Risk Sciences is a general-interest journal that publishes academic research and industry practices on risks and disruptive technologies across all fields including agriculture, economics, engineering, environmental science, finance, health, law, management, natural sciences, and public administration.

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers examined the impact of total working hours, which include paid work and unpaid work such as housework, childcare, and caregiving, on nonrestorative sleep and mental health.

Neuroblastoma kills more children under one year of age than any other extracranial solid tumor, and high-risk cases have resisted meaningful improvement in survival for decades. A team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has now identified a molecular accomplice: neuronal nitric oxide synthase, or nNOS, which feeds the mTOR growth-signaling pathway through nitrosative stress. Blocking nNOS, either pharmacologically with the compound BA-101 or genetically with siRNA, silenced mTOR signaling and crippled malignant behavior in human neuroblastoma cells. In a xenograft mouse model, BA-101 shrank tumors dramatically (p < 0.001). The nNOS–mTOR axis emerges as a new and targetable vulnerability. NeuroNOS Ltd., which partly funded this work, has obtained a license for the patent applications of the BA-101 molecule filed by Yissum (The Hebrew University Technology Transfer Company). The authors, in collaboration with NeuroNOS, have also demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of BA-101 in glioblastoma.

Chronic breathlessness affects every part of a person’s life – including their sex life, with people experiencing  breathlessness saying they have greatly reduced satisfaction with their overall sexual life.

Flinders University researchers have found from a national survey that the often-underplayed condition of chronic breathlessness can not only affect people’s physical condition but also limit their enjoyment of such intimacies as sex.

Key takeaways:

- New survey results from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center find public openness to AI in health care has decreased, with only 42% of adults supportive in 2026 compared to 52% in 2024.

- Despite concerns about AI's accuracy and understanding of individual health history, 51% of adults surveyed relied on AI for important health decisions without consulting a medical professional.

- Survey participants commonly use AI to understand symptoms (62%), explain test results (44%), compare treatment options (25%), and prepare for medical appointments (20%).

Artificial intelligence is playing an ever larger role in the delivery of psychotherapy. An interdisciplinary team of University of Utah researchers has built a framework for assessing varying levels of automation in a mental health field reliant on human interaction.