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Shells, composed mostly of invasive zebra mussels pile up at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. The Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species Control and Prevention Act of 1990 and the United States Geological Survey's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database were created in response to this mussel. corfoto/Getty Images hide caption

Here's what's missing from the invasive species narrative

August 28, 2024 • At first glance, the whole narrative of aquatic invasive species may seem straightforward: A bad non-native species comes into a new ecosystem and overruns good native species. But the truth? It's a little more complicated. To tear down everything we thought we knew about invasive species and construct a more nuanced picture, host Emily Kwong talks to experts Ian Pfingsten, who works on the United States Geological Survey's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, and Nicholas Reo, a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Coastal Relationalities and Regeneration.

Many people get into their phones when they're bored, then scroll through social media in the hopes of alleviating that boredom. But new research suggests that swiping from video to video might increase boredom, not alleviate it. Tippapatt/Getty Images hide caption

Scrolling might make you MORE bored, not less

August 23, 2024 • Have you ever scrolled through a TikTok without finishing it? Switched between YouTube videos halfway through one or the other? Pressed "fast forward" on a Netflix episode that just wasn't holding your interest? That habit is called "digital switching" — and it might be causing the exact thing you're trying to avoid: boredom. Emily and Regina break that and more of the week's news down with the help of All Things Considered 's Ailsa Chang.

Invasive cane toads like this one have fanned out across Australia, killing numerous predators in their wake, including freshwater crocodiles. Joshua Prieto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

To save wild crocodiles in Australia, scientists gave them food poisoning

August 16, 2024 • Freshwater crocodiles die every year in Australia from eating poisonous cane toads that humans introduced to the continent. Now scientists have found a way to teach the crocs to avoid the toxic toads.

Saving freshwater crocodiles — by teaching them to not eat poisonous toads

Conservation biologist Gliselle Marin carefully untangles a bat from a net in Belize during the annual Bat-a-thon. Her fanny pack is decorated with printed bats. Luis Echeverría for NPR hide caption

Goats and Soda

This scientist has a bat tat and earrings. she says there's a lot to learn from bats.

August 12, 2024 • Gliselle Marin joins the “Bat-a-thon,” a group of 80-some bat researchers who converge on Belize each year to study these winged mammals.

A scientist in Belize hopes bats can galvanize locals to protect their forests

Researchers glued cameras and tracking instruments to small pieces of neoprene, that they then glued to the fur of the sea lions Nathan Angelakis hide caption

Scientists attach video cameras to sea lions to map the ocean floor

August 9, 2024 • How do you study unmapped areas of the ocean and identify critical habitat for an endangered species? You include the study animal in the scientific process! Researchers from the University of Adelaide fitted endangered Australian sea lions with cameras and tracking devices to better understand where they spent their time. The information could help scientists protect critical sea lion habitat and could give researchers a new tool for mapping the ocean.

"Everything that we are as human beings is in our brain," Dr. Theodore Schwartz says. Brian Marcus /Penguin Randomhouse hide caption

Health Care

For this brain surgeon, the operating room is 'the ultimate in mindful meditation'.

August 5, 2024 • Dr. Theodore Schwartz has been treating neurological illnesses for nearly 30 years. He says being a brain surgeon requires steady hands — and a strong bladder. His new book is Gray Matters.

New blood tests that help detect Alzheimer's disease are opening up a new era in diagnosis and treatment, doctors say. Marcus Brandt/picture alliance/Getty Images hide caption

Shots - Health News

New blood tests can help diagnose alzheimer's. are doctors ready for what's next.

August 2, 2024 • A new generation of blood tests can help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But many doctors don’t yet know how to use them.

Alzheimer's blood tests

Some researchers say the African coral tree has a racial slur embedded in its name. This month, scientists at an international meeting voted to have that epithet removed. tree-species/Flickr hide caption

Some plant names can be racist. Scientists are looking to rename them

July 31, 2024 • An international group of researchers has voted to modify the scientific names of more than 200 plant species whose names carry a derogatory word.

Researchers are revising botanical names to address troubling connotations

A key protein called Reelin may help stave off Alzheimer's disease, according to a growing body of research. GSO Images/The Image Bank/Getty Images hide caption

A protein called Reelin keeps popping up in brains that resist aging and Alzheimer’s

July 29, 2024 • Early in life, the protein Reelin helps assemble the brain. Later on, it appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer’s and other threats to memory and thinking.

Alzheimer's resilience

There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial. Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images hide caption

We hate to tell you this, but there are leeches that can jump

July 29, 2024 • Generally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit that leeches are already the stuff of nightmares. They lurk in water. They drink blood. There are over 800 different species of them. And now, as scientists have confirmed ... at least some of them can jump!

Two chimpanzees groom each other — a behavior that can involve several gestures. Anup Shah/Getty Images hide caption

What chimpanzee gestures reveal about human communication

July 26, 2024 • Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles ours? According to a new study published earlier this week in the journal Current Biology , chimpanzees gesture back-and-forth in a similar way to how humans take turns speaking. The research presents an intriguing possibility that this style of communication may have evolved before humans split off from great apes, and tells researchers more about how turn-taking evolved.

Project RattleCam lets people observe rattlesnakes with a live webcam. Scott Boback hide caption

Watch a livestream of Colorado’s ‘mega den’ of pregnant rattlesnakes

July 24, 2024 • On a rocky hillside in Colorado is a “mega den” of hundreds of rattlesnakes — along with cameras livestreaming the whole thing.

 Pregnant Rattlesnakes Webcam

Glyptodonts were giant, armadillo-like shelled mammals that went extinct about 10,000 years ago. A study reveals that cut marks on a glyptodont fossil in South America could have been made by humans a little over 20,000 years ago. Daniel Eskridge/Stocktrek Images/Science Source hide caption

When did humans get to South America? This giant shelled mammal fossil may hold clues

July 23, 2024 • A fossil of an armadillo-like mammal appears to bear cut marks from butchering by humans, suggesting people were living in South America at least 20,000 years ago, even earlier than once thought.

Ancient Armadillos

Once completed, India's National River Linking Project will transfer an estimated 200 billion cubic meters of water around the country each year. STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images hide caption

India's plan to reroute rivers could have unintended consequences on rainfall

July 19, 2024 • More than a hundred years ago, a British engineer proposed linking two rivers in India to better irrigate the area and cheaply move goods. The link never happened, but the idea survived. Today, due to extreme flooding in some parts of the country mirrored by debilitating drought in others, India's National Water Development Agency plans to dig thirty links between rivers across the country. It's the largest project of its kind and will take decades to complete. But scientists are worried what moving that much water could do to the land, the people — and even the weather. Host Emily Kwong talks to journalist Sushmita Pathak about her recent story on the project.

In 2022, a large, unexpected rogue wave struck the Viking Polaris, breaking windows. One passenger died and others were injured. Alexis Delisi/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Rogue waves can strike without warning. These scientists found a way to predict them

July 18, 2024 • Scientists have created a new tool that can give 5 minutes advance warning of a dangerous rogue wave in the ocean.

A study finds that psilocybin can desynchronize networks in the brain, potentially enhancing its plasticity. Sara Moser/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hide caption

A scientist took a psychedelic drug — and watched his own brain 'fall apart'

July 18, 2024 • Scientists scanned the brains of people who took psilocybin, including a member of the research team. The scans showed how the drug disrupts key networks, potentially enhancing brain plasticity.

A prominent brain scientist took psilocybin as part of his own brain study

Crows can be trained to count out loud much in the way that human toddlers do, a study finds. Andreas Nieder/Universal Images Group Editorial hide caption

Crows can count out loud like human toddlers — when they aren't cheating the test

July 18, 2024 • A study finds that carrion crows can be taught to count and make vocalizations that indicate the number counted, much in the same way that human toddlers do.

Crows can count vocally like toddlers, research shows

An image released by the FDA shows bottles containing tianeptine and other compounds. Authorities have urged gas station store owners and others not to sell the products, with names like Neptune's Fix, Za Za and Tianaa, citing serious health risks. FDA hide caption

8 things to know about the drug known as 'gas station heroin'

July 14, 2024 • For decades, tianeptine was used to treat depression, even though no one knew how it worked. But it turns out it's a type of opioid, and the U.S. is facing a spike in abuse of "gas station heroin."

Researchers found that AI could increase the creativity of individual writers, but it also led to many similar stories. Moor Studio/Getty Images hide caption

Research shows AI can boost creativity for some, but at a cost

July 12, 2024 • Amateur writers using AI tools produced stories that were deemed more creative, but the research suggests the creativity of the group overall went down.

The star cluster Omega Centauri contains millions of stars. The movement of some stars suggests that an intermediate-sized black hole lies at its center. NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA hide caption

Astronomers spot a mysterious black hole nestled in a cluster of stars

July 10, 2024 • A report from Nature shows that astronomers may have found a medium-sized black hole, a kind they've long looked for.

Astronomers spot a mysterious black hole nestled in a cluster of stars.

Some ants, like the Florida carpenter ant, treat the injured legs of comrades, and will even perform medical amputations when necessary. Zen Rial/Getty Images hide caption

Like humans, these ants can perform leg amputations to save lives

July 10, 2024 • Some ants herd aphids. Some farm fungi. And now, scientists have realized that when an ant injures its leg, it sometimes will turn to a buddy to perform a lifesaving limb amputation. Not only that — some ants have probably been amputating limbs longer than humans! Today, thanks to the reporting of ant enthusiast and science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce, we behold the medical prowess of the ant.

A generic drug that's used to treat transplant patients has been shown to extend the life span of some animals. Guido Mieth/Getty Images hide caption

Rapamycin may slow aging. Here's one way the drug will be tested

July 1, 2024 • Longevity researchers are taking a generic drug they think may help extend people's lives. Now a dentist is testing if rapamycin stops gum disease — a canary in the coal mine for age-related diseases.

Anti-aging drug Rapamycin to prevent gum disease 

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MIT’s top research stories of 2021

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Despite the pandemic’s disruptions, MIT’s research community still found a way to generate a number of impressive research breakthroughs in 2021. In the spirit of reflection that comes with every new orbit around the sun, below we count down 10 of the most-viewed research stories on MIT News from the past year.

We’ve also rounded up the year’s top MIT community-related stories .

10. Giving cancer treatment a recharge . In October, researchers discovered a way to jump-start the immune system to attack tumors. The method combines chemotherapy and immunotherapy to spur immune cells into action. The researchers hope it could allow immunotherapy to be used against more types of cancer.

9. Generating 3D holograms in real-time . Computer scientists developed a deep-learning-based system that allows computers to create holograms almost instantly. The system could be used to create holograms for virtual reality, 3D printing, medical imaging, and more — and it’s efficient enough to run on a smartphone.

8. Creating inhalable vaccines . Scientists at the Koch Institute developed a method for delivering vaccines directly to the lungs through inhalation. The new strategy induced a strong immune response in the lungs of mice and could offer a quicker response to viruses that infect hosts through mucosal surfaces.

7. Assessing Covid-19 transmission risk . Two MIT professors proposed a new approach to estimating the risks of exposure to Covid-19 in different indoor settings. The guidelines suggest a limit for exposure based on factors such as the size of the space, the number of people, the kinds of activity, whether masks are worn, and ventilation and filtration rates.

6. Teaching machine learning models to adapt . Researchers in CSAIL developed a new type of neural network that can change its underlying equations to continuously adapt to new data. The advance could improve models’ decision-making based on data that changes over time, such as in medical diagnosis and autonomous driving.

5. Programming fibers . In June, a team created the first fabric fiber with digital capabilities. The fibers can sense, store, analyze, and infer data and activity after being sewn into a shirt. The researchers say the fibers could be used to monitor physical performance, to detect diseases, and for a variety of medical purposes.

4. Examining the limitations of data visualizations . A collaboration between anthropologists and computer scientists found that coronavirus skeptics have used sophisticated data visualizations to argue against public health orthodoxy like wearing a mask. The researchers concluded that data visualizations aren’t sufficient to convey the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic because even the clearest graphs can be interpreted through a variety of belief systems.

3. Developing a Covid-detecting face mask . Engineers at MIT and Harvard University designed a prototype face mask that can diagnose the person wearing the mask with Covid-19 in about 90 minutes. The masks are embedded with tiny, disposable sensors that can be fitted into other face masks and could also be adapted to detect other viruses.

2. Confirming Hawking’s black hole theorem . Using observations of gravitational waves, physicists from MIT and elsewhere confirmed a major theorem created by Stephen Hawking in 1971. The theorem states that the area of a black hole’s event horizon — the boundary beyond which nothing can ever escape — will never shrink.

1. Advancing toward fusion energy . In September, researchers at MIT and the MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems ramped up a high-temperature superconducting electromagnet to a field strength of 20 tesla, the most powerful magnetic field of its kind ever created on Earth. The demonstration was three years in the making and is believed to resolve one of greatest remaining points of uncertainty in the quest to build the world’s first fusion power plant that produces more energy than it consumes.

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Our Bigger Brains Came With a Downside: Faster Aging

A study comparing chimpanzee and human brains suggests that the regions that grew the most during human evolution are the most susceptible to aging.

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Canada’s Wildfires Were a Top Global Emitter Last Year, Study Says

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Zebrafish study confirms regenerated photoreceptor cells fully restore vision

by Magdalena Gonciarz, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden University of Technology

Blinding diseases lead to permanent vision loss by damaging photoreceptor cells, which humans cannot naturally regenerate. While researchers are working on new methods to replace or regenerate these cells, the crucial question is whether these regenerated photoreceptors can fully restore vision.

Now, a team of researchers led by Prof. Michael Brand at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) of Dresden University of Technology has made an important step forward. By studying zebrafish, an animal naturally capable of photoreceptor regeneration, the team showed that regenerated photoreceptors are as good as original ones and regain their normal function, allowing the fish to recover complete vision .

Their results, published in the journal Developmental Cell , offer promising insights for the future of photoreceptor replacement therapies.

Vision is a complex sense that depends on the retina. This complex neural tissue in the back of our eyes is actually an external piece of the brain. It is where photoreceptor cells capture light and convert it into electrical signals . For humans, these photoreceptors are not replaced after damage. Once lost, they do not regenerate, leading to irreversible vision loss.

Therapies that are currently under development, including at the CRTD in Dresden, aim to replace damaged human photoreceptors and restore vision, either by stimulating stem cells within the retina to develop into new photoreceptors or by transplanting photoreceptors grown outside of the body.

Unlike humans, zebrafish have a remarkable ability to regenerate parts of their nervous system even after severe damage. Zebrafish can regrow photoreceptors from special stem cells located in the retina, known as Müller glia. This unique ability makes zebrafish an ideal model for studying the potential to restore vision through photoreceptor regeneration.

"Mammalian retina, including human retina, has very similar Müller glia cells. However, our cells have lost the ability to regenerate during evolution. Since these cells are so very similar, however, it may be possible to rekindle this regeneration potential for therapeutic applications in the future," says Prof. Michael Brand, research group leader at the CRTD who led the study. "However, it is crucial to determine if such new photoreceptor cells can function as effectively as the originals."

Making the impossible measurements

Researchers have long known that zebrafish can regenerate damaged retinas, with new photoreceptors appearing identical to the originals. Various groups, including the group of Prof. Brand, developed behavioral tests that confirmed that fish regained vision after regeneration. But these tests could not directly assess the extent to which the photoreceptor function was restored.

"The only comprehensive test to see if the vision is fully restored is to directly measure the electrophysiological activity of the retinal cells. Are photoreceptors correctly stimulated by the various colors of light? Are they electrically active to the same extent? Are they connected to the neighboring cells? Are they passing the signal to them? Are all the typical circuits engaged?" says Prof. Brand.

To answer these questions, the Brand team used a genetically modified zebrafish that let them use high-end microscopy to track the activity of photoreceptors at the photoreceptor synapse, i.e., directly where the photoreceptors connect to other nerve cells and pass the electric signal forward.

However, testing the function of regenerated photoreceptors proved to be a significant technical challenge. Photoreceptors convert light into electrical signals. But using light to observe cells under the microscope simultaneously stimulates them. This technical difficulty seemed almost impossible to overcome.

However, with input from Prof. Tom Baden from the University of Sussex in Brighton, U.K., and Dr. Hella Hartmann, leader of the Light Microscopy Facility at the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering at TUD, it was possible to build a custom microscope that allowed the team to uncouple the stimulation from observation and measurement for different light colors, and to overcome this technical hurdle.

Using this advanced custom setup, the Brand team could show that the regenerated photoreceptors indeed regain their normal physiological function. They respond to light at different wavelengths, transmit the electric signal to neighboring cells, and do so with the same sensitivity, quality, and speed as original photoreceptors in an intact retina.

Hope for the future

"Restoring all of these aspects of photoreceptor function, together with our previous work on restoring vision-controlled behavior, confirmed on a molecular level that the fish can fully 'see' again," says Prof. Brand.

"Humans and fish have a common evolutionary ancestry and share most of the genes and types of cells. Therefore, we hope that humans can learn this 'regeneration trick' from the zebrafish .

"It is important to note that, at this stage, our work is classical basic research. It is still a long way until it can be applied in the clinic. However, being able to eventually achieve such functional regeneration from stem cells already located in the human retina could potentially revolutionize the treatment of currently untreatable diseases like retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration. This study brings us one step closer to that dream," concludes Prof. Brand.

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Striking findings from 2023

Pew Research Center has gathered data around some of this year’s defining news stories, from the rise of artificial intelligence to the debate over affirmative action in college admissions . Here’s a look back at 2023 through some of our most striking research findings.

These findings only scratch the surface of the Center’s research from this past year .

A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married, according to a Center analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data . As of 2021, a quarter of 40-year-olds had never been married – up from 6% in 1980.

In 2021, the demographic groups most likely not to have ever been married by age 40 include men, Black Americans and those without a four-year college degree.

A Center survey conducted in April found that relatively few Americans see marriage as essential for people to live a fulfilling life compared with factors like job satisfaction and friendship. While majorities say that having a job or career they enjoy (71%) and having close friends (61%) are extremely or very important for living a fulfilling life, far fewer say this about having children (26%) or being married (23%). Larger shares, in fact, say having children (42%) or being married (44%) are not too or not at all important.

About half of Americans say the increased use of artificial intelligence in daily life makes them feel more concerned than excited – up 14 percentage points from last year, according to an August survey . Overall, 52% of Americans say they feel this way, an increase from 38% in December 2022.

Just 10% of adults say they are more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI, while 36% say they feel an equal mix of these emotions.

The rise in concern about AI has taken place alongside growing public awareness of the technology. Nine-in-ten adults say they have heard either a lot (33%) or a little (56%) about artificial intelligence. The share of those who have heard  a lot  is up 7 points since December 2022.

For the first time in over 30 years of public opinion polling, Americans’ views of the U.S. Supreme Court are more negative than positive, a July survey found . A narrow majority (54%) have an unfavorable view of the high court, while fewer than half (44%) express a favorable one.

The court’s favorable rating has declined 26 percentage points since 2020, following a series of high-profile rulings on issues including affirmative action in college admissions, LGBTQ+ rights and student loans. The drop in favorability is primarily due to a decline among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, just 24% of whom express a favorable opinion of the court.

A growing share of U.S. adults say the federal government should take steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits freedom of information, a June survey found . The share of U.S. adults with this view has risen from 39% in 2018 to 55% in 2023.

In the most recent survey, 42% of adults took the opposite view, saying the government should protect freedom of information, even if it means false information can be published.

Still, Americans remain more likely to say that tech companies – rather than the U.S. government – should be responsible for restricting false information online. About two-thirds (65%) said this in June.

The number of U.S. children and teens killed by gunfire rose 50% in just two years, according to a 2023 analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2019, there were 1,732 gun deaths among U.S. children and teens under 18. By 2021, that figure had increased to 2,590.

The gun death  rate  among children and teens – a measure that adjusts for changes in the nation’s population – rose 46% during that span.

Both the number and rate of children and teens killed by gunfire in 2021 were the highest since at least 1999, the earliest year for which this information is available in the CDC’s mortality database.

Most Asian Americans view their ancestral homelands favorably – but not Chinese Americans, according to a multilingual, nationally representative survey of Asian American adults .

Only about four-in-ten Chinese Americans (41%) have a favorable opinion of China, while 35% have an unfavorable one. Another 22% say they have a neither favorable nor unfavorable view. This stands in contrast to how other Asian Americans view their ancestral homelands. For instance, about nine-in-ten Taiwanese and Japanese Americans have a very or somewhat favorable opinion of their place of origin, as do large majorities of Korean, Indian and Filipino Americans.

While Chinese Americans’ views of China are more mixed, they still have a more favorable opinion of the country than other Asian adults do. Just 14% of other Asian Americans view China favorably.

Even before the Israel-Hamas war, Israelis had grown more skeptical of a two-state solution. In a survey conducted in March and April , prior to the war, just 35% of Israelis thought “a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully.” This share had declined by 9 percentage points since 2017 and 15 points since 2013.

Among both Arabs and Jews living in Israel, there have been declines over the past decade in the share of people who believe that a peaceful coexistence between Israel and an independent Palestinian state is possible.

A majority of Americans say they would tip 15% or less for an average restaurant dining experience, including 2% who wouldn’t leave a tip at all, an August survey shows . The survey presented respondents with a hypothetical scenario in which they went to a sit-down restaurant and had average – but not exceptional – food and service. About six-in-ten (57%) say they would leave a tip of 15% or less in this situation. Another 12% say they would leave a tip of 18%, and a quarter of people say they’d tip 20% or more.

Adults in lower-income households and those ages 65 and older are more likely than their counterparts to say they would tip 15% or less in a situation like this.

Partisan views of Twitter – the social media platform now called X – have shifted over the last two years, with Republican users’ views of the site growing more positive and those of Democratic users becoming more negative, according to a March survey . The share of Republican and GOP-leaning users who said the site is mostly bad for American democracy fell from 60% in 2021 to 21% earlier this year. At the same time, the share of Republican users who said the site is mostly good for democracy rose from 17% to 43% during the same span.

Democrats’ views moved in the opposite direction during that time frame. The percentage of Democratic and Democratic-leaning Twitter users who said the platform is good for American democracy decreased from 47% to 24%, while the share who said it is bad for democracy increased – though more modestly – from 28% to 35%.

These changes in views follow Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform in fall 2022.

Nearly half of U.S. workers who get paid time off don’t take all the time off their employer offers, according to a February survey of employed Americans . Among those who say their employer offers paid time off for vacation, doctors’ appointments or to deal with minor illnesses, 46% say they take less time off than they are allowed. A similar share (48%) say they typically take all the time off they are offered.

Among those who don’t take all their paid time off, the most common reasons cited are not feeling the need to take more time off (52% say this), worrying they might fall behind at work (49%), and feeling badly about their co-workers taking on additional work (43%).

Smaller shares cite other concerns, including the feeling that taking more time off might hurt their chances for job advancement (19%) or that they might risk losing their job (16%). Some 12% say their manager or supervisor discourages them from taking time off.

An overwhelming majority of Americans (79%) express a negative sentiment when asked to describe politics in the United States these days, a July survey found . Just 2% offer a positive word or phrase, while 10% say something neutral.

Among those who volunteered an answer, 8% use the word “ divisive” or variations of it, while 2% cite the related term “polarized.” “Corrupt” is the second-most frequent answer, given by 6% of respondents.

The top 15 most cited words also include “messy,” “chaos,” “broken” and “dysfunctional.” Many respondents are even more negative in their views: “terrible,” “disgusting,” “disgrace” and the phrase “dumpster fire” are each offered by at least 1% of respondents.

Around half of Americans (53%) say they have ever been visited by a dead family member in a dream or in another form, according to a spring survey . Overall, 46% of Americans report that they’ve been visited by a dead family member in a dream, while 31% report having been visited by dead relatives in some other form.

Women are more likely than men to report these experiences.

While the survey asked whether people have had interactions with dead relatives, it did not ask for explanations. So, we don’t know whether people view these experiences as mysterious or supernatural, whether they see them as having natural or scientific causes, or some of both.

For example, the survey did not ask what respondents meant when they said they had been visited in a dream by a dead relative. Some might have meant that relatives were trying to send them messages or information from beyond the grave. Others might have had something more commonplace in mind, such as dreaming about a favorite memory of a family member.

More Americans disapprove than approve of selective colleges and universities taking race and ethnicity into account when making admissions decisions, according to another spring survey , fielded before the Supreme Court ruled on the practice in June. Half of U.S. adults disapprove of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at the schools, while a third approve and 16% are not sure.

Views differ widely by party, as well as by race and ethnicity. Around three-quarters of Republicans and Republican leaners (74%) disapprove of the practice, while 54% of Democrats and Democratic leaners approve of it.

Nearly half of Black Americans (47%) say they approve of colleges and universities considering race and ethnicity in admissions, while smaller shares of Hispanic (39%), Asian (37%) and White (29%) Americans say the same.

The share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive effect on society has declined since 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak, a fall survey shows : 57% say science has had a mostly positive effect on society, down from 73% in 2019.

About a third of adults (34%) now say the impact of science on society has been equally positive and negative. And 8% say science has had a mostly negative impact on society.

Democrats have become much more likely than Republicans to say science has had a mostly positive impact on society (69% vs. 47%). This gap is the result of steeper declines in positive ratings among Republicans than among Democrats since 2019 (down 23 points and 8 points, respectively).

Nearly three-in-ten Americans express an unfavorable opinion of both major political parties – the highest share in at least three decades, according to a July survey . Overall, 28% of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of both the Republican and Democratic parties. This is more than quadruple the share in 1994, when just 6% of Americans viewed both parties negatively.

A majority of Americans say TikTok is a threat to national security, according to a survey conducted in May . About six-in-ten adults (59%) see the social media platform as a major or minor threat to national security in the United States. Just 17% say it is  not  a threat to national security and another 23% aren’t sure.

Views vary by partisanship and age. Seven-in-ten Republicans and GOP leaners say TikTok is at least a minor threat to national security, compared with 53% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Conservative Republicans are more likely than moderate or liberal Republicans – or Democrats of any ideology – to say the view the app as a major threat.

Nearly half of those ages 65 and older (46%) see TikTok as a major threat to national security, compared with a much smaller share (13%) of adults ages 18 to 29.

Read the other posts in our striking findings series:

• Striking findings from 2022
• Striking findings from 2021
• 20 striking findings from 2020
• 19 striking findings from 2019
• 18 striking findings from 2018
• 17 striking findings from 2017
• 16 striking findings from 2016
• 15 striking findings from 2015
• 14 striking findings from 2014
• Affirmative Action
• Artificial Intelligence
• Asian Americans
• Business & Workplace
• Death & Dying
• Defense & National Security
• Family & Relationships
• Misinformation Online
• Other Topics
• Politics & Policy
• Social Media
• Supreme Court
• Trust in Science
• Twitter (X)
• Unmarried Adults
• War & International Conflict

Katherine Schaeffer is a research analyst at Pew Research Center .

Private, selective colleges are most likely to use race, ethnicity as a factor in admissions decisions

Americans and affirmative action: how the public sees the consideration of race in college admissions, hiring, asian americans hold mixed views around affirmative action, more americans disapprove than approve of colleges considering race, ethnicity in admissions decisions, hispanic enrollment reaches new high at four-year colleges in the u.s., but affordability remains an obstacle, most popular.

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UC Irvine study reveals health impacts of repeated wildfires and smoke exposure

Research focused on impacted communities in eastern Coachella Valley

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 28, 2024 — University of California, Irvine public health researchers have published a study in the journal Environmental Research Health highlighting the compounded effects of frequent wildfires and smoke exposure on physical and mental health, local economies and community resilience in Southern California.

Through detailed focus groups and surveys across four affected locales – Thermal, Mecca, Oasis and North Shore – in eastern Coachella Valley, the work provides a comprehensive look at the personal and collective toll these disasters take on residents, says corresponding author Suellen Hopfer, associate professor of health, society and behavior at UC Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.

The eastern Coachella Valley is a desert ecosystem within Riverside County with increasingly invasive grasslands coupled with extreme heat that frequently experiences wildfires. Hispanic American populations are well established in the valley, with an estimated 92 percent of residents originating from Latino countries (mostly Mexico). Agriculture and construction are the predominant industries and employers in this region.

Between February and April 2023, Hopfer and her team collected and analyzed 118 valley residents’ personal stories of evacuations, health impacts and disruptions to daily life caused by fires and smoke. Their findings are among the few to contribute to the literature about how low-income, marginalized communities can respond to and protect themselves from wildfire threats. They also highlight the strength and perseverance of the people fighting these circumstances.

The residents shared stories with the researchers about physical health issues triggered by wildfire smoke. Breathing difficulties, sinus problems and eye irritation were common, particularly among children, the elderly and those with preexisting conditions. Equally important were the mental health impacts.

Living with persistent smoke and extreme heat, children unable to go outside, and family members working in extreme heat and smoke resulted in continuous psychological stress, anxiety and fear. These psychological stressors were exacerbated by the constant possibility of dangerous wildfires.

“This report is made possible by the eastern Coachella Valley families and community residents who shared their fire experiences and effects with our research team,” said Hopfer, who holds a joint appointment in pediatrics. “Through our community-academia partnership, our findings can serve as a critical resource for policymakers, emergency response teams and public health officials aiming to develop more effective support systems to protect ECV’s most vulnerable populations.”

The findings, she added, underscore the urgent need for improved emergency preparedness and resources. Residents called for better communication channels, affordable trash services to reduce fire risks and tailored fire prevention education in Spanish. The study also emphasizes the importance of community interaction in wildfire mitigation, Hopfer said, with neighbors playing crucial roles in alerting and assisting one another during emergencies.

Additional authors included UC Irvine doctoral candidates Anqi Jiao and Mengyi Li, as well as Jun Wu, professor of environmental and occupational health, from the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, along with Anna Lisa Vargas from Communities for a New California Education Fund.

This work was supported by a grant from the California Air Resources Board.

UC Irvine’s Brilliant Future campaign: Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for the university. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UC Irvine seeks to reach new heights of excellence in student success, health and wellness, research and more. The Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health plays a vital role in the success of the campaign. Learn more at https://brilliantfuture.uci.edu/school-of-population-and-public-health .

About the University of California, Irvine:  Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by  U.S. News & World Report . The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit  www.uci.edu .

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus studio with a Comrex IP audio codec to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu . Additional resources for journalists may be found at https://news.uci.edu/media-resources .

Study reveals increasing influence of non-cognitive skills on academic achievement from childhood to adolescence

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In a recent study published in Nature Human Behavior , researchers assessed the associations between cognitive and non-cognitive (NCS) skills and academic achievement from ages 7 to 16.

Children who can regulate their impulses and attention and are motivated and emotionally stable perform better in school, independent of their cognitive abilities.

These socioemotional characteristics have been described as NCS. NCS predicting better educational outcomes can be classified into three overlapping domains – personality traits, motivational factors, and self-regulatory strategies.

Research on twins has revealed that genetic differences between individuals contribute to differences in NCS. Most NCS are moderately heritable.

Besides, studies have observed genetic correlations between NCS and academic achievement. These genetic links have been confirmed using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based methods.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants correlated with the completion of formal education.

A polygenic score (PGS) based on GWAS results predicts greater academic motivation, increased self-control, and more adaptive personality traits. Further, NCS genetics are related to health-risk behaviors, gratification delay, openness to experience, and conscientiousness.

About the study

In the present study, researchers examined associations of NCS and cognitive skills with academic achievement over development. Participants were twins born in England and Wales during 1994-96 and were part of the Twins Early Development Study.

The current study analyzed data collected when twins were aged 4, 7, 9, 12, and 16. The team focused on two broad NCS dimensions modeled as latent factors – education-specific NCS and domain-general self-regulation skills.

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At age 9, information on education-specific NCS was obtained from teachers, parents, and twins’ self-reports.

Measures included the classroom environment questionnaire, self-perceived academic ability, and academic interest. At age 12, data were similarly collected on the following measures: self-perceived academic ability, literacy and mathematics environment questionnaires, and academic interest.

At age 16, education-specific NCS were assessed via twins’ self-reports on an academic self-concept scale, school engagement, grit, academic ambition, mathematics self- efficacy , time spent studying math, mathematics interest, attitudes toward school, and curiosity. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire examined behavioral and emotional self-regulation at all ages.

Four tests were administered to measure cognitive ability at ages 7, 9, and 12. At age 16, a composite non-verbal and verbal test was administered for measuring cognitive ability.

Academic achievement at ages 7, 9, and 12 was assessed using teacher reports. At age 16, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam scores were used to evaluate academic achievement.

Latent factors of domain-general self-regulation skills and education-specific NCS positively correlated with academic achievement at developmental stages.

The effect sizes increased with age. Further, both non-cognitive factors were significantly associated with academic achievement beyond cognitive skills. Notably, the heritability of NCS was significantly different across developmental stages and raters.

Further, the researchers found that genetic factors associated with cognitive skills accounted for 21% to 36% of the total variance in academic achievement. NCS-associated genetic effects accounted for up to 32.5% of the variance, independent of cognitive skills. Moreover, 5% to 37% of the variance in academic achievement was independent of genetic effects associated with NCS and cognitive skills.

Next, the researchers calculated PGSs for non-cognitive and cognitive factors and assessed their associations with academic, cognitive, and non-cognitive phenotypes.

Cognitive PGS significantly predicted variations in NCS over development. Likewise, non-cognitive PGS predicted variations in NCS, independent of the cognitive PGS. While the association was smaller at younger ages for parent-reported education-specific NCS, it increased over developmental stages.

Non-cognitive and cognitive PGSs predicted variations in verbal, non-verbal, and general cognitive abilities at all stages of development.

Associations between cognitive PGS and academic achievement were evident at seven years, which remained consistent over time. By contrast, effects were weaker for non-cognitive PGS in early ages but increased over time, reaching the same levels as cognitive PGS at 16 years.

Conclusions

In sum, the study investigated associations of non-cognitive and cognitive genetics with educational achievement during compulsory education.

The findings indicate that NCS predicted academic achievement over time, which was substantial even when cognitive skills were accounted for. These associations were largely due to shared genetic factors.

Further, the effects of non-cognitive genetics were sustained even after family-fixed effects were accounted for.

Together, these results underscore the crucial role of NCS in primary and secondary education. As such, fostering NCS could be an avenue for successful academic interventions and strategies.

Malanchini M, Allegrini AG, Nivard MG, et al. (2024) Genetic associations between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement over development. Nature Human Behavior. doi : 10.1038/s41562-024-01967-9 . https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-01967-9

Posted in: Child Health News | Medical Science News | Medical Research News | Medical Condition News

Tags: Children , DNA , Education , Efficacy , Genetic , Genetics , Genome , Research , Twins

Tarun Sai Lomte

Tarun is a writer based in Hyderabad, India. He has a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Hyderabad and is enthusiastic about scientific research. He enjoys reading research papers and literature reviews and is passionate about writing.

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A Cellular Community in the Brain Drives Alzheimer’s Disease

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An analysis of more than 1.6 million brain cells from older adults has captured the cellular changes that occur in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, potentially revealing new routes for preventing the most common cause of dementia in older individuals.

The study also identified a second community of cells that drives the older brain down a different path that does not lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our study highlights that Alzheimer’s is a disease of many cells and their interactions, not just a single type of dysfunctional cell,” says Columbia neurologist Philip De Jager , who led the study with Vilas Menon , assistant professor of neurological sciences at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Naomi Habib of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

“We may need to modify cellular communities to preserve cognitive function, and our study reveals points along the sequence of events leading to Alzheimer’s where we may be able to intervene.”

Crunching data from 1.6 million brain cells

The study was a technical marvel, cleverly combining new molecular technologies, machine-learning techniques, and a large collection of brains donated by aging adults.

Though previous studies of brain samples from Alzheimer’s patients have provided insights into molecules involved in the disease, they have not revealed many details about where in the long sequence of events leading to Alzheimer’s those genes play a role and which cells are involved at each step of the process.

“Past studies have analyzed brain samples as a whole and they lose all cellular detail,” De Jager says. “We now have tools to look at the brain in finer resolution, at the level of individual cells. When we couple this with detailed information on the cognitive state of brain donors before death, we can reconstruct trajectories of brain aging from the earliest stages of the disease.”

The new analysis required over 400 brains, which were provided by the Religious Orders Study and the Memory & Aging Project based at Rush University in Chicago.

Within each brain, the researchers collected several thousand cells from a brain region impacted by Alzheimer’s and aging. Every cell was then run through a process—single-cell RNA sequencing—that gave a readout of the cell’s activity and which of its genes were active.

Data from all 1.6 million cells were then analyzed by algorithms and machine-learning techniques developed by Menon and Habib to identify the types of cells present in the sample and their interactions with other cells.

“These methods allowed us to gain new insights into potential sequences of molecular events that result in altered brain function and cognitive impairment,” Menon says. “This was only possible thanks to the large number of brain donors and cells the team was fortunate enough to generate data from.”

Aging vs. Alzheimer’s

Because the brains came from people at different points in the disease process, the researchers were able to solve a major challenge in Alzheimer’s research: identifying the sequence of changes in cells involved in Alzheimer’s and distinguishing these changes from those associated with normal brain aging.

“We propose that two different types of microglial cells—the immune cells of the brain—begin the process of amyloid and tau accumulation that define Alzheimer’s disease,” De Jager says.

Then after the pathology has accumulated, different cells called astrocytes play a key role in altering electrical connectivity in the brain that leads to cognitive impairment. The cells communicate with each other and bring in additional cell types that lead to a profound disruption in the way the human brain functions.

“These are exciting new insights that can guide innovative therapeutic development for Alzheimer’s and brain aging,” De Jager says.

“By understanding how individual cells contribute to the different stages of the disease, we will know the best approach with which to reduce the activity of the pathogenic cellular communities in each individual, returning brain cells to their healthy state,” De Jager says.

Additional information

Top image of astrocytes and neurons in a dish by Kevin Richetin, University of Lausanne, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 .

Philip De Jager, MD, PhD, is the Weil-Granat Professor of Neurology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he is also director of the Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center, and deputy director of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain.

Vilas Menon, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The paper, “ Cellular communities reveal trajectories of brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease ,” was published Aug. 28 in Nature.

All authors: Gilad Sahar Green (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Masashi Fujita (Columbia), Hyun-Sik Yang (Harvard), Mariko Taga (Columbia), Anael Cain (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Cristin McCabe (Broad Institute), Natacha Comandante-Lou (Columbia), Charles C. White (Broad Institute), Anna K. Schmidtner (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Lu Zeng (Columbia), Alina Sigalov (Columbia), Yangling Wang (Rush University Medical Center), Aviv Regev (Genentech), Hans-Ulrich Klein (Columbia), Vilas Menon (Columbia), David A. Bennett (Rush University Medical Center), Naomi Habib, (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), and Philip L. De Jager (Columbia).

The work was supported by the NIH (grants RF1AG057473, U01AG061356, U01AG046152, R01AG070438, R01AG015819, U01AG072572, R01AG066831, K23AG062750, K23AG062750, and R01AG080667), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CS-02018-191971), the Israel Science Foundation (1709/19), the European Research Council (853409), Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (3-15687), the Myers Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association (ADSF-21-816675), and a Minerva Fellowship of the Minerva Stiftung Gesellschaft fuer die Forschung mbH.

The Columbia authors declare no competing interests.

Sleeping longer on the weekend may help lower heart disease risk

For adults who struggle to get the recommended amount of quality sleep, new research suggests “catching up” those lost hours on the weekends may significantly decrease the risk of heart disease. 

Many people build up “sleep debt” during the week, hoping to make up for it by getting extra hours over the weekend. Sleep debt is the difference between how much quality sleep we need — at least seven hours each night — and how much we actually get, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In a new analysis being presented Sunday at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London, cardiovascular researchers based in China found that people who got the most sleep on the weekend were 19% less likely to develop heart disease, compared with a group who slept the fewest extra hours those two days. 

Previous research has shown that not getting enough sleep is associated with poor health. However, there has been little research into how getting extra sleep on the weekend affects the heart.

The researchers, from State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease, Fuwai Hospital and the National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease in Beijing, analyzed data from 90,903 subjects who were involved in the UK Biobank project .

The goal was to evaluate the relationship between heart disease and “compensated sleep,” defined as catching up on lost sleep during the weekend.

The participants, pulled from the massive U.K. database containing genetic and medical information, self-reported their sleep hours as part of the program. About 1 in 5 were considered sleep-deprived, defined as having less than seven hours of sleep per night. 

For the new research, participants were divided into four groups based on how much extra, or “compensated,” sleep they were able to “catch up” on during the weekend.

The researchers followed up with the participants to see whether they developed heart disease using hospital records and cause-of-death registry information. 

After an average follow-up of almost 14 years, participants who compensated with the most extra sleep on the weekend — from a little over an hour to about 16 hours — were 19% less likely to develop heart disease, compared with the group who slept the least over the weekend.  

The study has several limitations. It's an association and doesn't prove that weekend catch-up sleep directly leads to an improvement in heart health. And other factors not studied may be responsible for the results, said Dr. Muhammad Adeel Rishi, associate professor of medicine in the department of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

And sleeping an extra few hours on the weekend may not undo the effects of a large “sleep debt” accumulated over the week, experts say. A 2019 study found a link between catch-up sleep behavior and increased snacking and weight gain.

Sleeping longer on the weekend can only partly reduce sleep debt, Rishi said.

“For example, sleeping longer over the weekend may reduce fatigue and sleepiness; however, [it] may not reduce the risk of obesity in people who are [sleep] deprived,” said Rishi, who wasn’t involved with the new study.

A recent Gallup Poll found only 42% of U.S. adults get as much sleep as they need, and 57% say they would feel better if they could get more.

Shiv Sudhakar, M.D., is an infectious disease specialist and health contributor to NBC News Health. He works in addiction medicine, so is very passionate about decreasing substance abuse, combating homelessness and improving mental health. 

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Wildfire and Extreme Rain Intensify Erosion and Sediment Flow, USGS-led Study Shows

In a warming climate, increased wildfire activity coupled with extreme rain events is causing significant erosion, leading to heightened sediment flow in rivers. This phenomenon has critical implications for water resource management and infrastructure maintenance.

A recent study led by scientists at USGS characterizes the magnitude of sediment production in watersheds affected by such events, focusing on the Carmel River watershed on the central California coast.

The study aimed to quantify the sediment generated by wildfire followed by extreme rain and flooding. By measuring the volume of sediment deposited within a reservoir fed by the Carmel River watershed, researchers could assess the rate of sediment export post-fire and flood. Their findings indicated that the sediment production rate following these events was significantly higher than the long-term average for the region.

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Read a related press release: Erosion following wildfire has increased in California since 1984

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These findings are particularly relevant for regions with Mediterranean-type climates such as coastal California, characterized by wet winters and dry summers, where steep watersheds are common. The study underscores the importance of preparing for increased sediment flow due to climate-induced changes in wildfire and precipitation patterns.

By providing a clearer understanding of sediment dynamics post-wildfire and extreme rain, this research offers valuable insights for managing the impacts of climate change on water resources and infrastructure, and can inform strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of increased erosion and sediment transport in vulnerable watersheds. 

Read the study, Post-Fire Sediment Yield From a Central California Watershed: Field Measurements and Validation of the WEPP Model , in Earth and Space Science .

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These alcoholic drinks can raise the risk of gout, a painful type of arthritis.

This news will dampen some spirits — a new study finds that certain alcoholic beverages can raise the risk of developing gout , a painful form of arthritis.

Men who booze at least five times a week have a two-fold higher risk of gout than those drinking less than once a week, according to researchers from China who analyzed the hooch habits of more than 400,000 UK residents.

For women, more frequent alcohol consumption is associated with a “moderately elevated” risk for gout, per the findings published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open .

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis — it occurs when the waste product uric acid builds up in the joints. About 9.2 million US adults have gout , with celebrities such as Jared Leto , Jim Belushi and Sarah Hyland detailing their experiences.

“There are quite a few risk factors for gout. Some risk factors are genetic. There are some people who have high uric acid, and despite whatever they do, they have a higher risk for gout,” Dr. Diane Horowitz , director of the Northwell Health Rheumatoid Arthritis Center, explained to The Post.

“Men have a higher risk for gout than women do. Women who are postmenopausal have a higher risk than women who are premenopausal,” added Horowitz, who was not involved in the new research. “Certain dietary factors and alcohol consumption and genetics and gender are all associated with gout.”

It’s long been known that alcohol raises the risk of gout , and it can trigger recurrent attacks. Researchers for the new study explored how different alcoholic beverages affect the risk of gout among men and women.

Consumption of Champagne, white wine, beer, cider and spirits was linked to a higher risk of gout among both sexes, with beer and cider showing the strongest association, the study found.

Spirits elevated the risk of gout more for women, while red wine brought a “modestly higher” risk of gout for men.

“No significant association was found for fortified wine for either sex,” the researchers wrote.

There were some limitations to the study, including that participants reported their alcohol consumption sometime between 2006 and 2010. It’s unclear how and if their drinking habits changed over time.

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Horowitz says gout can be managed with lifestyle changes, such as reducing alcohol consumption, limiting foods associated with gout, including red meat , organ meats and some seafood, and drinking more water .

Plus, there are medications to help prevent gout flares.

“If someone thinks they have gout or they’ve had gout flares before, they should see their primary care doctor or see a rheumatologist and get some help with the gout to prevent future flares and repetitive gout,” Horowitz said. “Flares can cause damage to the bone, so you really want to get on top of this and prevent flares.”

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