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Individuals' autonomy and sense of control are associated with the quantity and frequency of their alcohol consumption and its consequences, according to a new study examining latent self-determined motivational profiles underlying drinking behaviors. Drinking motives and personality traits predict alcohol use and outcomes. Better understanding these could help steer people who drink dangerously—e.g., young adults engaged in heavy episodic (binge) drinking—toward lower-risk consumption.

Belgian scientists from VIB and Ghent University (UGent), together with Danish collaborators, have uncovered compelling evidence that early-infancy infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) significantly increases the risk of developing childhood asthma—especially in children with a family history of allergy or asthma. Their study, published today in Science Immunology, suggests that protecting newborns against RSV could substantially reduce asthma cases later in life.

A discovery from Australian researchers could lead to better treatment for children with neuroblastoma, a cancer that currently claims 9 out of 10 young patients who experience recurrence. The team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, found a drug combination that can bypass the cellular defenses these tumors develop that lead to relapse.

Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who drink heavily may be at higher risk for falls than those with MCI who do not have alcohol use disorder. A preliminary study of adults published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research found that heavy drinkers with MCI are less stable on their feet compared to similarly aged people, both with and without MCI, who do not drink heavily. The strongest correlates of postural instability were age and past-year alcohol use, suggesting that reducing or stopping drinking may lower the risk of falls and maybe even dementia.

For anyone facing cancer, the treatment options can feel brutally familiar: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of them all. But a new approach is beginning to offer something very different. By using nothing more than precisely controlled sound waves, histotripsy can destroy tumors without cutting the skin or burning healthy tissue.

When Lukas Dahlström returned to Gotland to start his doctoral program at the GRASS graduate school, it was like coming full circle. He grew up on the island and has long been interested in science and sustainable development. So the opportunity seemed timely.

Biliary tract cancers, including intrahepatic, perihilar, and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer, are among the most aggressive gastrointestinal malignancies. Treatment options remain limited once the disease progresses after first-line chemotherapy, and survival rarely exceeds one year.

The mega genus Begonia (Begoniaceae) is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas. It is one of the largest plant genera in the world with over 2,100 species. In China, the number of Begonia species has increased to 304 (including subspecies, varieties and natural hybrid species) in recent years.

A new test shows promising results for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in resource-limited settings. This is according to a study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Researchers at the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and the University of Bremen have studied the nutritional value of five edible seaweed species, including some lesser-known algae, and examined their potential for sustainable nutrition. The study, published in the journal Discover Food, shows that the analyzed species are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and have strong antioxidant properties as well as high protein and mineral contents.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have demonstrated that during Japan's COVID-19 booster vaccination campaign, online information influenced vaccination intentions in ways similar to the initial rollout. The study identified a "cyclical effect," whereby an increase in vaccination intent prompted further information-seeking behavior, which in turn reinforced beliefs and attitudes.

Two recent studies from the University of Eastern Finland show that social support plays an important role in health and well-being in later life. Having access to adequate social support is associated with longevity among older adults, and with better quality of life among home care recipients.

A cosmological simulation study by researchers from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has systematically revealed, for the first time, how the interaction between dark matter and dark energy significantly influences the rotation and shape alignment of dark matter halos in the universe.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in collaboration with UC Berkeley, have developed a new type of intelligent image sensor that can perform machine-learning inference during the act of photodetection itself.

What if a surface could instantly switch from sticky to slippery at the push of a button? By using electricity to control how ions and water structure at the solid liquid interface of self-assembled monolayers of aromatic molecules, researchers at National Taiwan University have created a molecular-scale adhesion switch that turns attraction on and off.

High-intensity interval training boosts fitness and muscle endurance more effectively than traditional home exercise programs in people recently diagnosed with inflammatory muscle disease. That is the conclusion of a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in eBioMedicine.

Scientists have captured an exceptionally rare, high-resolution view of an active region that produced two powerful X-class solar flares—an achievement rarely possible from Earth. Using the GREGOR solar telescope in Tenerife, researchers recorded the explosive activity of the sun's most energetic sunspot group of 2025, revealing twisted magnetic structures and the early stages of flare ignition with unprecedented detail. The flares triggered fast coronal mass ejections that lit up Earth's skies with vivid auroras in the nights that followed.

A new paper published in Nature Communications could put scientists on the path to understanding one of the wildest, hottest, and most densely packed places in the universe: a neutron star.

A research team has developed soft composite systems with highly programmable, asymmetric mechanical responses. By integrating "shear-jamming transitions" into compliant polymeric solids, this innovative work enhances key material functionalities essential for engineering mechano-intelligent systems—a major step toward the development of next-generation smart materials and devices.

Flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius), the world's largest skate species measuring over two meters in length, live hidden on the rugged seabed around Scotland. Their life in the darkness, deep underwater, makes it extremely difficult to find out more about their whereabouts and movements. However, there is considerable interest in these animals. As predatory fish at the top of the marine food web, they play a very important role in marine habitats and the balance of marine ecosystems.

A team of researchers at IOCB Prague headed by Dr. Tomáš Slanina has developed a new method for labeling molecules with fluorescent dyes that surpasses existing approaches in both precision and stability. The new fluorescent label remains covalently bonded to its target molecule and does not fall apart even under demanding conditions inside living cells. This allows scientists to track labeled molecules over long periods with high reliability—an advantage for research in biology, chemistry, and medicine.

In the early 1970s, a quiet revolution began in American factories. Lathes, drill presses and milling machines—once guided by the steady hands of skilled machinists—started thinking for themselves.

Stars usually form in clusters, which can also form in pairs or groups. Binary clusters (BCs) are defined as pairs of open clusters closely associated both in position and kinematics. They provide insight into how stars form within giant molecular clouds, making them important indicators of star formation and cluster evolution.

Neurons that specifically reduce and modulate electrical brain activity have a greater influence on emotional memories than previously thought. DZNE researchers came to this conclusion based on studies in mice. A team led by Bonn-based neuroscientist Sabine Krabbe reports these findings in the journal Nature Communications, along with experts from Switzerland and Israel. The study's results shed new light on how the brain generates and stores memory content and may help to elucidate the neural mechanisms of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders.

It's a problem that's made its way through pig farms around the world for decades, with no clear cause or solution. But new research from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has identified the cause of pig ear necrosis, a painful and troublesome affliction that causes the ear tissue of pigs to rot away.

Acoustic frequency filters, which convert electrical signals into miniaturized sound waves, separate the different frequency bands for mobile communications, Wi-Fi, and GPS in smartphones. Physicists at RPTU have now shown that such miniaturized sound waves can couple strongly with spin waves in yttrium iron garnet. This results in novel hybrid spin-sound waves in the gigahertz frequency range.

Bacteria that multiply on surfaces are a major headache in health care when they gain a foothold on, for example, implants or in catheters. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have found a new weapon to fight these hotbeds of bacterial growth—one that does not rely on antibiotics or toxic metals.

After wowing World Expo visitors, a human washing machine is now on sale in Japan, a company spokesperson said Friday.

Inside cells, RNAs and proteins form tiny, liquid-like droplets called biomolecular condensates. These droplets are essential for organizing cellular life, yet why some RNAs cluster more readily than others has remained unclear. Disruptions in condensate formation are linked to developmental defects, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.

About 170 years ago, a large bundle of stone tools was deliberately buried close to a waterhole in the remote Australian outback. Who buried them and for what purpose? Why were they never retrieved?

Measles vaccination rates have improved "remarkably" but remain below pre-COVID-19 levels, the World Health Organization said Friday, flagging obstacles to access for vulnerable populations.

A pioneering interdisciplinary study has shown that how young children play a simple iPad game could support early identification of autism.

For the first time, a drug to treat adult patients with familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS), a severe and rare condition that leads to extremely high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

How animals may modify their behavior depending on their context has been modeled mathematically by two RIKEN neuroscientists. Their simple but biologically plausible model could shed light on mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today called on countries to make fertility care safer, fairer and more affordable for all in its first-ever global guideline for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility.

Researchers around the world are studying how the human brain achieves its extraordinary complexity. A team at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and the German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Göttingen has now used organoids to show that the ARHGAP11A gene plays a crucial role in brain development. If this gene is missing, key processes involved in cell division and structure become unbalanced.

Researchers at Örebro University have developed two new AI models that can analyze the brain's electrical activity and accurately distinguish between healthy individuals and patients with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

The demand for metals will increase significantly in the coming years, primarily because the climate-friendly transformation of the economy is only possible through the electrification of industrial processes, transport and heat generation. By 2050, around 60 million tons of copper will be needed for electric motors and the expansion of the electricity grid.

When it comes to training robots to perform agile, single-task motor skills, such as handstands or backflips, artificial intelligence methods can be very useful. But if you want to train your robot to perform multiple tasks—say, performing a backward flip into a handstand—things get a little more complicated.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed a new analytical method that can detect even tiny amounts of critical impurities in biogas. This procedure can be used even by small biogas plants without the need for major investment—thus facilitating the energy transition.

When the FORTRAN programming language debuted in 1957, it transformed how scientists and engineers programmed computers. Complex calculations could suddenly be expressed in concise, math-like notation using arrays—collections of values that make it easier to describe operations on data. That simple idea evolved into today's "tensors," which power many of the world's most advanced AI and scientific computing systems through modern frameworks like NumPy and PyTorch.

Batteries are found in many devices. The development of solid-state batteries that provide higher working voltage, have a higher capacity, and can no longer burn is the subject of current research. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and Japanese universities have now investigated space charge effects in such batteries, which bring additional resistance for both charging and discharging. Using microscopic methods, they were able to determine the spatial extent and the resulting resistance of the space charge zone for the first time.

With its "Flightpath 2050" strategy, the European Commission has outlined a framework for the aviation industry that aims to reduce emissions as well as fuel and energy consumption. Among other things, this requires more efficient engines.

Large language models (LLMs), such as the model underpinning the functioning of OpenAI's platform ChatGPT, are now widely used to tackle a wide range of tasks, ranging from sourcing information to the generation of texts in different languages and even code. Many scientists and engineers also started using these models to conduct research or advance other technologies.

Organic solar cells are made from conductive polymers, which makes them cheap, light, and flexible. However, one drawback is that their efficiency lags behind the best silicon devices—but this may soon change—as researchers from Japan have developed a new method to improve organic solar cell performance.

RMIT researchers are advancing new ways to cut the carbon footprint of infrastructure by turning everyday organic waste into useful construction materials.

A power developer has a novel plan to build a $4 billion data center in rural southwestern Minnesota, as well as an armada of wind, solar and battery plants the company hopes will attract a wealthy buyer.

Robotic systems that mirror humans both in their appearance and movements, also known as humanoid robots, could be best suited for tackling many tasks that are currently performed by human agents. These include household chores, such as cleaning, tidying up and cooking, as well as the transport of items or the assembly of products.

California residents will soon get some price relief at the pump and reductions in harmful vehicle emissions, thanks in part to a landmark UC Riverside vehicle emissions study.