Recent investigations into the neuroanatomy of the human brain have produced groundbreaking findings concerning the differences between male and female brains. A new study published in Biology of S
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Strong evidence supports skin-to-skin contact after birth as standard care
Immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers offers a better start in life, improving a number of key health metrics, according to a newly-updated Cochrane review.
The review, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, found that babies who have skin-to-skin contact with their mother within the first hour of birth are more likely to see a variety of benefits, including exclusive breastfeeding, optimal body temperatures and blood sugar levels.
While possible benefits for the mother were also studied, such as effects on blood loss and timing of placental delivery, the evidence was less certain.
Examining Chronic Inflammation, Immune Metabolism, and T Cell Dysfunction in HIV Infection
Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a significant challenge to global public health. Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has transformed HIV infection from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition, a definitive cure remains elusive. One of the key features of HIV infection is chronic immune activation and inflammation, which are strongly associated with, and predictive of, HIV disease progression, even in patients successfully treated with suppressive ART. Chronic inflammation is characterized by persistent inflammation, immune cell metabolic dysregulation, and cellular exhaustion and dysfunction.
Dual torque from electron spins drives magnetic domain wall displacement
A research team has taken a major step forward in the field of spintronics, a technology that uses not only the charge but also the spin of electrons to create faster, smarter, and more energy-efficient electronic devices. Their discovery could pave the way for the next generation of memory chips that combine high speed with low power consumption.
In spintronic memory, information is stored using tiny magnetic regions called magnetic domains. A magnetic domain with its magnetic moments pointing upward represents a “1,” while one pointing downward represents a “0.” Data can be read or written by shifting these domains with an electric current.
The boundaries between them, known as domain walls, play a crucial role, as moving domains means moving these walls. Achieving fast and efficient domain wall motion is essential for developing advanced memories such as magnetic shift registers and three-terminal magnetic random access memories (MRAM).
Graphene partially screens van der Waals interactions depending on layer thickness, study reveals
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are only a few atoms thick, are known to exhibit unique electrical, mechanical and optical properties, which differ considerably from the properties of bulk materials. Some recent studies have also been probing these materials’ “transparency” to intermolecular interactions, such as van der Waals (vdW) forces—weak forces arising from fluctuating electrical charges, which prompt the attraction between molecules or surfaces.
Determining the extent to which these forces are screened by atomically thin materials could have important implications for the development of various technologies based on 2D materials.
Researchers at Peking University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Tsinghua University recently set out to shed light on whether 2D graphene systems fully transmit, partially screen or block vdW interactions.
Women better protected against early neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease, study reveals
A large international study involving nearly 700 participants reveals that women with a precursor condition to Parkinson’s disease show significantly less brain atrophy—decreased cortical thickness in the brain—than men, despite similar clinical severity. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Communications, could lead scientists to explore the role that hormones might play in treating the disease.
Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder is characterized by violent movements during sleep, where people literally “act out” their dreams. Far from being harmless, this disorder is the most reliable early warning sign of neurodegenerative diseases caused by the accumulation of a toxic protein in the brain: more than 70% of affected individuals will eventually develop Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or, more rarely, multiple system atrophy (a disease affecting multiple body systems).
“This sleep disorder offers a unique window of opportunity to study the mechanisms of neurodegeneration before major motor or cognitive symptoms appear,” explains Shady Rahayel, professor at UdeM’s Faculty of Medicine and leader of this study.
Magnetized plasmas offer a new handle on nanomaterial design
Imagine a cloud that shines like a neon sign, but instead of raindrops, it contains countless microscopic dust grains floating in midair. This is a dusty plasma, a bizarre state of matter found both in deep space and in the laboratory.
In a new study, published this week in Physical Review E, Auburn University physicists report that even weak magnetic fields can reshape how these dusty plasmas behave—slowing down or speeding up the growth of nanoparticles suspended inside. Their experiments show that when a magnetic field nudges electrons into spiraling paths, the entire plasma reorganizes, changing how particles charge and grow.
“Dusty plasmas are like tiny particles in a vacuum box,” said Bhavesh Ramkorun, lead author of the study. “We found that by introducing magnetic fields, we could make these particles grow faster or slower, and the dust particles ended up with very different sizes and lifetimes.”
Ultra-compact semiconductor could power next-gen AI and 6G chips
A research team, led by Professor Heein Yoon in the Department of Electrical Engineering at UNIST has unveiled an ultra-small hybrid low-dropout regulator (LDO) that promises to advance power management in advanced semiconductor devices. This innovative chip not only stabilizes voltage more effectively, but also filters out noise—all while taking up less space—opening new doors for high-performance system-on-chips (SoCs) used in AI, 6G communications, and beyond.
The new LDO combines analog and digital circuit strengths in a hybrid design, ensuring stable power delivery even during sudden changes in current demand—like when launching a game on your smartphone—and effectively blocking unwanted noise from the power supply.
What sets this development apart is its use of a cutting-edge digital-to-analog transfer (D2A-TF) method and a local ground generator (LGG), which work together to deliver exceptional voltage stability and noise suppression. In tests, it kept voltage ripple to just 54 millivolts during rapid 99 mA current swings and managed to restore the voltage to its proper level in just 667 nanoseconds. Plus, it achieved a power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of −53.7 dB at 10 kHz with a 100 mA load, meaning it can effectively filter out nearly all noise at that frequency.
Red light and recyclable catalysts drive sustainable photocatalysis
Modern chemistry is increasingly focused on developing sustainable processes that reduce energy consumption and minimize waste. Photocatalysis, which uses light to promote chemical reactions, offers a promising alternative to more aggressive conventional methods. However, most existing photocatalysts are homogeneous—they dissolve in the reaction medium and cannot be easily recovered or reused—and they typically rely on blue or ultraviolet light, which is more energy-demanding and penetrates poorly into reaction mixtures, limiting their large-scale and biological applications.
Researchers at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) have developed an innovative, more sustainable method that uses red light—a low-energy, deeply penetrating light source —together with recyclable solid catalysts to promote chemical reactions cleanly and efficiently. The study highlights the potential of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as red-light-active heterogeneous photocatalysts, a field that remains largely unexplored. This combination of reusable materials and mild light represents a significant step toward greener chemical methodologies.
The work is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.