Social science
01 May 2024
The popular kids in school may be sleeping less
Scientists found that popular teenagers sleep less than their peers, and that popular girls experience more insomnia symptoms than popular boys
1,179 news posts in Mind and body
Health
25 Apr 2024
Puzzling link between depression and cardiovascular disease explained at last: they partly develop from the same gene module
It’s long been known that depression and cardiovascular disease are somehow related, though exactly how remained a puzzle. Now, researchers have identified a ‘gene module’ consisting of 256 functionally related, co-expressed genes, which is part of the developmental program of both diseases. These genes can now be used as biomarkers for both depression and cardiovascular disease, and could ultimately help to find new drugs to target both.
Health
25 Apr 2024
Experts call for global genetic warning system to combat the next pandemic and antimicrobial resistance
Scientists champion global genomic surveillance using latest technologies and a ‘One Health’ approach to protect against novel pathogens like avian influenza and antimicrobial resistance, catching epidemics before they start.
Health
23 Apr 2024
Women’s heart disease is underdiagnosed, but new machine learning models can help solve this problem
Using machine learning, scientists built more accurate models to predict heart disease risk and found that women are underdiagnosed compared to men, highlighting the need for sex-specific criteria
Life sciences
19 Apr 2024
Baby sharks prefer being closer to shore, show scientists
Scientists have shown for the first time that juvenile great white sharks gather in waters up to 10 meters deep with a temperature between 6 and 22 °C – a very different habitat from that of adults. These preferences may optimize their growth and minimize the risk of predation. These results can inform conservation efforts and help to avoid negative shark encounters.
Health
15 Apr 2024
Air pollution could increase the risk of neurological disorders: Here are five Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss this Earth Day
At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to cover all of them. Now, with Earth Day approaching on 22nd April, we take a look at just five recent papers that shine a light on why we must do everything to help protect our planet.
Health
08 Apr 2024
Pig hearts kept alive outside the body for more than 24 hours offers hope for many humans needing a transplant
A major bottleneck on human heart transplantation are limits to storage of the donor heart outside the body, which is currently only routinely possible for six hours. Scientists have now tested new preservation methods, to keep pig hearts routinely alive outside the body for at least 24 hours. If successfully extended to humans, this would constitute a significant improvement to clinical practice.
Health
04 Apr 2024
Scientists call for urgent action to prevent immune-mediated illnesses caused by climate change and biodiversity loss
Climate change, pollution, and collapsing biodiversity are damaging our immune systems, but improving the environment offers effective and fast-acting protection.
Health
28 Mar 2024
Dogs trained to detect trauma stress by smelling humans’ breath
A pilot study shows that dogs can be taught to recognize the scent of trauma reactions on the breath, which could make PTSD assistance dogs more effective.
Health
27 Mar 2024
Scientists discover how caterpillars can stop their bleeding in seconds
Materials scientists have now shown how the blood-like hemolymph of tobacco hornworm caterpillars forms clots to stop bleeding. They show that outside the body, hemolymph can instantaneously change from water-like behavior to become ‘viscoelastic’ like saliva, that is, combining viscosity with elasticity. This discovery could have medical applications, if drugs can be designed that induce a similar change in human blood, to make it clot faster.
Health
19 Mar 2024
Is your partner’s disturbed sleep keeping you up at night? Letting go of unattainable dreams may keep you both happy in bed
Research has now shown that the habit of letting go of unattainable goals helps people to stay satisfied with their romantic relationship if their partner experiences sleep problems. Such ‘letting go’ could also be learned, for example through training by clinical psychologists. But the results also showed that being too ready to replace unattainable goals with alternatives can worsen mutual satisfaction with a relationship, perhaps because this prevents spouses from putting more time and effort into it.
Health
15 Mar 2024
Women involved in car crashes may be more likely to go into shock than men
Using clinical data, researchers examined injury patters of car crash victims and found that women have an elevated shock index more often than men, even when their injuries are less severe
Health
08 Mar 2024
Many type 2 diabetes patients lack potentially life-saving knowledge about their disease
Scientists found that many people with type 2 diabetes know little about their condition, indicating a need to improve communication about the disease
Health
05 Mar 2024
Special insecticide paint may help curb zika and dengue fever outbreaks
Scientists showed that insecticide paint could effectively decrease mosquito presence in Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) for up to one year, making this paint a potential strategy to decrease the transmission of vector-borne diseases.
Life sciences
29 Feb 2024
Seeing the wood for the trees: how archaeologists use hazelnuts to reconstruct ancient woodlands
Archaeologists analyze the carbon isotope values of hazelnuts from ancient sites to see what the local woods were like.