Good news, everyone!

In the world of obesity research, the arrival of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic feels seismic. At a recent conference, Martin Binks, a leader in obesity research, found himself marveling with a colleague: "Can you believe we finally reached this moment, that we lived long enough to see this?"

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that a gene long known for shaping the skin's physical barrier also plays a crucial role in building and maintaining the skin's immune defense. The findings, published in Cell Reports, reveal a previously unknown mechanism linking skin development to immune protection—and offer new insights into inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

In her 35 years as a psychologist, NTNU researcher Audrey van der Meer has studied everything from baby swimming to what infants learn before they are born. At the core of her work is the idea that babies are born to learn—and the key to their learning is movement. Her latest findings are published in the journal Neuropsychologia.

Delivery of therapeutic genes is essential for gene therapy. Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are a prime vector for carrying gene cargoes because of their superior gene segmentation flexibility and robust gene reconstitution efficiency. However, their limited packaging capacity is a major challenge for large gene transduction.

Where starlight doesn't reach, new things are born: For the first time, an international research team has directly measured the effect of cosmic radiation in a cold molecular cloud. The observation shows how charged high-energy particles influence the gas in these lightless regions where stars are formed. Dr. Brandt Gaches, head of the Emmy Noether Group Towards the Next Generation in Cosmic Ray Astrochemistry at the University of Duisburg-Essen, was part of the effort to propose and observe these effects with the James Webb Space Telescope and provided support through astrochemical models of cosmic-ray chemistry. The findings are published in Nature Astronomy.

Home service workers—those who provide care, inspections, or repairs inside private homes—can often lack paid sick leave, making illness a direct financial risk. New research from George Mason University College of Public Health suggests paid sick leave should be understood not only as an employee benefit, but as a preventive health intervention.

In a prospective imaging study of 200 adults with lung cancer, photon-counting CT reduced radiation exposure, yielded fewer adverse reactions and provided higher image quality and better detection of malignant features compared with conventional CT. Results of the study are published in Radiology.

Current drugs for pancreatic cancer lose effectiveness within months because the tumor becomes resistant. Now, a group from Spain's National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has been able to avoid the development of resistance in animal models with a combined triple therapy. Mariano Barbacid, head of the Experimental Oncology Group at the CNIO, has designed a therapy that successfully eliminates pancreatic tumors in mice completely and durably, with no significant side effects.

Liver cancer is one of the three deadliest cancers worldwide, and metabolic dysfunction-related cases have become increasingly common in recent years. A research team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has identified a protein secreted by fat cells that promotes cancer growth and has successfully developed a novel antibody that neutralizes this protein, marking a significant breakthrough in impeding the progression of liver cancer. The research findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

A study led by researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine of Lleida (IRBLleida), the University of Lleida (UdL), the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital (HUAV) has developed and internally validated a clinical prediction model called the Goliat score, which can be used by emergency services to estimate the risk of acute complications in patients suffering from minor and moderate traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The study was recently published in BMC Emergency Medicine.

Metamaterials are composites with a very precisely controlled structure. It is this structure that determines the properties of the metamaterial, not the substances it is made of. Typically, a metamaterial consists of repeating identical blocks called unit cells. New research by Ph.D. student Shyam Veluvali, Prof. Anastasiia Krushynska, and colleagues from the University of Groningen, UMCG, and Karlstad University in Sweden show that the overall mechanical response of metamaterials depends on how many unit cells are joined together, and how they are arranged.

A large U.S. study suggests that older adults hospitalized with delirium may experience better outcomes when treated with trazodone, commonly used to treat depression and sleep problems, rather than commonly used antipsychotic medications. Delirium, a sudden state of confusion that often affects older adults during or after hospitalization, is frequently treated with medications despite limited evidence about which drugs are safest.

A research team led by Professor Junsuk Rho at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has developed a secure hologram platform that operates solely based on the wavelength of light and the spacing between metasurface layers. The technology makes hacking and counterfeiting virtually impossible, and is expected to be widely adopted for security cards, anti-counterfeiting, and military communications. The paper is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

A University of Calgary-led international research team has identified a genetic factor that may explain why people respond so differently to opioid pain medications, and why some individuals face greater risk of side effects including dependency. The study, published in Neuron, involved researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM), Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), and Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), and provides new clinical insight that could lead to personalized strategies to optimize pain management.

IIASA researchers explored why mortality among adults of working age remains high in India alongside rapid economic growth, finding that education—at both individual and community levels—is more strongly associated with lower premature mortality than income or household wealth.

The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house. MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural elements that could one day offer lighter, modular, and more sustainable alternatives to traditional wood-based framing.

UCLA researchers have developed a mineral sunscreen formulation that significantly reduces the white, chalky cast that keeps many people from wearing sun protection daily. For decades, dermatologists have urged people to apply sunscreen daily to protect against ultraviolet radiation. Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the leading preventable cause of skin cancer, the most common cancer in the United States.

For the first time, physicists in China have virtually eliminated the friction felt between two surfaces at scales visible to the naked eye. In demonstrating "structural superlubricity," the team, led by Quanshui Zheng at Tsinghua University, have resolved a long-standing debate surrounding the possibility of the effect. Published in Physical Review Letters, the result could potentially lead to promising new advances in engineering.

Monash University researchers, in collaboration with Harvard University, have discovered how to permanently "switch off" cancer-causing genes, revealing a new approach to cancer treatment. The breakthrough, published in the Nature Cell Biology, could result in shorter treatment periods and dramatically reduce the debilitating side effects that often come with cancer treatment.

Some mammals hibernate to survive in winter, but the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus) employs Dehnel's phenomenon to get through it. This is a metabolic process that enables shrews to conserve energy by shrinking their brain and other energy-consuming organs. In the spring, the organs grow back to normal size. Scientists are learning more about how shrews can do this, and their findings may help us understand certain metabolic and neurological diseases.

For generations, farmers have spent backbreaking hours tearing down and rebuilding fences just to move livestock to fresh grazing fields. Now, thanks to a groundbreaking project at the University of Missouri's Center for Regenerative Agriculture, that chore is becoming a thing of the past.

Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment forms for cancer. Among its most common side effects is skin damage, right up to chronic inflammation and fibroses. At present, such long-term damage can only be treated symptomatically and leads to thickened, painful, or sensitive skin for months to years after the radiation treatment. A team has now identified a protein called Dickkopf 3 (DKK3) as a main cause of long-term skin damage after radiotherapy—a decisive step for the development of novel, more targeted therapy options.

Plants fix 258 billion tons of CO2 in their chloroplasts through photosynthesis every year. For these cell organelles to work properly, they require certain minerals—particularly ions of the metals iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). Disruptions of ion homeostasis impair photosynthesis and thus growth and yields. A team with members from Munich, Bochum, Columbia (MO), and Saarbrucken, led by LMU biologist Professor Hans-Henning Kunz has now deciphered the chloroplast ionome—the totality of metal ions in the chloroplast—of various plant species.

Friendly robots, the ones people love to love, are quirky: R2-D2, C-3PO, WALL-E, BB-8, Marvin, Roz and Baymax. They're emotional, prone to panic or bossy, empathetic and able to communicate like humans do—even when they communicate in only beeps and bloops. At Purdue University, Sooyeon Jeong, robot communication and behavior expert, is working to make robots as friendly and helpful as possible in nonfictional settings.

In 2023, a subatomic particle called a neutrino crashed into Earth with such a high amount of energy that it should have been impossible. In fact, there are no known sources anywhere in the universe capable of producing such energy—100,000 times more than the highest-energy particle ever produced by the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator. However, a team of physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently hypothesized that something like this could happen when a special kind of black hole, called a "quasi-extremal primordial black hole," explodes.

Four astronauts preparing for an extended stay in space have started quarantine as they get ready for their next big mission.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans aim to translate the most up-to-date nutrition science into practical advice for the public as well as to guide federal policy for programs such as school lunches.

Some dogs are seemingly more talented than others. So-called gifted word learners (GWL) are rare canines that can rapidly learn the names of toys, a skill that most dogs don't possess. To understand why this is so, researchers studied how these dogs played and discovered that the key to their talent may be a desire to initiate interactions with their owners.

If you break open a chicken bone, you won't find a solid mass of white material inside. Instead, you will see a complex, spongelike network of tiny struts and pillars, and a lot of empty space.

Imagine a world where fresh vegetables and herbs sprout in the heart of our cities without the need for sprawling farms. Hydroponics—a method of growing plants without soil—uses a nutrient-rich water solution instead of earth and is useful in areas where soil quality is poor, land is frequently flooded, water supply is unreliable, or there simply isn't enough space.

As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) embraces AI-assisted judging, this technology promises greater consistency and improved transparency. Yet research suggests that trust, legitimacy, and cultural values may matter just as much as technical accuracy.

The fastest land animal in North America is the American pronghorn, and previously, researchers thought it evolved its speed because of pressure from the now-extinct American cheetah. But recently, that theory has come under fire. Now, a University of Michigan study examining fossilized ankle bones of ancient relatives of the American pronghorn has shown that the pronghorn was evolving to be faster more than 5 million years before the American cheetah appeared on the continent. The study is published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

Managing type 2 diabetes is a demanding daily task involving diet, exercise, and often a complex regimen of medications. For patients facing financial hardship, the cost of these life-saving drugs can become a barrier to health, leading many to skip doses or delay refills.

More than 35 years after the first website went online, the web has evolved from static pages to complex interactive systems, often with security added as an afterthought. To mitigate risks, developers use security headers that instruct browsers how to handle content securely. Early on, browser support was inconsistent.

Millions of tires, old washing machines, barges, warships, covering the ocean floor with thousands of square kilometers of concrete—even giant, concrete spheres full of holes: these are all things used to build artificial reefs. Advocates of artificial reefs say they are needed because they promote habitat for fish and increase biodiversity. These are indeed potential solutions to pressing problems: global oceans are faced with widespread degradation of habitat, overfishing and a loss of biodiversity. And recent legislation such as the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act has incentivized governments, industries and private foundations to explore infrastructure and technologies to make fishing and other ways we use our oceans more sustainable, according to Jacob Allgeier, University of Michigan professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

City council public comment periods may focus on local issues, such as housing and public services. But new research from the University of Michigan shows they also serve as powerful forums for expressing broader societal concerns, including democracy, equity and social justice. The study is published in the Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media.

The mushrooms spread out on the chopping board seemed normal enough. They were rich and dense, and had a strong earthy aroma. In the saucepan, they melted—along with the cheese—to form a creamy pasta sauce.

Arctic sea ice has large effects on the global climate. By cooling the planet, Arctic ice impacts ocean circulation, atmospheric patterns, and extreme weather conditions, even outside the Arctic region. However, climate change has led to its rapid decline, and being able to make real-time predictions of sea ice extent (SIE)—the area of water with a minimum concentration of sea ice—has become crucial for monitoring sea ice health.

Metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) significantly improved outcomes in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published in The Lancet Oncology. The study is a first-of-its-kind meta-analysis of individual patients across all available randomized clinical trials evaluating the addition of metastasis-directed radiation therapy to standard-of-care treatment.

Teenagers who are pathological liars also tend to struggle with executive function deficits, such as poor memory or impulse control, researchers have found. This means practitioners may be able to consider treatments centered around executive functioning (such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Habit-Reversal Training) for patients who present such patterns, said Victoria Talwar, professor in the McGill Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Talwar conducted the study along with colleagues at two institutions in Texas.

More than 100 million people in the United States suffer from metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), characterized by a buildup of fat in the liver. This condition can lead to the development of more severe liver disease that causes inflammation and fibrosis.

Cervical cancer screenings are considered one of the most significant public health advances of the past 50 years, particularly in detecting HPV (human papillomavirus), the culprit of most cervical cancers.

Self-driving car star Waymo on Monday said it raised $16 billion in a funding round that valued the Alphabet subsidiary at $126 billion.

Thermoelectric conversion devices offer a promising route for sustainable heat-to-energy conversion. They are particularly attractive for recovering energy from waste heat, such as that produced by conventional fossil fuel-based engines, improving their overall energy efficiency.

The runaway success of the Switch 2 console drove up Nintendo's net profit by more than 50% in the nine months to December, the Japanese video game giant said Tuesday.

Plants grown for biofuel have the potential to power our travel industry, but an important fraction of their chemical power has remained stubbornly difficult to recover. New research from the Center for Advanced Biofuel and Bioproduct Innovation on the University of Illinois campus has demonstrated a way to preserve native lignin structure, a key component of plant matter for conversion to other valuable products, putting an improved pathway for biofuel and bioproduct production within reach.

As we shift toward more sustainable fuels, natural gas and biogas, which mainly contain methane (CH4), have become important sources of energy and raw materials for chemical production. However, these gases also contain impurities that must be removed before use. One major contaminant is carbon dioxide (CO2), which reduces the energy content of the gas and can cause corrosion in pipelines.

Tending crops by day and then logging on for a night shift of data labeling, 27-year-old Chandmani Kerketta is part of a rising rural Indian workforce helping power an artificial intelligence revolution.

Robotaxi pioneer Waymo has raised another $16 billion to help fuel its ambition for its fleet of self-driving cars to provide rides throughout the world while other deep-pocketed rival services backed by Tesla and Amazon try to catch up.

Despite the prevalence of synthetic materials across different industries and scientific fields, most are developed to serve a limited set of functions. To address this inflexibility, researchers at Penn State, led by Hongtao Sun, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering (IME), have developed a fabrication method that can print multifunctional "smart synthetic skin"—configurable materials that can be used to encrypt or decrypt information, enable adaptive camouflage, power soft robotics and more.

In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system. Soldiers in Austria are using open source office software to write reports after the military dropped Microsoft Office. Bureaucrats in a German state have also turned to free software for their administrative work.

Elon Musk is joining his space exploration and artificial intelligence ventures into a single company before what's expected to be a massive initial public offering for the business later this year.

Approaches by some European countries and Australia to protect energy consumers could help countries worldwide phase out harmful electricity disconnections without destabilizing power markets, new research published in the journal Energy Research & Social Science has found.

Seating furniture is frequently not designed for long-term use or simple assembly and disassembly and has a tendency to break after just one move. This does not apply to the benches, chairs, and stools that were created as part of the LinumTube cooperation project led by Fraunhofer WKI. The goal of the project consortium was to develop ecologically sustainable seating furniture for the circular economy.

A research team affiliated with UNIST unveiled a new steel manufacturing process that can improve the driving distance of electric vehicles (EVs) without the need for larger batteries. This technology offers a promising way to enhance the efficiency of EV motors, supporting longer trips on a single charge.

Additive manufacturing has revolutionized manufacturing by enabling customized, cost-effective products with minimal waste. However, with the majority of 3D printers operating on open-loop systems, they are notoriously prone to failure. Minor changes, like adjustments to nozzle size or print speed, can lead to print errors that mechanically weaken the part under production.

More frequent and intense weather phenomena like heat waves, windstorms, or atmospheric rivers often come in pairs and these challenging combinations stress the power grid and lead to outages. A multi-year analysis is the first of its kind to analyze combined weather events and county-level outage data across the United States.

Consider the marvelous physics of the human knee. The largest hinge joint in the body, it has two rounded bones held together by ligaments that not only swing like a door, but also roll and glide over each other, allowing the knee to flex, extend, and balance.

What would you do if you were in a self-driving taxi and another passenger fell seriously ill? What if a fire broke out, or the vehicle stopped in the wrong place? What would you need to manage the situation with no driver to help?