Latest News

Scottish Shrimp Study Reveals Bait-Less Fishing Potential

Fishing pots fitted with LED lights catch significantly more shrimp and fish, new research shows. In the new study, by the University of Exeter and Fishtek Marine, pots fitted with LEDs caught up to 19 times more northern shrimp than unlit pots. Importantly, illuminated pots also attracted fish – raising hopes for new low-impact fishing. “We think that the light attracts zooplankton – like moths around a flame – which in turn attracts shrimp (which eat zooplankton), and that entices…

3 mins read
Health & Medicine

Multitarget Stool DNA Tests: Cost-Effectiveness vs. FIT in CRC

FIT would still be more cost-effective even if Cologuard and Cologuard Plus test costs were lowered to $100 Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 12 May 2025 Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, threads, 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…

6 mins
Health & Medicine

Testosterone Use: No Increased Gynecological Cancer Risk After 5 Years

Researchers at Amsterdam UMC followed 1955 young transmasculine and gender-diverse individuals, who used testosterone for an average of five years, finding no increased risk Transmasculine and gender-diverse individuals who use testosterone are not at increased risk of gynecological cancer in the first years of hormone therapy. This is evident from large-scale research by Amsterdam UMC, which was published today in eClinicalMedicine. The results provide important insights for healthcare providers and transmasculine and gender-diverse individuals who are considering starting hormone therapy….

2 mins
Event News

UK Set to Host Major Climate Gathering This Year

The Met Office and the University of Exeter will host scientists, policy makers and business leaders for vital talks assessing growing risks from climate change – and action to address it. Even as scientific evidence demonstrates increasing threats to lives and livelihoods across the world, the global impetus for action is becoming more fragile. In the run up to COP30 in Brazil, the Exeter Climate Forum will give a strong voice to the scientists whose work drives our understanding of…

3 mins

Weekly Highlights

Peter Adams, PhD, is director and professor in theCancer Genome and Epigenetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and senior and co-corresponding author of the study. Karl Miller, PhD, is a staff scientist in the Adams lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys and lead and co-corresponding author of the study. Image Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys
Studies and Analyses

How Cellular Circuits Influence DNA Repair and Aging

Study reveals new information about how to prevent chronic inflammation from zombie-like cells that accumulate with age In humans and other multicellular organisms, cells multiply. This defining feature allows embryos to grow into adulthood, and enables the healing of the many bumps, bruises and scrapes along the way. Certain factors can cause cells to abandon this characteristic and enter a zombie-like state known as senescence where they persist but no longer divide to make new cells. Our bodies can remove…

Thrush Nightingale, Luscinia luscinia. A bird sits on a tree branch and sings. Image Credit by yuriybal, Envato
Studies and Analyses

Bird Vocal Changes May Indicate Aging Disorders in Humans

University of Arizona neuroscientists studying the brains of songbirds have found that aging alters the gene expressions that control the birds’ song. The finding could lead to earlier diagnoses and better treatments for human neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, which are known to hinder vocal production in their early stages. The study, published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, found that networks of interacting genes, in a region of the bird’s brain involved with singing, dramatically…

The researchers. Image Credit: King's College London
Studies and Analyses

New Antibody Reduces Tumor Growth in Resistant Cancers

A new type of antibody which stimulates the immune system to target cancer cells slows tumor growth, according to new research Antibody treatment which activates the patient’s own immune system against cancer, known as immunotherapy, is increasingly being investigated as an alternative for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is because it specifically targets the cancer cells, which reduces the side effects seen with more conventional therapies. Tumours, such as some breast and ovarian cancers, can express the marker HER2. HER2 is…

For a century, astronomers have been studyingBarnard’s Starin the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by E. E. Barnard atYerkes Observatoryin 1916, it is the nearest single star system to Earth. Now, using in part theGemini North telescope, one half of theInternational Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, astronomers have discovered four sub-Earth exoplanets orbiting the star. One of the planets is the least massive exoplanet ever discovered using the radial velocity technique, indicating a new benchmark for discovering smaller planets around nearby stars. Image Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld
Physics & Astronomy

New Planetary System Discovered Around Nearest Star

Gemini North’s MAROON-X instrument finds evidence for four mini-Earth exoplanets around our famous cosmic neighbor Barnard’s Star For a century, astronomers have been studying Barnard’s Star in the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by E. E. Barnard at Yerkes Observatory in 1916, it is the nearest single star system to Earth [1]. Barnard’s Star is classified as a red dwarf — low-mass stars that often host closely-packed planetary systems, often with multiple rocky planets. Red dwarfs are extremely numerous in the Universe, so scientists…

Closeup shot of a flock of butterfly on the ground. Image by wirestock, Envato
Studies and Analyses

Butterflies Choose Mates Based on Attractiveness Factors

Study links genetics, vision and neural processing to mating behavior in Heliconius butterflies A simple neural change alters mating preferences in male butterflies, aiding rapid behavioral evolution, Nicholas VanKuren and Nathan Buerkle at the University of Chicago, US, and colleagues, report March 11th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Heliconius are a group of tropical butterflies known for their wide variety of wing patterns and colors, which act as a warning to predators. Because wing coloration is crucial for their…

A child participant perceiving color in the study. Image Credit: (KyotoU/Moriguchi lab)
Science Reports

Unlocking Visual Insights Through New Innovation Tools

Understanding children’s subjective experiences through color As a child, did it ever occur to you that your perception of color differed from that of others? It’s quite common to have this thought, but it turns out that the human color experience may be more universal than we previously believed. In psychology and neuroscience, the relationship between subjective experience, such as how we perceive color, and physical brain activity has remained an unresolved problem. Furthermore, due to their limited language abilities,…

This infrared image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was taken by the onboard Near-Infrared Camera for the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey, or JADES, program. The NIRCam data was used to determine which galaxies to study further with spectroscopic observations. One such galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0 (shown in the pullout), was determined to be at a redshift of 14.3, making it the current record-holder for most distant known galaxy. This corresponds to a time less than 300 million years after the big bang. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambridge), Marcia Rieke (University of Arizona), Daniel Eisenstein (CfA), Phill Cargile (CfA)
Physics & Astronomy

Webb Telescope Finds Oldest Galaxy Ever: JADES-GS-z14-0!

University of Arizona astronomers have learned more about a surprisingly mature galaxy that existed when the universe was just less than 300 million years old – just 2% of its current age. What Does the James Webb Telescope Tell Us About the Universe? Ever since the launch of the James Webb Telescope, it has sailed across the starry universe, discovering galaxies formed around thirteen billion years ago—almost the inception of time itself! It possesses advanced infrared capabilities, much more evolved…

Awarded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the prize recognizes groundbreaking innovations with the potential for real-world impact.Dr. Liu shares the award as co-principal investigator alongsideJames Chelikowsky, a professor of physics and chemical engineering at UT Austin.“Our research will make the U.S. more competitive in the world,” Liu said. “We lag behind many other countries in magnet research even though magnets are crucial components in everyday devices like laptops, tablets, smartphones and robotics, as well as renewable technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. These devices rely heavily on the use of rare-earth elements that are expensive and environmentally destructive to extract. Our research focuses on using more abundant elements that can be sourced domestically with less environmental damage.” Image Credit: UTA
Awards Funding

UTA Team Wins Award for Key US Magnet Technology

Physics professor J. Ping Liu helps boost nation’s energy security and advance toward a world-class magnet research hub University of Texas at Arlington physics Professor J. Ping Liu has won the 2025 Hill Prize in Physical Sciences for pioneering new ways to design magnets that power high-tech devices. Awarded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the prize recognizes groundbreaking innovations with the potential for real-world impact. Dr. Liu shares the award as co-principal…

Classification of MXene films for applications in triboelectric nanogenerators

Innovations in
Material Sciences

Materials Sciences
5 mins read

MXenes in TENGs: Current Trends and Future Prospects

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are a transformative class of next-generation devices for energy conversion and self-powered sensing. Selecting appropriate triboelectric and conductive materials is crucial for optimizing TENG performance. In recent years, MXenes, especially Ti3C2 MXene, have become highly promising candidates for both triboelectric and conductive materials in TENGs. Although many studies (including research and review articles) have focused on TENG construction and performance, there is a significant gap in the literature: a comprehensive summary of MXene applications from a materials…

Read more
Nina de Lacy, MD, MBA. Credit: Kristan Jacobsen Photography / University of Utah Health.
Information Technology

University of Utah Unveils AI Toolkit to Predict Diseases Early

Researchers at the University of Utah’s Department of Psychiatry and Huntsman Mental Health Institute today published a paper introducing RiskPath, an open source software toolkit that uses Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to predict whether individuals will develop progressive and chronic diseases years before symptoms appear, potentially transforming how preventive healthcare is delivered. XAI is an artificial intelligence system that can explain complex decisions in ways humans can understand. The new technology represents a significant advancement in disease prediction and prevention…

Amyloid aggregation inside cells marked using fluorescence techniques. Credit: Benedetta Bolognesi/IBEC
Information Technology

“Explainable” AI Decodes Sticky Proteins’ Secret Language

Researchers train AI to predict if and why proteins form sticky clumps, a mechanism linked to 50 human diseases affecting half a billion people An AI tool has made a step forward in translating the language proteins use to dictate whether they form sticky clumps similar to those linked to Alzheimer’s Disease and around fifty other types of human disease. In a departure from typical “black-box” AI models, the new tool, CANYA, was designed to be able to explain its…

deflected by an unconventional anomalous Hall effect in an altermagnetic crystal of ruthenium oxide Credit: ill./©: Libor Šmejkal and Matthias Greber
Information Technology

Unlocking Unconventional Magnetism for IT Devices in Germany

Jairo Sinova of Mainz University to coordinate a new Priority Program for fundamental and applied research into information technology based on altermagnetism Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) will be coordinating a new Priority Program in the field of condensed matter physics that will be dealing with unconventional magnetism. The Priority Program will involve fundamental and applied research in the field of unconventional magnetic systems to develop IT components or devices that will reach the technical limits…

The proposed system enables simultaneous expansion of the number of spins and interaction bit width using multiple identical LSI chips, resulting in more accurate and efficient solutions for combinatorial optimization problems. Credit: Takayuki Kawahara from Tokyo University of Science, Japan
Information Technology

Dual Scalable Annealing Processors Boost Capacity and Precision

Researchers developed a novel annealing processing system that scales both the number of spins and interaction bit width simultaneously Combinatorial optimization problems (COPs) arise in various fields such as shift scheduling, traffic routing, and drug development. However, they are challenging to solve using traditional computers in a practical timeframe. Alternatively, annealing processors (APs), which are specialized hardware for solving COPs, have gained significant attention. They are based on the Ising model, in which COP variables are presented as magnetic spins…

Monk parakeet

New Discoveries
in Social Sciences

Social Sciences
4 mins read

Social Parrots: How Interaction Boosts Their Vocabulary

How social networks shape the vocal diversity of monk parakeets In the urban parks of Barcelona, Spain, the calls of a tropical parrot fill the air. The bright green monk parakeet, native to South America, has found a new home in European cities. Monk parakeets thrive in huge colonies where they communicate with each other using many distinct sounds—offering scientists a unique window into understanding the interplay of individual social relationships with vocal variety. For social animals, communication is a…

Read more
Figure 1
Physics & Astronomy

Squid Galaxy Elevates Neutrino Game with New Advances

An international team of researchers, including the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU, WPI), has used a mismatch between elementary particles and gamma rays from NGC 1068 to propose a new route by which neutrinos can be produced. Antarctic ice has eyes that can see elementary particles called neutrinos, and what they’ve observed is puzzling scientists: a remarkably strong neutrino signal accompanied by a surprisingly weak gamma ray emission in the galaxy NGC 1068,…

Singular and non singular
Physics & Astronomy

Exploring Black Holes: Insights Beyond the Singularity

Can we do away with the troublesome singularity at the heart of black holes? A new paper in JCAP reimagines these extreme objects in light of current knowledge. “Hic sunt leones,” remarks Stefano Liberati, one of the authors of the paper and director of IFPU. The phrase refers to the hypothetical singularity predicted at the center of standard black holes — those described by solutions to Einstein’s field equations. To understand what this means, a brief historical recap is helpful….

Galaxies M81 and M82. Image by rwittich, Envato.
Physics & Astronomy

Understanding Warm Galaxy Clusters and Giant Interstellar Structures

The XRISM science team, including members of Nagoya University, has explained how galaxy clusters maintain their heat despite emitting X-rays, which typically have a cooling effect on the hot gas. By observation of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies, the XRISM team discovered the existence of a fast-moving, high-temperature gas flow in the center of the cluster. Their findings, published by Nature, may solve the ‘cooling flow problem’, explaining why clusters of galaxies look like they do. Galaxy clusters are made…

A narrow-band image of the Sun at a wavelength of λ=588.9nm, that of a well known solar sodium line also known as the “NaD line.” The image was acquired during recent first light efforts with the VTF at the Inouye, and shows how precisely the structures within a sunspot are resolved. Each pixel in the original version of the image corresponds to 10 km (or 6.2 miles) on the Sun. Credit: © VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA
Physics & Astronomy

World’s Largest Solar Telescope Begins Operations

First Light! The spectro-polarimeter of the world’s largest solar telescope in Hawaii looks at the Sun for the first time. The instrument was developed in Germany With a primary mirror diameter of four meters, the Inouye Solar Telescope is the largest in the world. Thanks to the optimal observational conditions on the Hawaiian volcano Haleakala and the use of sophisticated methods of image stabilization and reconstruction, the Inouye Solar Telescope has been providing breathtakingly detailed views of our star since…

Life & Chemistry

Microbial Growth Challenges: Why Many Fail in Lab Conditions

Microbial ecosystems have tipping points where even small perturbations are enough to cause a collapse, according to a new study. The authors, from the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, describe microbial communities as a network based on cross-feeding, the exchange of metabolic by-products between populations. This network of relationships can collapse abruptly if individual populations are lost, they conclude. This mechanism may explain why microbial diversity is difficult to maintain in the laboratory,…

Life & Chemistry

Too Fast to See: Unveiling Innovations in Rapid Change

Eye movements predict speed limits in perception If you quickly move a camera from object to object, the abrupt shift between the two points causes a motion smear that might give you nausea. Our eyes, however, do movements like these two or three times per second. These rapid movements are called saccades, and although the visual stimulus during a saccade shifts abruptly across the retina, our brain seems to keep it under the hood: we never perceive the shift. New…

Rendering of artificial channels. Credit: The University of Texas at Austin
Life & Chemistry

New Research Enhances Rare Earth Element Extraction Techniques

A more efficient and environmentally friendly approach to extracting rare earth elements that power everything from electric vehicle batteries to smartphones could increase domestic supply and decrease reliance on costly imports. This new method, developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, allows for separating and extracting these in-demand elements where it’s not possible today, opening up new avenues for gathering rare earth elements amid global trade tensions. “Rare earth elements are the backbone of advanced technologies, but their…

Scientists discover accelerated reaction between Criegee Intermediates and water via roaming mechanism Credit: DICP
Life & Chemistry

Accelerated Reaction of Criegee Intermediates with Water

Criegee intermediates (CIs)—highly reactive species formed when ozone reacts with alkenes in the atmosphere—play a crucial role in generating hydroxyl radicals (the atmosphere’s “cleansing agents”) and aerosols that impact climate and air quality. The syn-CH3CHOO is particularly important among these intermediates, accounting for 25-79% of all CIs depending on the season. Until now, scientists have believed that syn-CH3CHOO primarily disappeared through self-decomposition. However, in a published in Nature Chemistry, a team led by Profs. YANG Xueming, ZHANG Donghui, DONG Wenrui and FU Bina from the Dalian Institute…

Classification of MXene films for applications in triboelectric nanogenerators
Materials Sciences

MXenes in TENGs: Current Trends and Future Prospects

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are a transformative class of next-generation devices for energy conversion and self-powered sensing. Selecting appropriate triboelectric and conductive materials is crucial for optimizing TENG performance. In recent years, MXenes, especially Ti3C2 MXene, have become highly promising candidates for both triboelectric and conductive materials in TENGs. Although many studies (including research and review articles) have focused on TENG construction and performance, there is a significant gap in the literature: a comprehensive summary of MXene applications from a materials…

Development of an efficient catalyst for sulfone production
Materials Sciences

Revolutionizing Sulfones: Molecular Oxygen & Functional Catalysts

Oxygen defect engineering enables efficient sulfone production using molecular oxygen at low temperature Sulfones, a class of sulfur-containing compounds, are chemically derived from the selective oxidation of sulfides. While these compounds form the core of the pharmaceuticals, solvents and polymer industries, their chemical synthesis is often hindered by high reaction temperatures and extreme reaction conditions. Additionally, these also require costly additives and harsh solvents for production. Against this backdrop, a team of researchers from Japan introduced a new catalyst design,…

Prof. Thomas F. Fässler in his laboratory at the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials
Materials Sciences

New World Record Set for Lithium-Ion Conductors

TUM researchers develop new material for solid-state batteries The team led by Prof. Thomas F. Fässler from the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials partially replaced lithium in a lithium antimonide compound with the metal scandium. This creates specific gaps, so-called vacancies, in the crystal lattice of the conductor material. These gaps help the lithium ions to move more easily and faster, resulting in a new world record for ion conductivity. Since the measured conductivity far…

Mechanisms of macrophage regulation mediated by iron-based mag netic nanomaterials. SOD, superoxide dismutase; POD, peroxidase; CAT, cata lase; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinases; STAT, signal transducer and activator of transcription; NLRP3, nucleotide- binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3; TCA, tricarboxylic acid; ROS, reactive oxygen species. Credit: Yubo Huang, et al
Materials Sciences

Iron-Based Magnetic Nanomaterials: Immune System Interactions Explained

Iron-based magnetic nanomaterials have emerged as candidates in biomedicine due to their unique physicochemical properties. Beyond their established role as clinical MRI contrast agents, they have shown potential in drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, and the treatment of iron deficiency. Macrophages are also primary targets for these nanomaterials in vivo. The biological effects of iron-based nanomaterials are closely linked to the plasticity and phenotypic shifts of macrophages. However, the underlying mechanisms by which these materials influence macrophage-mediated immune regulation remain unclear….

Image 1
Earth Sciences

First Tegu Fossil Discovered in the US: A Historic Find

Originally from South America, the charismatic tegu made its way to the United States via the pet trade of the 1990s. After wreaking havoc in Florida’s ecosystems, the exotic lizard was classified as an invasive species. But a recent discovery from the Florida Museum of Natural History reveals the reptiles are no strangers to the region — tegus were here millions of years before their modern relatives arrived in pet carriers. Described in a new study in the Journal of…

central asia alpine forest
Earth Sciences

Central Asia’s Alpine Forests: Resilience in a Changing Climate

Central Asia, located in the heart of the Eurasian continent, has experienced significant climatic shifts in recent decades, characterized by warming and increased humidity. This trend contrasts sharply with the global pattern of drought-induced tree growth decline, making Central Asia a unique region for studying the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems. Alpine forests in this region are critical for regional water reserves and ecological stability and are the origins of many inland rivers such as Amu Darya and…

Grassland and climate
Earth Sciences

Vegetation Changes Drive Climate Shifts in Late Miocene Study

New research reveals that shifts in plant life played a key role in speeding up major climate changes during the late Miocene, a period spanning 11.6 to 5.3 million years ago. During this time, Earth’s climate shifted from the warm conditions of the middle Miocene to conditions closer to what we experience today, turning forests into grasslands and forcing animals like horses and elephants to evolve tougher teeth for eating gritty plants. At the same time, predators like big cats…

Antarctic Krill
Earth Sciences

How Internal Clocks Influence Antarctic Krill Behavior

Individually, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) do not make much of an impression. With a maximum body length of six centimetres, a weight of just two grams and its transparent skin, it does not look very spectacular. Yet krill play a central role for life in the Southern Ocean. Billions of these small crustaceans form huge swarms that can extend over several square kilometers and are the most important food source for many predators. A research team from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU),…

Feedback