Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake
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Promising Effects of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Refractory Stiff Person Syndrome and a Hopeful Future for All Neuroautoimmunities
Via OPG_BOEx: Clinical translation of photoacoustic imaging using exogenous molecular contrast agents [Invited] https://bit.ly/4occZgi
A team from Rice University examines the current status and future potential of contrast-enhanced PAI in human applications.
In their results, the team proposed neuro-oncology as a novel application, effectively addressing the limitations of intraoperative fluorescence imaging.
Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) combines optical contrast with acoustic detection to enable high-resolution, molecular imaging at clinically relevant depths. This review outlines the current status and future potential of contrast-enhanced PAI in human applications. We begin by discussing regulatory considerations surrounding both imaging devices and exogenous contrast agents, highlighting safety concerns, lack of standardized validation protocols, and barriers to the approval of novel agents. To accelerate clinical adoption, many studies have focused on repurposing FDA-approved agents such as indocyanine green, methylene blue, and clofazimine, which offer favorable optical properties and known safety profiles. We then review clinical applications of contrast-enhanced PAI across organ systems. In lymphatic imaging, PAI enables noninvasive visualization of lymphatic vessels and sentinel lymph nodes. Prostate imaging benefits from improved tumor delineation, and vascular applications leverage PAI to assess oxygen saturation and vascular remodeling. In gastrointestinal and hepatic imaging, PAI supports functional assessment and lesion detection with enhanced contrast. Emerging applications in neuro-oncology demonstrate the potential of PAI for intraoperative guidance and brain tumor imaging. Compared to fluorescence imaging, PAI provides deeper penetration and quantifiable contrast. Studies using both approved and investigational agents, including gold nanorods and targeted dye conjugates, highlight advances in imaging tumor margins. Progress in transcranial PAI and molecular probe design continues to broaden its capabilities. Together, these developments underscore the expanding clinical utility of contrast-enhanced PAI for real-time, functional, and molecular imaging.
Electric Fields Steer Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery
Researchers discovered a new way to independently tune a nanoparticle’s speed and direction using different strength electric fields.
The new method could lead to better drug delivery technologies.
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A new method using a combination of strong and weak electric fields to change nanoparticle speed and direction could improve drug delivery and purification systems.
GLP-1 Drug Side Effects May Be Tackled with More Mechanistic Studies
GLP-1 drugs have been transformative for treating obesity, but about 50 percent of patients who were prescribed this treatment ended up stopping due to severe side effects, such as nausea.
At the 2025 Society for Neuroscience meeting, experts presented new findings on how GLP-1 agonists’ action in the brain produced unwanted side effects and how these discoveries can guide future research.
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At the 2025 Society for Neuroscience meeting, scientists discussed the adverse side effects of GLP-1 agonists and new directions for future research.
Narcissism and its role in sexually motivated serial killers
Researchers at the University of Bamberg have traced a darkly intricate form of narcissism in sexually motivated male serial killers, reporting that many offenders combine brittle sensitivity with a craving for admiration and dominance leans on the killers’ own words from confessions and interrogations rather than psychiatric labels alone.
Serial killers have fascinated and frightened audiences for centuries, with media portrayals ranging from monstrous to romanticized. According to the FBI’s Serial Murder Symposium, serial murder involves the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender in separate events.
For decades, many police and forensic teams have grouped serial killers into categories by motive: visionary killers driven by psychosis and hallucinations, thrill killers who pursue excitement and pleasure through killing, mission-oriented offenders who believe they must eliminate specific groups, power/control killers who seek total dominance over their victims, often including sexual abuse, and those whose crimes revolve around lust.
New possible treatment pathway for Shank3-related autism discovered
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in communication, behavior and the processing of sensory information. Past research has shown that some individuals diagnosed with ASD exhibit specific genetic variants or differences in the regulation of genes.
In some patients, the Shank3 gene was found to be mutated, partially or fully deleted, or not expressed as much. This gene is known to support the creation of junctions at which connected neurons communicate with each other, known as synapses.
Past findings suggest that people diagnosed with ASD who exhibit variants in Shank3 also present abnormalities in the volume, structure and function of white matter. White matter is a brain region filled with a fatty substance known as myelin, which insulates nerves and allows signals to travel faster within the nervous system.
Scientists detect new climate pattern in the tropics
Tropical cyclones can unleash extensive devastation, as recent storms that swept over Jamaica and the Philippines made unmistakably clear. Accurate weather forecasts that buy more time to prepare are crucial for saving lives and are rooted in a deeper understanding of climate systems.
Driving this forward, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and others have successfully identified a previously unknown cyclic climate pattern by historical reanalysis of datasets and satellite observations. The findings are published in PNAS.
Jiawei Bao still remembers coming home from middle school to catch the weather forecast on TV. It spanned from China’s northernmost province, Heilongjiang, to the southernmost province and tropical island, Hainan. In winter, the temperature between these regions can range from cold to balmy, varying by a staggering 50 degrees Celsius.
Higher resolution climate models show 41% increase in daily extreme land precipitation by 2100
Despite continuous efforts to evaluate and predict changes in Earth’s climate, most models still struggle to accurately simulate extreme precipitation events. Models like the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5 and CMIP6) use fairly coarse resolution due to computing constraints, making it a little easier, faster and less expensive to run simulations, while still providing some degree of accuracy.
However, a new study, published in Nature Geoscience, is shedding light on some of the features missed by these coarser resolution models.
The team involved in the study developed a higher resolution model that breaks up the atmosphere into 10–25 km (6–15.5 mile) squares for analysis, instead of 100 km (62 mile) squares. Their high-resolution model is based on the Community Earth System Model v.1.3 (CESM-HR), which looks at the time period between 1920–2100. These results are then compared with the low-resolution version’s (CESM-LR) results.
New p-wave magnet with helix spin structure could enable smaller computer chips
A novel magnetic material with an extraordinary electronic structure might allow for the production of smaller and more efficient computer chips in the future: the p-wave magnet. Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) were involved in its development.
The magnetic behavior in the interior of this material results from the way the electron spins arrange themselves—in the shape of a helix. Therefore, the electric current flowing through is deflected laterally. The results are published in Nature.
Magnetism, as we experience it every day, makes us usually think of materials such as iron, nickel, or cobalt that generate permanent magnetic fields or are attracted by magnetic forces. In these ferromagnetic materials, the spins, i.e. the moments of all electrons, move in the same direction.