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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Researchers expected an enzyme involved in building tomato fruit cuticles to strengthen the fruit surface. Instead, engineered tomatoes had less cutin and wax, softer cuticles and greater susceptibility to a common fungus.
More efficient nitrogen management could improve air quality and reduce premature deaths while providing long-term climate and ecosystem benefits, according to simulations with two global climate models. The researchers also find a modest, temporary climate penalty before lower nitrous oxide emissions produce longer-term benefits.
A climate-model study finds that permafrost can continue thawing and releasing carbon for decades after warming begins to decline. The delay in recovery was larger when peak global warming exceeded 2 °C, although the results come from idealized experiments with one Earth system model.
