Curated News: Top Hit Stories

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Moderate alcohol use does not reduce cardiometabolic disease risk among veterans of European, African, or Hispanic ancestry, a new study suggests. The findings add to growing evidence that traditional research methods applied to drinking levels and certain disease outcomes have created illusory and misleading results. Heavy drinking is known to be linked to coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Traditional observational studies have, however, associated moderate drinking with the lowest risk and abstinence with a moderate risk (the U-curve or J-curve effect). In recent years, the U-curve has been increasingly attributed to confounding errors—when study results are distorted by other factors. In this case, the abstinence category is implicated since it establishes a false equivalence between study participants with widely differing risk factors (lifelong non-drinkers, those who stopped drinking for health or other alcohol-related problems, and those who falsely reporte

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A research team has developed an innovative AI model called AISOA-SSformer that significantly improves the accuracy of detecting rice leaf diseases.

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Among young adults who frequently use cannabis, drinking alcohol is linked to intensified cannabis cravings in men and reduced cannabis cravings in women, a novel study suggests. The findings potentially illuminate mechanisms driving the combined use of the two substances and could inform sex-specific approaches to preventing or addressing the resulting harms. Young adults commonly use alcohol and cannabis together (i.e., co-use), and people who use both substances experience more negative consequences—including worse outcomes for alcohol use disorder treatment—than those who use one or the other. Co-use may be partially driven “cross-substance-induced” craving, in which the repeated co-use of two substances prompts one to become a trigger for the other. Research on this effect involving alcohol and cannabis—previously limited to laboratory testing and remote monitoring—has hinted at sex differences in these effects. For the study in Alcohol: Clinical Experimental Research, investigato

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It’s a long way from the Donbas region of Ukraine to Idaho, but Ukrainian officials recently made the trip to learn about collecting evidence after a nuclear attack.

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The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has announced The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) has been awarded a $600,000 grant to join the Gulf Scholars Program (GPS). The initiative is part of a five-year, $12.7 million pilot program aimed at preparing undergraduate students to address environmental, health, energy and infrastructure challenges in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Michigan State University chemist Weiwei Xie knows a thing or two about working under pressure. Leveraging extreme forces similar to those found deep within our planet, her lab is pioneering the discovery of novel quantum materials with exciting electronic and magnetic properties.

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Recovery Legal Care, a UChicago Medicine program designed to help survivors of violent crime, received funding from the NIH to study how free civil legal aid affects patients' long-term health and safety.

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Researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams made a high-precision mass measurement of aluminum-22, reaching the “proton dripline” of the nuclear chart. The project found that aluminum-22 formed a proton halo, where the last proton added is only loosely bound to the nucleus. This measurement helps scientists determine how tightly bound the atomic nuclei are as they get closer to the dripline.

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The latest addition to the computational arsenal of Jefferson Lab is an extraordinary machine with the admittedly ordinary name of “24s.” The 24s cluster at Jefferson Lab will work to unlock the mysteries of the nucleus of the atom. It was funded by the Nuclear and Particle Physics LQCD Computing Initiative of DOE’s Office of Nuclear Physics.

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Wayne State University's Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases (CEID) is launching its participation in World AMR Awareness Week with an urgent message: the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance requires immediate community action, so it is critical to educate, advocate, and act now.

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The veteran researcher receives inaugural award

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Protons and neutrons–known collectively as nucleons–are both the building blocks of matter, but one of these particles has received a bit more attention in certain types of nuclear physics experiments. Until now. New results published in Physical Review Letters describe a first-time direct glimpse of the internal structure of the neutron thanks to the development of a special, 10-years-in-the-making detector installed in Experimental Hall B at Jefferson Lab.

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A recent breakthrough in biotechnology promises to change the landscape of plant genetic engineering. Imagine a persistent invader—Agrobacterium—long used to deliver genes into plants. Despite its historical success, the journey has been fraught with setbacks, especially with crops that launch fierce immune defenses. But now, scientists have equipped this bacterial “invader” with powerful tools to conquer plant resistance, opening up new possibilities in agriculture and genetic research.

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Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a “flame-throwing guitar” has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope.

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A recent study has unraveled the intricate cellular blueprint behind the iconic fragrance of Prunus mume flowers. Using state-of-the-art single-cell RNA sequencing, researchers have constructed a high-resolution map of gene expression within petal cells across blooming stages. This atlas not only identifies six key cell types but also pinpoints the genetic pathways responsible for floral scent production. These discoveries mark a significant leap forward in understanding floral scent biosynthesis and could open new doors to cultivating aromatic plant varieties and innovations in the fragrance industry.

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A recent study has decoded the complete genome of Forsythia suspensa, a plant renowned for its medicinal value and decorative appeal. The research delivers a flawless, gap-free genome assembly, uncovering the complex architecture of centromeres vital to genetic stability. This advancement offers a detailed genetic map, setting the stage for future breakthroughs in ecological management and medical research.

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A research team at the University of Vienna, led by medicinal chemist Markus Muttenthaler, has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain. This groundbreaking innovation offers a safe, non-opioid-based solution for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affect millions of people worldwide. The research results were recently published in the international edition of the renowned journal Angewandte Chemie.

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The ITER vacuum vessel sectors, manufactured in South Korea, have been successfully delivered to the ITER construction site in Cadarache, France.

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KRICT researchers have unveiled groundbreaking LOHC materials that dramatically boost hydrogen storage and release rates, transforming hydrogen into a safer, more transportable energy source.

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A Stony Brook University research team has uncovered a novel regime, or set of conditions within a system, for cooperative radiative phenomena, casting new light on a 70-year-old problem in quantum optics.