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 ...

Anxiety is the second leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide. Roughly a third of adults in the U.S. will experience an anxiety disorder within their lifetime, and the median age of onset is 17 years old. Anxiety increases the risk for multiple other problematic outcomes, including depression and suicide. While social media can be a cause of anxiety, it can also be a potential solution. A researcher at the University of Arkansas recently found that young adults who receive emotional support on social media are significantly more likely to report reduced anxiety symptoms, with a few specific personality traits reporting the most improved well-being.   Among the study’s ...

DETROIT – A collaborative team of researchers and students from Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Institute of Gerontology are studying the impact of a backward walking program on individuals with multiple sclerosis. The study, “Structural and Functional Changes With 8 Weeks of Backward Walking Training in Multiple Sclerosis: A Case Series,” was published in the January issue of the Journal of Neurologic ...

Embargoed until Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 3, 2026 – Eleven top scientists in stroke and brain health will be recognized for their individual exceptional professional achievements and contributions to stroke and brain health care and research during the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2026. The meeting will be held in New Orleans, Feb. 3-6, and is a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science of stroke and brain health. The awardees include five groundbreaking scientists who have devoted ...

Media Contact: pr@cos.io A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) proposes a systems-level framework for evaluating the trustworthiness of research findings across methods and approaches.  The paper, “A Framework for Assessing the Trustworthiness of Research Findings”, is authored by a multidisciplinary group of research leaders with expertise in metascience, research integrity and assessment, and science communication: Brian Nosek (Center for Open Science; University of Virginia), David Allison (Baylor College of Medicine), Kathleen Hall Jamieson ...

Porto, Portugal, 3 February 2026 – Governments, industry representatives and international organizations representing over 70 countries at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 reaffirmed today the need to strengthen support for the subsea cables at the heart of global digital communications. A declaration issued at the summit’s closing in Porto, Portugal, together with a set of recommendations developed by the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience, offered guidance to bolster international cooperation across the public and private sectors to boost the resilience of this vital shared infrastructure, ...

A multidisciplinary team of University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers has received a $40,000 Ride Cincinnati grant to study a delayed release preparation, or wafer, of an immunostimulatory molecule to stimulate the central nervous system (CNS) immune system after surgery to remove glioblastoma, a form of primary brain cancer. Jonathan Forbes, MD, the project’s principal investigator, explained glioblastomas are the most common type of primary cancer of the brain. Only 5% to 7% of patients with a glioblastoma survive five years after diagnosis. Effective treatments for these tumors have been hard to identify for decades due to two primary ...

Before the opening bell ever rings on a company’s initial public offerings, some of the executives may already be sitting on a quiet windfall. An IPO can act as a source of “cheap money” because of how stock options are valued before a company goes public. In private firms, options are supposed to be issued “at the money,” with exercise prices reflecting the fair value of the shares at the time of the grant. But without a public market price, those valuations rely on models and judgment, giving companies wide discretion. When the ...

Cancer is one of the causes responsible for the most deaths worldwide; in 2020, for example, it resulted in ten million deaths. It has been estimated that micro-organism infections caused between 13-18% of these cases. Until now, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified thirteen micro-organisms as carcinogenic, which include viruses, bacteria and parasites. However, recent studies have shown that there are other micro-organism types linked to cancer; some of them are fungi. The Candida albicans fungus is one of them: “This fungus is part of ...

Home service workers—those who provide care, inspections, or repairs inside private homes—can often lack paid sick leave, making illness a direct financial risk. New research from George Mason University College of Public Health suggests paid sick leave should be understood not only as an employee benefit, but as a preventive health intervention.  In the study led by assistant nursing professor Suyoung Kwon, paid sick leave was linked to lower perceived infection risk, reduced job stress, and higher job satisfaction. During the early months of COVID-19, the research team surveyed more than 1,600 home service workers in South Korea, including home nurses, childcare ...

AMHERST, Mass. — In 2023, a subatomic particle called a neutrino crashed into Earth with such a high amount of energy that it should have been impossible. In fact, there are no known sources anywhere in the universe capable of producing such energy—100,000 times more than the highest-energy particle ever produced by the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. However, a team of physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently hypothesized that something like this could happen when a special kind of black hole, called a “quasi-extremal primordial black hole,” explodes. In new research published by Physical Review ...

A swarm of small earthquakes within the Karoo Basin in South Africa has revealed a critically stressed fault that could be perturbed by potential shale gas exploration in the area, according to a new report in Seismological Research Letters. The analysis by Benjamin Whitehead of the University of Cape Town and colleagues concludes that the Karoo microseismicity occurred along a buried fault that may extend through sedimentary layers to the crystalline bedrock, which would increase its vulnerability to stresses produced ...

The vaginal microbiota is shaped by bacterial access to specific nutritional resources, influencing health outcomes. This study uses a resource-based model supported by clinical data to identify key ecological mechanisms underlying microbiota composition and potential bacterial vaginosis interventions.   In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: https://plos.io/4qaZ2kt  Article title: Resource landscape shapes the composition and stability of the human vaginal microbiota Author countries: France, United States Funding: Research reported in this publication was supported by the Fondation pour ...