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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 18:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 23:11 GMT/UTC)

Deciphering the early stages of Parkinson's disease is a matter of time

Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem (INBEB)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the University of Virginia School of Medicine, USA, identified for the first time the initial steps of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates related to early onsets of hereditary Parkinson cases. The results may help the understanding of the early stages of the disease and how it develops over time.

Journal: Communications Biology
Funder: Pew Charitable Trusts, Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support in the State of Rio de Janeiro, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development

Neurofeedback increases self-esteem by rebalancing brain circuits in depression

D'Or Institute for Research and Education
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study published in the journal Neuroimage: Clinical found that patients with Major Depressive Disorder, who had recovered from symptoms, were able to strengthen some of their brain connections, thereby increasing their self-esteem. The research showed that connectivity between certain brain regions - previously found to be decreased when feeling guilt in people with a history of depression - could be strengthened in a single session of neurofeedback training through functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Funder: King's College London, D'Or Institute for Research and Education; Brain & Behavior Research Foundation; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London, Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London and NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care

No soil left behind: How a cost-effective technology can enrich poor fields

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Many farmers across sub-Saharan Africa try to coax crops out of sandy soils that are not ideal for holding water and nutrients. Traditional approaches would have them apply more fertilizers and use irrigation, but both require access to resources and infrastructure that many do not have. A relatively new technology modeled for eight African countries, and currently being tested in Zimbabwe, shows potential for improving harvests through increased water retention and accumulation of organic material.

Journal: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Novel compound interrupts malaria parasite's lifecycle

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Compound inhibits key enzymes, interrupting the parasite's lifecycle in human organisms and preventing transmission to vector insects. This discovery published in Science involved researchers funded by FAPESP.

Journal: Science
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Researchers discover a link between two important products of nitric oxide

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Oxide plays a key role in cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases as well as cancer. Experiments reveal a hitherto unknown mechanism underlying the formation of nitroso thiols.

Journal: Chemical Communications
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Imprinting on mothers may drive new species formation in poison dart frogs

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By rearing frogs with parents -- or foster parents -- of different colors, a team from the University of Pittsburgh working at the Smithsonian in Panama discovered that behavior in response to color may be more important than genetics in the evolution of new species.

Journal: Nature

Novel material with strong action against fungi and tumors was developed

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have created a composite with antifungal properties that are 32 times greater than those of silver by irradiating a metallic tungstate with electrons and femtosecond laser.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

New species of parasite is identified in fatal case of visceral leishmaniasis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Phylogenomic analysis shows that pathogen isolated in Brazilian hospital does not belong to the genus Leishmania. Researchers are investigating whether this species alone can cause severe disease or intensifies symptoms in co-infected patients.

Journal: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Underwater manatee chatter may aid in their conservation

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists propose a new method for calculating populations of the Antillean manatee, a marine mammal in danger of extinction, through underwater recordings.

Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Funder: Secretaria Nacional de Ciencia, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, AES-Changuinola, S.R.L., Gas Natural Fenosa Panama (now Naturgy Panama), Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Microbes in warm soils released more carbon than those in cooler soils

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Simply by moving tropical soils down a mountainside into warmer environments, a team including Smithsonian scientists Andy Nottingham and Ben Turner discovered that much more CO2 may be released due to increased microbial activity as soils warm.

Journal: Ecology Letters