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Reducing social contact is widely understood to slow disease spread, but because there is no personal health benefit gained from self-isolating, this would seem to require some concern for others. But how much do you have to care about others before you would choose to self-isolate when sick? Even people who are only barely altruistic still choose to self-isolate when infected, suggesting it may be a natural survival strategy, finds a new University of Warwick-led study.

Researchers at Stanford University, in collaboration with scientists at the German Cancer Institute, have shown for the first time that shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging can be used to visualize injectable filler materials during injection laryngoplasty, a common procedure used to treat vocal fold paralysis and other forms of glottic insufficiency. The findings, published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, of this novel visualization technique could pave the way for precision-guided techniques in laryngeal surgery.

The deep, murky pigment known as Prussian blue put the "blue" in traditional blueprints, colored Hokusai's "Great Wave off Kanagawa" and today is used for industrial purposes, from laundry to battery components to poison control. Now, research from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) has found new uses for the important and inexpensive chemical and new understanding of the mechanisms that make Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) unique.

LEDs no wider than a human hair could soon take on work traditionally handled by lasers, from moving data inside server racks to powering next-generation displays. New research co-authored by UC Santa Barbara doctoral student Roark Chao points to a practical path forward. The study is published in the journal Optics Express.

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a new molecule which carries DNA into biological cells, to treat or vaccinate against illnesses. Many existing options rely on molecules with a strong positive charge, which can cause harmful inflammation. The team overcame this by using a neutral molecule and a new method to bind DNA to it, making it possible to deliver DNA into cells. Successful experiments in mice promise new, more effective therapies. The findings are published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials.

Southwest Research Institute was part of an international team that demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs), key chemical precursors to life, could have been incorporated into Jupiter's Galilean moons during their formation. The team's findings have resulted in complementary studies published in The Planetary Science Journal and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, offering new insights into the potential for life in the Jovian system.

Plant owners with a so-called green thumb often seem to have a more finely tuned sense of what their plants need than the rest of us. A new "smart lighting" system for indoor vertical farms grants this ability on a facility-wide scale, responsively meeting plants' needs while reducing energy inefficiencies, clearing a path for indoor farms as an energy-efficient food security strategy.

When honey bees find a good source of food, they return to their hive and perform a waggle dance. It consists of a series of movements that communicate the direction and distance to nectar, pollen or water relative to the sun. For years, scientists had a vague understanding of where this occurred in the hive, generally describing it as near the entrance. But in a new paper published in the journal PLOS One, researchers have developed a mathematical method to pinpoint the exact boundaries and shape of the region where this form of communication occurs, an area known as the dance floor.

Scientists have observed a new microscopic mechanism enabling precise control of the magneto-optical properties of excitons in alloys of two-dimensional semiconductors. This discovery opens up tangible prospects for technological applications in devices exploiting valleytronics. The research findings were published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Using machine learning, an electronic nose can "smell" early signs of ovarian cancer in the blood. The method is precise and, according to the LiU researchers behind the study, it could eventually be used to find many different cancers. The study is published in Advanced Intelligent Systems.

Cornell researchers have uncovered a built-in molecular "gate" that controls the production of the molecule nitric oxide, a crucial signaling molecule throughout biology that in humans helps regulate blood pressure, brain signaling, and immune defenses. But when levels go unchecked, it can damage cells and disrupt normal signaling.

Cochlear implant surgery helps people with severe hearing loss by placing an electronic device inside the inner ear. To reach the inner ear, surgeons must first remove part of a bone behind the ear, in a procedure called mastoidectomy. The shape of this surgically created cavity varies from patient to patient and has no clear outer boundary, making it difficult to anticipate using traditional image-analysis tools. Better prediction of this shape before surgery could support navigation systems, robotic tools, and improved visualization for surgeons, along with better outcomes for patients.

Large language models (LLMs) are dealing with an increasing amount of morally sensitive information as people turn to them for medical advice, companionship and therapy. However, they are not exactly known for possessing a moral compass.

AI users and developers can now measure the amount of electricity various AI models consume to complete tasks with an open-source software and online leaderboard developed at the University of Michigan. Companies can download the software to evaluate private models run on private hardware. And while the software can't evaluate the energy costs of queries run on proprietary AI models at private data centers, it has allowed University of Michigan engineers to measure the power used by open-weight AI models in which the parameters under the hood are publicly available.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke investigators at the National Institutes of Health traced meningeal immune activity to dural venous sinuses that actively constrict and dilate, exchange fluid across a permeable wall, and coordinate immune cell movement that supports antiviral defense in the meninges.

As marijuana legalization expands across the U.S., it is outpacing research on the impact of cannabis use behind the wheel. Researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) recently spent two years collecting real-world driving data from cannabis users to help fill in the gaps.

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania and Rice University have refined a technology for editing individual genetic "base pairs" to a new level of precision, opening the door to safer, more reliable therapies for a wide range of genetic diseases, and to potential treatments for some cystic fibrosis patients that may yield better outcomes than existing therapies.

For about six months, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has been exploring a region full of geologic formations called boxwork, low ridges standing roughly 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) tall with sandy hollows in between. Crisscrossing the surface for miles, the formations suggest ancient groundwater flowed on this part of the red planet later than scientists expected. This possibility raises new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on Mars billions of years ago, before rivers and lakes dried up and left a freezing desert world behind.

Superhydrophobic surfaces—those famously "never-wet" materials that make water bead up and roll away—have a stubborn weakness: hot water. Once temperatures climb above roughly 40 degrees Celsius, many superhydrophobic coatings abruptly lose their magic. Instead of skittering off, hot droplets start sticking, soaking into the surface texture and leaving behind wet patches and residue.

A researcher's keen eye and spirit of curiosity led to the discovery of a new method for cell engineering—a finding that opens doors to more sustainable sources for everything from fuel to vitamin supplements.

An archaeological study reveals how ancient hunter-gatherer groups lived—and survived—more than a thousand years ago in the transition zone between the Pampas and Patagonia in Argentina. The research, carried out by Martínez and colleagues, focuses on the Zoko Andi 1 site (ZA1), located on the lower basin of the Colorado River, a key location for understanding the daily life of these early settlers in the south. The work is published in the journal Latin American Antiquity.

Research shows that as individuals learn and acquire a new skill, their brain structure and activity changes. But how do more complex skills involving multiple learning processes influence the brain? In a study appearing in JNeurosci, researchers led by Erik Wing, from Baycrest Hospital, compared the brains of 29 expert birders with 29 age- and sex-matched beginners. Because birding requires a keen eye, attention, and strong memory, this work may have implications for experts of skills using similar processes.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have mapped a neural circuit in the brain involved in the complex relationship between itch and stress. Their findings, published in Cell Reports, reveal how specific neurons activated during stress can directly regulate itch.

New observations of Ganymede reveal a striking similarity between the auroras on the largest moon in the solar system and those on Earth. The international team of astrophysicists, led by researchers from the University of Liège, has produced new results indicating that, despite different conditions, the fundamental physical processes that generate auroras are common to different celestial bodies, and not just planets.

Light powers everything from communications to sensing, yet even tiny imperfections can scatter it and weaken signals. To address this, a team led by the University of Bath—working with the University of Cambridge and international partners—has developed a new structure that keeps light flowing smoothly even through bends, twists or damage, with the potential to operate over unprecedented distances.

Ordinary fat cells in obese animals can be induced to burn energy stores, generating substantial heat, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. In the study, published in Nature Metabolism, the researchers showed that in fat cells called white adipocytes, high levels of fatty acids from fat stores, in the presence of a key enzyme called AAC, can trigger a process that uses fat to produce heat and increase energy expenditure. They demonstrated that this process can occur in obese mice—implying that it could yield significant weight loss over time.

UNSW engineers have tackled a longstanding problem at the heart of global agriculture: how to make urea for fertilizer without the intensity of emissions associated with fossil-fuel-powered factories. The solution is outlined in a study published in Nature Communications.

Our solar system hosts almost 900 known moons; more than 400 orbit the eight planets while the remaining orbit dwarf planets, asteroids, and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Of these, only a handful are targets for astrobiology and could potentially support life as we know it, including Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus. While these moons orbit two of the largest planets in our solar system, what about moons orbiting giant exoplanets, also called exomoons? But, to find life on exomoons, scientists need to find exomoons to begin with.

Inside every cell, thousands of molecular signals collide, overlap, and compensate, obscuring the true drivers of gene expression. Scientists have now developed a way to silence that cellular noise, revealing transcription drivers by reconstructing transcription outside of the cell.

Why do some people feel chills when listening to music, reading poetry, or viewing a powerful work of art, while others do not? New research by Giacomo Bignardi and his colleagues from Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI) published in PLOS Genetics reveals that part of the answer lies in our genes.

Imagine trying to design a key for a lock that is constantly changing its shape. That is the exact challenge we face in modern drug discovery when dealing with intrinsically disordered proteins.

One way cancer specialists detect the disease is by examining cells and bodily fluids under a microscope, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process called cytology. It involves visually inspecting tens of thousands to one million cells per slide for subtle 3D morphological changes that might signal the onset of cancer. But AI offers an approach that is potentially faster and more accurate.

Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new exoplanet orbiting a distant star known as TIC-65910228. The newfound alien world is slightly larger and nearly five times more massive than Jupiter. The discovery was reported in a paper published Feb. 13 on the arXiv pre-print server.

Thick cloud cover can completely obscure the surface of the Earth from satellite view, while thinner haze and shadows distort the image of rural and urban regions. As such, many remote sensing images for monitoring climate, crops, and urban growth are only partially usable.

An economic study calculates the effectiveness of a novel policy instrument: The underlying idea is that you are allowed to release the climate gas CO₂ into the atmosphere—but only if you promise to "clean up" later through carbon removal. The market forces activated by clean-up certificates can greatly strengthen the fight against global heating without placing an extra burden on the economy. The study was conducted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and released in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

Adelaide University researchers have shown that pairing sniffer dogs with a simple air-sampling device could dramatically improve the detection of illegally trafficked wildlife hidden inside shipping containers.

Researchers have found that a new base-editing gene therapy can help treat a rare neurodevelopmental disorder called Snijders Blok–Campeau syndrome caused by mutations in the CHD3 gene. A specialized gene-editing tool, the TadA-embedded adenine base editor (TeABE), was delivered via a harmless modified virus to correct a CHD3 gene mutation in a mouse model.

Across much of modern health research, children are measured—but not always heard. For much of the past half-century, health research has prioritized the quantitative—numbers, test results, trial outcomes, statistical significance—driving remarkable advances in medicine. Yet in a new analysis, researchers argue quantitative methods cannot fully capture the lived experience, needs and preferences of patients, a limitation that becomes especially clear in pediatric health.

People who work at night have a higher risk of coronary artery disease, a type of heart disease. A new study suggests that a higher fiber intake in the diet may help reduce this risk. The study included over 220,000 adults in the UK and is published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

In everyday life, designing spaces that both let air flow and absorb sound can be a tricky balancing act. Usually, materials that allow air to pass through—like vents—also let sound escape, making it hard to reduce noise effectively. Conversely, sound-absorbing materials like foam often block airflow, limiting their use in ventilated areas.

New software, developed by the University of Sheffield spin-out AENi aims to transform how the world's essential net-zero infrastructure is planned. The new digital platform will help the organizations shaping the world's critical net-zero infrastructure to de-risk projects and accelerate delivery.

Hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels that only emits water vapor when used and could thus help to lower greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. In the future, it could potentially be used to fuel heavy-duty transport vehicles, such as trucks, trains, and ships, as well as industrial heating and decentralized power generation systems.

A paper written by University of Florida Computer & Information Science & Engineering, or CISE, Professor Sumit Kumar Jha, Ph.D., contains so many science fiction terms, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a Hollywood script: Nullspace steering. Red teaming. Jailbreaking the matrix. But Jha's work is decidedly focused on real life, most notably strengthening the security measures built into AI tools to ensure they are safe for all to use.

Online chat service Discord has announced it will begin testing age verification for some users, joining a growing list of platforms trying to work out who is actually behind the screen.

Globally, nearly 7,000 coal mines, more than 2,400 coal-fired power plants and hundreds of coal rail networks, trucks and port terminals all make up the world's coal industry. When coal is phased out and green energy phased in, these coal assets can either be abandoned or turned into something that is useful for communities.

Eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. Eyes and gaze direction guide attention, evoke emotions and activate the brain's social perception mechanisms. Researchers at Tampere University and the University of Bremen conducted a study examining how people perceive the minds of humanoid robots. Mind perception refers to the way humans detect and infer that other people, beings or even objects possess consciousness, emotions and cognitive states.

When you turn on a faucet, charge an electric vehicle or use products made with clean hydrogen, you may not realize that membranes—ultrathin films perforated with pores too small to see—make these modern processes possible. They purify water, recover valuable minerals and help power emerging clean-energy technologies. But despite their enormous importance, researchers still don't fully understand how water and ions move through these films at the molecular level.

Just like each person has unique fingerprints, every CMOS chip has a distinctive "fingerprint" caused by tiny, random manufacturing variations. Engineers can leverage this unforgeable ID for authentication, to safeguard a device from attackers trying to steal private data.

Origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, has received considerable attention in engineering. By applying paper-folding principles, researchers have created compact structures that are flexible, lightweight, and reconfigurable across aerospace, medicine, and robotics.

A team of EPFL researchers has developed an AI algorithm that can model complex dynamical processes while taking into account the laws of physics—using Newton's third law. Their research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

New kinds of aircraft taking to the skies could mean unfamiliar sounds overhead—and where you're hearing them might matter, according to new NASA research. NASA aeronautics has worked for years to enable new air transportation options for people and goods, and to find ways to make sure they can be safely and effectively integrated into U.S. communities. That's why the agency continues to study how people respond to aircraft noise.

When household batteries die, it's hard to know what to do with them. So they get shoved into a junk drawer or sheepishly thrown into the trash.