AMHERST, Mass. — Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have quantified the impacts of a constellation of social factors on the spread of HIV. Their study, published in Health Care Management Science, found that a hypothetical 100% effective intervention addressing barriers to HIV treatment and care from depression, homelessness, individual and neighborhood poverty, education disparities, lack of insurance and unemployment could reduce the national HIV incidence by 29% over 10 years. The mathematical model, a novel integration of machine learning, probability theory and simulation, is positioned to be an important tool for decision-makers to optimize social programs and will have applications for other diseases. 

A international joint research team of KAIST and the University of Michigan developed a digital biomarker for predicting symptoms of depression based on data collected by smartwatches

Fast radio bursts are mysterious and brief flashes of radio emissions that were thought to be produced by magnetars, highly magnetized rotating neutron stars. Yet magnetars appear primarily in young star clusters. A repeating burst discovered last year has been pinpointed to the distant outskirts of an old but massive elliptical galaxy where, theoretically, such stars would long since have disappeared. Does this mean magnetars are not the source of FRBs?

Recently created Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) like Revillagigedo in Mexico are potentially large enough to protect highly migratory species like tuna, especially bigeye tuna, possibly leading to increases in catch rates for tuna fisheries operating outside their boundaries. The findings were published in Science on Dec. 12, 2024.

Astronomers previously thought all FRBs were generated by magnetars formed through the explosions of very young, massive stars. But new FRB is pinpointed to the outskirts of 11.3-billion-year-old galaxy without young, active stars — calling those assumptions into question. “Just when you think you understand an astrophysical phenomenon, the universe turns around and surprises us," researcher says.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, the Max Planck Institute of Biology in Tübingen, Germany, and a consortium of international scientists explored the evolutionary success of leaf beetles, the most diverse herbivores on Earth. They showed that symbioses with bacteria have evolved repeatedly and independently in different beetle lineages, and contribute significantly to the efficient digestion of plant food. These symbiotic relationships provide clues as to how genetic material was exchanged between bacteria and beetles. Key findings highlight the role of horizontal gene transfer, the incorporation of foreign bacterial genetic material into the beetle genome, which is thought to be the result of earlier symbioses. Overall, the study emphasizes the importance of microbial partnerships and genetic exchange in shaping the dietary adaptations of leaf beetles, which facilitated the evolutionary success of leaf beetles.

Whirlpools are mostly associated with death and danger on the high seas, but these glowing vortexes are working to help humanity. One of the most difficult steps in creating diagnostic tests is purifying samples to remove unwanted particles while concentrating biomarkers of interest. Due to the specific wavelengths of vibrations used to create these whirlpools, they efficiently trap cells, bacteria and other larger bioparticles found in saliva while leaving antibodies and viruses free to flow forward through multiple biosensing chambers.

Created by Tony Jun Huang, the William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke, and his Acoustofluidics Lab, they represent the first step in a new single-chip diagnostic prototype that can detect viral RNA and a full spectrum of antibodies to enhance our ability to navigate and neutralize future pandemics.