Month: April 2025

A new study has found important clues about the roles age, sex, hormonal changes and genetics play in how certain biomarkers for dementia are expressed in the blood, according to a study published on April 16, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Blood tests that detect biomarkers for…

A new study by Brown University researchers suggests that gold nanoparticles — microscopic bits of gold thousands of times thinner than a human hair — might one day be used to help restore vision in people with macular degeneration and other retinal disorders. In a study published in the journal ACS Nano and supported by…

Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the…

Physicians classify brain tumors and determine treatment options, in part, by the genes they express. According to World Health Organization standards, the abnormal activation of oncogene FOXR2 only occurs in central nervous system (CNS) neuroblastoma, but that may not be true. Findings from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital show FOXR2 activation in multiple pediatric CNS…

Wildflowers growing on land previously used for buildings and factories can accumulate lead, arsenic and other metal contaminants from the soil, which are consumed by pollinators as they feed, a new study has found. The metals have previously been shown to damage the health of pollinators, which ingest them in nectar as they feed, leading…

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers and has one of the lowest survival rates — only 10% after five years. One of the factors contributing to its aggressiveness is its tumor microenvironment, known as the stroma, which makes up the majority of the tumor mass and consists of a network of proteins…

Young adults — particularly college students — are more likely than any other group in the U.S. to engage in heavy drinking and experience alcohol-related consequences. The consequences of heavy drinking — which is defined as four or more drinks per occasion for women and five or more for men — are felt throughout the…

Sleep is a necessary part of people’s daily routine, but modern lifestyles and technology have ushered in an era of decreased rest time and subsequent fatigue. Further, the bedroom environment, such as light, sound, and temperature, is important for a good night’s sleep, though this is often neglected in residential architecture. In search of a…

A joint research team from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) and Jeonbuk National University has successfully demonstrated the complete confinement of mechanical waves within a single resonator — something long thought to be theoretically impossible. Their findings, published on April 3 in Physical Review Letters, mark a major breakthrough in the century-old mystery…

New research suggests conservation efforts could more effectively identify and protect bird species at greatest risk from climate change by better understanding the range of specific conditions they need to thrive. The study, led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), examined the relationship between the extent of the climatic conditions that species tolerate and…

Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, the drug discovery division of Scripps Research, announced today that the FDA has cleared their investigational new drug (IND) application to study switchable chimeric antigen receptor T cell (sCAR-T) therapy (CLBR001 + SWI019) in patients with autoimmune conditions. Patient recruitment for the phase 1 trial will begin soon (NCT06913608). The…

In the largest study of its kind to date, a team of international researchers has investigated how pharmaceutical pollution affects the behaviour and migration of Atlantic salmon. The study, led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, revealed that commonly detected environmental levels of clobazam — a medication often prescribed for sleep disorders — increased…

Although we know that supermassive black holes (millions of times the mass of our Sun) lurk at the centre of most galaxies, their very nature makes them difficult to spot and study. In contrast to the popular idea of black holes constantly ‘gobbling up’ matter, these gravitational monsters can spend long periods of time in…

One main goal of anti-cancer therapies is to kill tumor cells without affecting the surrounding normal cells. Therefore, many drugs are designed to target tumor-specific antigens, which are molecules only expressed by cancer cells. However, it has proven difficult to identify such specific antigens in certain cancer types, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML patients…

Astronomers have peered back in time to find what looks like a population of ‘hidden’ galaxies that could hold the key to unlocking some of the universe’s secrets. If their existence is confirmed it would “effectively break current models of galaxy numbers and evolution.” The possible galaxies may also provide the missing piece of the…

Heavy drinkers who have eight or more alcoholic drinks per week have an increased risk of brain lesions called hyaline arteriolosclerosis, signs of brain injury that are associated with memory and thinking problems, according to a study published on April 9, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The…

In a cave overlooking the ocean on the southern coast of South Africa, archaeologists discovered thousands of stone tools, created by ancient humans roughly 20,000 years ago. By examining tiny details in the chipped edges of the blades and stones, archaeologists are able to tell how the tools were made. In a new study published…

Wear and tear on plastic products releases small to nearly invisible plastic particles, which could impact people’s health when consumed or inhaled. To make these particles biodegradable, researchers created plastics from plant starch instead of petroleum. An initial study published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows how animals consuming particles from this…

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species. But the crater it left behind in the Gulf of Mexico was a literal hotbed for life enriching the overlying ocean for at least 700,000 years, according to research published today in…

A new University of Otago — Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka study has found a link between our eye health and dementia. Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study researchers discovered the blood vessels at the back of the eye — called retinal microvasculature — can show early signs someone is at risk of developing dementia. Co-lead author…

The list of treatments for low back pain is endless, but few offer relief for the one in four Americans who suffer from this persistent pain and leading cause of disability globally. More than 80% of those with chronic low back pain wished there were better treatment options. Yet, without sufficient pain relief, many people…

The Last of Us is back on April 13 and this season is more realistic than ever. The trailer for the hit HBO series appears to show the “zombie fungus” cordyceps infecting humans by releasing air-borne spores, instead of through tentacles — closer to scientific reality. Spread the love (and spores) “Fungi love to make…

From toddlers in daycare to seedlings in forests, young organisms tend to get sick more easily than adults — a phenomenon that has long puzzled parents and scientists alike. University of Maryland biologists offer new insights into this mysteriously universal pattern in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…