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The drug dexamethasone supplements cancer treatments to alleviate side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea or inflammation. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that it also fights metastases in certain types of breast cancer. The active substance dexamethasone is a synthetic signaling substance with a similar effect to the body's own stress hormone cortisol.

A scientific study led by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and partly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) has determined that the size and composition of our social support networks directly influence how we perceive our body image. The findings could help us in treating conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, and other eating disorders.

Tropical cyclones can unleash extensive devastation, as recent storms that swept over Jamaica and the Philippines made unmistakably clear. Accurate weather forecasts that buy more time to prepare are crucial for saving lives and are rooted in a deeper understanding of climate systems. Driving this forward, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and others have successfully identified a previously unknown cyclic climate pattern by historical reanalysis of datasets and satellite observations.

The news has been widely shared around the world: scientists have explored a 100-square-meter underground spider web - the largest known - housing no less than 110,000 spiders of two species which, strangely enough, cohabit without devouring each other. All the more reason to question our knowledge of the social behavior of spiders.

Activism Disruptive protest actions are among the tools often used by climate activists. New research from the University of Copenhagen shows that these types of actions have the intended effect: they raise public awareness of climate change. However, they also carry the risk of backlash. Climate activism takes many forms, but one of the most visible is so-called disruptive protests.

An international team of researchers including a scientist from ETH has shown that friction in magma leads to the formation of bubbles that influence whether a volcano erupts explosively or releases gently flowing lava. The explosiveness of a volcanic eruption depends on how many gas bubbles form in the magma - and when.

Researchers have achieved the most detailed view yet of how DNA folds and functions inside living cells, revealing the physical structures that control when and how genes are switched on. Using a new technique called MCC ultra, the team, including researchers from the University of Cambridge, mapped the human genome down to a single base pair, unlocking how genes are controlled, or, how the body decides which genes to turn on or off at the right time, in the right cells.

Findings have major implications for design, use, and regulation of interactive AI systems Humans bring gender biases to their interactions with Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to new research from Trinity College Dublin and Ludwig-Maximilians Universität (LMU) Munich. The study involving 402 participants found that people exploited female-labelled AI and distrusted male-labelled AI to a comparable extent as they do human partners bearing the same gender labels.

The countries participating in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), currently taking place in Brazil, must cancel fossil fuel concessions in order to keep the Paris Agreement alive. This is the main message of a paper published in the journal Nature and signed by experts Martí Orta, Gorka Muñoa and Marcel Llavero, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona, and Guillem Rius, from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

A message from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research The University of Cambridge is committed to achieving excellence in research and scholarship. The pursuit of excellent research and the fulfilment of our responsibilities to participants in research, research users and the wider community require the maintenance of the highest standards of integrity and ethics.

Researchers discover that a porcine coronavirus uses an unexpected route to enter cells An international team led by the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I²SysBio) - a joint centre of the University of Valencia (UV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) - together with the Institut Pasteur in Paris, has identified, for the first time, a functional receptor for the porcine haemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus, also known as porcine coronavirus PHEV.

Knowledge about building with bricks did not travel directly from Italy to Denmark. That is the surprising conclusion of a team of researchers who analyzed bricks from medieval churches in Italy and Denmark. For more than a century, building archaeologists have believed that the art of brick building in Denmark was imported directly from Lombardy in northern Italy in the mid-12th century.

Scientists from the University of Geneva and HUG have created artificial immune cells capable of recognising and destroying glioblastoma cells. With a five-year survival rate of less than 5%, glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer. Until now, all'available treatments, including immunotherapy - which involves strengthening the immune system to fight cancer- have proved disappointing.

Using lasers as tweezers to understand cloud electrification might sound like science fiction, but at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), it is a reality. By trapping and charging micron-sized particles with lasers, researchers can now observe their charging and discharging dynamics over time.

A new study by Dr Angela Harris from The University of Manchester and Professor Richard Bardgett from Lancaster University has revealed that scientists can now detect the hidden world of microbes living in the soil - from the air. Published in New Phytologist , the research shows that detailed airborne images capturing many parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can be used to predict the abundance and diversity of microbes that live in the soil beneath plant canopies.

The CRISPR gene scissors are only of limited use to detect cancer-causing genes in animals because the method interferes with their immune system. Researchers at ETH Zurich, however, have now shown that a few tricks can be pulled to render the gene scissors invisible to immune cells. The immune system plays a crucial role in fighting tumours and metastases.

A new AI model developed by TU Graz combines data from laboratory tests with the laws of physics to calculate how well different types of paper protect food from flavour loss and contaminants.

Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo have joined forces to take on a pressing environmental problem by using synthetic biology to turn plastic waste into valuable resources. The multidisciplinary group is working together to  review and identify strategies  that leverage synthetic biology, microbial engineering and engineering design to degrade and upcycle plastic waste.

Laval University study reveals role of nervous system cell metabolism, combined with inflammation, in ALS-related neuronal degeneration What if amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was also a metabolic disease? That's the question raised by a research team led by Chantelle Sephton, professor at Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine and researcher at the CERVO research center.