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Synthetic materials are widely used across science, engineering, and industry, but most are designed to perform only a narrow range of tasks. A research team at Penn State set out to change that. Led by Hongtao Sun, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering (IME), the group developed a new…
In most solid tumors, large numbers of regulatory T (Treg) cells are linked to worse outcomes. These immune cells normally act as brakes on the immune system, which means they can weaken the body’s ability to attack cancer. Colorectal cancer stands out as a rare and confusing exception. In this…
Quantum computers have the potential to transform fields ranging from materials science to cryptography, but today they remain extremely difficult to build and operate. One of the biggest challenges comes from decoherence, a process that introduces errors into quantum systems. These errors usually take the form of bit flips or…
Parkinson’s disease is a long-term neurological condition that gradually worsens over time. More than one million people in the United States are living with the disease, and about 90,000 new diagnoses are made each year. While current treatments can ease symptoms, there is still no cure and no therapy proven…
A new study published in JNeurosci reports how experiences before birth may shape the brain and behavior later in life. Led by Mary Schneider and Alexander Converse at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the interdisciplinary research examined how exposure to alcohol and stress during pregnancy affects rhesus monkey offspring once they…
Researchers in Australia have developed a promising new strategy to combat deadly bacteria that no longer respond to antibiotics. The team engineered antibodies that lock onto a sugar found only on bacterial cells, an approach that could support a new generation of immunotherapies for multidrug resistant infections acquired in hospitals.…
Chemicals introduced to shield the ozone layer are now tied to an unexpected environmental consequence. A new study shows that these substances have helped spread large amounts of a long-lasting and potentially harmful forever chemical across the planet. Researchers in atmospheric science, led by a team at Lancaster University, have…
Researchers have uncovered the molecular interactions that give spider silk its remarkable combination of strength and flexibility. The discovery could help scientists design new bio-inspired materials for airplanes, protective gear, and medical uses, while also offering insight into neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in the journal…
Small lakes on early Mars may have stayed liquid for decades, even though average air temperatures were far below freezing. New research suggests that cold conditions alone may not have prevented long-lasting surface water on the Red Planet. Researchers from Rice University used a climate model modified for Mars to…
Researchers at Caltech and USC have created a new medical imaging approach that quickly produces 3D color images showing both the physical structure of soft tissue and how blood vessels are working. The technique has already been used to image several parts of the human body. Scientists say it could…
Creating extremely small devices that can precisely guide and control light is a key challenge for many emerging technologies. Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have now made an important advance by developing a metasurface that can convert invisible infrared light into…
When everyday matter is cooled, it follows a familiar path. A gas becomes a liquid, and with further cooling, that liquid turns into a solid. Quantum matter does not always follow these rules. More than a century ago, scientists discovered that helium behaves in an unexpected way at extremely low…
Roughly 20 to 30 percent of people with psoriasis eventually develop painful joint inflammation. This condition, known as psoriatic arthritis, can cause lasting damage to bones and joints if it is not treated. For years, doctors did not fully understand why psoriasis progressed to joint disease in some patients but…
For people who committed to an unprocessed food diet as a New Year’s resolution, research suggests the change may guide food choices in a surprising way. Instead of gravitating toward higher calorie whole foods such as rice, meat, and butter, people naturally tend to eat much larger amounts of fruits…
Small changes in kidney function, even when test results fall within what doctors consider a normal range, may reveal who is likely to develop chronic kidney disease later in life. That is the conclusion of a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Kidney International. Based on these findings, researchers…
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles rank among the most endangered sea turtle species on the planet. They live along the East Coast and Gulf Coast of North America, sharing these waters with some of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Scientists already know that fishing gear, pollution, and ship strikes…
Scientists have built a detailed map showing how hundreds of possible mutations in a major cancer gene affect tumor growth. The research offers a clearer picture of how small genetic changes can lead to very different cancer behaviors. The work centers on CTNNB1, a gene responsible for producing the protein…
Reaching the deepest parts of Earth is far more difficult than traveling through space. Humans have journeyed roughly 25 billion km beyond our planet, yet drilling beneath Earth’s surface has only reached a depth of just over 12 km. This extreme limitation means scientists still know relatively little about what…
People with life-threatening injuries may be more likely to survive when advanced medical care reaches them by helicopter. Survival data from a regional air ambulance service in South East England shows that outcomes were better than expected for major trauma patients. The analysis suggests that about five additional people survived…
Broadband achromatic wavefront control is a key requirement for next-generation optical technologies, including full-color imaging and multi-spectral sensing. Researchers led by Professor Yijun Feng and Professor Ke Chen at Nanjing University have now reported a major advance in this area in PhotoniX. Their work introduces a hybrid-phase cooperative dispersion-engineering approach…
New research from neuroscientists at Trinity College Dublin shows that babies as young as two months old can already organize what they see into distinct object categories. This ability appears far earlier than scientists previously believed and suggests that important building blocks of perception are present almost from the very…
Researchers have built a new optical device that can produce two different vortex-shaped forms of light, one electric and one magnetic. These structured light patterns, known as skyrmions, are exceptionally stable and remain intact even when exposed to interference. That resilience makes them attractive candidates for encoding information in future…
H5N1 avian influenza, often called bird flu, was first identified in the United States in 2014. Since then, the virus has moved beyond wild birds, spreading into farm animals and eventually infecting people. More than 70 human cases have been reported in the U.S. since 2022, including two deaths. Because…
Experts from UCL and the University of Cambridge warn that many people prescribed newer weight loss medications may not be receiving enough nutrition guidance to support safe, long-term weight loss. As a result, some users could face preventable risks such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies and loss of muscle mass.…
A major long-term study from Sweden found that middle-aged and older adults who ate more full-fat cheese and cream had a lower risk of developing dementia. While the results may sound encouraging, researchers emphasize that they should be interpreted with caution. The study tracked 27,670 people over a 25-year period. During…
Consciousness has long been described as one of science’s toughest puzzles. Researchers still do not fully understand how physical brain tissue gives rise to thoughts, emotions, and subjective experience. A relatively new technology, known as transcranial focused ultrasound, may offer a powerful way to investigate this mystery more directly. Although…
A new study published in Nature Geoscience shows that changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) closely followed shifts in marine algae growth in the Southern Ocean during past glacial cycles. However, the relationship unfolded in a surprising way that challenges long-standing assumptions. At the center of the discovery…
According to the National Institutes of Health, people living with type 2 diabetes are more likely to experience heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular conditions. This risk is not the same for everyone. Women and men with diabetes face different levels of heart disease risk, but the biological reasons behind…
Scientists at the University of St Andrews have identified an important missing piece in understanding how animals with backbones first evolved. This includes mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. The findings help explain how vertebrates emerged and diversified from simpler animal ancestors. The research was published February 2 in the journal…
Pink noise is commonly used to help people fall asleep, but new research suggests it may interfere with the most restorative stages of sleep. A study from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, published in the journal Sleep, found that pink noise reduced REM sleep and disrupted overall…
