Science News and Headlines
Science News and Headlines
A Spanish study of 440 MS patients and 241 matched controls found restless legs syndrome (RLS) twice as common in MS. Confirmed RLS prevalence was 15.2% among MS patients versus 7.9% in controls. Pyramidal symptoms and family history raised RLS risk four‑ to five‑fold, while spinal cord lesions lowered risk by over 60%. Researchers recommend routine RLS screening in MS care, especially for those with motor or sleep complaints.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping meteorology, with AI‑driven models now surpassing the best physics‑based systems by up to 20% in accuracy. These models learn directly from decades of global observations, delivering longer‑range hurricane track predictions and operating on a fraction of...
A nationally representative survey conducted Dec 2023‑Jan 2024 found that 12.1% of U.S. adults have ever used psilocybin, and 26.5% of those users microdosed on their last occasion. Among the 3.1% who used psilocybin in the past year, nearly half (46.9%) reported...
Researchers used a deep‑learning framework that blends satellite altimetry with tide‑gauge records to reconstruct global sea level from 1952 to 2022. An Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis isolated the contributions of the annual cycle, ENSO, IPO and the North Pacific Gyre...
A new study investigates how coastal geomorphology governs the formation of monazite placer deposits along India’s Kollam coast. The researchers mapped shoreline features, wave regimes, and sediment transport pathways, linking them to heavy‑mineral concentrations. Laboratory grain‑size and mineralogical analyses identified...
Researchers introduced a passive seismic imaging technique that leverages interferometry of regional Pn‑wave coda to generate empirical Green’s tensors. The approach was applied to the Akanvaara V‑Cr‑PGE ultramafic deposit in northern Finland using a dense network of 771 three‑component stations....
Scientists report that global surface temperatures have risen at an unprecedented pace, with the last decade warming 0.35 °C per ten years—about 75% faster than the 1970‑2015 rate. The Geophysical Research Letters study warns the 1.5 °C Paris limit could be exceeded...
A prospective longitudinal study compared Google Gemini Pro and xAI Grok‑1 on Turkish oral‑cancer patient queries over seven days. Both models delivered moderate‑to‑high scientific accuracy (Gemini 3.52, Grok 3.39) and high referral safety (90‑92%). Grok generated longer sentences but readability...
Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that asphaltene molecules adopt distinct orientations at the oil‑water interface based on their hydrophilicity, with asphaltene 1 lying flat and forming more hydrogen bonds, while asphaltene 2 inserts at a 60° angle. The presence of resin additives markedly...
A preprint investigating Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection in Roman Gray laying hens reveals that infected birds host more operational taxonomic units (473 vs. 356) and a microbiome dominated by Mycoplasmatota. Alpha‑diversity metrics remained unchanged, but beta‑diversity analyses showed a highly significant community restructuring...
A new review in Frontiers in Nutrition evaluates Rhodiola rosea, Ginkgo biloba and Ashwagandha as potential antidepressant supplements. The authors detail how each botanicals modulates monoaminergic transmission, neurotrophic signaling, HPA‑axis activity, inflammation and mitochondrial health. Preclinical data and early‑phase clinical...
A GRADE‑assessed meta‑analysis of 59 studies (2,401 men) shows metabolic and bariatric surgery markedly improves male endocrine function. Total testosterone rises 5‑8 nmol/L across all follow‑up intervals, while free testosterone shows significant gains after six months. Estradiol declines and SHBG increases,...
Researchers at Helmholtz‑Zentrum Dresden‑Rossendorf introduced a reproducible theoretical framework for designing polyheptazine imide photocatalysts. Using many‑body perturbation theory, they modeled the effect of 53 different metal ions on charge separation and visible‑light absorption. Experimental synthesis of eight ion‑doped materials confirmed...
The UK government is funding a £45 million AI supercomputer, Sunrise, at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Campus. Delivering 6.76 exaflops of AI performance on a 1.4 MW AMD‑Dell platform, Sunrise aims to become the world’s most powerful AI system dedicated...
President Trump’s second term has intensified efforts to derail global climate initiatives, targeting a shipping carbon tax, a plastics production treaty, a UN resolution led by Vanuatu, and the International Energy Agency’s net‑zero modeling. By withdrawing from negotiations, issuing diplomatic...
Researchers have created a novel double‑network composite hydrogel (PVA/HPC@SHM) that combines a polyvinyl alcohol/hydroxypropyl cellulose matrix with a super‑hygroscopic filler. The material exhibits a 121% increase in compressive strength and a 36% boost in toughness compared with pure PVA hydrogel....
Researchers introduced single Ni atoms into Ru clusters supported on nitrogen‑boron doped carbon to manipulate interfacial water structure for alkaline hydrogen evolution. The Ni atoms shift the charge distribution of Ru, causing K⁺·H₂O hydrate molecules to reorient and bind more...
University of Delhi researchers have introduced an eco‑friendly method to synthesize graphene oxide quantum dots (GO QDs) using citric acid, producing uniform 23.4 nm particles with a negative surface charge. The GO QDs enable dual‑mode biosensing—optical fluorescence and electrochemical detection—of the...
The Chicago Botanic Garden launched the Midwest Native Seed Network in 2024, uniting roughly 300 restoration ecologists, land managers and seed growers from 150 institutions across 11 states. The coalition’s first survey revealed that more than 500 native Midwestern species...
Researchers have demonstrated wafer‑scale epitaxial growth of single‑crystal Bernal‑stacked boron nitride (bBN) bilayers using flow‑modulated metal‑organic chemical vapor deposition on Ni(111)/sapphire. Monoatomic Ni step edges direct AB stacking, creating a self‑limiting bilayer with uniform thickness across the wafer. The resulting...
China launched two missions today from separate interior spaceports. A Long March 6A lifted a military remote‑sensing satellite from Taiyuan, while a Kuaizhou‑11 placed eight satellites into orbit from Jiuquan. State media gave no details on the payloads or where the...
Researchers have engineered a chiral two‑dimensional germanane platform by covalently attaching cysteine molecules, creating a spin‑filtering material that exhibits reversible bistable quantum states. When paired with a ferromagnetic electrode, the system’s spin polarization can be switched by an external magnetic...
Researchers have introduced a catalyst‑free, electron‑beam technique that rapidly converts diamond into graphite, forming in‑situ graphite/diamond heterojunctions. By targeting the (111) crystallographic facet, the process triggers a global graphitization pathway rather than traditional nucleation‑and‑growth. The method works on both polycrystalline...
A recent study examined how dual‑task conditions—simultaneously walking and performing a cognitive task—alter gait and postural stability in adults over 65. Participants showed a 15% reduction in walking speed and a 20% increase in stride variability when multitasking. Balance assessments...
Researchers at Oregon State University recreated lunar regolith and mixed in 5% vermicompost, enabling potatoes to sprout and produce tubers over a two‑month period. The harvested potatoes showed activation of stress‑related genes and higher copper and zinc levels, yet their...
Researchers introduced a skin‑structure‑inspired hierarchical metafabric that combines electrospun polyamide nanofibers with electrosprayed functional nanospheres. The composite achieves 97.3% solar reflectance, 91.3% infrared emissivity, and a 7.3 °C temperature drop under identical test conditions, surpassing traditional cotton fabrics. Simultaneously it delivers...
The researchers demonstrated that repeated shape‑memory polymer (SMP) recovery aligns surface crystals and compresses amorphous gaps, dramatically reducing bacterial adhesion. In vitro assays with Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus showed progressive detachment as programming cycles increased. An SMP...
Recent advances in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have enabled scalable production of two‑dimensional magnetic oxides with tunable magnetic properties. The review classifies these oxides by structural dimensionality and composition, and details vapor‑phase techniques such as additive‑assisted growth, confined epitaxy, and...
Researchers introduced pyrene‑based covalent organic frameworks (PyCOFs) as bulk dopants for formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3) perovskite solar cells. The COFs feature π‑conjugated linkages and Lewis‑basic groups (–C≡N, –C═N–, –SH) that coordinate with undercoordinated Pb2+ sites, passivating deep traps without altering...
REGENXBIO's gene therapy RGX‑121 for Hunter syndrome received an FDA Complete Response Letter, with the agency flagging patient‑eligibility definitions, natural‑history control comparability, and the surrogate endpoint as problematic. The rejection redirects focus to Denali Therapeutics, whose enzyme‑replacement candidate tividenofusp alfa...
Large‑scale neuroimaging studies largely omit women‑specific health information, limiting AI’s ability to model female brain dynamics. Only about 0.5 % of neuroscience papers address women’s health, and few datasets capture menstrual, pregnancy, or menopause data. Recent precision‑imaging work and the Women’s...
A CRISPR‑Cas9 screen revealed that riboflavin (vitamin B2) sustains the ferroptosis suppressor protein FSP1, shielding cancer cells from iron‑driven lipid peroxidation. Depleting vitamin B2 destabilizes FSP1 and renders tumor cells highly susceptible to ferroptosis. The researchers demonstrated that roseoflavin, a bacterial analog...
Britain’s science minister unveiled a £2.5 billion, five‑year programme to jump‑start a domestic nuclear‑fusion industry. The core of the plan is a £1.3 billion investment in the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) prototype at the former West Burton coal site, targeted...
Swansea University researchers found that AI can act as a creative collaborator, not just an efficiency tool. In a study of over 800 participants designing virtual cars, an AI system using MAP‑Elites generated diverse galleries of designs, including intentionally flawed...
A new James Webb Space Telescope study used spectral decomposition to map Europa’s surface chemistry, revealing that carbon dioxide extends far beyond the previously isolated Tara Regio chaos terrain. The CO₂‑rich areas align with unusual ice textures, indicating that the...
A new study by Sara Walker et al. proposes using Assembly Theory to detect extraterrestrial life by quantifying how difficult molecules are to assemble. Instead of searching for Earth‑like biosignature gases, the approach assigns an Assembly Index to atmospheric compounds, with...
The WASHOUT study, presented at the EAU26 congress, found that one in ten emergency‑department patients presenting with visible blood in urine (hematuria) dies within three months. A diagnostic scan—CT or cystoscopy—performed within 48 hours cut mortality risk and accelerated cancer detection,...
Researchers surveyed 750 parents across the UK, US, Australia and Canada and found that babies as young as eight months engage in basic deceptive acts, such as pretending not to hear or hiding objects. By ten months, roughly a quarter...
The paper proposes a framework that fuses behavioural experiment results with dynamical systems models to better predict and steer collective social change. By grounding threshold and cascade models in empirical decision‑making data, the authors show how interventions can be calibrated...
Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research has teamed with a precision‑oncology firm and the National Cancer Centre to launch UNITED 2.0, a SG$6 million three‑year project aimed at a clinical‑grade cancer profiling test. The new platform will replace the gene‑panel approach...
The University of Hong Kong and Suzhou Industrial Park have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch the HKU‑Suzhou Innovation Corridor, a cross‑border platform for medical technology development. The corridor will link HKU’s research expertise with Suzhou’s clinical and biotech...
Common Ground Alliance estimates annual U.S. social costs of underground utility damage at about $30 billion. Purdue University engineers have created a patent‑pending method that combines ground‑penetrating radar with a Bayesian uncertainty‑aware model to pinpoint pipe location, orientation, and radius. The...
A longitudinal study of 127 first‑time mothers scanned before conception, twice during pregnancy, and at one and six months postpartum reveals a striking ~5% reduction in gray‑matter volume in regions governing emotion and social perception. The loss peaks in the...
Researchers sequenced DNA from 500 domestic‑cat tumors, covering 13 cancer types, and mapped mutations in 1,000 genes commonly altered in human cancers. The study found that TP53 and PIK3CA are among the most frequently mutated genes in cats, mirroring patterns...
A new Australian study of 10,929 Parkinson’s patients – the largest cohort worldwide – reveals pronounced gender differences in symptom patterns and risk exposures. Non‑motor symptoms dominate, with 96% reporting sleep disturbances and two‑thirds experiencing pain, memory changes, or dizziness....
Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich have unveiled a home‑built momentum microscope that uses a tabletop UV laser instead of large accelerator facilities. The new electron‑optics design delivers sharper momentum‑space images and captures spin, orbital and temporal information in a single measurement....
A joint Boston University and LSHTM study shows that a low‑cost infection‑prevention‑and‑control bundle temporarily halted a Klebsiella pneumoniae outbreak in a Zambian NICU, reducing neonatal mortality and suspected sepsis. Whole‑genome sequencing of 411 isolates identified hospital‑origin transmission and highlighted the...
South Australia’s government waited over four months to revise beach health advice after scientists detected the potent toxin brevetoxin in the state’s massive algal bloom. Early warnings from contaminated oysters, a dead great‑white shark and toxin‑laden kangaroos were downplayed, with...
A recent neuroscience study found that individuals with higher IQs demonstrate markedly better beat‑keeping ability on a drum pad. Brain imaging revealed that these participants possessed greater white‑matter density in prefrontal regions associated with planning and time management. The research,...
Researchers published a longitudinal study showing that people living with HIV who switch from daily oral antiretrovirals to the long‑acting injectable combo cabotegravir‑rilpivirine experience an early, transient rise in monocyte activation followed by a sustained decline below baseline levels. Flow...
