Hormones affect human physical functions, behaviour and mental well-being, with testosterone, a primary androgen hormone, playing a vital role in shaping male social cognition and behaviour. A research team of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has conducted interdisciplinary research to uncover the neurocognitive correlates of testosterone in the brain function of young men, and their impact on social behaviour. The findings provide valuable insights into potential applications of testosterone therapy in clinical and mental healthcare. 

Kayhan Batmanghelich, Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hariri Institute Junior Faculty Fellow and AIR Affiliate at Boston University, was awarded a $3.1 million competitive renewal R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. With this grant, Batmanghelich will lead transformative research on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) with collaborators from Boston University College of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

North China faces extreme heat, with temps hitting 40°C+ in 2023—breaking 60-year records. A new study links the heatwave to high-pressure systems and dry soils, warning such events may become normal due to climate change. Urgent adaptation needed for energy, health, and crops.

Oxygen deprivation around birth can lead to brain damage in babies, with far-reaching consequences. A new stem cell treatment administered via nasal drops is showing promising results. In a safety study conducted at UMC Utrecht, called PASSIoN, ten newborns received this ‘intranasal stem cell therapy’ shortly after birth. Most of the children showed remarkably positive development: they started walking earlier on average than untreated children with comparable brain damage, had no motor impairments, and none developed epilepsy or visual problems. The study results were published today in the scientific journal Stroke.

For the first time researchers from both Sheba Medical Center and Tel Aviv University have grown human kidney organoids (a synthetic 3D organ culture) from tissue stem cells in the laboratory mirroring human fetal kidney development.

Higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy may be linked to better scores on cognitive tests, according to a new study by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.