science wire

The EU research project EMBRACE at TU Ilmenau has been nominated for the European Excellence Award.

The structure of the plant communities that grow on the thawing permafrost in the Arctic is changing, with grasses displacing slower-growing shrubs.

A commentary published in Nature Mental Health by Professor Andrea Raballo, Full Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the REMEDI Lab at USI, together with Michele Poletti (IRCCS-AUSL Reggio Emilia

Rising temperatures are threatening dung beetle populations in the Amazon. The example shows a trend that could bring many insect species there to their heat threshold.

Neuroscientist Sjoerd Meijer of the Donders Institute at Radboud University has shown for the first time that targeted ultrasonic sound waves can help the brain overcome fear more quickly.

Gigantic dragonfly-like insects - the "griffinflies" - ruled the skies around 300 million years ago, but they have long been consigned to evolution's graveyard.

Managing water like a succulent: a research team led by the University of Bern has decoded a mechanism by which an inconspicuous succulent regulates the uptake of carbon dioxide via the leaf surface so finely that it receives enough for photosynthesis without losing too much water - and can therefore conserve water efficiently.

Australia's environment experienced above average conditions for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, but climate change continues to inflict "serious and accelerating damage" on marine ecosystems whi

In the architectural blueprint of our DNA, even a small repeating error can compromise the entire system. In Huntington's disease, a specific DNA sequence expands uncontrollably, triggering progressive neurodegeneration.

Researchers have developed a new kind of nanoelectronic device that could dramatically cut the energy consumed by artificial intelligence hardware by mimicking the human brain.

Like the males of many animal species, male Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, a commonly studied lab animal, are aggressive toward one another and even fight when competing for resources such as food and females.

Scientists from UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital have created the first lab grown oesophagus - the food pipe - shown to safely replace a full section of the organ and restore normal function, including swallowing, in a growing animal without the need for immunosuppression. This is a major leap towards personalised regenerative treatments for children born with life threatening oesophageal conditions and could pave the way for translation to other disease areas.

Based on EEG data and heart rate, the system adjusts the intensity of the exposure to the anxiety level of the participants.

In the same way Spiderman shoots his web to ensnarl his enemies, scientists have discovered a way in which our cells defend our bodies from the early stages of viral infection by synthesising a sticky 'web' to trap viral genomes.

DNA Commercial whaling has left the bowhead whale vulnerable for many generations to come. A unique collection of prehistoric bowhead whale bones, dating back 11,000 years, reveals a previously untold story of the relative impacts of humans on nature. The time series of ancient fossils show that commercial hunting of bowhead whales, which spanned 400 years and ceased less than a century ago in 1931, has left irreversible destructive traces in the species' genetics.

The Host-Microbiota Dynamics laboratory at the Institute for Translational Research (EOC-USI), led by Professor Giandomenica Iezzi, has published a new study in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe .

The modern workplace demands that our brains perform at their best every day. A campaign offers information and advice for work and daily life to help maintain a healthy mind and memory.

An international project has uncovered millions of ancient DNA 'switches' that have been regulating plant genes for up to 300 million years - a discovery that could pave the way for more precise engineering of crop traits.

Long-term study of wild bighorn sheep in Alberta leads to better monitoring of at risk and post-rescue populations Wildlife populations that become small and isolated, often due to habitat loss, inevitably experience inbreeding which can lead to the loss of fitness and eventual extinction.

How does the brain create meaning from the enormous amount of information it constantly receives? According to neuroscientist Martin Vinck, the answer lies in large-scale integration: the way brain areas work together to enable thoughts, attention and consciousness.

Researchers and veterinary experts at the University of Glasgow are to undertake a new study to better understand a devastating, degenerative spinal condition in corgis. Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a debilitating disease of the spinal cord affecting various breeds, including corgis. The condition normally presents in middle age, at around 6-8 years, with signs of weak hind limbs and a progressively wobbly gait.

Researchers show retinal images can accurately differentiate ALS and Alzheimer's, increasing possibility of earlier diagnosis  A retinal image could help doctors quickly distinguish between similar n

VHLGenetics invested in an advanced Aviti sequencer in autumn 2025, while WUR-Bioscience guarantees a minimum number of runs per year.

Increasing our level of physical fitness leads to a bigger release of brain-boosting proteins following one session of exercise, a new study led by a UCL researcher has found. The study, published in  Brain Research , took a group of inactive unfit participants through a 12-week training programme of cycling three times per week and made them fitter.

VHLGenetics invested in an advanced Aviti sequencer in autumn 2025, while WUR-Bioscience guarantees a minimum number of runs per year.

ISTA Professor Andela Šaric & colleagues receive FWF grant for pioneering scientific work The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) is part of a new research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) with 5.1 million Euro as part of the excellent=austria initiative.

Experts are warning that far from being over-diagnosed, people with ADHD are waiting too long for assessment, support and treatment.

Major grant aimed at discovering much-needed anti-parasitic drugs to protect cattle Taylor Charlebois, Veterinary Medicine Parasites weaken cattle, costing the beef industry hundreds of millions of dollars, an issue that's made worse by rising drug resistance.

Up to half of the insects in the Amazon region could be exposed to life-threatening heat levels due to progressive, anthropogenic global warming.

Cambridge scientists have shown that when tumours first emerge, interactions with healthy cells in the underlying supportive tissue determine their ability to survive, grow, and progress to advanced stages of disease. The way healthy tissue responds to the emergence of early tumours also plays a crucial role in whether disease develops Greta Skrupskelyte The study, carried out in mice and further validated using human tissue, may explain why some tiny, newly-formed tumours disappear, while others manage to survive and eventually grow into cancer.

The toxin she works with is so potent that it kills the bacteria that produce it Antibiotics have transformed medicine.

A tiny parasitoid wasp from Asia has established itself in the Netherlands without deliberate release.

Payments that enable landowners to rewild ecologically degraded land - in the form of biodiversity credits bought by investors wishing to offset their impact on nature - could be an effective component of the emerging market for nature recovery, but will not work as a stand-alone approach.

The Universitat de València participates in a new study, conducted by Institut d'Investigació Sanitària INCLIVA and Hospital Clínic Universitari de València, which explores the impact of the microbio

Around 10 years ago, the first wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland began to introduce a new process with thickened activated sludge in the biological treatment stage. By doing so, they intended to increase their capacity without having to expand the clarifiers. An Eawag survey of 10 wastewater treatment plants has now shown that the process is effective, but that its potential is frequently underutilised.