Bowhead whales’ secret to long life may lie in a protein

University of Rochester biologists are considering ways to ramp up in humans the CIRBP protein, which plays a key role in repairing DNA in bowhead whales and other species.
Photo Credit: National Park Service / public domain

As humans age, we become more vulnerable to cancer and other diseases. Bowhead whales, however, can live for up to 200 years while staying remarkably disease resistant.

How does one of the largest animals on Earth stay healthy for centuries? And could their biology hold clues to help humans live longer too?

New research from scientists at the University of Rochester and their collaborators suggests one answer lies in a protein called CIRBP. The protein plays a key role in repairing double-strand breaks in DNA, a type of genetic damage that can cause disease and shorten lifespan in a variety of species, including humans. In a study published in Nature, the researchers—including URochester biology professors Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov and first authors Denis Firsanov, a postdoctoral researcher, and Max Zacher, a graduate student in their lab—found that bowhead whales have much higher levels of CIRBP than other mammals. The findings offer a new clue to how humans might one day enhance DNA repair, better resist cancer, and slow the effects of aging.

New Species of Spider Discovered, Just in Time for Halloween

A species of trapdoor spider, named Aptostichus ramirezae, was newly identified by UC Davis scientists.
Photo Credit: Emma Jochim/UC Davis

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have discovered a new species of trapdoor spider lurking in California’s coastal sand dunes. The newly identified Aptostichus ramirezae is a close relative of Aptostichus simus, a species found along the coast from Monterey to Baja California, Mexico. 

The study, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows that what looked like one species, is actually two. 

“While there are over 50,000 species of spiders worldwide, there are probably hundreds of thousands left to be discovered, even along the coast where new spider species may be hiding just underfoot of California beachgoers,” said senior author Jason Bond, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Bioinformatics Uncovers Regenerative Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Human brain cells are notoriously difficult to culture in the lab, but UC San Diego researchers successfully grew human brain cells, shown here, in order to test a new treatment approach for spinal cord injury.
Photo Credit: Mark H. Tuszynski/UC San Diego Health Sciences

Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a major unmet medical challenge, often resulting in permanent paralysis and disability with no effective treatments. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have harnessed bioinformatics to fast-track the discovery of a promising new drug for SCI. The results will also make it easier for researchers around the world to translate their discoveries into treatments.

One of the reasons SCI results in permanent disability is that the neurons that form our brain and spinal cord cannot effectively regenerate. Encouraging neurons to regenerate with drugs offers a promising possibility for treating these severe injuries. 

The researchers found that under specific experimental conditions, some mouse neurons activate a specific pattern of genes related to neuronal growth and regeneration. To translate this fundamental discovery into a treatment, the researchers used data-driven bioinformatics approaches to compare their pattern to a vast database of compounds, looking for drugs that could activate these same genes and trigger neurons to regenerate.

New nanomedicine wipes out leukemia in animal study

The real-time cellular uptake of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and fusion with leukemia cells’ lysosomes, where the SNAs degrade and release potent chemotherapeutics. SNAs are shown in red; cells’ cytoskeletons are green; and cells’ nuclei are blue.
Video Credit: Chad A. Mirkin Research Group

In a promising advance for cancer treatment, Northwestern University scientists have re-engineered the molecular structure of a common chemotherapy drug, making it dramatically more soluble and effective and less toxic.

In the new study, the team designed a new drug from the ground up as a spherical nucleic acid (SNA) — a nanostructure that weaves the drug directly into DNA strands coating tiny spheres. This design converts a poorly soluble, weakly performing drug into a powerful, targeted cancer killer that leaves healthy cells unharmed.

Sublethal antibiotic levels found to boost spread of resistance genes in the environment by up to 45 times

Photo Credit: Daniel Quiceno M

A new study has found that exposure to sublethal levels of antibiotics, amounts too low to kill bacteria, can increase the spread of antibiotic resistance genes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) found in the environment by up to 45 times.

The study led by researchers from the University of Nottingham and Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) analyzed 39 E. coli strains from a UK dairy farm that were resistant to a group of widely used human critical antibiotics called cephalosporins.

Their findings published in Frontiers journal, showed that all 39 cephalosporin resistant E. coli strains carried the same resistance gene- blaCTX-M-15, which protects bacteria from penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics

Genetic testing showed the bacteria were almost identical, suggesting a single strain had spread across the farm. Researchers also found that the resistance gene wasn’t fixed in place- it could jump from the bacterial chromosome onto separate small circular double-stranded DNA molecules called plasmids, which can move between bacteria.

Climate report: Earth on dangerous path but rapid action can avert the worst outcomes

Palisades Fire. Photo taken Jan. 8, 2025.
Photo Credit: Cal Fire.

2024 was the hottest year on record and likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years, according to an annual report issued by an international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists.

“Without effective strategies, we will rapidly encounter escalating risks that threaten to overwhelm systems of peace, governance, and public and ecosystem health,” said co-lead author William Ripple. “In short, we’ll be on the fast track to climate-driven chaos, a dangerous trajectory for humanity.”

Despite the sixth annual report’s ominous findings – 22 of the planet’s 34 vital signs are at record levels – Ripple stresses that “it’s not too late to limit the damage even if we miss the temperature mitigation goal set by the 2015 Paris Agreement,” an international treaty that set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But with many vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, ocean acidity and ice mass, continuing to trend sharply in the wrong direction, the authors note that time is definitely of the essence.

Dopamine increases willingness to wait for rewards

L-DOPA, a precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine, makes humans wait longer for rewards, as new research addresses gaps in earlier studies
Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder

A research team from the University of Cologne conducted one of the most comprehensive studies on dopamine and decision-making in humans so far, providing evidence for effects of the former on the latter. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in several functions, including motivation and reward. The team at the Psychology Department led by Dr Elke Smith and Professor Dr Jan Peters found that L-DOPA, a precursor of dopamine that increases dopamine levels in the brain, slightly increased the study participants’ willingness to wait for larger delayed rewards, decreasing impulsivity by about a 20 percent compared to placebo. This modest effect challenges some earlier influential findings from much smaller studies, which had found that L-DOPA increased impulsive choices. The study “Dopamine and temporal discounting: revisiting pharmacology and individual differences” has appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience.

International research collaboration finds solar gamma rays could unlock the mystery of the Sun’s hidden magnetic fields

AIA Image 193 from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Compiled from 97 still images.
Video Credit: Scientific Frontline

New research conducted by an international team of physicists has found that high-energy gamma rays might offer the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Sun’s magnetic fields.

The study, led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Exeter and the University of Amsterdam, concludes that teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma rays, observable from specialist facilities on Earth, could be the result of this magnetic field interacting with cosmic rays.

By studying these TeV rays, say the researchers, it could be possible to identify where the fields are located, with their initial findings suggesting they are just beneath the solar surface.

“Magnetic activity of the Sun is the driver behind the space weather and as a consequence the effects space weather has on our society,” says Professor Andrew Hillier, one of the authors of the paper at Exeter. “However, it is not possible to see beneath the solar surface to investigate the Sun’s magnetic field before they manifest on that surface. Our study provides a new method by using cosmic rays to peer beneath the solar surface.

Scientists uncover how the brain falls asleep

Scientists have been able to pinpoint, for the first time, the exact moment the brain transitions into sleep, and precisely map the unfolding process in real time.
Photo Credit: Zohre Nemati

In the new study, the researchers demonstrated that the human brain falls asleep abruptly, rather than gradually, with a ‘tipping point’ marking the transition from wakefulness into sleep. They were then able to predict the momentary progression into sleep with unprecedented precision. 

The findings could be used to develop new ways to diagnose and treat sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and as a marker of brain health in the context of ageing and neurodegenerative disease, and even to improve how we monitor anesthesia during surgical procedures.  

UrFU Scientists Have Identified New Beneficial Properties of Mushrooms

According to the biologist, the production of lanolin ointment with extracts of tinder mushrooms does not require high costs.
Photo Credit: UrFU press service

UrFU biologists have identified the beneficial properties of tinder mushrooms. They found that an ointment based on lanolin and extracts from tinder helps heal wounds faster after burns, even third-degree burns that form scars. The ointment also reduces inflammation. The results of tests on rats were published in Bulletin of Siberian Medicine scientific journal.

“In order for the wound to heal, it is necessary not only to repair the cells but also the intercellular substance – the skin framework. This long process occurs in several stages. If this process is delayed, negative consequences may occur, such as severe inflammation or scarring. Lanolin-based ointments with tinder mushroom extracts promote the formation of new cells and reduce inflammation, which in turn accelerates the healing process,” said Alexander Ermoshin, Head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology.

Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth

Raising the Foro Drill, Allan Hills, Antarctica. 2022-2023.
Photo Credit: Julia Marks Peterson, COLDEX.

A team of U.S. scientists has discovered the oldest directly dated ice and air on the planet in the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica.

The 6-million-year-old ice and the tiny air bubbles trapped inside it provide an unprecedented window into Earth’s past climate, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The oldest ice sample from Allan Hills dated by researchers clocks in at 6 million years, from a period in Earth’s history where abundant geological evidence indicates much warmer temperatures and higher sea levels compared to today.

Polar bears act as crucial providers for Arctic species

Photo Credit: Credit: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

A new study published in the scientific journal Oikos reveals for the first time the critical role polar bears play as carrion providers for Arctic species. Researchers from University of Manitoba and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, alongside researchers from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the University of Alberta, have estimated that polar bears leave behind approximately 7.6 million kilograms of their prey annually, creating a massive and vital food source for a wide network of arctic scavenger species.

This research demonstrates that these apex predators are a crucial link between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. By hunting seals on the sea ice and abandoning the remains, polar bears transfer a substantial amount of energy from the ocean to the ice surface, making it accessible to other animals. The study identifies at least 11 vertebrate species known to benefit from this carrion, including Arctic foxes and ravens, with an additional eight potential scavenger species.

X-59 Soars: A New Era in Supersonic Flight Begins

Lockheed Martin X59 First Flight
Photo Credit: Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® in partnership with NASA, successfully completed the first flight of the X-59, a revolutionary, quiet supersonic aircraft designed to pave the way for faster commercial air travel. 

The X-59 took off from Skunk Works' facility at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, before landing near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The X-59 performed exactly as planned, verifying initial flying qualities and air data performance on the way to a safe landing at its new home.

"We are thrilled to achieve the first flight of the X-59," said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "This aircraft is a testament to the innovation and expertise of our joint team, and we are proud to be at the forefront of quiet supersonic technology development." 

Missing nutrient in breast milk may explain health challenges in children of women with HIV

UCLA study finds tryptophan is depleted in breast milk of mothers living with HIV
Photo Credit: Julia Koblitz

A new UCLA study reveals that breast milk from women living with HIV contains significantly lower levels of tryptophan, an essential amino acid likely important for infant immune function, growth, and brain development. This discovery may help explain why children born to women living with HIV experience higher rates of illness and developmental challenges, even when the children themselves are not infected with the virus. 

Approximately 1.3 million children are born to women living with HIV annually worldwide. Even with effective antiretroviral therapy that prevents HIV transmission, these children who are exposed to HIV but not infected continue to face a 50% increase in mortality in low-income settings along with increased risks of infections, growth problems, and cognitive challenges. Prior to antiretroviral therapy, these children had mortality rates that were two to three times higher than infants not exposed to HIV. Understanding why these children remain vulnerable despite not being infected has been a critical gap in maternal and child health research. This study provides the first metabolic explanation for these persistent health disparities and points toward potential nutritional interventions that could protect vulnerable infants.

Gluten sensitivity: It’s not actually about gluten

Photo Credit: Melissa Askew

A landmark study has revealed that gluten sensitivity, which affects approximately 10 percent of the global population, is not actually about gluten but part of the way the gut and brain interact.

The findings are expected to set a new benchmark for how gluten sensitivity is defined, diagnosed and treated.

The research review, published in The Lancet, examined current published evidence for non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) to better understand this highly prevalent condition.

People with NCGS experience symptoms after consuming gluten but do not have coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten. Common symptoms include bloating, gut pain and fatigue.

What Is: A Greenhouse Gas

Image Credit: Skeptical Science
(CC BY 4.0)

A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a constituent of the atmosphere that absorbs and emits longwave radiation, impeding the flow of heat from the Earth's surface into space. This process is the physical basis of the greenhouse effect, formally defined as "the infrared radiative effect of all infrared absorbing constituents in the atmosphere," which includes greenhouse gases, clouds, and some aerosols.

It is essential to distinguish between two distinct phenomena:

The Natural Greenhouse Effect: This is the baseline, life-sustaining process. Greenhouse gases, particularly water vapor and carbon dioxide, are a crucial component of the climate system. Without this natural insulating layer, the heat emitted by the Earth would "simply pass outwards... into space," and the planet's average temperature would be an uninhabitable -20°C.

The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: This refers to the anthropogenic, or human-caused, intensification of the natural effect. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial and agricultural activities, is trapping additional heat, driving the rapid warming of the planet's surface and lower atmosphere.

The term "greenhouse" is a persistent and somewhat misleading analogy. A physical greenhouse primarily works by a mechanical process: its glass walls stop convection, preventing the warm air inside from rising and mixing with the colder air outside. The Earth's greenhouse effect is not a physical barrier; it is a radiative one. Greenhouse gases do not trap air. Instead, they absorb outgoing thermal radiation and re-radiate a portion of it back toward the surface, slowing the planet's ability to cool itself. This radiative mechanism, not a convective one, is how a relatively tiny fraction of the atmosphere can have a planet-altering effect.

New Genetic Cause of Microcephaly Identified

Huu Phuc Nguyen, Pauline Ulmke, and Tran Tuoc (from left) contributed significantly to the work. 
Photo Credit: © RUB, Marquard

Microcephaly is a congenital malformation that leads to a significantly reduced brain size and is often accompanied by developmental delay. An international research team led by Dr. Tran Tuoc from the Department of Human Genetics at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has discovered a previously unknown genetic cause for this condition. Mutations in the EXOSC10 gene – a central component of the RNA degradation complex (“exosome”) – cause primary microcephaly. The work was published in the journal BRAIN. 

Precise balance of stem cells

During human brain development, neural stem cells must balance self-renewal and differentiation to build the cerebral cortex – the brain’s outer layer responsible for cognition and perception. If this balance is disturbed, malformations occur. “Recent advances in genome sequencing and genetic engineering are transforming our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders”, Tuoc Tran says.

Coronal mass ejections at the dawn of the solar system

Artist's depiction of a coronal mass ejection from EK Draconis. The hotter and faster ejection is shown in blue, while the cooler and slower ejection is shown in red.
Image Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Down here on Earth we don't usually notice, but the Sun is frequently ejecting huge masses of plasma into space. These are called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). They often occur together with sudden brightenings called flares, and sometimes extend far enough to disturb Earth's magnetosphere, generating space weather phenomena including auroras or geomagnetic storms, and even damaging power grids on occasion.

Scientists believe that when the Sun and the Earth were young, the Sun was so active that these CMEs may have even affected the emergence and evolution of life on the Earth. In fact, previous studies have revealed that young Sun-like stars, proxies of our Sun in its youth, frequently produce powerful flares that far exceed the largest solar flares in modern history.

The Power of Geckos: TU Wien Solves the Puzzle of Large Molecules

An example for large molecules with Van-der-Waals forces
Image Credit: Technische Universität Wien

A puzzle in theoretical chemistry has been solved at TU Wien: a new computational method now makes it possible to calculate the forces between large molecules with unprecedented accuracy.

Why can geckos walk up walls? Why does nitrogen become liquid at –196 °C? Many everyday phenomena can be explained by van der Waals forces – weak bonds between molecules that are notoriously difficult to calculate. For years, scientists have struggled with the fact that different computational methods produced conflicting results.

Now, researchers at TU Wien have resolved this discrepancy and found a solution. Ironically, it was the very method long considered the “gold standard” of quantum chemistry that turned out to be the source of the error: it systematically overestimates the energy contained in certain molecular bonds. With an improved variant, the TU Wien team can now correctly predict the behavior of large molecules – an essential step for understanding biological systems and for advancing renewable energy technologies.

Rare Brain Cell May Hold the Key to Preventing Schizophrenia Symptoms

A new study from the University of Copenhagen shows that a targeted intervention in a specific type of brain cell can change behavior in mice with symptoms resembling schizophrenia. The researchers hope that this knowledge may eventually pave the way for more targeted treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia.
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

A specific type of brain cell is abnormally active in mice exhibiting behavior reminiscent of schizophrenia, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. By dampening the activity of these cells, researchers were able to restore the animals’ behavior—an insight that may pave the way for a new preventive treatment.

Difficulty completing everyday tasks. Failing memory. Unusually poor concentration.

For many people living with schizophrenia, cognitive challenges are part of daily life. Alongside well-known symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, these difficulties can make it hard to live the life they want. That is why researchers at the University of Copenhagen are working to find ways to prevent such symptoms - and they may now be one step closer.

In a new study, researchers discovered that a specific type of brain cell is abnormally active in mice displaying schizophrenia-like behavior. When the researchers reduced the activity of these cells, the mice’s behavior changed.

“Current treatments for cognitive symptoms in patients with diagnoses such as schizophrenia are inadequate. We need to understand more about what causes these cognitive symptoms that are derived from impairments during brain development. Our study may be the first step toward a new, targeted treatment that can prevent cognitive symptoms,” says Professor Konstantin Khodosevich from the Biotech Research and Innovation Center at the University of Copenhagen, and one of the researchers behind the study.

Trillions of insects fly above us - weather radar reveals alarming declines

The marmalade hoverfly is a well known migrant that comes across the Channel each year.
Photo Credit: Christopher Hassall

Scientists have made a breakthrough in monitoring insect populations across the UK using an unexpected tool: weather radar.

Traditionally used to track rainfall and storms, these radars are now helping researchers monitor the daily movements and long-term numbers of flying and floating creatures - including bees, moths, flies, spiders, and other arthropods.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Global Change Biology, examined radar data collected between 2014 and 2021 over 35,000 square kilometers of the UK. It found that while daytime insect numbers have remained relatively stable or even increased in southern regions, nighttime-airborne insects have declined overall - especially in the far north.

Scientists develop an efficient method of producing proteins from E. coli

Proteins are synthesized through two processes involving DNA: transcription, which converts DNA into mRNA; and translation, where ribosomes read the mRNA and sequentially link amino acids to form proteins. This image illustrates the translation process accelerated to produce proteins more efficiently.
 Image Credit: Teruyo Ojima-Kato

Proteins sourced from microorganisms are attracting attention for their potential in biomanufacturing a variety of products, including pharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes, and diagnostic antibodies. These proteins can also be used for converting resources into biofuels and bioplastics, which could serve as viable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and products. Therefore, efficiently producing microbial proteins could make a significant contribution to sustainable manufacturing.

Producing proteins from Escherichia coli (E. coli) has become popular due to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. However, yields of protein production in E. coli may be reduced depending on the specific gene sequence of the target protein.

New findings on how breastfeeding affects the skeleton could boost development of drugs against osteoporosis

Within six months or less after the women stopped breastfeeding, the researchers observed a seven percent difference in bone density.
Photo Credit: Wendy Wei

Pregnancies do not weaken a woman’s skeleton. Breastfeeding, however, can reduce bone density considerably. These are findings from a research report produced at Lund University in Sweden. But breastfeeding women need not worry.

“There is a dip, but the body is absolutely fantastic at making up the loss,” says Kristina Åkesson, professor of orthopedics.

Breastfeeding and pregnancy both require large amounts of calcium. That is why Lund University researchers Lisa Egund and Kristina Åkesson wanted to examine how the reproductive cycle affects the bone density of women. The study followed 750 women over a ten-year period to investigate the effect of pregnancy and breastfeeding on the skeleton. 

The women were 25 years old when the study began – an age when bone density is normally highest. Ten years later, the data was collected: How many had been pregnant and had children? If so, how many children? Were the children breastfed, and if so for how long?

How unlocking ‘sticky’ chemistry may lead to better, cleaner fuels

Chemistry powered by renewable electricity offers a promising route to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals.
Photo Credit: Chokniti Khongchum

In a new study, chemists have developed a novel framework for determining how effectively carbon monoxide sticks to the surface of a catalyst during conversion from carbon dioxide. 

This stickiness, known as carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption energy, is a property that can often decide the final product of a chemical reaction. Using a widely accessible advanced electroanalytical technique, researchers found that the strength of this energy actually relies on a mix of reaction factors, including the type of catalyst material, applied voltage, and the surface’s structure.

This is a major step for the field, as gaining a better understanding of how CO adsorption works in real-time can help scientists search for innovative ways to recycle its counterpart, carbon dioxide, into useful fuel products, like methanol and ethanol. By designing better catalysts, these new insights could be used to accelerate the development of cleaner technologies that support a more sustainable future, said Zhihao Cui, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral student in chemistry at The Ohio State University.

New test can flag drugs that could be harmful to cats

Shelby
Photo Credit: Heidi-Ann Fourkiller

A new test developed at Washington State University will help pharmaceutical companies, veterinarians and regulatory agencies identify drugs that may trigger severe — but preventable — neurological side effects in some cats.

Even in healthy cats, many commonly prescribed drugs can cause dangerous reactions when administered in specific combinations or when given to felines born with a mutation in their MDR1 gene. This mutation disrupts a protein called P-glycoprotein, which normally helps remove harmful substances from the brain and body, putting affected cats at risk for serious reactions from drugs that are perfectly safe for most cats.

Developed by WSU veterinary pharmacologist Dr. Katrina Mealey and laboratory supervisor Neal Burke, the test can determine if a drug relies on P-glycoprotein to be safely processed. Using the test, Mealey and Burke identified 10 new drugs that pose a risk to affected cats. The findings were detailed in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science. The method is available as a fee-for-service through WSU, or companies and governing agencies can use the published procedure to run their own screenings.

Spotted lanternfly may use ‘toxic shield’ to fend off bird predators

Entomologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences examined the potential for birds to feed on spotted lanternflies.
Photo Credit: Anne Johnson / Pennsylvania State University
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Spotted lanternflies may season themselves to the distaste of potential bird predators, according to a new study led by entomologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The findings, which were published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, showed that several species of birds were less likely to eat spotted lanternflies that had fed on the pest’s preferred host, Ailanthus altissima, commonly known as tree of heaven. This suggests the pest stores nasty-tasting chemicals when they feed on the invasive plant that birds can detect, according to the research team.

Further, they said, the extent to which birds may play a role in pecking away at spotted lanternfly populations remains up in the air and depends on various factors.

Led by postdoctoral researcher Anne Johnson, the team investigated whether birds could serve as natural predators of the spotted lanternfly. This Asian planthopper causes damage to vineyards, orchards and the nursery industry.

Rebalancing the Gut: How AI Solved a 25-Year Crohn’s Disease Mystery

Electron micrographs show how macrophages expressing girdin neutralize pathogens by fusing phagosomes (P) with the cell’s lysosomes (L) to form phagolysosomes (PL), compartments where pathogens and cellular debris are broken down (left). This process is crucial for maintaining cellular homeostasis. In the absence of girdin, this fusion fails, allowing pathogens to evade degradation and escape neutralization (right).
Image Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences

The human gut contains two types of macrophages, or specialized white blood cells, that have very different but equally important roles in maintaining balance in the digestive system. Inflammatory macrophages fight microbial infections, while non-inflammatory macrophages repair damaged tissue. In Crohn’s disease — a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — an imbalance between these two types of macrophages can result in chronic gut inflammation, damaging the intestinal wall and causing pain and other symptoms. 

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new approach that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced molecular biology techniques to decode what determines whether a macrophage will become inflammatory or non-inflammatory. 

The study also resolves a longstanding mystery surrounding the role of a gene called NOD2 in this decision-making process. NOD2 was discovered in 2001 and is the first gene linked to a heightened risk for Crohn’s disease.

Researchers decipher a mechanism that determines the complexity of the glucocorticoid receptor

Above, from left to right, Pilar Montanyà-Vallugera, José Luis Torbado-Gardeazábal, Inés Montoya-Novoa and Montse Abella-Monleón. Below, from left to right, Alba Jiménez-Panizo, Pablo Fuentes-Prior, Eva Estébanez-Perpiñá and Andrea Alegre-Martí.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Barcelona

Drugs to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases — such as asthma, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis or Chrousos syndrome — act mainly through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). This essential protein regulates vital processes in various tissues, so understanding its structure and function at the molecular level is essential for designing more effective and safer drugs. Now, a study published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) has revealed the mechanism of multimerization — the association of different molecules to form complex structures — of the glucocorticoid receptor, a process critical to its physiological function.

Deciphering how the GR forms oligomers — through the binding of several subunits — opens a crucial avenue for developing more selective drugs. These new drugs could modulate this association and thus minimize serious adverse effects, such as immunosuppression or bone loss.

Beavers Impact Ecosystems Above and Below Ground

Photo Credit: Gennady Zakharin

Above ground, we can see changes wrought by beaver ponds such as increases in biodiversity and water retention. But UConn Department of Earth Sciences researcher Lijing Wang says we have a limited understanding of how they impact what happens beneath the ground. In research published in Water Resource Research, Wang and co-authors study how water moves through the soils and subsurface environment and detail new insights into how beaver ponds impact groundwater.

Groundwater can be an important source of water for streams, especially late in a dry summer, it may be the only source of water sustaining a stream, says Wang, and researchers are interested in understanding if and how beaver ponds impact groundwater as these details are important to consider for water management and restoration efforts.

How constant is the fine structure constant?

The thorium crystal 
The core element of the experiment: a crystal containing thorium atoms.
Photo Credit: Technische Universität Wien

Thorium atomic nuclei can be used for very specific precision measurements. This had been suspected for decades, and the search for suitable atomic nucleus states had been ongoing worldwide. In 2024, a team from TU Wien, with the support of international partners, achieved the decisive breakthrough: the long-discussed thorium nuclear transition was found. Shortly afterwards, it was demonstrated that thorium can indeed be used to build high-precision nuclear clocks.

Now the next major success in high-precision research on thorium nuclei has been achieved: when the thorium nucleus changes between different states, it slightly alters its elliptical shape. This also changes the distribution of protons in the nucleus, which in turn alters its electric field. This can be measured so precisely that it allows for better investigation than ever before of the fine structure constant, one of the most important natural constants in physics. This now makes it possible to investigate the question of how constant the fundamental constants of nature really are.

Treating fibrosis with a chemical derived from Lawsonia inermis

Treatment with Lawsone converts a liver with fibrosis into a healthy liver.
Image Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Lawsonia inermis is best known for making henna, a versatile dye that is used to change the color of skin and clothes. Now, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University have found another use for the pigments extracted from the dye: treating liver disease.

Specifically, they could treat liver fibrosis, a disease that causes excess fibrous scar tissue to build up in the liver as a result of chronic liver injury caused by lifestyle choices such as excessive drinking. Patients with liver fibrosis have increased risks of cirrhosis, liver failure, and cancer. Despite 3–4% of the population having the advanced form of the disease, treatment options remain limited.

Researchers Explore How AI Could Shape the Future of Student Learning

Johns Hopkins study reveals the strengths and pitfalls of incorporating chatbots into middle and high school classrooms as a 'co-tutor'
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline / AI generated

As students settle into the new school year, one question looms large: How will artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT affect their learning? Seeking answers, a team from Johns Hopkins recently introduced a chatbot into a classroom of middle and high school students to act as a co-tutor and study the impact.

The pilot study included 22 students enrolled in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth's online course Diagnosis: Be the Doctor. It involved two virtual classrooms; both were taught by the same instructor and organized similarly, except for one key difference: Students in one classroom had access to a large language model designed to act like a coach, asking Socratic-style questions as students worked through medical case studies.

Dangerous E. coli strain blocks gut’s defense mechanism to spread infection

Isabella Rauch, Ph.D., is the senior author on a new study published in Nature that reveals how a dangerous strain of E. coli blocks the body’s immune defenses to spread infection.
Photo Credit: OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks

When harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as E. coli, invade through the digestive tract, gut cells usually fight back by pushing infected cells out of the body to stop the infection from spreading.

In a new study published today in Nature, scientists from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, in collaboration with researchers from Oregon Health & Science University, discovered that a dangerous strain of E. coli — known for causing bloody diarrhea — can block this gut defense, allowing the bacteria to spread more easily.

The bacteria inject a special protein called NleL into gut cells, which breaks down key enzymes, known as ROCK1 and ROCK2, that are needed for infected cells to be expelled. Without this process, the infected cells can’t leave quickly, allowing the bacteria to spread more easily.

Neutrinos ‘flavor’ may hold clues to the universe’s biggest secrets

Inside the Super-Kamiokande detector.
Photo Credit: Kamioka Observatory, ICRR (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research), The University of Tokyo.

In a new analysis, physicists provide the most precise picture yet of how neutrinos change ‘flavor’ as they travel through the cosmos. 

Neutrinos are fundamental particles of the universe, but also some of the most elusive; They pass through everything and can be extremely difficult to detect. While many of their properties are mysterious, scientists know neutrinos come in three types: electron, muon, and tau. 

Understanding these different identities can help scientists learn more about neutrino masses and answer key questions about the evolution of the universe, including why matter came to dominate over antimatter in the early universe, said Zoya Vallari, 

New observation method improves outlook for lithium metal battery

Stacey Bent (left), professor of chemical engineering and of energy science and engineering, Sanzeeda Baig Shuchi (right), chemical engineering PhD student, and Yi Cui (not pictured), professor of materials science and engineering and of energy science and engineering, led the research team that discovered a way to more accurately analyze key chemistries for rechargeable batteries and possibly many other chemistry applications.
Photo Credit: Bill Rivard

Stanford researchers developed a flash-freezing observation method that reveals battery chemistry without altering it, providing new insights to enhance lithium metal batteries.

In science and everyday life, the act of observing or measuring something sometimes changes the thing being observed or measured. You may have experienced this “observer effect” when you measured the pressure of a tire and some air escaped, changing the tire pressure. In investigations of materials involved in critical chemical reactions, scientists can hit the materials with an X-ray beam to reveal details about composition and activity, but that measurement can cause chemical reactions that change the materials. Such changes may have significantly hampered scientists learning how to improve – among many other things – rechargeable batteries.

To address this, Stanford University researchers have developed a new twist to an X-ray technique. They applied their new approach by observing key battery chemistries, and it left the observed battery materials unchanged and did not introduce additional chemical reactions. In doing so, they have advanced knowledge for developing rechargeable lithium metal batteries. This type of battery packs a lot of energy and can be recharged very quickly, but it short-circuits and fails after recharging a handful of times. The new study, published today in Nature, also could advance the understanding of other types of batteries and many materials unrelated to batteries.

Fungal secrets of a sunken ship

Robert Blanchette, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and Claudia Chemello, president and co-founder of Terra Mare Conservation, examine the wood of the USS Cairo.
Photo Credit: Paul Mardikian

University of Minnesota researchers studied the microbial degradation of the USS Cairo, one of the first ironclad and steam powered gunboats used in the United States Civil War. Studies of microbial degradation of historic woods are essential to help protect and preserve important cultural artifacts. 

Built in 1861, the ship hit a torpedo and sank in December 1862 and was recovered about 100 years later from the Yazoo River. It's been on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi. Although the ship has a canopy cover, it is exposed to environmental elements. 

Retreating Glaciers May Send Fewer Nutrients to the Ocean

Northwestern Glacier in Alaska has retreated approximately 15 kilometers (nine miles) since 1950.
Photo Credit: Kiefer Forsch/Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The cloudy, sediment-laden meltwater from glaciers is a key source of nutrients for ocean life, but a new study suggests that as climate change causes many glaciers to shrink and retreat their meltwater may become less nutritious. 

Led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the study finds that meltwater from a rapidly retreating Alaskan glacier contained significantly lower concentrations of the types of iron and manganese that can be readily taken up by marine organisms compared to a nearby stable glacier. These metals are scarce in many parts of the ocean including the highly productive Gulf of Alaska, and they are also essential micronutrients for phytoplankton, the microorganisms that form the base of most marine food webs.

Dusty air is rewriting your lung microbiome

UCR researcher collecting dust from the Salton Sea.
Photo Credit: Linton Freund/UCR

Dust from California’s drying Salton Sea doesn’t just smell bad. Scientists from UC Riverside found that breathing the dust can quickly re-shape the microscopic world inside the lungs. 

Genetic or bacterial diseases have previously been shown to have an effect on lung microbes. However, this discovery marks the first time scientists have observed such changes from environmental exposure rather than a disease. 

Published in the journal mSphere, the study shows that inhalation of airborne dust collected close to the shallow, landlocked lake alters both the microbial landscape and immune responses in mice that were otherwise healthy.

“Even Salton Sea dust filtered to remove live bacteria or fungi is altering what microbes survive in the lungs,” said Mia Maltz, UCR mycologist and lead study author. “It is causing deep changes to our internal environment.”

Microbes at Red Sea vents show how life and geology shape each other

Microscopic images of the studied microbes.
Image Credit: Courtesy of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

A new study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent fields of the central Red Sea, a site first discovered by one of his co-authors and colleagues, Assistant Professor Froukje M. van der Zwan. 

Published in Environmental Microbiome, the study delivers the first "genome-resolved" analysis of these hydrothermal systems, providing an unprecedented view into both the types of microbes present and the metabolic functions that sustain them. 

“Microbes from the Hatiba Mons fields show remarkable metabolic versatility,” said KAUST Ph.D. student and lead author of the study, Sharifah Altalhi. “By understanding their functions, we can see how life shapes its environment, and how geology and biology are deeply intertwined in the Red Sea.” 

Scientists discover clean and green way to recycle Teflon®

The Newcastle research team (L-R): Dr Matthew Hopkinson, Dr Roly Armstrong and Matthew Lowe.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Newcastle University

New research demonstrates a simple, eco-friendly method to break down Teflon® – one of the world’s most durable plastics – into useful chemical building blocks.

Scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham have developed a clean and energy-efficient way to recycle Teflon® (PTFE), a material best known for its use in non-stick coatings and other applications that demand high chemical and thermal stability.

The researchers discovered that waste Teflon® can be broken down and repurposed using only sodium metal and mechanical energy – movement by shaking - at room temperature and without toxic solvents.

Publishing their findings today (22 October) in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), researchers reveal a low-energy, waste-free alternative to conventional fluorine recycling.

Carpenter Ants: Better Safe than Sorry

Camponotus maculatus
Photo Credit: April Nobile
(CC BY-SA 4.0)

Carpenter ants are not squeamish when it comes to caring for the wounded. To minimize the risk of infection, the insects immediately amputate injured legs – thereby more than doubling their survival rate.

As with humans, wound care plays an important role in the animal kingdom. Many mammals lick their wounds, some primates use antiseptic plants, and some ants even produce their own antimicrobial substances to treat infections. 

The latter was demonstrated by biologist Dr. Erik Frank, a researcher at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), in the African Matabele Ant. In a new study, now published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, he takes a closer look at an ant species that uses a less refined but nevertheless effective approach: amputation.   

Erik Frank heads a junior research group in Würzburg funded by the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III). 

Arctic in Transition: Greenland’s Caves Preserve Ancient Climate Archive

Inside the Cove Cave, northern Greenland: A team of Innsbruck scientists studies deposits from a time when the Arctic was much warmer than today.
Photo Credit: Robbie Shone

In a remote cave in northern Greenland, a research team led by geologists Gina Moseley, Gabriella Koltai, and Jonathan Baker have discovered evidence of a significantly warmer Arctic. The cave deposits show that the region was free of permafrost millions of years ago and responded sensitively to rising temperatures. The findings, published in Nature Geoscience, provide new insights into past climate conditions and their relevance for today’s climate protection efforts.

Understanding Earth’s climate during earlier warm periods is key to predicting how it may change in the future. One particularly revealing time is the Late Miocene, which began about 11 million years ago. During this period, Earth’s distribution of land and ocean was similar to today, and both temperatures and atmospheric CO₂ levels were comparable to projections for the coming decades. Although the Arctic is known to be highly sensitive to climate change, its environmental conditions during the Late Miocene have remained poorly understood.

Increasing Heat is Super-Charging Arctic Climate and Weather Extremes

Photo Credit: Master Unknown

By evaluating historical climate records, observational and projection data, an international team of researchers found a “pushing and triggering” mechanism that has driven the Arctic climate system to a new state, which will likely see consistently increased frequency and intensity of extreme events across all system components – the atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere – this century.

“We know that mean temperatures are rising, and the Arctic is commonly considered an indicator of global changes due to its higher sensitivity to any perturbation of external and internal forcings,” says Xiangdong Zhang, research professor at North Carolina State University and senior scientist at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies.

“The annual mean warming rate of the Arctic is more than three times the global average – this is known as Arctic amplification,” Zhang says. “But no systematic review has been done about the interplay of warmer temperatures with the dynamics of atmosphere, ocean and sea ice in weather and climate extremes around the Arctic.” Zhang is the lead author of the study.

Tropical rivers emit less greenhouse gases than previously thought

Lowland tropical rivers emit large quantities of greenhouse gases, with rates influenced by seasonal flooding.
Photo Credit: Jenny Davis

Tropical inland waters don’t produce as many greenhouse gas emissions as previously estimated, according to the results of an international study, led by Charles Darwin University and involving researchers from Umeå University.

The study, published in Nature Water, aimed to better understand greenhouse gas emissions in tropical rivers, lakes and reservoirs by collating the growing amount of observations from across the world’s tropics – including many systems that were previously less represented in global datasets.

Researchers from Umeå University played a key role in the work, estimating the surface area of rivers and contributing to the data analysis that underpins the study’s findings.

How Hard Is It to Dim the Sun

An illustration of climate geoengineering techniques, including stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), and marine cloud brightening (MCB), and their proposed delivery systems and potential impacts. Natural stratospheric aerosol release from a volcanic eruption is also shown for context. Surface albedo geoengineering (SAG), which is based on increasing the albedo of various surfaces, is also represented with two examples: installing white roofs on urban buildings and modifying plants and shrubs surface.
Image Credit: Licensed under Creative Commons.

Once considered a fringe idea, the prospect of offsetting global warming by releasing massive quantities of sunlight-reflecting particles into Earth’s atmosphere is now a matter of serious scientific consideration. Hundreds of studies have modeled how this form of solar geoengineering, known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), might work. There is a real possibility that nations or even individuals seeking a stopgap solution to climate change may try SAI—but the proponents dramatically underestimate just how difficult and complicated it will be, say researchers from Columbia University.

“Even when simulations of SAI in climate models are sophisticated, they’re necessarily going to be idealized. Researchers model the perfect particles that are the perfect size. And in the simulation, they put exactly how much of them they want, where they want them. But when you start to consider where we actually are, compared to that idealized situation, it reveals a lot of the uncertainty in those predictions,” says V. Faye McNeill, an atmospheric chemist and aerosol scientist at Columbia’s Climate School and Columbia Engineering.