ScienceDaily: All - May 14, 2025
Today's top research news
A plant you've never heard of can do what scientists once thought impossible
A new study shows that an unassuming plant has some very unusual family dynamics.
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New computer language helps spot hidden pollutants
Biologists and chemists have a new programming language to uncover previously unknown environmental pollutants at breakneck speed -- without requiring them to code.
Fat-rich fluid fuels immune failure in ovarian cancer
New research has uncovered how lipid-rich fluid in the abdomen, known as ascites, plays a central role in weakening the body's immune response in advanced ovarian cancer. The findings offer new insights into immune suppression in ovarian cancer and open promising avenues for future immunotherapy approaches. Over 70% of patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage, often presenting with large volumes of ascites. This ascites fluid not only supports the spread of cancer throughout the abdominal cavity but also significantly impairs the body's immune defenses. Understanding how ascites affects the immune system is important for developing better treatments that use the immune system to fight cancer.
Eldercare robot helps people sit and stand, and catches them if they fall
Engineers built E-BAR, a mobile robot designed to physically support the elderly and prevent them from falling as they move around their homes. E-BAR acts as a set of robotic handlebars that follows a person from behind, allowing them to walk independently or lean on the robot's arms for support.
Mapping a new brain network for naming
Researchers identified two brain networks involved in word retrieval -- the cognitive process of accessing words we need to speak. A semantic network processes meaning in middle/inferior frontal gyri, while an articulatory network in inferior frontal/precentral gyri plans speech production.
Researchers have developed a new workflow for designing enzymes from scratch, paving the way toward more efficient, powerful and environmentally benign chemistry. The new method allows designers to combine a variety of desirable properties into new-to-nature catalysts for an array of applications, from drug development to materials design.
Hormone cycles shape the structure and function of key memory regions in the brain
Hormone levels fluctuate like the tides, ebbing and flowing according to carefully orchestrated cycles. These hormones not only influence the body, but can cross into the brain and shape the behavior of our neurons and cognitive processes. Recently, researchers used modern laser microscopy techniques to observe how fluctuations in ovarian hormones shape both the structure and function of neurons in the mouse hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory formation and spatial learning in mammals. They found that hormone fluctuations during the mouse estrous cycle, a 4-day cycle analogous to the 28-day human menstrual cycle, powerfully influence the shape and behavior of hippocampal neurons.
Researchers demonstrate 3-D printing technology to improve comfort, durability of 'smart wearables'
Imagine a T-shirt that could monitor your heart rate or blood pressure. Or a pair of socks that could provide feedback on your running stride. It may be closer than you think, with new research demonstrating a particular 3-D ink printing method for so-called smart fabrics that continue to perform well after repeated washings and abrasion tests.
Higher success rate using a simple oral swab test before IVF
Researchers have conducted a clinical study to show how a woman's genetic profile provides information on which hormone treatment is most effective for in vitro fertilization (IVF). The researchers have now developed a simple oral swab test that shows which hormone therapy is the best option for IVF treatment.
Seek medical advice before attempting water-only fasting diets, experts warn
Experts are urging people, especially those with existing heart or vascular conditions, to seek medical advice before attempting to lose weight using water-only fasting diets.
New survey shows privacy and safety tops list of parental concerns about screen time
As kids spend more time on screens, a new national survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of The Kids Mental Health Foundation, founded by Nationwide Children's Hospital, identifies parents' greatest fears for their children around screen time.
Researchers develop living material from fungi
Fungi are considered a promising source of biodegradable materials. Researchers have developed a new material based on a fungal mycelium and its own extracellular matrix. This gives the biomaterial particularly advantageous properties.
Growth before photosynthesis: How trees regulate their water balance
In order for trees to grow, they need to control their water balance meticulously. A study shows how trees react to drought -- and revises previous perceptions.
Remote particle measurement via quantum entanglement
Quantum physics keeps challenging our intuition. Researchers have shown that joint measurements can be carried out on distant particles, without the need to bring them together. This breakthrough relies on quantum entanglement -- the phenomenon that links particles across distance as if connected by an invisible thread. The discovery opens up exciting prospects for quantum communication and computing, where information becomes accessible only once it is measured.
New light shed on health differences between males and females
The results of an international study shed new light the underlying biological mechanisms which cause differences in health risks, symptoms and outcomes between males and females.
Scientists film the heart forming in 3D earlier than ever before
Researchers have identified the origin of cardiac cells using 3D images of a heart forming in real-time, inside a living mouse embryo.
Astronomers have developed a groundbreaking computer simulation to explore, in unprecedented detail, magnetism and turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) -- the vast ocean of gas and charged particles that lies between stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. The model is the most powerful to date, requiring the computing capability of the SuperMUC-NG supercomputer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany. It directly challenges our understanding of how magnetized turbulence operates in astrophysical environments.
Combinations of chronic illnesses could double risk of depression
People with multiple long-term physical health conditions are at a significantly greater risk of developing depression, a study shows.
Robotic hand moves objects with human-like grasp
A robotic hand can pick up 24 different objects with human-like movements that emerge spontaneously, thanks to compliant materials and structures rather than programming.
AI meets the conditions for having free will -- we need to give it a moral compass
AI is advancing at such speed that speculative moral questions, once the province of science fiction, are suddenly real and pressing, says a philosopher and psychology researcher Frank Martela. Martela's latest study finds that generative AI meets all three of the philosophical conditions of free will -- the ability to have goal-directed agency, make genuine choices and to have control over its actions. This development brings us to a critical point in human history, as we give AI more power and freedom, potentially in life or death situations.
'Loop'hole: HIV-1 hijacks human immune cells using circular RNAs
Researchers have identified a never-before-seen mechanism that enables HIV-1 to evade the body's natural defenses and use it to support its survival and replication. The 'loophole' is a biological process that involves circular RNAs and marks the first experimental evidence of HIV-1 generating them from an integrated retroviral genome. Findings point to a novel strategy the virus uses to survive, providing a new target in the fight against one of the world's most resilient pathogens.
Butterflies hover differently from other flying organisms, thanks to body pitch
Butterflies' flight trajectories often appear random or chaotic, but their hovering patterns can potentially provide critical design insights for developing micro aerial vehicles with flapping wings. Researchers studied how butterflies use aerodynamic force generation to achieve hovering, using high-speed cameras to observe wild-caught white cabbage butterflies and relying on a deep learning model to track the butterflies' body features and specific wing points during their flight sequences. They found the primary factor contributing to butterflies' hovering is their body pitch.
New approach to treating aggressive breast cancers shows significant improvement in survival
A new treatment approach significantly improves survival rates for patients with aggressive, inherited breast cancers, according to researchers. In a trial where cancers were treated with chemotherapy followed by a targeted cancer drug before surgery, 100% of patients survived the critical three-year period post-surgery.
Echidna microbiome changes while mums nurse puggle
Research shows microbial communities in echidna pseudo-pouches undergo dramatic changes while the animal is lactating, which could help in creating an environment for their young, known as puggles, to thrive.
Summer in the city: Urban heat release and local rainfall
Stifling heat and sticky air often make summertime in the city uncomfortable. Due to the heat island effect, urban areas are significantly warmer than nearby rural areas, even at night. This, combined with more frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change, often render the city an unpleasant environment in the summer. Urbanization and climate change modify the thermal environment of urban areas, with an expectation that urban disasters from extremely hot weather and heavy rainfall will only become more severe. Mitigating potential damage involves reducing the intensity of the heat island effect and adapting to climate change. Motivated by this problem, a team of researchers set out to investigate how the reduction in urban heat release could help mitigate and control the rapid development of thunderstorms and local rainfall.