Latest articles

Health & Medicine

Moderate evidenceHuman study

Study links genetic diabetes risk and alcohol intake with Dupuytren’s disease

Researchers analyzed human genetic data from large European-ancestry studies to examine whether diabetes, alcohol intake, obesity-related traits, or smoking might affect the risk of Dupuytren’s disease. Genetic liability for diabetes and higher genetically predicted alcohol intake were associated with a slightly higher risk, while obesity traits and smoking intensity showed no convincing association.

1 month ago·27 views

Society & Economics

How managing migrants has become tied to profit-making

A new article argues that migration management is entering a phase in which state action and profit-making are closely connected across public, private and nonprofit sectors. It examines how systems for managing migrants can also support the accumulation of capital, within what the authors describe as a politics of dehumanization.

1 month ago·28 views

Biology

Yoghurt and tomatoes reduced particle-linked DNA damage in lab tests

In laboratory experiments, yoghurt, tomatoes and several other Mediterranean foods reduced DNA damage caused by extracts of very fine air-pollution particles. The findings come from bacteria and human cell lines, so they do not yet show that eating these foods protects people from air pollution.

1 month ago·30 views

Society & Economics

When older adults are left offline, health and quality of life suffer

A systematic review finds that digital exclusion among older adults is associated with poorer quality of life and adverse health outcomes. The review identifies socioeconomic disadvantage, health-related vulnerabilities and barriers in the design and delivery of services as connected parts of the problem.

1 month ago·36 views

Climate & Environment

A satellite now tracks powerful cloud updrafts across the tropics

EarthCARE’s radar is providing global measurements of rising air inside tropical clouds, rather than relying only on indirect signs. The strongest updrafts were more common over land, especially during afternoon satellite passes, and were linked to compact cloud systems.

1 month ago·34 views

Climate & Environment

Water beneath a French glacier may have added to the 2024 La Bérarde flood

Water stored beneath Glacier de Bonne Pierre may have contributed to the severe June 2024 flood at La Bérarde in the French Alps, a study finds. The researchers estimate that subglacial barriers could theoretically have held water on the order of 10^5 cubic metres, but observations cannot confirm that such pockets existed or drained.

1 month ago·59 views

Society & Economics

Teaching about gender development may increase support for transgender youths’ autonomy

Adults in one study believed transgender youth develop their gender identity later than cisgender youth, and this belief was linked to less support for their autonomy. Across three studies, learning about similarities in gender development was associated with greater support for transgender youths’ autonomy and, in one study, more donations to a rights organization.

1 month ago·45 views

Biology

A common pig-feed toxin disrupts gut fungi and fermentation in piglets

Researchers found that the feed toxin deoxynivalenol, or DON, selectively disrupted gut fungi in piglets while leaving bacterial diversity intact. The changes were linked to altered microbial activity, lower butyrate and reduced total short-chain fatty acids in the colon.

1 month ago·55 views

Physics & Space

An ancient galaxy merger left a third mark in the Milky Way’s inner region

Globular clusters around the Milky Way reveal evidence of a previously identified but debated merger that occurred about 1.8 billion years before the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus merger. The incoming system had a similar stellar mass and deposited most of it in the Milky Way’s inner 6 kiloparsecs.

1 month ago·53 views

Biology

High evidenceReview

Review finds differences in back fascia among people with low back pain

A systematic review and meta-analysis compared imaging findings of the thoracolumbar fascia—a sheet of connective tissue in the lower back—in people with low back pain and people without symptoms. Across 14 human studies, the fascia was generally thicker, stiffer and more echogenic in the low-back-pain group, while findings about its ability to slide were unclear. These results show associations, not proof that fascia changes cause pain.

1 month ago·79 views

Climate & Environment

How sunlight-reflecting particles are released may change Earth's climate

Long-running computer simulations found that different stratospheric aerosol injection strategies can lead to substantially different climate outcomes. Some strategies stopped the decline of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, while another only slowed it, despite the simulations having the same temperature targets.

1 month ago·34 views

Engineering & Technology

A review outlines ways to limit fracking earthquakes in the Duvernay shale

A review of earthquakes linked to hydraulic fracturing in the Duvernay shale identifies geological and operational factors associated with higher seismicity. It proposes screening, injection limits and real-time monitoring, while noting that key triggering thresholds remain uncertain.

1 month ago·38 views

Climate & Environment

Varna harbor channel saw currents and water levels surge within 10 minutes

Minute-by-minute measurements in a channel linking Varna Lake with the Black Sea captured two episodes of unusually strong oscillations. Current speed and water level changed by as much as 0.8 metres per second and 0.8 metres, respectively, over 10 minutes.

1 month ago·30 views

Biology

Enriched adolescence protected stressed mice from schizophrenia-like changes

Giving mice a more stimulating environment during adolescence prevented behavioral and cognitive problems caused by early-life stress. The researchers linked the effect to restored CREB-BDNF-TrkB signaling and found reduced TrkB levels in neuron-derived exosomes from people with schizophrenia.

1 month ago·34 views

Health & Medicine

Moderate evidenceReview

Review links medication-raised blood pressure to better recovery in some stroke patients

A systematic review and meta-analysis examined medication-induced increases in blood pressure during the first 72 hours after certain acute ischemic strokes. Across three studies involving 366 people, those given this treatment were more likely to be functionally independent after 90 days, although the result does not establish that the treatment caused better recovery.

1 month ago·38 views