new research world

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Research News

• Subscribe to Health Newsletter

A generic drug that's used to treat transplant patients has been shown to extend the life span of some animals. Guido Mieth/Getty Images hide caption

Shots - Health News

Rapamycin may slow aging. here's one way the drug will be tested.

July 1, 2024 • Longevity researchers are taking a generic drug they think may help extend people's lives. Now a dentist is testing if rapamycin stops gum disease — a canary in the coal mine for age-related diseases.

Anti-aging drug Rapamycin to prevent gum disease 

Paleontologist Dany Azar holds up one of his treasures that he discovered in Lebanon in a piece of amber from the early Cretaceous: The oldest mosquito ever found. Ari Daniel/For NPR hide caption

In Lebanon, the 'Amber Man' digs up golden time capsules from the age of the dinosaurs

June 28, 2024 • When dinosaurs reigned some 130 million years ago, flowering plants were taking over the world. That change is sealed in ancient amber specimens on the slopes of Lebanon that Danny Azar knows so well.

Reconstruction of a Lokiceratops rangiformis being surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps that would have existed in what is now northern Montana. Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution hide caption

Named after the Norse god Loki, meet Lokiceratops, a new horned dinosaur species

June 28, 2024 • A brand new species of ceratops, or horned dinosaur, was recently discovered in northern Montana. The dinosaur is called Lokiceratops rangiformis , after the Norse god Loki, and is believed to have lived roughly eighty million years ago. The bones of the plant-eating dinosaur were found on private land in an area well known for its large amount of fossils, and at first, researchers thought the bones belonged to another species of dinosaur!

Joro spider sits in the middle of a spider web. GummyBone/Getty Images hide caption

Why you shouldn't worry about invasive Joro spiders

June 14, 2024 • Joro spiders are spreading across the east coast. They are an invasive species that most likely arrived in shipping containers from eastern Asia. Today, we look into why some people find them scary, why to not panic about them and what their trajectory illustrates about the wider issue of invasive species.

Later this year, the FDA plans to decide whether MDMA can be used to treat PTSD Eva Almqvist/Getty Images hide caption

Misconduct claims may derail MDMA psychedelic treatment for PTSD

June 3, 2024 • People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may soon have a new treatment option: MDMA, the chemical found in ecstasy. In August, the Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD will be approved for market based on years of research. But serious allegations of research misconduct may derail the approval timeline.

Former President Donald Trump holds a press conference following the verdict in his hush-money trial at Trump Tower on May 31 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Trump repeats claims — without evidence — that his trial was rigged

May 31, 2024 • Former President Donald Trump reiterated many of claims — without evidence — that his criminal trial was rigged, a day after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Researchers have detected microplastics in human testicles. Volodymyr Zakharov/Getty Images hide caption

Plastic junk? Researchers find tiny particles in men's testicles

May 22, 2024 • The new study has scientists concerned that microplastics may be contributing to reproductive health issues.

Harlan Gough holds a recently collected tiger beetle on a tether. Lawrence Reeves hide caption

To escape hungry bats, these flying beetles create an ultrasound 'illusion'

May 22, 2024 • A study of tiger beetles has found a possible explanation for why they produce ultrasound noises right before an echolocating bat swoops in for the kill.

A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption

When sea otters lose their favorite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones

May 20, 2024 • Some otters rely on tools to bust open hard-shelled prey items like snails, and a new study suggests this tool use is helping them to survive as their favorite, easier-to-eat foods disappear.

Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption

On this unassuming trail near LA, bird watchers see something spectacular

May 13, 2024 • At Bear Divide, just outside Los Angeles, you can see a rare spectacle of nature. This is one of the only places in the western United States where you can see bird migration during daylight hours.

The inside of a cell is a complicated orchestration of interactions between molecules. Keith Chambers/Science Photo Library hide caption

AI gets scientists one step closer to mapping the organized chaos in our cells

May 13, 2024 • As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's making a big difference is protein science — as in the "building blocks of life," proteins! Producer Berly McCoy talks to host Emily Kwong about the newest advance in protein science: AlphaFold3, an AI program from Google DeepMind. Plus, they talk about the wider field of AI protein science and why researchers hope it will solve a range of problems, from disease to the climate.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8, 2024. The Wednesday solar flares kicked off the geomagnetic storm happening this weekend. NASA/SDO hide caption

NOAA Issues First Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch Since 2005

May 10, 2024 • Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observed a cluster of sunspots on the surface of the sun this week. With them came solar flares that kicked off a severe geomagnetic storm. That storm is expected to last throughout the weekend as at least five coronal mass ejections — chunks of the sun — are flung out into space, towards Earth! NOAA uses a five point scale to rate these storms, and this weekend's storm is a G4. It's expected to produce auroras as far south as Alabama. To contextualize this storm, we are looking back at the largest solar storm on record: the Carrington Event.

Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

In a decade of drug overdoses, more than 320,000 American children lost a parent

May 8, 2024 • New research documents how many children lost a parent to an opioid or other overdose in the period from 2011 to 2021. Bereaved children face elevated risks to their physical and emotional health.

This illustration depicts a washed-up Ichthyotitan severnensis carcass on the beach. Sergey Krasovskiy hide caption

Largest-ever marine reptile found with help from an 11-year-old girl

May 6, 2024 • A father and daughter discovered fossil remnants of a giant ichthyosaur that scientists say may have been the largest-known marine reptile to ever swim the seas.

A survey shows that doctors have trouble taking full vacations from their high-stress jobs. Even when they do, they often still do work on their time off. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

Perspective

When pto stands for 'pretend time off': doctors struggle to take real breaks.

May 4, 2024 • What's a typical vacation activity for doctors? Work. A new study finds that most physicians do work on a typical day off. In this essay, a family doctor considers why that is and why it matters.

Weliton Menário Costa (center) holds a laptop while surrounded by dancers for his music video, "Kangaroo Time." From left: Faux Née Phish (Caitlin Winter), Holly Hazlewood, and Marina de Andrade. Nic Vevers/ANU hide caption

'Dance Your Ph.D.' winner on science, art, and embracing his identity

May 4, 2024 • Weliton Menário Costa's award-winning music video showcases his research on kangaroo personality and behavior — and offers a celebration of human diversity, too.

Researchers in a rainforest in Indonesia spotted an injury on the face of a male orangutan they named Rakus. They were stunned to watch him treat his wound with a medicinal plant. Armas/Suaq Project hide caption

Orangutan in the wild applied medicinal plant to heal its own injury, biologists say

May 3, 2024 • It is "the first known case of active wound treatment in a wild animal with a medical plant," biologist Isabelle Laumer told NPR. She says the orangutan, called Rakus, is now thriving.

The federal government says it has taken steps toward developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu should it become a threat to humans. skodonnell/Getty Images hide caption

Launching an effective bird flu vaccine quickly could be tough, scientists warn

May 3, 2024 • Federal health officials say the U.S. has the building blocks to make a vaccine to protect humans from bird flu, if needed. But experts warn we're nowhere near prepared for another pandemic.

A Nazca booby in the Galápagos Islands incubates eggs with its webbed feet. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

The Science of Siblings

For birds, siblinghood can be a matter of life or death.

May 1, 2024 • Some birds kill their siblings soon after hatching. Other birds spend their whole lives with their siblings and will even risk their lives to help each other.

Planet Money

How do you counter misinformation critical thinking is step one.

April 30, 2024 • An economic perspective on misinformation

This image shows a brain "assembloid" consisting of two connected brain "organoids." Scientists studying these structures have restored impaired brain cells in Timothy syndrome patients. Pasca lab, Stanford University hide caption

Scientists restore brain cells impaired by a rare genetic disorder

April 30, 2024 • A therapy that restores brain cells impaired by a rare genetic disorder may offer a strategy for treating conditions like autism, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

Katie Krimitsos is among the majority of American women who have trouble getting healthy sleep, according to a new Gallup survey. Krimitsos launched a podcast called Sleep Meditation for Women to offer some help. Natalie Champa Jennings/Natalie Jennings, courtesy of Katie Krimitsos hide caption

Helping women get better sleep by calming the relentless 'to-do lists' in their heads

April 26, 2024 • A recent survey found that Americans' sleep patterns have been getting worse. Adult women under 50 are among the most sleep-deprived demographics.

Science News

5,000-year-old ceremonial temple discovered beneath sand dune in Peru

By Jennifer Nalewicki published 8 July 24

The 5,000-year-old site contains the walls of a ceremonial temple, as well as human remains.

Could bacteria or viruses lurking in ancient Egyptian mummies unleash a plague today?

Do mummies contain pathogens that could be transferred to humans today, and should we be worried?

Even a 'weekend getaway' to space can alter astronauts' biology, sweeping new studies find

By Susan Bailey published 8 July 24

Even three days in space is enough to alter an astronaut's biology, according to a new set of studies that offers the most comprehensive look at spaceflight health since NASA's Twins Study.

James Webb telescope reveals rare, 'rotten egg' atmosphere around nearby hell planet

By Harry Baker published 8 July 24

The James Webb Space Telescope revealed that the hot Jupiter exoplanet HD 189733 b, located just 64 light-years from Earth, has an atmosphere full of hydrogen sulfide, meaning it likely smells of rotten eggs.

'I've never seen anything like this': Scientists hijack cancer genes to turn tumors against themselves

By Kristel Tjandra published 8 July 24

Scientists overcame cancer drug resistance in a new proof-of-concept study.

'The last 12 months have broken records like never before': Earth exceeds 1.5 C warming every month for entire year

By Ben Turner published 8 July 24

Every month has broken the temperature record of the previous for the past 12 months, and the signs of climate breakdown are already here, a new analysis shows.

'Dragon' and 'tree of life' hydrothermal vents discovered in Arctic region scientists thought was geologically dead

Researchers have discovered a deep-sea hydrothermal vent field near Svalbard in an area previously assumed to be geologically inactive. The newfound vents have been named after various entities from Norse mythology.

Heat dome triggers record-breaking temperatures across US West Coast

By Sascha Pare published 8 July 24

Scorching temperatures up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit are expected across the U.S. West Coast in the coming days, as a heat dome hovers over the region.

Earth from space: 3 hurricanes form a perfect line before smashing into land

A 2017 satellite photo captured three hurricanes — Katia, Irma and Jose — in a near-perfect line across "hurricane alley" in the Atlantic Ocean. Interestingly, the storms, which are named alphabetically, appeared to be in the wrong order.

Rare 'polar rain' aurora seen from Earth for the first time

By Keith Cooper published 8 July 24

Seen for the first time from the ground, the polar rain aurora produced an eerie green glow captured on camera in Norway.

This bizarre vortex doesn't just look cool — it can be a key cog in making scalable high-speed 6G networks a reality

By Roland Moore-Colyer published 8 July 24

Flexible plates and nanotubes could pave the way for adaptable controllers for terahertz 6G signals.

Space photo of the week: 900 alien worlds packed into a single image

By Jamie Carter published 7 July 24

Slovakian artist Martin Vargic's spectacular new infographics artistically portray, visualize and compare more than 1,600 planets in other star systems.

Does fake meat cause heart disease? Here's what the science actually says.

By Lori Youmshajekian published 7 July 24

A recent study found that eating ultraprocessed plant-based foods was linked to heart attack and stroke risk. But the devil is in the details.

Cats love to meow at humans. Now we know why.

By Grace Carroll published 7 July 24

Meows are more than a cute sound — they're also a window into the relationship between humans and their feline friends.

NASA spots unexpected X-shaped structures in Earth's upper atmosphere — and scientists are struggling to explain them

By Jamie Carter published 6 July 24

NASA's GOLD mission found unexpected X- and C-shaped structures in the plasma of Earth's ionosphere. Researchers have likened our upper atmosphere to "alphabet soup."

'We've always been omnivores': Why 'meatfluencers' are wrong about what our ancestors ate

By Kate Wong published 6 July 24

Nutrition influencers claim we should eat meat-heavy diets like our ancestors did. But our ancestors didn't actually eat that way

Could a fire-breathing animal ever exist?

By Mark Lorch published 6 July 24

To create a fire-breathing animal, you would need to combine features found in a cow, a beetle and an eel.

What is the world's most dangerous chemical?

By Victoria Atkinson published 6 July 24

There are plenty of harmful chemicals, but the devil is in the details when determining which is the most dangerous.

Forbidden black holes and ancient stars hide in these 'tiny red dots'

By Robert Lea published 5 July 24

The James Webb Space Telescope found "tiny red dots" in the early universe representing overgrown supermassive black holes and stars that are impossibly old for the infant cosmos.

H5N1: What to know about the bird flu cases in cows, goats and people

By Nicoletta Lanese last updated 5 July 24

Bird flu in cows and goats has raised alarm in the U.S. To date, four people are thought to have caught the virus from cattle, but the risk to the general public is low.

• View Archive

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

• 2 What causes you to get a 'stitch in your side'?
• 3 Newly discovered asteroid larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza will zoom between Earth and the moon on Saturday
• 4 China opens Chang'e 6 return capsule containing samples from moon's far side
• 5 Neanderthals cared for 6-year-old with Down syndrome, fossil find reveals
• 2 Self-healing 'living skin' can make robots more humanlike — and it looks just as creepy as you'd expect
• 4 2,000 years ago, a bridge in Switzerland collapsed on top of Celtic sacrifice victims, new study suggests
• 5 Tasselled wobbegong: The master of disguise that can eat a shark almost as big as itself

Every print subscription comes with full digital access

Science News

‘Flavorama’ guides readers through the complex landscape of flavor

In her new book, Arielle Johnson, former resident scientist at the restaurant Noma, explains how to think like a scientist in the kitchen.

A new method of making diamonds doesn’t require extreme pressure 

How a sugar acid crucial for life could have formed in interstellar clouds.

Federally unprotected streams contribute most of the water to U.S. rivers

A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ephemeral streams aren’t protected by the Clean Water Act could have sizable ripple effects, a study suggests.

Why this year’s climate conditions helped Hurricane Beryl smash records

How powdered rock could help slow climate change.

Bird flu viruses may infect mammary glands more commonly than thought

H5N1 turning up in cow milk was a big hint. The virus circulating in U.S. cows can infect the mammary glands of mice and ferrets, too.

Some people have never gotten COVID-19. An obscure gene may be why

A bizarre video of eyeballs illustrates our pupils shrink with age, 50 years ago, scientists id’d a threat to california wine country, ‘do i know you’ explores face blindness and the science of the mind.

Scientists find a naturally occurring molecule that forms a fractal

The protein assembles itself into a repeating triangle pattern. The fractal seems to be an accident of evolution, scientists say.

How two outsiders tackled the mystery of arithmetic progressions

A predicted quasicrystal is based on the ‘einstein’ tile known as the hat.

Advanced nuclear reactors need a different type of uranium. Here’s 4 things to know 

The nuclear fuel of the future may be HALEU, high-assay low-enriched uranium. But questions about the material remain.

Something weird is happening to Earth’s inner core

A black hole made from pure light is impossible, thanks to quantum physics , science & society.

Does social status shape height?

A controversial idea drawing on findings from the animal kingdom suggests there’s more to human stature than genetics and nutrition.

In ‘Warming Up,’ the sports world’s newest opponent is climate change

‘after 1177 b.c.’ describes how societies fared when the bronze age ended.

50 years ago, scientists were gearing up to hurl a probe at the sun

The Helios mission provided key insights into the sun. Now, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has taken up the mantle, giving scientists unprecedented views of the star.

Strange observations of galaxies challenge ideas about dark matter

A stellar explosion may add a temporary ‘new star’ to the night sky this summer.

This 3-D printer can fit in the palm of your hand

Researchers developed a chip-based device for 3-D printing objects on the go.

Reinforcement learning AI might bring humanoid robots to the real world

Should we use ai to resurrect digital ‘ghosts’ of the dead.

Trustworthy journalism comes at a price.

Scientists and journalists share a core belief in questioning, observing and verifying to reach the truth. Science News reports on crucial research and discovery across science disciplines. We need your financial support to make it happen – every contribution makes a difference.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.

Not a subscriber? Become one now .

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Children With Autism Carry Unique Gut Flora, Study Finds

The research, which builds on previous work, eventually may lead to a more objective diagnostic tool, scientists said.

By Teddy Rosenbluth

The process for diagnosing a child with autism heavily relies on a parent's description of their child’s behavior and a professional’s observations. It leaves plenty of room for human error.

Parents’ concerns may skew how they answer questionnaires. Providers may hold biases, leading them to underdiagnose certain groups . Children may show widely varying symptoms, depending on factors like culture and gender.

A study published Monday in Nature Microbiology bolsters a growing body of research that suggests an unlikely path to more objective autism diagnoses: the gut microbiome.

After analyzing more than 1,600 stool samples from children ages 1 to 13, researchers found several distinct biological “markers” in the samples of autistic children. Unique traces of gut bacteria, fungi, viruses and more could one day be the basis of a diagnostic tool, said Qi Su, a researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a lead author of the study.

A tool based on biomarkers could help professionals diagnose autism sooner, giving children access to treatments that are more effective at a younger age, he said.

“Too much is left to questionnaires,” said Sarkis Mazmanian, a microbiome researcher at the California Institute of Technology. “If we can get to something we can measure — whatever it is — that’s a huge improvement.”

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

• July 8, 2024 | Atom-Level Innovations: Rice’s Big Bet on Advanced 2D Materials
• July 8, 2024 | Cow Flu Crisis? Decoding the Dangerous Jump of H5N1 to Humans
• July 8, 2024 | Breakthrough Technology Freezes Carbon in the Ocean Faster and Safer Than Ever Before
• July 8, 2024 | Largest Study of Its Kind Finds Gut Microbes Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
• July 8, 2024 | Detailed Wiring Diagram of Fruit Fly Muscles Reveals Unexpected Complexity

Technology News

Read the latest technology news on SciTechDaily, your comprehensive source for the latest breakthroughs, trends, and innovations shaping the world of technology. We bring you up-to-date insights on a wide array of topics, from cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics to the latest in green technologies, telecommunications, and more.

Our expertly curated content showcases the pioneering minds, revolutionary ideas, and transformative solutions that are driving the future of technology and its impact on our daily lives. Stay informed about the rapid evolution of the tech landscape, and join us as we explore the endless possibilities of the digital age.

Discover recent technology news articles on topics such as Nanotechnology ,  Artificial Intelligence , Biotechnology ,  Graphene , Green Tech , Battery Tech , Computer Tech , Engineering , and Fuel-cell Tech featuring research out of MIT , Cal Tech , Yale , Georgia Tech , Karlsruhe Tech , Vienna Tech , and Michigan Technological University . Discover the future of technology with SciTechDaily.

Technology July 8, 2024

Atom-Level Innovations: Rice’s Big Bet on Advanced 2D Materials

Rice University’s Boris Yakobson has received over $4 million in federal funding to advance research on 2D materials, interfaces in composite materials, and nonequilibrium chemical…

Next-Gen Robotics: Scientists Develop Skin That Heals, Feels, and Looks Human

Flying Qudits: Unlocking New Dimensions of Quantum Communication

New Multi-Material “Laser” 3D Printer Can Create Complex Devices With Just a Single Machine

Quicker Than Ever: Breakthrough in Terahertz Technology Promises Faster Data Transfer

Seeing the Invisible: Innovative Tech Lets Cars Peek Around Corners

Sound Science: How Phononic Crystals are Shaping Quantum Computing

Surprising Vortex Uncovered – Supercomputers Reveal Hidden Secrets of Solar Technology

Programmatic Breakthrough: AI’s Leap From Language to Logic To Solve Complex Problems

Technology July 3, 2024

Space Race Heats Up: Tackling Thermal Challenges Beyond Earth

A new review details advancements in thermal management technologies for spacecraft, essential for improving the reliability and performance of space missions. A new review examines…

Technology July 2, 2024

Stanford Engineers a Pocket-Sized Titanium-Sapphire Super Laser

In a single leap from tabletop to the microscale, engineers at Stanford University have produced the world’s first practical titanium-sapphire laser on a chip. Researchers…

Technology July 1, 2024

Electronics That Defy Venus’ Heat: How Gallium Nitride Could Revolutionize Space Exploration

Researchers are turning to gallium nitride for high-temperature applications such as Venus exploration, due to its ability to withstand temperatures above 500 degrees Celsius. A…

AI Outperforms Students in Real-World “Turing Test”

Research at the University of Reading shows that AI-generated answers often evade detection in academic assessments and can outperform student responses, urging a global update…

Technology June 30, 2024

Revolutionizing Accessibility: Tongue-Controlled MouthPad Enables Computer Interaction for Paralyzed Users

The startup Augmental allows users to operate phones and other devices using their tongue, mouth, and head gestures. Tomás Vega developed the MouthPad through his…

Technology June 29, 2024

Graphene Nanolayers Reinvented: The Key to Advanced Electronics

Graphene nanolayers are cross-linked with rotaxanes. Graphene, composed of layers of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern, is recognized as a supermaterial due to…

Revolutionary Reactors Turn CO2 Into Valuable Minerals With Fly Ash

Researchers have innovated reactors that use fly ash to effectively mineralize CO2, presenting a sustainable approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing global climate…

Technology June 28, 2024

Revolution at Mach 10: NASA-Backed Hypersonic Jets Poised to Transform Space Travel

Wind Tunnel Study Reveals Hypersonic Jet Engine Flow Can Be Controlled Optically Researchers at the University of Virginia are exploring the potential of hypersonic jets…

5G Without Limits: Japanese Scientists Develop Efficient Wireless-Powered Transceiver Array

Researchers have developed an innovative wirelessly powered relay transceiver that enhances 5G network coverage, even in areas where the connection is obstructed. Scientists at Tokyo…

• Fact sheets
• Facts in pictures
• Publications
• Questions and answers
• Tools and toolkits
• Endometriosis
• Excessive heat
• Mental disorders
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• All countries
• Eastern Mediterranean
• South-East Asia
• Western Pacific
• Data by country
• Country presence 
• Country strengthening 
• Country cooperation strategies 
• News releases
• Feature stories
• Press conferences
• Commentaries
• Photo library
• Afghanistan
• Cholera 
• Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
• Greater Horn of Africa
• Israel and occupied Palestinian territory
• Disease Outbreak News
• Situation reports
• Weekly Epidemiological Record
• Surveillance
• Health emergency appeal
• International Health Regulations
• Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee
• Classifications
• Data collections
• Global Health Estimates
• Mortality Database
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Health Inequality Monitor
• Global Progress
• Data collection tools
• Global Health Observatory
• Insights and visualizations
• COVID excess deaths
• World Health Statistics
• Partnerships
• Committees and advisory groups
• Collaborating centres
• Technical teams
• Organizational structure
• Initiatives
• General Programme of Work
• WHO Academy
• Investment in WHO
• WHO Foundation
• External audit
• Financial statements
• Internal audit and investigations 
• Programme Budget
• Results reports
• Governing bodies
• World Health Assembly
• Executive Board
• Member States Portal
• Feature stories /

Global scientific community unites to track progress on COVID-19 R&D, identifies new research priorities and critical gaps

The World Health Organization held a two half-day virtual summit on 1 and 2 July, to take stock of the evolving science on COVID-19 and examine progress made so far in developing effective health tools to improve the global response to the pandemic.

The event brought together researchers, developers and funders from all over the world, all of whom shared approaches and raw data freely, in a show of solidarity from the global science community. All major research institutes carrying out trials shared their data with a view to speeding up scientific discovery and implementation of solutions.

The group reviewed the latest data from the WHO Solidarity Trial and other completed and ongoing trials for potential therapeutics: hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir and dexamethasone. They agreed on the need for more trials to test antivirals, immunomodulatory drugs and anti-thrombotic agents, as well as combination therapies, at different stages of the disease.

The meeting analyzed 15 vaccine trial designs from different developers, and criteria for conducting robust trials to assess safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates. Participants discussed the use of a global, multi country, adaptive trial design, with a common DSMB, and clear criteria to advance candidates through the various stages of trials.

They noted that most internationally funded research projects have so far favoured high-income countries, with very few funded in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the importance of the ACT-Accelerator Initiative to speed up the development and equitable deployment of COVID-19 tools.

More evidence is emerging that transmission from humans to animals is occurring, namely to felines (including tigers), dogs and minks.

The Summit hosted over 1000 researchers and scientists from all over the world and addressed the following topics:

• virus: natural history, transmission and diagnostics;
• animal and environmental research on the virus origin, and management measures at the human-animal interface;
• epidemiological studies;
• clinical characterization and management;
• infection prevention and control, including health care workers' protection;
• candidate therapeutics R&D;
• candidate vaccines R&D;
• ethical considerations for research and;
• integrating social sciences in the outbreak response.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, WHO has brought together the world’s scientists and health professionals to accelerate understanding of the novel coronavirus and expedite research and development to find solutions to the pandemic.

WHO has been gathering the latest international multilingual scientific findings and knowledge on a COVID-19 data base, and is running an international therapeutics trial – the Solidarity trial.

As of 1 July 2020, nearly 5500 patients in 39 countries had been recruited into the trial. Overall, over 100 countries in all 6 WHO regions have joined or expressed an interest in joining the trial, and WHO is actively supporting them with:

• ethical and regulatory approvals of the WHO core protocol;
• identification of hospitals participating in the trial;
• training of hospital clinicians on the web-based randomization and data system;
• shipping the trial drugs as requested by each participating country.

Media briefing on 2nd Global COVID-19 R&D Forum (video)

Global research on coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Empower, Engage, Transform

Pioneering the climate-peace nexus for a sustainable tomorrow.

Welcome to New World Research , where our commitment extends beyond the conventional boundaries of environmental advocacy and peacebuilding . We stand at the forefront of an urgent and essential mission: to harmonize climate action with global peace and security efforts, with a significant emphasis on empowering the youth. In an era where the challenges of climate change intersect deeply with the conditions for peace and security, we believe in the transformative power of the Youth Peace Security and Climate nexus. This innovative approach not only acknowledges but actively engages the younger generation as key agents of change in this critical dialogue.

At New World Research, we dedicate ourselves to unravelling the complex interdependencies between climate change and conflict, aiming to illuminate pathways toward resilience, sustainability, and peace. Our work spans from in-depth data analysis to peace-sensitive programming and comprehensive trainings, all designed to equip communities and stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to foster a more secure and sustainable world. By placing youth empowerment at the heart of our mission, we are not just preparing the next generation to face upcoming challenges; we are providing them with the platform to lead the way in creating innovative solutions.

Our Mission

Fostering Sustainable Peace and Resilience through Innovation and Youth Empowerment

Our mission is to contribute to the global endeavour of peacebuilding and environmental sustainability by creating conditions for positive peace and lasting resilience. We believe that the key to achieving sustainable, lasting peace lies in addressing the root causes of conflict and environmental degradation in tandem. Through our commitment to the Youth Peace Security and Climate nexus, we aim to empower young leaders and communities with the insights, strategies, and capacities needed to navigate the complexities of today’s global challenges.

Discover our work

Our Peacebuilding, YPS and CPS Partners

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Read our research on:

Full Topic List

Regions & Countries

• Publications
• Our Methods
• Short Reads
• Tools & Resources

Read Our Research On:

How Pew Research Center Uses Its National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)

In 2020, Pew Research Center launched a new project called the  National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) . NPORS is an annual, cross-sectional survey of U.S. adults. Respondents can answer by paper, online or over the phone, and they are selected using address-based sampling from the United States Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File. The response rate to the latest NPORS was 32%, and previous years’ surveys were designed with a similarly rigorous approach. 

NPORS estimates are separate from the  American Trends Panel  (ATP) – the Center’s national online survey platform. Pew Research Center launched NPORS to address a limitation that researchers observed in the ATP. While the ATP was well-suited for the vast majority of the Center’s U.S. survey work, estimates for a few outcomes were not in line with other high-quality surveys, even after weighting to demographics like age, education, race and ethnicity, and gender.

For example, in 2018, roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated (i.e., atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”), according to the General Social Survey (GSS) and the Center’s own telephone-based polling . The ATP, however,  estimated the religiously unaffiliated rate at about 32%. The Center did not feel comfortable publishing that ATP estimate because there was too much evidence that the rate was too high, likely because the types of people willing to participate in an online panel skew less religious than the population as a whole. Similarly, the ATP estimate for the share of U.S. adults identifying as a Democrat or leaning to the Democratic Party was somewhat higher than the rate indicated by the GSS and our own telephone surveys .

From 2014 to late 2020, the Center approached these outcomes slightly differently. We addressed the political partisanship issue by weighting every ATP survey to an external benchmark for the share of Americans identifying as a Republican, Democrat or independent. For the benchmark, we used the average of the results from our three most recent national cellphone and landline random-digit-dial (RDD) surveys. 

During this time period, ATP surveys were not weighted to an external benchmark for Americans’ religious affiliation. The ATP was used for some research on religious beliefs and behaviors, but it was not used to estimate the overall share of Americans identifying as religiously affiliated or unaffiliated, nor was it used to estimate the size of particular faith groups, such as Catholics, Protestants or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. NPORS allows us to improve and harmonize our approach to both these outcomes (Americans’ political and religious affiliations). 

Design and estimates

Read our fact sheet to find the latest NPORS estimates as well as methodological details. Data collection for NPORS was performed by Ipsos from 2020 through 2023 and is now performed by SSRS. 

Why is the NPORS response rate higher than most opinion polls?

Several features of NPORS set it apart from a typical public opinion poll. 

• People can respond offline or online.  NPORS offers three different ways to respond: by paper (through the mail), online, or by telephone (by calling a provided phone number and speaking to a live interviewer). The paper and telephone options bring in more conservative, more religious adults who are less inclined to take surveys online.
• Monetary incentives.  When sampled adults are first asked to respond to NPORS online, the mailing contains a $2 incentive payment (cash visible from the outside of the envelope) and offers a $10 incentive payment contingent on the participant completing the survey. When nonrespondents to that first stage are sent the paper version of the survey, the mailing contains a visible $5 bill. These incentives give people a reason to respond, even if they might not be interested in the questions or inclined to take surveys in general. 
• Priority mailing.  The paper version of the survey is mailed in a USPS Priority Mail envelope, which is more expensive than a normal envelope, signaling that the contents are important and that the mailing is not haphazard. It helps people distinguish the survey from junk mail, increasing the likelihood that they open and read what is inside. 
• Low burden.  The NPORS questionnaire is intentionally kept short. It’s about 40 questions long, including demographics such as age, gender and education. This means that NPORS takes about seven minutes to finish, while many polls take 10 minutes or longer. 
• Bilingual materials.  In parts of the country with sizable shares of Hispanic Americans, the materials are sent in both English and Spanish. 
• No requirement to join a panel.  NPORS respondents are not required to join a survey panel, which for some people would be a reason to decline the request. 

These features are not possible in most public polls for a host of reasons. But NPORS is designed to produce estimates of high enough quality that they can be used as weighting benchmarks for other polls, and so these features are critical.

Why a ‘reference’ survey for public opinion?

The “R” in NPORS stands for “reference.” In this context, the term comes from  studies  in which researchers calibrate a small sample survey to a large, high-quality survey with greater precision and accuracy. Examples of reference surveys used by researchers include the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS). NPORS is not on the scale of the ACS or CPS, nor does it feature face-to-face data collection. But it does have something that those studies lack: timely estimates of key public opinion outcomes. Other studies like the American National Election Survey (ANES) and the General Social Survey collect key public opinion measures, but their data is released months, if not years, after data collection. The ANES, while invaluable to academic researchers, also excludes noncitizens who constitute about 7% of adults living in the U.S. and are included in the Center’s surveys.

NPORS is truly a reference survey for Pew Research Center because researchers weight each American Trends Panel wave to several NPORS estimates. In other words, ATP surveys refer to NPORS in order to represent groups like Republicans, Democrats, religiously affiliated adults and religiously unaffiliated adults proportional to their share of the U.S. population. The ATP weighting protocol also calibrates to other benchmarks, such as ACS demographic figures and CPS benchmarks for voter registration status and volunteerism.

Pew Research Center is weighting on political party affiliation, but isn’t that an attitude?

It’s correct that whether someone considers themselves a Republican or a Democrat is an attitude, not a fixed characteristic, such as year of birth. But there is a way to weight on political party affiliation even though it is an attitude and without forcing the poll’s partisan distribution to align with a benchmark. 

Pew Research Center started implementing this approach in 2021. It begins with measuring the survey panelists’ political party affiliation at a certain point in time (typically, each summer). Ideally, the reference survey will measure the same construct at the same point in time. We launched NPORS because we control its timing as well as the American Trends Panel’s timing, allowing us to achieve this syncing.

NPORS and ATP measurements of political party are collected at approximately the same time each summer. We may then conduct roughly 25 surveys on the ATP over the next year. For each of those 25 surveys, we append the panelists’ party affiliation answers from the summer  to the current survey. To illustrate, let’s say that a survey was conducted in December. When researchers weight the December ATP survey, they take the measurement of party taken in the summer and weight that to the NPORS estimates for the partisan distribution of U.S. adults during the summer time frame. If, for example, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to respond to the December survey, the weighting to the NPORS target would help reduce the differential partisan nonresponse bias. 

Critically, if the hypothetical December poll featured a fresh measurement of political party affiliation (typically asked about three times a year on the ATP), the new December answers do  not  get forced to any target. The new partisan distribution is allowed to vary. In this way, we can both address the threat from differential partisan nonresponse and measure an attitude that changes over time (without dictating the outcome). Each summer, the process starts anew by measuring political party on the ATP at basically the same time as the NPORS data collection. 

Is the NPORS design connected to the American Trends Panel?

A key feature of NPORS is that respondents are not members of a survey panel. It is a fresh, random sample of U.S. adults. This matters because some people are willing to take a onetime survey like NPORS but are not interested in taking surveys on an ongoing basis as part of a panel. That said, in certain years, NPORS serves as a recruitment survey for the ATP. After the NPORS questions, we ask respondents if they would be willing to take future surveys. People who accept and those who decline are both part of the NPORS survey. But only those who consent to future surveys are eventually invited to join the ATP.

Can other survey researchers use NPORS?

Yes. As a nonprofit organization, we seek to make our research as useful to policymakers, survey practitioners and scholars as possible. As with the Center’s other survey work, the estimates and data are freely available. 

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings

1615 L St. NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20036 USA (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax (+1) 202-419-4372 |  Media Inquiries

Research Topics

• Email Newsletters

ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER  Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of  The Pew Charitable Trusts .

© 2024 Pew Research Center

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals

Latest research and news by subject

Learn about the latest research, reviews and news from across all of the Nature journals by subject

Biological sciences

• Biochemistry
• Biological techniques
• Biotechnology
• Cell biology
• Chemical biology
• Computational biology and bioinformatics
• Developmental biology
• Drug discovery
• Microbiology
• Molecular biology
• Neuroscience
• Plant sciences
• Structural biology
• Systems biology

Business and commerce

• Business and management
• Information systems and information technology
• Operational research

Earth and environmental sciences

• Biogeochemistry
• Climate sciences
• Environmental sciences
• Environmental social sciences
• Natural hazards
• Ocean sciences
• Planetary science
• Solid Earth sciences
• Space physics

Health sciences

• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Health care
• Health occupations
• Medical research
• Molecular medicine
• Pathogenesis
• Rheumatology
• Risk factors
• Signs and symptoms
• Complex networks
• Cultural and media studies
• Health humanities
• Language and linguistics
• Medical humanities
• Theatre and performance studies

Physical sciences

• Astronomy and planetary science
• Energy science and technology
• Engineering
• Materials science
• Mathematics and computing
• Nanoscience and technology
• Optics and photonics

Scientific community and society

• Agriculture
• Business and industry
• Developing world
• Energy and society
• Scientific community
• Social sciences
• Water resources

Social science

• Anthropology
• Criminology
• Development studies
• Environmental studies
• Politics and international relations
• Science, technology and society
• Social policy

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Americans are split over whether Trump should face prison in the hush money case, AP-NORC poll finds

FILE - Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom at Manhattan Criminal Court, May 30, 2024, in New York. Americans are about evenly split on whether Trump should face prison time for his recent felony conviction on hush money charges, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted June 20-24. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

• Copy Link copied

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are about evenly split on whether former President Donald Trump should face prison time for his recent felony conviction on hush money charges, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research .

Among U.S. adults, 48% say the former president and presumptive Republican nominee should serve time behind bars, and 50% say he should not. About 8 in 10 Democrats think Trump should face prison time, while independents are divided. About half, 49%, of independents say he should, and 46% say he should not.

Most Republicans believe that Trump was mistreated by the legal system and say he should not face jail time. Democrats, conversely, are generally confident that the prosecutors, the judge and members of the jury treated Trump fairly as a defendant.

The results underscore the partisan divide in opinions about the case, which was the first brought against a current or former U.S. president. Both Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden have made the trial central to how they campaign to their respective bases: Biden frequently pointing out that Trump became the first former president to be convicted of a felony; Trump arguing that Democrats orchestrated the case against him for political purposes.

Trump’s sentencing was delayed from Thursday, three days before the Republican National Convention opens, to September at the earliest — when early voting in multiple states will already be underway.

“I thought it was all a sham to begin with,” said Dolores Mejia, a 74-year-old Republican in Peoria, Arizona, who has been closely following the trial. “I wasn’t surprised he got convicted because the court was in New York, a very blue state. ... It seemed like it was thoroughly stacked against him.”

A small but notable slice of Republicans have a different view from the rest of their party. The poll found that 14% of Republicans approve of Trump’s conviction, while 12% believe he should spend time behind bars.

“I knew he had a big ego and questionable values when I voted for him the first time in 2016, but I thought the mantle of the presidency would be a humbling experience for him, and I was wrong,” said Leigh Gerstenberger, a Pennsylvania Republican who said he agreed with jurors’ finding in the New York case and believes Trump should spend at least some time behind bars.

“I could not be more disappointed in his conduct both in office and out of office,” the 71-year-old retiree said. “There are plenty of Americans who have spent time behind bars for lesser offenses. President Trump should not be treated any differently.”

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are extremely or very confident that Trump has been treated fairly by either the jurors, the judge or the prosecutors. Slightly less than half, 46%, approve of the conviction in the case, in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in June , while about 3 in 10 disapprove, and one-quarter are neutral.

Some Americans do not believe Trump should be imprisoned but reject his arguments that he’s been treated unfairly by the justice system.

“I don’t think the particular crime deserves time,” said Christopher Smith, a 43-year-old independent in Tennessee. “I see what he did, lying on business records because of an affair, as more of a moral crime,” Smith said, explaining that he believes prison should be a punishment for crimes that involve a convicted person actively harming another person.

The poll found that Americans are less divided about another recent high-profile case. Last month, Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was convicted of three felonies in federal court for lying about drug use when purchasing a gun. Six in 10 U.S. adults approve of Hunter Biden’s conviction, with much smaller political differences: About 6 in 10 Democrats approve, as do around 7 in 10 Republicans.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults believe Hunter Biden should be sentenced to serve time in prison because of his conviction in this case, with Republicans slightly more likely than Democrats to agree that prison time is warranted.

The poll of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Barrow reported from Atlanta.

Access World News

2024 edition.

• Testimonials
• Request Information
• Tell Your Library

Access World News: 2024 Edition  sets a new standard for library research resources. With an unprecedented combination of international, national, regional, and local news, the  2024 Edition  supports a diverse range of research needs across academic disciplines.

Unrivaled global coverage for superior search results Includes current and archived news content (with backfiles beginning in the 1980s) from more than 7,050 sources spanning 200+ countries and territories across the following regions:

• North America
• United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe
• Australia and New Zealand
• Asia and Middle East
• Central America
• South America

Information supporting every discipline Access World News  delivers valuable information for academic research and coursework across the curriculum including history, political science, criminal justice, health sciences, finance, DEI and more.  News brings classroom learning to life, adding real world context to make assignments more relevant.

Because the topics covered by news media are so diverse, this relevant primary source content supports students and faculty seeking information on current and historical issues, events, and people.

Diverse perspectives from around the world and across time In today’s interconnected world, events and issues that impact local communities can also be nationally and globally relevant. Similarly, occurrences in other countries often have an impact close to home.

With access to more than 7,050 sources from over 200 countries and territories, researchers can easily discover multiple perspectives, track issues over time and identify the impact at the local, national, or global levels. The ability to explore multiple perspectives is also an essential element in the development of critical thinking and information literacy skills.  

Multiple news formats – One interface The world of news is continuously evolving. While in the past news was primarily delivered in print, today it is published in a wide variety of formats. The 2024 Edition combines all formats—full-text articles, web-only content, PDF-image editions—in a single interface providing researchers with seamless access to deep, comprehensive local coverage

Access World News is very good to give general background information on topics, and to give examples that are straight to the point. Both local news and news from other regions are used, but we find the ability to search through local Texas news  to be very valuable. As a recent example as how we used the collection, we had a case where students and faculty found very good information on local articles and editorials on the new HPV vaccine. This certainly helped them to have a better understanding and knowledge on this relevant and recent topic.

Address/Location

Provide your contact information, and we’ll let your library know of your interest.

address_location