadly sepsis among people with HIV in Africa, a sweeping new study reveals. Beginning treatment for TB immediately – even before sepsis patients are diagnosed with TB – could save countless lives, the researchers say. The ATLAS study, conducted over five years at hospitals in Tanzania and Uganda, has found that more than half of the hundreds of patients enrolled in the study had TB and that immediate treatment increased their chances of survival significantly.  The ...

New York, Jan. 30, 2026 — More than 4 in 10 women in the U.S. have some form of cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease or stroke — a figure that is only expected to grow. Each year, heart disease and stroke kill more women than all forms of cancer combined. To help reverse that trend, leading global fashion, beauty and lifestyle retailers joined the American Heart Association volunteers at the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell and sound an alarm — launching the inaugural Go Red. Shop with Heart. campaign to raise funds and awareness of the growing burden of heart disease ...

Korea University College of Medicine (Dean Sung Bom Pyun; Principal Investigator Byung Chul Chun, MD, PhD, MPH) successfully concluded the 2025 Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship on Infectious Disease Specialists Program on October 17. The program is jointly organized by Korea University College of Medicine and GC Labs under the auspices of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH).   The Lee Jong-Wook Fellowship was established in honor of the late Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, the 6th Director-General of the World Health ...

A new survey shows that there is a clear difference between girls and boys when it comes to well-being at school. "Girls are happier than boys. This applies both in class and at school in general," says Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at the Department of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology  (NTNU). The researchers questioned 1620 children aged 6 to 9 years in Norway. The average age was 7.5 years old, meaning these were youngest children in primary school. The gender differences are clear. Safety ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 9 am Friday, Jan. 30, 2026                                                                                                                    Researchers ...

The globe may be running out of sand suitable for concrete. Researchers are therefore testing a possible solution for using desert sand as a material. The world's most important building material Concrete is the world's most widely used building material – second only to water. Globally, more than four billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. Concrete consumption is so enormous that it accounts for around eight percent of the world's CO₂ emissions. To make concrete, sand is needed, and not just any sand: it must be of the right size and shape. Therefore, rock is crushed into gravel and sand, and river sand is excavated ...