Reporting world updates to you
Vaccination of pregnant women has been linked to a drop in newborns being admitted to hospital with a serious lung infection, research suggests. Researchers found the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, introduced across the UK in late summer 2024, led to a 72 percent reduction in babies hospitalized with the…
As millions of people know firsthand, the most common side effect of mRNA vaccines like the COVID-19 shot is inflammation: soreness, redness and a day or two of malaise. But what if mRNA vaccines could be redesigned to sidestep that response altogether? In a new paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering,…
A newly released study from Duke University’s Pontzer Lab, housed in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, looks at the correlations between economic development, daily energy expenditure and the rise in a country’s obesity level. While many experts have offered that rising obesity rates…
New research from the University of Victoria (UVic) highlights how marine heatwaves can dramatically impact marine ecosystems and offers a stark preview of how future ocean warming will reshape ocean life. From 2014 to 2016, the Pacific coast of North America experienced the longest marine heatwave ever recorded, with temperatures…
Gene editing technologies — such as those used in agriculture and de-extinction projects — can be repurposed to offer what an international team of scientists is calling a transformative solution for restoring genetic diversity and saving endangered species. In a new Nature Reviews Biodiversity Perspective article published on July 18,…
Subaru Telescope has made an exciting discovery: a small body beyond Pluto, with implications for the formation, evolution, and current structure of the outer Solar System. The object was found as part of the survey project FOSSIL (Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy), which takes advantage of…
A team of astronomers led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian has discovered a rare object far beyond Neptune, from a class known as trans-Neptunian objects, that is moving in rhythm with the giant planet. This object, called 2020 VN40, is the first confirmed body that orbits…
International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first specks…
An international team of astronomers has uncovered new evidence to explain how pulsing remnants of exploded stars interact with surrounding matter deep in the cosmos, using observations from NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) and other telescopes. Scientists based in the U.S., Italy, and Spain, set their sights on a…
Research from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities gives new insight into a material that could make computer memory faster and more energy-efficient. The study was recently published in Advanced Materials, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The researchers also have a patent on the technology. As technology continues to grow, so…
Researchers are creating new moiré materials at the nanometer scale using advanced DNA nanotechnology: DNA moiré superlattices form when two periodic DNA lattices are overlaid with a slight rotational twist or positional offset. This creates a new, larger interference pattern with completely different physical properties. A new approach developed by…
A new international study suggests that ancient viral DNA embedded in our genome, which were long dismissed as genetic “junk,” may actually play powerful roles in regulating gene expression. Focusing on a family of sequences called MER11, researchers from Japan, China, Canada, and the US have shown that these elements…
Chemists have developed a novel way to generate a variety of highly useful chemical building blocks by harnessing metal carbenes, suggests new research. Typically used in chemical reactions essential for drug synthesis and materials development, carbenes are short-lived, highly reactive carbon atoms. In the lab, this can make carbenes especially…
From low-carb ice cream to keto protein bars to “sugar-free” soda, the decades-old sweetener erythritol is everywhere. But new University of Colorado Boulder research shows the popular sugar substitute and specialty food additive comes with serious downsides, impacting brain cells in numerous ways that can boost risk of stroke. The…
A team of scientists has developed a powerful new way to detect subtle magnetic signals in common metals like copper, gold, and aluminum—using nothing more than light and a clever technique. Their research, recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, could pave the way for advances in everything from…
E. coli outbreaks in romaine lettuce have long been a public health concern. and now a new Cornell University paper suggests that a combination of efforts in the field, and even postharvest techniques, can minimize risk to human health. Co-authored by Renata Ivanek, a professor in the department of population…
A new treatment that uses music therapy on dementia wards could improve care and support for some of the NHS’s most vulnerable patients. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have piloted a music therapy approach called MELODIC, across two NHS dementia wards. More…
Clear-cutting can make catastrophic floods 18 times more frequent with effects lasting more than 40 years, according to a new UBC study. In one watershed, these extreme floods also became more than twice as large, turning a once-in-70-years event into something that now happens every nine. “This research challenges conventional…
Magnets and shot glasses serve as fun holiday souvenirs, but certain foods synonymous with a country’s identity can make for extra meaningful gifts for friends and loved ones; think French cheese, Dutch Stroopwafels and Canadian maple syrup. According to new research, communities that lived in western Iran about 11,000 years…
Kyoto, Japan — Many people tend to trust dogs’ instincts regarding humans. If dogs gravitate towards you, dog lovers will likely see you as safe and trustworthy, but if dogs are apprehensive around you, some may begin to question your character. Yet how and even if dogs socially evaluate people…
The UK’s pioneering licensed IVF technique to reduce the risk of mitochondrial diseases carried out in Newcastle has seen eight babies born, published research shows. All eight babies show no signs of having mitochondrial DNA disease. The babies, four girls and four boys, including one set of identical twins, were…
Vitamin D is not only an essential nutrient, but also the precursor of the hormone calcitriol, indispensable for health: it regulates the uptake of phosphate and calcium necessary for bones by the intestines, as well as cell growth and the proper function of muscles, nerve cells, and the immune system.…
A study led by a scientist at the University of California San Diego offers new warnings on the dangers of human interactions with wildlife. Assistant Professor Shermin de Silva of the School of Biological Sciences studies endangered Asian elephants and has reported on their shrinking habitats, a downturn that has…
In light of reports from the White House that President Donald J. Trump has been diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), the American Heart Association is sharing important information on the condition and its association with cardiovascular risk factors, disease and increased risk of death. According to the Association, the…
Did Neanderthals have family recipes? A new study suggests that two groups of Neanderthals living in the caves of Amud and Kebara in northern Israel butchered their food in strikingly different ways, despite living close by and using similar tools and resources. Scientists think they might have been passing down…
Isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness — hearing impairment or loss is a real challenge in daily life. Over time, it can also become a risk factor for cognitive decline. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) analysed data from 33,000 older adults across Europe to examine the combined impact…
Human eggs are some of the most patient cells in the body, lying dormant for decades until needed. A study published on July 16 in The EMBO Journal shows that the cells deliberately slow the activity of their internal waste disposal systems as they mature, most likely an evolutionary design which…
Imagine if your dog’s favorite game — sniffing out treats or toys — could help protect America’s vineyards, orchards, and forests from a devastating invader. It turns out, it just might. A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams — made up of everyday people and…
In good news for mango lovers, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has identified a way to extend the storage life of the popular tropical fruit. The study, led by ECU School of Science Lecturer Dr Mekhala Vithana, found that dipping mangoes in ozonated water (aqueous ozonation) for 10…
Many former leaders of the world’s nine nuclear-armed nations were impaired by health conditions while in office, raising concerns over their decision-making abilities while they had access to nuclear weapon launch codes, a study from the University of Otago, New Zealand, has found. The study analyzed the health information of…
