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Every second, trillions of tiny parcels travel through your bloodstream—carrying vital information between your body's cells. Now, scientists at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute have opened this molecular mail for the first time, revealing its contents in astonishing detail.

A new study has revealed that successful environmental restoration is dependent on bridging the gap between ecological science and understanding the social and economic forces that drive change.

Researchers at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a set of innovative methods and algorithms that improve the performance and precision of vehicle design through topological optimization, a mathematical technique that allows designs to be optimized by distributing materials efficiently. The results of the research, which these scientists have applied to the design of parts for a competition motorcycle to reduce its weight while maintaining performance, could have a major impact on sectors such as the automotive and aeronautics industries.

Since the 1950s, humanity has been searching for extraterrestrial life with increasingly sophisticated tools. But after decades of space probes, meteorite analysis, radio telescopes, and UFO investigations, what have we actually found? A new piece of analysis by a team led by Seyed Sina Seyedpour Layalestani from the Islamic Azad University in Iran has looked at the most compelling evidence to date; from ancient space rocks that fell to Earth carrying the building blocks of life itself. The paper is published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.

Researchers from the Center for Food Policy at City St George's, University of London and Scotland's Rural College have set out six key areas for action that could help households cut down on food waste in a new comment article published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative," wrote H. G. Wells. This principle—that survival requires change—was mastered billions of years ago by single-celled organisms living in extreme heat. Over the past few decades, studies of these organisms' adaptive mechanisms have yielded revolutionary technologies—from rapid DNA replication (PCR) and the production of heat-resistant proteins to the generation of fuels and chemicals.

One of the most elegant theories about the origins of life on our planet is that it was kick-started by a delivery from outer space. This idea suggests that prebiotic molecules—the building blocks of life—were transported here by asteroids or other celestial bodies. While these molecules have been found in meteorite samples that have crash-landed on Earth, the findings have been complicated by the possibility of contamination from our environment.

A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has identified biomarkers that predict the likelihood of a patient developing checkpoint inhibitor-associated autoimmune diabetes before they are treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Australian researchers say identifying those at high risk of the condition would allow for earlier and closer monitoring and potentially reduce the number of people presenting with serious complications like diabetic ketoacidosis.

As the Christmas season looms, with its crowded end-of-year parties, family gatherings and busy travel schedules, many New Zealanders might be asking a now familiar question: should I get another COVID-19 booster?

This week, researchers reported that weight and health markers may rebound when patients stop using some of the new hormonal gastric inhibitory polypeptide drugs. A prototype device can restore lost olfactory sense. And a new universal law predicts how brittle objects shatter.

In a study published in Physical Review Letters, physicists have demonstrated that black holes satisfy the third law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy remains positive and vanishes at extremely low temperatures, just like ordinary quantum systems. The finding provides strong evidence that black holes possess isolated ground states, a hallmark of quantum mechanical behavior.

For decades, neuroscientists have been trying to pinpoint the neural underpinnings of behavior and decision-making. Past studies suggest that specialized groups of neurons in the mammalian brain, particularly in the cortex, work together to support decision-making and behavioral choices.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have identified two receptors in the brain that control the breakdown of amyloid beta, a substance that accumulates in Alzheimer's disease. According to the researchers, the study could pave the way for future drugs that are both safer and cheaper than current antibody treatments.

Across Africa, distance education has become one of the most powerful forces for expanding access to higher learning. Open and distance learning institutions such as the Open University of Tanzania, the Zimbabwe Open University and the National Open University of Nigeria have joined long-standing providers like the University of South Africa in offering flexible study opportunities to millions of students who would otherwise be excluded from higher education.

Snapchat, an app whose disappearing messages and silly face filters made chatting with loved ones more casual, is close to a milestone that few social media platforms achieve: reaching 1 billion monthly users.

Have you ever seen a dog focused on nuzzling their expensive treat under a blanket, behind a couch cushion, or into a freshly dug hole in the backyard? You might think they are behaving like a paranoid doomsday prepper, but dogs aren't stockpiling their food due to anxiety about impending disaster.

Most of us think of orange juice as a simple breakfast habit, something you pour without much thought. Yet scientists are discovering that this everyday drink may be doing far more in the body than quenching thirst.

Marine litter is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Reducing it would require implementing a global monitoring system, agreeing on the use of common methods and protocols for data collection, and categorizing all components of marine debris. This involves a tremendous scientific, political, and social effort at the international level—one that cannot be carried out with the same intensity by all countries—given the magnitude of what is still unknown about the pollution of seas and oceans, particularly the deep ocean, where the vast majority of marine litter accumulates.

The first Bible to feature a map of the Holy Land was published 500 years ago in 1525. The map was initially printed the wrong way round—showing the Mediterranean to the East—but its inclusion set a precedent which continues to shape our understanding of state borders today, a new Cambridge study argues.

The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey provides the official statistics on trends over time in autism, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, drug and alcohol dependence

When three bright minds from different disciplines come together, something exceptional can happen. This is exactly what Prof. Patricia Hidalgo, Dr. Beatrix Santiago-Schübel, and Dr. Mercedes Alfonso-Prieto achieved at Forschungszentrum Jülich. In an interdisciplinary project, they investigated how cells recognize and remove defective calcium channels—work that could prove significant not only for basic science, but also for future therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Writing using computers is a vital life skill. We are constantly texting, posting, blogging and emailing.

When we talk about "patient engagement" in research, it can sound like a slogan on a grant application rather than something that changes people's lives.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.