Researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, and Michigan State University, USA, have discovered a type of molecule that can kill chlamydia bacteria but spare bacteria that are important for health. The discovery opens the door for further research towards developing new antibiotics against chlamydia, the world’s most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease with 130 million cases a year. “No one should have to live with chlamydia. But the problem is that the treatments we have today do not distinguish between dangerous…
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…
A landmark study exploring Canadians’ consumption of chips, frozen pizzas, breakfast cereals and other ultra-processed foods typically loaded with fat, sugar and additives has confirmed these foods are directly and significantly linked to poor health outcomes. Researchers at McMaster University investigated the relationship between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and risk factors including blood pressure, cholesterol levels (LDL and HDL), waist circumference and body mass index (BMI). Their study is the first in Canada to leverage population-based and robust biomarker data…
Tyrannosaurus rex evolved in North America, but its direct ancestor came from Asia, crossing a land bridge connecting the continents more than 70 million years ago, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, also found that the rapid growth in size of tyrannosaurids (the group that included the T. rex) as well as a closely related group called megaraptors coincided with a cooling of the global climate following a peak…
Surgical face masks help prevent the spread of airborne pathogens and therefore were ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a modified mask could also protect a wearer by detecting health conditions, including chronic kidney disease. Researchers reporting in ACS Sensors incorporated a specialized breath sensor within the fabric of a face mask to detect metabolites associated with the disease. In initial tests, the sensor correctly identified people with the condition most of the time. Kidneys remove waste products made by…
First-of-its-kind research links a specific food in maternal diet to lower odds of food allergies in child’s first year of life MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (May 7, 2025) — An observational study among 2,272 mother-child pairs in Finland found that infants had 44% lower odds of developing food allergies at 12 months if their mother consumed fresh avocado during pregnancy, after adjusting for other lifestyle, delivery, and maternal health factors. Decades of research have explored the relationship between maternal diet and…
Study models spatial patterns of “grazing halos” around reefs. In coral reefs throughout the world, visually striking bands of bare sand surrounding reefs are often visible in satellite imagery but their cause remains a mystery. One theory is fear. Parrotfish and other herbivores will leave a reef’s shelter to eat algae or the surrounding seagrass, but their fear of being gobbled up by predators may keep them from roving too far or eating too much, creating, what’s known as “grazing…
MIT chemists found a way to identify a complex sugar molecule in the cell walls of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest pathogen. CAMBRIDGE, MA — Tuberculosis, the world’s deadliest infectious disease, is estimated to infect around 10 million people each year, and kills more than 1 million annually. Once established in the lungs, the bacteria’s thick cell wall helps it to fight off the host immune system. Much of that cell wall is made from complex sugar molecules known as glycans,…
Two thousand years before the Inca empire dominated the Andes, a lesser-known society known as the Chavín Phenomenon shared common art, architecture, and materials throughout modern-day Peru. Through agricultural innovations, craft production, and trade, Chavín shaped a growing social order and laid the foundations for hierarchical society among the high peaks. But one of their most powerful tools wasn’t farming. It was access to altered states of consciousness. That’s according to a new study that uncovered the earliest-known direct evidence…
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….
Endemic to China’s Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise is known for its intelligence and charismatic appearance; it looks like it has a perpetual smile on its face. To track how this critically endangered porpoise’s habitat range has changed over time, a team of biodiversity and conservation experts compiled 724 ancient Chinese poems referencing the porpoise from historic collections across China. Publishing in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 5, their results show that the porpoise’s range has…
Many of the fish we eat play a key role in maintaining the seabed – and therefore our climate, new research shows. Convex Seascape Survey scientists assessed the role of fish in bioturbation (churning and reworking sediments) in shallow UK seas. The Atlantic cod – a staple in chip shops – jointly topped the list of these important “ecosystem engineers” (along with Atlantic hagfish and European eel). In total, 185 fish species were found to play a role in bioturbation…
Harvard’s Dr. Michael Wheeler illuminates how psychedelic compounds interact with brain-immune pathways to potentially treat both psychiatric and inflammatory disorders BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA, 6 May 2025 — In a compelling Genomic Press interview published today, rising scientific star Dr. Michael Wheeler unveils revolutionary findings about how psychedelics reshape communication between the brain and immune system, potentially transforming treatments for psychiatric disorders and inflammatory diseases alike. Bridging the Mind-Body Divide As an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and investigator at…
Some red algae exhibit structural color that gives their growth tips a blue hue and the rest of their bodies including their fruiting structures a white hue. Moreover, since the color-producing structures are located together with anti-herbivory chemicals, the Kobe University discovery is the first to suggest that red algae use colors for inter-species communication. Red algae are red due to the pigments they use to collect light. Kobe University phycologist KAWAI Hiroshi says: “Being a diver, I have long…
Is it extinct, or does it still roam somewhere deep in the misty highland forests of Vietnam and Laos? It has been nicknamed the Asian unicorn due to its almost mythical rarity, and it is the most recently discovered large land mammal, becoming known to science as late as in 1992. Even then, it was already endangered. Today, even the most optimistic estimates say fewer than 100 saola individuals (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) remain, but it could also be extinct by now….
Digital Evolution Index from The Fletcher School at Tufts University provide in-depth look at technology adoption and the state of AI around the world Digital Planet, published by The Fletcher School at Tufts University has unveiled the Digital Evolution Index, charting the progress of 125 economies around the world have made in advancing their digital economies, developing artificial intelligence (AI), and integrating connectivity into the lives of billions. This latest edition of the index, developed in collaboration with Mastercard, illustrates…
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