Prescribing daily aspirin at the first prenatal visit to all pregnant patients was associated with an overall reduction in the development of severe preeclampsia, according to new research presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) 2026 Pregnancy Meeting.
Unchecked use of technology and pandemic isolation have "reshaped" how teenagers develop—but it's not too late to intervene. This is the stark warning of educator Amber Chandler, who suggests teens are struggling with unprecedented levels of anxiety in this "scared new world," which presents a major challenge for parents and schools. However, the teacher says children can learn to flourish and thrive if given the right support.
A new study sheds light on how farmer-led collaboration can help create the conditions to address biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes. The research looks at "farmer clusters"—groups of farmers working together across landscapes to support biodiversity-sensitive farming—and explores how these collaborative initiatives evolve over time, what shapes their success, and why some mature more effectively than others.
Powerful companies may be dragged into court for human rights harms they claim to know nothing about, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. The researchers argue that global businesses can no longer hide behind complex corporate structures and that major companies risk legal responsibility for labor abuse and even climate damage linked to their global operations.
NASA's plans to get the first human spaceflight of the year off the pad have to hold off until at least Friday because of weather constraints along the flight path needed in case of emergency. That delay, though, opens the door for a national security mission aiming for liftoff on Thursday morning.
Two next-generation satellite missions announced Thursday will help NASA better understand Earth and improve capabilities to foresee environmental events and mitigate disasters.
A new study has found that L1td1, a protein evolutionarily co-opted from the Long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE1) retrotransposon, functions as a critical "gatekeeper" restricting pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) from reverting to a totipotent state. The research demonstrates that loss of L1td1 triggers the reactivation of totipotency-associated genes and endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), prompting cells to spontaneously regress to a totipotent-like (or 2-cell-like) state that mirrors the earliest stages of embryogenesis. Notably, the study identifies L1td1 as a key post-transcriptional regulator that suppresses endogenous viral elements to sustain pluripotency.
When we moved into our house, there was a shed in the garden. Its timbers were rotten, the floor had long since disappeared into the ground, there was no door, the window had fallen out and various creatures had moved in.
Women in the UK who use online banking tools are nearly five times as likely to manage their household finances and about twice as likely to have the final say in major financial decisions, compared with women who don't bank online, a new UCL-led study has found. Using nationally representative data of heterosexual couples aged 20–64 from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study, researchers show how online banking enhances its users' financial influence within their relationship, making them more likely to manage the couple's money and have the final say in major financial decisions.
Experiencing a natural disaster in childhood can shape how business leaders approach workplace safety decades later, according to a new Concordia-led study. The study found that CEOs who have lived through events like major earthquakes, floods or hurricanes early in life run firms that prioritize safer workplaces. According to mandatory disclosure statistics supplied to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), their companies report fewer work-related injuries and illnesses than similar ones run by executives who have not lived through those types of events.
Health care workers have an intense workload and often experience mental distress during resuscitation and other critical care procedures. Although researchers have studied whether robots can support human teams in other high-stakes, high-risk settings such as disaster response and military operations, the role of robots in emergency medicine has not been explored.
On April 20, 2023, a juvenile great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) measuring approximately 210 cm and weighing between 80 and 90 kg was incidentally caught by local fishermen off the coast of the eastern peninsula within the Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone. This rare encounter prompted researchers to dive deep into past records spanning from 1862 to 2023, compiling an extensive review now published in the open-access journal Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria.
New research led by the University of Michigan is painting a more comprehensive picture of how noise pollution is impacting birds around the world. "The major takeaway from this study is that anthropogenic noise affects many aspects of bird behavior, with some responses more directly tied to fitness," said Natalie Madden, lead author of the new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Scientists have uncovered new DNA-binding proteins from some of the most extreme environments on Earth and shown that they can improve rapid medical tests for infectious diseases. The work has been published in Nucleic Acids Research. The international research team, led by Durham University and working with partners in Iceland, Norway and Poland, analyzed genetic material from Icelandic volcanic lakes and deep-sea vents more than two kilometers below the surface of the North Atlantic Ocean.
The unveiling by IBM of two new quantum supercomputers and Denmark's plans to develop "the world's most powerful commercial quantum computer" mark just two of the latest developments in quantum technology's increasingly rapid transition from experimental breakthroughs to practical applications.
Researchers at WashU Medicine have identified a potent pathway that begins in the brain and leads to loss of all body fat without reducing food intake. The study is reported in Nature Metabolism.
Aerobic exercise, such as running, swimming, and dancing, may be most effective for relieving the symptoms of depression and anxiety, finds an overarching (umbrella) review and data synthesis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Real-time and early detection of minute changes in the functioning of the cardiovascular system is crucial for managing critically ill patients, such as newborns and older adults, and can significantly affect their outcomes. Heart rate variability (HRV) is the minute, yet normal, fluctuations between consecutive heartbeats, usually measured through the electrocardiogram (ECG). HRV is a well-established, quantitative, and noninvasive measure for assessing autonomic nervous system activity.
Farmers now have more reasons to consider rotating their crops, University of Alberta research shows. Widely used to restore soil health, the agricultural practice boosts the diversity of bacterial and fungal microbes that benefit soil function, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
Demand-side flexibility, the ability to adjust electricity consumption in response to system needs, is often highlighted as a key tool for managing both growing electrification and a higher share of variable renewable energy, and is therefore seen as a core part of the energy transition. In the article Command and control: A systematic approach to demand-side flexibility, published in the journal Utilities Policy, Fouad El Gohary outlines an alternative approach to helping deliver flexibility at scale.
What was the political and economic importance of the ancient city Alexandria on the Tigris? How was the city laid out? And what does the material culture of the international trade hub look like? These are the questions that Stefan Hauser, professor of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Konstanz, and his British colleagues Jane Moon, Robert Killick and Stuart Campbell have been working on since 2016. With the help of modern geophysics methods, thousands of drone images and a systematic surface survey, the researchers concluded that Alexandria on the Tigris had been an impressive metropolis.
A recent study indicates that as much as one-fifth of the total food expenditure of Finns is spent on nutritionally unnecessary, or discretionary, foods. The category includes confectionery, sweet baked goods, desserts, savory snacks, sugar and other sweeteners, sweetened and unsweetened soft drinks and juices, alcoholic beverages, cocoa, coffee and tea.
Much like baking the perfect cake involves following a list of ingredients and instructions, manufacturing energetic materials—explosives, pyrotechnics and propellants—requires precise formulations, conditions and procedures to ensure they are safe and perform as intended.
Nearly 30 years ago, researchers began studying the gene Astn1, which encodes the cell adhesion protein astrotactin 1 in mice, and its role in brain development. During this time, they learned a great deal about the function of astrotactin 1 in neuronal migration and the developmental problems that emerge when the protein fails.
Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen, and sometimes these atoms are slightly heavier than usual. These heavier forms are called isotopes. As water evaporates or moves through the atmosphere, the amount of these isotopes changes in predictable ways. This can act as a fingerprint, allowing researchers to trace the movement of water at global scales.
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare but serious brain infection. It gradually destroys brain tissue and often leads to death within a few weeks. It is triggered by human polyomavirus 2, also known as John Cunningham (JC) virus. PML primarily affects people with weakened immune cells, especially T lymphocytes.
A new international study reveals the unexpected importance of acoustic communication in the evolution of boxfishes. This discovery offers new perspectives on the role of acoustic communication in the evolutionary history of numerous fish groups. The findings are published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Ehlers–Danlos syndromes (EDS) are inherited conditions that affect the body's connective tissue, which provides strength and support to the skin, joints, and blood vessels. People with EDS are often affected by stretchy skin, loose joints, and fragile tissues. Two common subtypes are classical EDS (cEDS) and hypermobile EDS (hEDS).
In a lab-grown cell study focused on potential new treatment targets for halting the spread of most pancreatic cancers, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists report they have found that a gene called KLF5 (Krueppel-like factor 5) fuels the growth of such spreading tumors, not by acquiring abnormal changes in the cancer cells' DNA code itself, but by altering chemical changes and organization of DNA, or epigenetics, that turns genes on and off.
Age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are often thought of as irreversible. But the brain is not static; neurons continually adjust the strength of their connections, a property called "synaptic plasticity," and this flexibility is the basis of memory and learning.
Radiation therapy is highly effective at killing cancer cells, but it often harms healthy skin around the treatment area, a common side effect experienced by up to 95% of cancer patients undergoing treatment. In worst-case scenarios, it can result in delayed or halted treatment.
When you talk to a child as an adult, you unconsciously change the way you speak. It is often thought that such adjustments are more difficult for autistic people, but new research shows that this group is initially just as good at it as their non-autistic peers. However, while neurotypical participants gradually adjust to these changes during a conversation based on new signals, autistic participants stick to their initial assessment. Researchers at Radboud University published these findings this month in Autism.
Intimate partner violence is violence committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other. Most people naturally think that it is primarily the victims of intimate partner violence who should be met with care and support. However, the manner in which the person who has committed the violence is treated can greatly influence what happens next.
Fishing alone is a dangerous occupation. A new safety alarm could save lives by automatically stopping the boat and alerting the Coastal Radio Service and nearby vessels.
A University of Jyväskylä dissertation shows that a background in visual arts shapes how the brain processes color. Individuals with training in the visual arts displayed stronger neural responses to bright colors and more positive reactions to warm hues compared to people without an artistic background.
A little-known fact: In the year 1900, electric cars outnumbered gas-powered ones on the American road. The lead-acid auto battery of the time, courtesy of Thomas Edison, was expensive and had a range of only about 30 miles. Seeking to improve on this, Edison believed the nickel-iron battery was the future, with the promise of a 100-mile range, a long life and a recharge time of seven hours, fast for that era.
In the U.K., 28 million households consume 25% of the total energy and contribute to 25% of the carbon emissions. Focusing on sustainability and energy efficiency within the building sector is vital if the U.K. is to achieve its 2050 net zero target. Yet traditional methods of doing this are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have uncovered fundamental insights into designing gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors, making them safer and easier to utilize in high-value electronics such as electric vehicles and data centers. The work is published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.
Hydrogen is widely regarded as one of the cleanest fuels for the future, producing only water when used. However, generating hydrogen efficiently and sustainably remains a major challenge. Most current technologies waste a large portion of solar energy as heat, limiting overall energy conversion efficiency.
As solar energy rapidly expands to meet urgent climate targets and increasing demand for electricity, the key challenge is to ensure that this transition is not just scalable but sustainable. Pioneering research led by Northumbria University shows how the renewable energy sector can scale up the production of solar energy technology while further reducing environmental impacts.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new way to train artificial intelligence systems to solve complex problems more reliably, particularly those that require interpreting both text and images. In widely used tests to evaluate mathematical reasoning, AI models trained with this method outperformed others in solving math word problems containing visual elements like charts and diagrams.
Google-parent Alphabet will issue bonds maturing in 100 years as it continues to invest massively in infrastructure for artificial intelligence, according to data published Tuesday by Bloomberg.
India tightened rules regulating artificial intelligence on Tuesday, requiring social media platforms to clearly label AI content and comply with takedown requests by authorities within three hours.
Lithium-ion batteries serve as the core energy storage devices in various industries and everyday products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, and ESS (energy storage systems). However, conventional lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes, posing a risk of fire or explosion when subjected to external impact or overheating.
Move over ChatGPT. Chile on Tuesday launched Latam-GPT, an open-source artificial intelligence model for the region, designed to combat bias inherent in a US-centric industry.
In December, the artificial intelligence company Anthropic unveiled its newest tool, Interviewer, used in its initial implementation "to help understand people's perspectives on AI," according to a press release. As part of Interviewer's launch, Anthropic publicly released 1,250 anonymized interviews conducted on the platform.
The EU on Tuesday unconditionally approved Google's $32 billion bid for cloud security platform Wiz after finding it raised no competition concerns in Europe.
Industrial heating accounts for about 14% of U.K. emissions but about half of the energy used in U.K. industry is lost as waste heat, according to a new report. Analysis supported by expertise from Heriot-Watt University shows this heat could be captured and reused rather than released. The report by the Royal Society, "Unlocking thermal energy: Capture, storage and re-use of industrial waste heat," sets out how reusing thermal energy could be a huge opportunity for the U.K.—to cut emissions, reduce operational costs for businesses, and accelerate progress towards net zero.
Significant progress has been made in helping people protect their devices and information through more user-friendly methods like biometrics and Passkeys, according to new research. However, the majority of systems being used by technology companies place an undue burden on users to understand different and difficult security rules, while people also are not given enough choice about which solution best fits their individual requirements.
Scientists at the University of Sharjah report that they have successfully transformed desert sand into construction bricks that are more sustainable than conventional cement or fired-clay bricks. Their innovation heralds a promising alternative to Portland cement, which accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Phishing websites remain a persistent cybersecurity threat, exploiting users by imitating trusted online services. New machine-learning tools could help organizations flag more phishing sites before they harm users and steal credentials. A Sultan Qaboos University study shows data-driven models substantially outperform traditional approaches.
A new study has demonstrated how networks of spiking nanolasers could emulate a key principle of brain function: to imagine things that we cannot directly perceive by sampling from internal models of the world. The study, led by scientists from the University of Bern in collaboration with Thales Research & Technology located in the Paris-Saclay campus area, has now been published in Nature Communications.
At the top of the South Dade Landfill, a massive oven that turns wood into charcoal is being tested by Miami-Dade County as an environmentally friendly way to cut down on landfill waste.
An international research team has demonstrated a new approach to 4D-printed shape-morphing implants that opens the door to increasingly personalized health care. The findings, outlined in the journal Additive Manufacturing, highlight how material degradation can be used to trigger controlled shape change of implanted material.
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