A new study led by the University of Cologne involving 25 researchers from across Europe has discovered how climate change more than 12,000 years ago affected prehistoric human populations. The research has uncovered significant changes in population size and density during key periods at the end of the last Ice Age, specifically during the Late Palaeolithic, between 14,000 and 11,600 years ago. The data on the Iberian Peninsula has been summarised by researchers from the University of the Algarve (Portugal) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Alvaro Arrizabalaga of the Consolidated Research Group in Prehistory is in fact the co-author of this study.

A research group led by Professor Takahiro Nemoto from the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the Department of Social Implementation Psychiatry at the Toho University Faculty of Medicine analyzed large-scale clinical data to examine the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and the incidence of anorexia nervosa (ICD-10 classification: F50.0) in young patients in Japan. Their study revealed that the number of patients with anorexia nervosa increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was published in the international academic journal Medicina (Lithuania) on March 3, 2025.

In collaboration with the Journal of Neurotrauma and The Lancet, these papers introduce a transformative shift in the way traumatic brain injury (TBI) is classified and understood. Traditionally, TBI severity has been determined using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), categorizing cases as mild, moderate, or severe. However, this method fails to capture the complexity of brain injury. In response, the U.S. National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke initiated a global effort in 2022 to develop a more nuanced framework, particularly focused on the acute phase of TBI.

Clownfish have been shown to shrink in order to survive heat stress and avoid social conflict, Newcastle University research reveals.

An evaluation of 10 previously published studies suggests that a recent fad of taping one’s mouth shut while sleeping to prevent mouth breathing may have little benefit and could pose serious asphyxiation risks. Dr. Brian Rotenberg of Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 21, 2025.

Policies that impact social determinants of health may influence an individual’s risk of depression, according to a new study published May 21, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mary Nicolaou of the Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands, and colleagues.