MD
60 news posts
Featured news
29 Oct 2025
Underwater robot ‘Lassie’ discovers remarkable icefish nests during search for Shackleton’s lost ship off Antarctica
In a remote part of Antarctica's Western Weddell Sea, an area once hidden beneath a 200-metre-thick ice shelf, scientists have uncovered a new and unusual phenomena: extensive maintained fish nesting grounds arranged in patterns.
Featured news
20 Oct 2025
Do animals fall for optical illusions? What fish and birds can teach us about perception
Dr Maria Santacà describes how not only how fish and birds perceive their worlds, but also how ecological pressures shape the evolution of perception.
Life sciences
16 Oct 2025
Sniffer dogs tested in real-world scenarios reveal need for wider access to explosives, study finds
Access to range of explosives to train with would boost performance of detection dogs, suggests first validating study
Health
02 Oct 2025
Death toll from drugs has more than doubled worldwide over past three decades
Researchers used new statistical methods to analyze public data on the global health burden due to drug addiction. They showed that drug-related mortality has increased 2.2-fold between 1990 and 2021, especially in high-income countries, despite a 6% reduction in cases after correcting for population growth. This surge in the public health burden from drugs was greatest in the US, and likely due to the combination of opioids and cocaine and worsening social and healthcare conditions for drug users.
Featured news
30 Sep 2025
Natural antimicrobial drugs found in pollen could help us protect bee colonies from infection
Pollen gathered by honeybees contains antimicrobial-producing bacteria that protect the hive against disease
Featured news
23 Sep 2025
Lactate IV infusion found to trick the body into releasing a hormone behind that post-workout brain boost
Intravenous lactate is enough to trigger release of brain-rejuvenating hormone, also without physical exercise
Featured news
10 Sep 2025
Meat from critically endangered sharks is commonly sold under false labels in the US
31% of products sold as ‘shark’ in the US are from species at risk of extinction
Featured news
28 Aug 2025
Nearly 80% of whale sharks in this marine tourism hotspot have human-caused scars
Human-caused injuries are common in endangered whale sharks off Indonesian Papua, but simple changes to local fishing practices could help protect them.
Featured news
20 Aug 2025
Most known species evolved during 'explosions’ of diversity, shows first analysis across ‘tree of life’
Majority of living species concentrated among few disproportionately rich groups with high rates of diversification, shows first-of-its-kind study
Featured news
12 Aug 2025
AI could soon detect early voice box cancer from the sound of your voice
Vocal fold lesions and early stages of laryngeal cancer alter acoustics of the voice, paving the way for AI recognition
Featured news
05 Aug 2025
Hearing loss lowers prospects of employment and higher income for young Americans
Researchers analyzed data from 27,656 Americans between 23 and 43 years old in the ADD Health study. They found that participants reporting to have poor or worse hearing had significantly lower educational attainment, a lower probability of being in paid work, and earned less than their peers. These negative impacts of hearing loss were especially pronounced for Black and Hispanic Americans. Suffering from tinnitus was not found to have any effect on these outcomes. The authors propose better access to hearing care, early screening, and workplace support, as well as reducing stigma, to level the playing field for people with hearing loss.
Featured news
25 Jul 2025
Persistently, intensely grieving relations are nearly twice as likely to die within 10 years after losing a loved one
Researchers followed 1,735 people in Denmark over 10 years after their loss of loved one. 6% participants showed unabatingly high levels of grief symptoms, and these had a 88% higher hazard rate of dying from any cause over the time period than those with persistently low symptoms. The first group were likewise more likely to use healthcare services, with 186% higher odds of receiving talk therapy or other mental health services, and between 160% and 463% higher odds of being prescribed psychotropic medication. This is the first study on the long-term mortality rate and the use of healthcare in a large-scale cohort of bereaved persons. The results suggest that patients at risk for long-term ‘high grief’ may be identified in advance, and need additional support from the healthcare system.
Featured news
18 Jul 2025
Gene essential for vitamin D absorption could help unlock treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases
Scientists have identified the human gene SDR42E1 as essential for the absorption of vitamin D from the intestine, its subsequent metabolic processing, as well as the production of lipids and steroids. Without the functional protein, the survival of cells dropped by 53%. This discovery has at least two potential applications in precision medicine. First, the experiments showed that the gene can be blocked to selectively kill cancer cells. Second, boosting SDR42E1’s expression could help treat many other diseases, for example, autoimmune and metabolic disorders, against which vitamin D and its related forms are thought to protect.
Featured news
11 Jul 2025
‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger
Researchers here developed a monoclonal antibody specific against mugwort pollen – an important allergen causing hay fever – in mice, which is highly effective in blocking symptoms of IgE immunoglobin-mediated allergy against this pollen. The monoclonal antibodies can be delivered inside the nose, rather than intravenously, acting almost like a ‘molecular shield’. The study is a proof-of-principle, which can be extended to other pollen species.
Featured news
25 Jun 2025
New ‘designer drugs’ pose growing threat to road safety in the US
Researchers from the US have reported the initial results from the first quantitative study to focus on the contribution of multiple new psychoactive substances (NPS) from a range of classes to roadway crashes in the US. They found that 2% of 1,000 adults who visited one of two trauma centers in California within six hours after being involved in a roadway crash had traces of NPS in their blood. The most frequent were bromazolam, para-fluorofentanyl, and mitragynine. In most (88%) of these positive cases, NPS had been taken together with traditional recreational drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. These results indicate that NPS are a new concern in roadway crashes and put lives at risk.