https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University at Buffalo Knowing whether a child has sustained a concussion is an important matter to clinicians, parents and bystanders alike. However, the signs and symptoms that are most meaningful to look for are not as well defined. A study published last week in JAMA provides important new information that pinpoints the signs and symptoms that strongly indicate that a child has a concussion. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-child-headache-dizziness-mental-fog.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:13 EDT news695305239 Dropping out of high school has been linked to higher rates of delinquency and lower socioeconomic status, but thinking of high school dropouts collectively, as one group, is a flawed belief that could be affecting interventions. The paper is published in the journal Emerging Adulthood. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-rethinks-dropout-crime.html Education Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:40:05 EDT news694954622 Diabetes is more prevalent in neighborhoods where historic residential redlining occurred and where contemporary structural racism persists, according to a new study by University at Buffalo population health researchers. Published on April 6 in JAMA Network Open, the research is the first study to examine diabetes prevalence in U.S. neighborhoods by taking into account direct and indirect associations of both historic redlining and contemporary structural racism. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-diabetes-prevalence-american-neighborhoods-historic.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:20:01 EDT news694953481 A new University at Buffalo study finds that people in the United States generate similar amounts of plastic packaging waste regardless of income, education level or where they live. Yet wealthier and more college-educated communities are much more likely to recycle soda bottles, takeout containers and other plastic packaging. Why? It's complicated, but the study, published in Communications Sustainability, suggests that unequal access to recycling infrastructure plays a key role. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-doesnt-recycle-plastic-lack-access.html Environment Wed, 08 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news694795321 When created at the nanoscale, materials can resemble shapes like stars, rods or even pyramids. These particle shapes, also known as the morphologies of a solid, make for more than just interesting images under a microscope—they can determine how the material behaves, sometimes in dramatic ways. University at Buffalo researchers have demonstrated this phenomenon by creating the first-ever star-shaped vanadyl hydroxide (VOOH) and shown that this shape can fundamentally alter how the material stores energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pretty-picture-star-nanomaterial-energy.html Nanophysics Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:40:04 EDT news694776061 A University at Buffalo study of older adults transitioning to long-term care has identified "life-enhancing" activities to counteract loneliness, sadness, and isolation. In the study, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, researchers in the schools of Nursing and Public Health and Health Professions observed 20 life-enhancement activity sessions in a Canadian long-term care facility in September 2024 to see what really influences engagement among older adults. The researchers tracked things like self-initiative, social interaction, emotional expression, and distractions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-outlines-life-paths-term-facilities.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news694698781 In a new study, orthodontics researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine recently discovered how synthetic polymers, including clear aligners, retainers and sleep devices, may affect the immune system. Thikriat Al-Jewair, DDS, L.B. Badgero Endowed Chair and associate professor, and Stephen Warunek, DDS, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics, collaborated with medical researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute to explore how plastic orthodontic devices could affect the oral cavity and the overall health of users. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-orthodontics-microplastics-effect-immune.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:00:09 EDT news694168947 When cells experience enough chronic stress, they can stop dividing permanently. In this state of cellular limbo, known as replicative senescence, cells remain alive but no longer proliferate. Pinpointing the stressors that help trigger or accelerate replicative senescence has proven difficult. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-fat-molecule-trigger-cell-limbo.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:05 EDT news693829201 Highly successful women and racial minorities help to challenge stereotypes and serve as role models for members of their social groups, but seeing them in prominent roles can also create the illusion that organizations are more diverse than they really are, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-successful-minority-employees-false-diversity.html Economics & Business Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:30:02 EDT news693581012 Recycled plastics are promoted on everything from water bottles and fleece jackets to shopping bags and yogurt cups: "This product is made with XX% recycled plastic." Verifying such claims, however, is another matter because there is no quick and reliable way to measure how much recycled plastic these products contain. University at Buffalo researchers are addressing this problem by combining several scientific tests, as well as artificial intelligence, to create a new method for differentiating recycled plastic from new plastic. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-device-method-percentage-recycled-plastic.html Engineering Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:40:05 EDT news693501361 A University at Buffalo researcher who studies adolescent HIV prevention in African and diaspora communities was invited to contribute a commentary in the April issue of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. Gloria Aidoo-Frimpong's commentary discusses the significance of a major randomized, controlled trial evaluating Tumaini, a digital narrative game designed to support HIV prevention among adolescents, and what the Tumaini trial signals about the future of HIV prevention for young people. Her commentary examines how developmentally appropriate digital interventions, such as interactive storytelling and game-based learning, can play a key role in engaging adolescents earlier in prevention efforts. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-hiv-expert-publishes-commentary-game.html Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:00:05 EDT news692967361 A humpback whale alters the pitch of its song when joined by a neighboring singer, a finding that opens a new chapter in the ongoing effort to understand whale song, some of the most structurally and acoustically complex vocal patterns produced by mammals. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-whale-song-remix-humpbacks-shift.html Plants & Animals Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:40:01 EDT news692883002 With wildfires growing more destructive both in the United States and around the world, University at Buffalo researchers have conducted one of the most extensive evaluations to date of artificial intelligence-based deep learning models for predicting wildfire spread. Their findings show how AI can complement but not yet fully replace established physics-based fire modeling tools. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-wildfires-ai.html Environment Wed, 11 Mar 2026 18:30:05 EDT news692448608 The connection between multiple sclerosis and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is strengthening, according to a paper published this week in JAMA Neurology by a team of international researchers, including one from the University at Buffalo. Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neurology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, a leading international expert on MS and the director of the New York State MS Consortium, is one of the co-authors of the paper titled "Epstein-Barr Virus Antibodies to Differentiate Multiple Sclerosis From Other Neuroinflammatory Diseases." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-epstein-barr-virus-antibodies-distinguish.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:20:01 EDT news692453161 Polypropylene and polyethylene are two durable and affordable plastics commonly used as packaging materials, snack wrappers, microwave containers, and other, usually flexible, plastic films. Their flexibility, however, makes them resilient to recycling processes, and these plastics often end up in landfills or leak into the environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-advance-solvent-based-recycling-flexible.html Materials Science Thu, 05 Mar 2026 13:00:08 EST news691937462 You don't need to look like a bodybuilder, but for healthy aging, maintaining muscle strength is likely just as important as getting enough aerobic activity, according to the findings of a University at Buffalo-led study of more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99. The work is published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-women-muscle-strength.html Sports medicine & Kinesiology Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:32:41 EST news690568321 As the use of large language model agents, such as virtual assistants or chatbots, increases at work, at home and in schools, users may be sharing more private information than they realize, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-02-ai-chat-reveal.html Security Thu, 12 Feb 2026 16:20:02 EST news690114008 Dashiell Hammett mentioned Sam Spade's jutting chin in the opening sentence of his novel, "The Maltese Falcon." Spade's chin was among the facial features Hammett used to describe his fictional detective's appearance, but starting with that distinctive chin was—at least from an evolutionary perspective—an unintentional redundancy, since every chin is distinctive in the sense that humans are the only primates to possess that physical characteristic. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-humans-chins-evolutionary-accident.html Evolution Wed, 11 Feb 2026 13:24:28 EST news690038642 A University at Buffalo–led study found that parents whose newborns are transferred to another hospital for intensive care experience both positive and negative emotions when relying on technology to stay connected. The study, "Technology to Support Bonding When Separated at Birth," was published in the Journal of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-tech-mothers-newborns.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:28:30 EST news689952481 Researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo have developed a new inhalable form of tuberculosis (TB) treatment that could significantly reduce the burden of current therapy. Jessica L. Reynolds, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Jacobs School, is senior author on the paper, titled "Repeated Pulmonary Dosing of β-Glucan-Chitosan-PLGA Nanoparticles Controls Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Mice," published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-inhalable-treatment-tuberculosis-weekly-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:07:38 EST news689951221 Every crystal's shape is a mirror of the internal arrangement of its molecules, but the molecules in photoswitchable crystals can expand, twist and change properties—from their color to their electronic conductivity—with a simple flash of light. This has made them highly sought-after for applications like pharmaceuticals and data servers. But scientists have very little control over the shape that crystals take. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-crystals-team-rethinking-crystal-analysis.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:40:02 EST news689849888 A hallmark of Parkinson's disease is the buildup of Lewy bodies—misfolded clumps of the protein known as alpha-synuclein. Long before Lewy bodies form, alpha-synuclein can interfere with neurons' ability to transport proteins and other cargo along their axons to the synapses. When present at high levels, alpha-synuclein binds too tightly to structures inside the axon, creating the cellular equivalent of traffic jams. These disruptions may even help set the stage for the later accumulation of Lewy bodies in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-mutation-parkinson-protein-eases-cellular.html Neuroscience Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:40:06 EST news689527352 Children who experience malevolent wartime living conditions, and wartime violence in particular, are more likely than adolescents or young adults to develop chronic pain later in life, according to a new study by a University at Buffalo researcher. The paper published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior provides new insights into warfare's lifelong health consequences, particularly for noncombatants, with critical policy implications related to postwar recovery efforts. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-childhood-war-exposure-pain.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:38:31 EST news689517481 The United States is a rapidly aging country. By the year 2050, nearly 1 in 4 Americans will be 65 or older, and many will live into their 90s and beyond. This leads to health care and social support concerns and also begs the question: What is the quality of life in those later years? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-key-protein-aging.html Genetics Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:18:48 EST news689433482 Cannabis-infused beverages may provide a unique opportunity for helping people drink less alcohol, according to the findings of a small study led by public health researchers from the University at Buffalo. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-cannabis-infused-beverages-people-alcohol.html Addiction Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:43:34 EST news688653752 Light and matter can remain at separate temperatures even while interacting with each other for long periods, according to new research that could help scale up an emerging quantum computing approach in which photons and atoms play a central role. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-insight-thermalization-advance-neutral-atom.html Condensed Matter Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:39:41 EST news688232341 When Arinze Nkemdirim Okere, PharmD, MBA, worked as the pharmacist for a hospital in Tallahassee, Florida, he noticed that discharged patients would regularly return, often for issues that could have been easily treated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-pharmacy-professor-ai-hospitalization-cardiac.html Cardiology Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:20:01 EST news688220341 Two studies led by an opioid treatment program run by the University at Buffalo and UBMD Emergency Medicine have found that harm reduction vending machines installed across New York State are well utilized and provide critical, lifesaving services to high-risk individuals who might not otherwise have access. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-reduction-vending-machines-york-state.html Addiction Mon, 19 Jan 2026 19:10:04 EST news688040160 When the calendar flips to a new year, many of us aim to use this blank slate as the time to (finally) lose weight, drink less alcohol, hit the gym regularly or generally adopt healthier habits. When making such resolutions or goals, it's easy to overlook a crucial part of our overall health—the mouth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-qa-expert-cariology-resolutions-healthier.html Health Mon, 19 Jan 2026 10:06:59 EST news688039562 It is well known that discarded cigarette butts release nicotine, heavy metals and other toxins into the environment, including natural water systems. Less understood, however, is what happens to the plastic-based filters that shed these chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-cigarette-filters-underestimated-source-microplastic.html Earth Sciences Mon, 19 Jan 2026 09:22:16 EST news688036922