Superconductivity is a unique state of matter in which electric current flows without any energy loss. In materials with defects, it typically emerges at very low temperatures and develops in several stages. An international team of scientists, including physicists from HSE MIEM, has demonstrated that when defects within a material are arranged in a specific pattern rather than randomly, superconductivity can occur at a higher temperature and extend throughout the entire material. This discovery could help develop ...

NEW YORK and SEATTLE – JULY 24, 2025 —  BASILISK, the global esports organization built to champion science, debuted two historic partnerships at the Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week – furthering its mission to elevate science advocacy through the global reach and cultural influence of competitive gaming. BASILISK’s new strategic partnerships with the California Institute of Technology’s Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (IQIM) and The Planetary Society create a powerful bridge between renowned scientific institutions and the next generation of STEM enthusiasts.  “To root for BASILISK is ...

An international research team led by Assistant Professor Zhiyu Wan from ShanghaiTech University has recently published groundbreaking findings in the journal Health Data Science, highlighting biases in multimodal large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT-4 and LLaVA in diagnosing skin diseases from medical images. The study systematically evaluated these AI models across different sex and age groups. Utilizing approximately 10,000 dermatoscopic images, the study focused on three common skin diseases: melanoma, melanocytic nevi, and benign keratosis-like lesions. ...

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers led by Abubakar Fadul from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has discovered complex organic molecules – including the first tentative detection of ethylene glycol and glycolonitrile – in the protoplanetary disc of the outbursting protostar V883 Orionis. These compounds are considered precursors to the building blocks of life. Comparing different cosmic environments reveals that the abundance and complexity of such molecules increase from star-forming regions to fully evolved planetary systems. This suggests that the seeds of life are assembled in space and are widespread. The ...

Researchers from Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have discovered a deep-sea limpet species 5,922 metres beneath the northwestern Pacific Ocean, marking the deepest known habitat for any true limpet (subclass Patellogastropoda). Described as a new species in the open-access journal Zoosystematics and Evolution, the limpet was found on hard volcanic rock 500 kilometres southeast of Tokyo, Japan. The gastropod measures up to 40.5 mm in shell length, a remarkably large size for a true limpet from ...

UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 4PM (UK TIME) 11 AM (US EASTERN TIME) ON THURSDAY 24 JULY 2025  When should preventive mastectomy be offered for women at higher risk of breast cancer  Peer reviewed | Simulation/ modelling  More women at higher risk of breast cancer should be offered a mastectomy, according to researchers at Queen Mary and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A new analysis has found that the surgical technique was a cost-effective way of reducing the likelihood of developing breast cancer compared to breast screening ...

New research from investigators at Mass General Brigham suggests that a commonly used type 2 diabetes medication is linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions compared to medications that hit other targets. The study examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas and found that glipizide – the most widely used drug in the U.S. within this category – was linked to higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalization and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. ...

Cancer cells and tumors do not exist in a vacuum. Far from the isolation and self-sufficiency of the fictional Wakanda, tumors develop in and alter the nearby milieu of immune cells, connective tissue, blood vessels and a sea of proteins and carbohydrates that provide structure and other supportive functions. Cancer cells interact with this neighborhood — which scientists term the tumor microenvironment — in many ways, including obtaining extra resources needed to fuel their unchecked growth. Like a fishing trawler deploying its net, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) ...

About The Study: Among men with traditional Medicare, this study examined racial differences in 2 important measures of prostate cancer care quality that have contrasting relationships with utilization. Black men had lower odds of confirmatory testing among those on active surveillance, where utilization and quality are tightly aligned, indicating worse care. Conversely, Black men had lower odds of overtreatment, where utilization and quality are misaligned, suggesting better care in this dimension.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Arnav Srivastava, MD, MPH, MS, email srivasar@med.umich.edu. To access ...

About The Study: In this economic evaluation, undergoing risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) appears cost-effective for women ages 30 to 55 with a lifetime breast cancer risk of 35% or higher. These results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to RRM beyond BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variant carriers. Future studies evaluating the acceptability, uptake, and long-term outcomes of RRM among these women are warranted. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ranjit Manchanda, MD, PhD, email r.manchanda@qmul.ac.uk. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The ...

As artificial intelligence is rapidly developing and becoming a growing presence in healthcare communication, a new study addresses a concern that large language models (LLMs) can reinforce harmful stereotypes by using stigmatizing language. The study from researchers at Mass General Brigham found that more than 35% of responses in answers related to alcohol- and substance use-related conditions contained stigmatizing language. But the researchers also highlight that targeted prompts can be used to substantially reduce stigmatizing language in the LLMs’ answers. Results are published in The Journal of Addiction Medicine. “Using patient-centered language can build ...

A study just published on Eurosurveillance has found evidence of substantial lifetime exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses in Ukraine in a 2021 nationwide, representative sample of the population, with findings also suggesting significant ongoing circulation of these viruses. Ahead of World Hepatitis Day 2025, viral hepatitis remains a major global health concern, and is one of the priority infectious diseases under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3. [1][2] The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Hepatitis ...

The National Biofoundry Project Team at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), led by Dr. Haseong Kim, has spearheaded an international joint research effort (including institutions from Korea, the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, and others—10 in total) to create a new standard framework that simplifies and enhances the accuracy and efficiency of synthetic biology research. This framework is anticipated to serve as an international standard for biofoundries—automated laboratories in synthetic biology. Driven by advancements in deep-tech fields such as synthetic biology ...

Use of billing codes in big data sets to find diagnoses can result in up to two-thirds of cases being mistakenly identified, new UCLA-led research finds. Databases frequently used for medical research such as those for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or the National Inpatient Survey typically rely on ambulatory billing codes to identify diseases or medical procedures, but their accuracy is rarely verified in publications that rely on this data, the researchers write in a report published in the peer-reviewed journal ...

Hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits can be distressing and costly for nursing home residents – especially those who are severely impaired or terminally ill. Despite their vulnerability, these individuals are frequently transferred to hospitals, even though up to 40% of such transfers over the past 25 years are considered potentially avoidable by health care professionals. These unnecessary transfers not only cause distress and discomfort for residents and families but also lead to hospital-acquired complications and added costs for the health care system. In the United States, hospital transfers from nursing homes significantly ...

Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that affects thoughts, moods, perceptions, and behaviors. Affected individuals experience positive symptoms like delusions and hallucinations, and negative symptoms like social withdrawal, cognitive deficits, disorganized thoughts and speech, and a decreased experience of pleasure. While schizophrenia is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors, precise mechanisms remain elusive. Animal models provide valuable insights into the neurobiological mechanisms that underpin schizophrenia. However, conventional behavioral assessments ...

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are among the most distressing side effects of anti-cancer treatment, particularly for those receiving highly emetogenic regimens such as anthracycline plus cyclophosphamide combinations. This major side effect compromises a patient’s quality of life and willingness to continue therapy. Therefore, there is a crucial need to devise an effective antiemetic management approach for optimizing cancer care and patient well-being.   Against this backdrop, a new study, led by Professor Mitsue ...

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), a powerful form of immunotherapy, have revolutionized cancer treatment by unleashing the body’s own immune system to fight tumors. These compounds target the programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), a surface protein typically found on tumor cells, which enables the tumors to avoid recognition by immune T cells. By disrupting PD-L1’s function with specially tailored antibodies, ICI-based strategies have brought hope to countless patients with cancer. However, ...

Self-disclosure, or the process of conveying one’s details to others verbally, is crucial for communication. Self-disclosure includes expressing personal information, thoughts, and feelings. It encompasses self-expression and clarification, social validation and control, as well as relationship development, and is closely related to reciprocity, intimacy, trust, interactional enjoyment, and satisfaction. In recent years, technological advancements have paved the way for new forms of communication, including video-conferencing and embodied virtual ...

In a first-of-its-kind experiment tracing evolution across 25 generations, scientists have discovered that marine copepods—the tiny crustaceans at the heart of the ocean food web—rely on a largely unknown biological toolkit to survive the stresses of climate change. Published July 15, 2025, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study reveals that it’s not only genetic changes (permanent alterations to DNA) that help these animals adapt to warming and acidifying ocean conditions. In addition, little-known epigenetic changes (temporary “on/off” chemical modifications to parts ...

The accumulation of misfolded proteins in the brain is central to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But to the human eye, proteins that are destined to form harmful aggregates don’t look any different than normal proteins. The formation of such aggregates also tends to happen randomly and relatively rapidly – on the scale of minutes. The ability to identify and characterize protein aggregates is essential for understanding and fighting neurodegenerative diseases. Now, using deep learning, ...

  For military veterans, many of the deepest wounds of war are invisible: Traumatic brain injuries resulting from head trauma or blast explosions are a leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and suicide among veterans. Few treatments have been effective at diminishing the long-term effects of TBI, leaving many veterans feeling hopeless.  Now, Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered that the plant-based psychoactive drug ibogaine, when combined with magnesium to protect the heart, safely and effectively reduces PTSD, anxiety and depression and improves functioning in veterans with TBI. In ...

Ketamine is a highly effective, fast-acting antidepressant that works even for patients who have not responded to other medications. However, the brain mechanisms important for these rapid treatment effects are yet to be determined. Researchers at King’s College London, who are investigating why ketamine could be a good treatment for some people with depression, have discovered that the drug’s antidepressant effects involve the brain’s opioid system. The study, led by King’s College London and published in Nature Medicine, included 26 individuals with clinically diagnosed depression who were given a ...

Menopause remains one of the most under-discussed stages of life, even though more than 1 million women in the United States experience this natural biological transition each year. Often shrouded in stigma and misinformation, menopause is rarely addressed openly — even though it can profoundly affect a person’s physical, emotional and mental health. To help bridge this gap, clinicians and researchers who have collaborated on women’s health for over 25 years created MyMenoplan.org. The comprehensive, evidence-based website offers personalized menopause information and decision-making tools designed to empower women to make informed healthcare choices. The website ...

Summary Addressing the global plastic waste crisis, particularly hard-to-recycle blended PET fibers, demands environmentally friendlier recycling methods. Researchers engineered a novel PET hydrolase PET2-21M and established large-scale production in yeast. This enzyme dramatically boosted PET bottle-grade PET breakdown. In parallel, its direct precursor PET2-14M-6Hot successfully degraded challenging blended fibers (PET/cotton, PET/PU) at moderate temperatures. This breakthrough offers a promising, energy-efficient path for a circular plastics economy, accelerating industrial-scale recycling of diverse polymer wastes. A research team led by ...