Deforestation in the Amazon is causing significant regional changes in climate compared to areas with forest cover above 80%. The loss of vegetation leads to an increase in surface temperature, a decrease in evapotranspiration, and a reduction in precipitation during the dry season and in the number of rainy days. The results are part of a study based on satellite data published in late November in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. The study points out that highly deforested regions (with forest cover below 60%) share climatic similarities with areas of transition between rainforest ...

Brazilian researchers have developed a methodology that uses remote sensing to map the impact of frost on corn crops. This reduces exposure to climate risks and uncertainty regarding agricultural losses. The model allows users to customize a set of variables, making it useful for other crops in different agricultural contexts. Thus, it has the potential to provide more accurate estimates during harvests and contribute to the development of public policies that support production chains and insurance systems. Global grain production, ...

Humans develop sharp vision during early fetal development thanks to an interplay between a vitamin A derivative and thyroid hormones in the retina, Johns Hopkins University scientists have found.   The findings could upend decades of conventional understanding of how the eye grows light-sensing cells and could inform new research into treatments for macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other age-related vision disorders.  Details of the study, which used lab-grown retinal tissue, ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Biting into a tart green apple is a different taste and sensory experience than sucking juice from a lemon — and both significantly vary from accidentally consuming spoiled milk. Each of these foods contains a different organic acid that gives rise to the flavor commonly referred to as “sour,” even when the taste and related mouthfeel sensations such as puckering and drying vary drastically from food to food and person to person. Now, Penn State researchers have found that while some of that difference comes from individual perceptions, the acids themselves vary in sourness, even at the same concentrations. The researchers, ...

Krystal Tsosie, an expert in Indigenous genomics, bioethics, and data governance, will deliver a talk titled The Future of Science Is Indigenous at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting. One of the world’s largest cross-disciplinary science gatherings, the AAAS meeting is a key venue for debate about how emerging technologies should be governed. Tsosie’s presentation examines how Indigenous science offers frameworks for equity, accountability, and stewardship as genomics, artificial intelligence, and precision health ...

Scientists have traditionally studied how the brain controls movement by asking patients to perform structured tasks while connected to multiple sensors in a lab. While these studies have provided important insights, these experiments do not fully capture how the brain functions during everyday activities, be it walking to the kitchen for a snack or strolling through a park. For people living with Parkinson’s disease, this gap between laboratory research and real-world behavior has limited efforts to improve gait symptoms outside of the clinic.  Now, ...

Brazilian scientists have made advances in an area recognized by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: the development and application of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These are porous crystalline materials that have the potential to revolutionize environmental and energy technologies. The study involved researchers affiliated with the Center for Development of Functional Materials (CDMF), a FAPESP Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC) based at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). The study introduces a novel molecular architecture based on zirconium MOFs that is designed to efficiently degrade ...

In a must-see topical lecture called “From Discovery to Impact: A Framework for Research That Strengthens Communities,” Morton draws on Arizona State University’s pioneering model of use-inspired research — where excellence is measured by the overall economic, social, cultural, and overall health of the communities ASU serves. Grounded in ASU’s charter commitment to research and discovery of public value, this talk offers a clear and actionable structure that universities, policymakers, and researchers can apply to align discovery with local and national priorities. Through clear case studies, ...

Background and objectives Chronic diabetes mellitus is marked by hyperglycemia and metabolic dysfunction, increasing the risk of complications such as nephropathy. This study aimed to evaluate key biochemical parameters among participants with diabetic nephropathy (DNp), diabetes control (DC), nephropathy control (NC), and healthy control groups. Methods A prospective case-control study was conducted with 200 participants categorized into four groups: DNp, NC, DC, and healthy controls. Biochemical parameters, including glucose, glycated hemoglobin, waste metabolites, proteins, enzymes, electrolytes, and lipids, were analyzed ...

About The Study: In this study of ambulatory older women, greater muscular strength was associated with lower mortality even when controlling for accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary time, walking speed, and systemic inflammation. These findings suggest that assessing strength and promoting its maintenance are instrumental for optimal aging.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Michael J. LaMonte, PhD, email mlamonte@buffalo.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The ...

About The Study: Prior research finds abortion restrictions are associated with increased demand for telehealth medication abortion. However, whether this trend extended to adolescents was previously unknown, a population facing the unique legal burden of mandatory parental involvement, in addition to gestation bans. This study found that post-Dobbs increases in requests were highest among young adults, especially in states with restrictive abortion laws, and among adolescents, in states with gestational bans and parental consent and notification requirements. Corresponding Author: To contact the ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Off-putting smells can make even the healthiest of foods unpalatable.  In a new study, researchers have developed a way to remove unpleasant aromas from plant-based proteins to make them smell more appealing. They did so by designing a two-step fermentation process to counter the odors that typically form during cultivation and extraction.  The study’s results showed that their approach could remove between 95 to 99% of key smells, significantly outperforming one-stage fermentation ...

As the global electric vehicle (EV) market and renewable energy sector continue to expand rapidly, demand for advanced lithium-ion battery technology continues to grow. A research team from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has been awarded funding under the "RAISe+ Scheme" to address the long-standing voltage decay issue associated with lithium-rich cathode materials. This groundbreaking research aims to introduce a new range of battery materials that offer enhanced energy density, extended lifespan and reduced costs. The ...

With a few minutes of searching, anyone can find videos online of chatty birds: macaws talk to their keepers, cockatoos sing to the camera, corvids mimic the jarring sounds of construction sites.   Research has shown that some birds can understand and use words in context — so, when Polly speaks up from inside her cage, she may really want a cracker — but scientists know far less about how birds use their vocal abilities in the wild. Christine Dahlin, professor of biology at the University ...

Manufacturing next-generation solar panels could cut global carbon emissions by up to 8.2 billion tonnes by 2035, finds a new international study by researchers from the University of Warwick and Northumbria, Birmingham, and Oxford Universities. Solar panels, known scientifically as photovoltaics (PV), convert sunlight directly into electricity and are central to global decarbonisation. But as countries race to deploy solar at multi-terawatt scale, the carbon footprint of manufacturing these devices is coming under increasing scrutiny. At the same time, the industry is rapidly shifting from the current industry-standard ...

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy, affecting a significant proportion of patients who develop drug-resistant epilepsy. Surgical interventions, particularly stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG)-guided temporal lobe resection (TLR) and SEEG-guided responsive neurostimulation (RNS), have emerged as pivotal treatment options. This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy, safety, and quality of life (QoL) outcomes associated with these two interventions in adults with drug-resistant TLE. The review followed the PRISMA 2020 ...

Background and objectives Cardiac pacemaker implantation is a primary therapy for various arrhythmic disorders; however, safety concerns persist in India. This study aimed to evaluate two-year safety outcomes of cardiac pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices in a tertiary care setting. Methods In this prospective cohort study, data collection was conducted over a one-year enrolment period (February 2023 to January 2024), encompassing patient demographics, pacemaker implantation details, indications, and comorbidities. Patients were prospectively followed for a total of two years from enrolment—during the ...

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are one of the largest families of cell surface proteins in the human body that recognize hormones, neurotransmitters, and drugs. These receptors regulate a wide range of physiological processes and are the targets of more than 30% of currently marketed drugs. The histamine H1 receptor (H1R) is one such GPCR subtype that plays a key role in mediating allergic reactions, inflammation, vascular permeability, airway constriction, wakefulness, and cognitive functions in the human body. While antihistamines primarily target H1R, current drugs can exhibit limited therapeutic efficacy, prompting researchers to look at H1R ligands from new perspectives. Recently, ...

Weight loss is a well-recognized but poorly understood non-motor feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Many patients progressively lose weight as the disease advances, often alongside worsening motor symptoms and quality of life. Until now, it was unclear whether this reflected muscle loss, poor nutrition, or deeper metabolic changes. New research shows that PD-related weight loss is driven mainly by a selective loss of body fat, while muscle mass is largely preserved, and is accompanied by a fundamental shift in how the body produces energy. Although PD is classically viewed as a neurological disorder, increasing evidence points to widespread ...

In two new studies on 28,000 individuals, researchers are able to show that genetic variants in 11 regions of the human genome have a clear influence on which bacteria are in the gut and what they do there. Only two genetic regions were previously known. Some of the new genetic variants can be linked to an increased risk of gluten intolerance, haemorrhoids and cardiovascular diseases. The community of bacteria living in our gut, or gut microbiome, has become a hot research area in recent years because of its great significance for health and disease. However, the extent ...

Study creates most precise map yet of agricultural emissions, charts path to reduce hotspots New map breaks down agricultural emissions by crop and source East Asia and Pacific contributed to about half of the total agricultural greenhouse gas Rice alone contributed 43% of cropland emissions Regions that produce a lot of food are often high emitters Authors says that mitigation planning should take productivity into account ITHACA, N.Y. – To lower agricultural emissions, policymakers and communities first need to pinpoint the sources. Not just by country ...

To understand how heat normally flows, you could study the second law of thermodynamics – or wrap your hands around a hot mug of coffee. Both tell us that heat tends to flow toward cooler regions. As a material’s thermal energy increases, its atoms vibrate, and quantum mechanics describes these vibrations as phonons: quasiparticles that transport heat. Normally, collisions between phonons cause heat to dissipate slowly. But in highly ordered, pure crystals, these collisions can result in a fluid-like, directional heat flow known as phonon hydrodynamics. Researchers from the group of Theory and Simulation of Materials, led ...

New research confirms Arctic peatlands are expanding as temperatures continue to rise.  The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the planet, with average temperatures increasing by about 4°C in the last four decades.  The new study, led by the University of Exeter, shows peatlands have expanded since 1950, with some peatland edges moving by more than a metre a year.  Given that the study covered a broad range of Arctic conditions – ...

Environmental pollutant analysis typically requires complex sample pretreatment steps such as filtration, separation, and preconcentration. When solid materials such as sand, soil, or food residues are present in water samples, analytical accuracy often decreases, and filtration can unintentionally remove trace-level target pollutants along with the solids. To address this challenge, a joint research team led by Dr. Ju Hyeon Kim at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), in collaboration with Professor Jae Bem You’s group at Chungnam National University, has developed a microfluidic-based analytical device that enables direct ...

Summary When AI powered prosthetic arms that move autonomously become widespread, understanding how people feel about them and accept them will be crucial. In this study, we used virtual reality to simulate a situation in which a participant’s own arm was replaced by a robotic prosthetic arm, and examined how the prosthesis movement speed affects embodiment, including body ownership, the sense of agency, usability, and social impressions of the robot such as competence and discomfort. We found that both overly fast and overly slow movements reduced body ownership and usability, whereas a moderate speed close to natural human reaching, with a movement duration of about ...