An interdisciplinary research team led by the Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has conducted Hong Kong’s first study analysing 16 years of data to confirm the safety of lithium treatment for bipolar disorder. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, reveal that while patients receiving lithium treatment exhibit a slightly higher rate of thyroid and kidney dysfunction than non-users, the overall incidence remains low.

Do we climb the social ladder alone or with help from our communities? Early childhood education (ECE) policies are betting on the former, according to a study published July 2, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Katarzyna Bobrowicz from the University of Luxembourg and University of Liège in Belgium, and colleagues. A 53-country survey of global ECE policies indicates favoritism of competition over cooperation, individualism over solidarity and talent over luck.

– Despite these challenging times, two universities remain steadfast in the commitment to curing one of the world’s most deadly diseases. Recognizing the power of education and research in preventing, treating, and advancing life-saving treatments, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Georgetown University have established a joint initiative on cancer to amplify innovation, discovery, and action to end the disease.

University of Washington researchers developed the game AI Puzzlers to show kids an area where AI systems still typically and blatantly fail: solving certain reasoning puzzles. In the game, users get a chance to solve puzzles by completing patterns of colored blocks. They can then ask various AI chatbots to solve and have the systems explain their solutions — which they nearly always fail to do accurately.