SPACE/COSMOS

A glimpse of a planet in formation: AB Aurigae b detected in H-alpha light

National Institutes of Natural Sciences

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Image of AB Aurigae in hydrogen-alpha (Hα) light, showing the newborn protoplanet AB Aurigae b clearly detected about 0.6”almost due south of the central star. The central 0.3” region around the star is masked for clarity.

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Credit: T. Currie / Astrobiology Center

Small rocky planets like Earth, which can harbor life, and giant gas planets like Jupiter are born around stars like the Sun. Their birthplace is a thin, disk-shaped structure of gas and dust known as a protoplanetary disk. Protoplanetary disks are observed not only around Sun-like stars but also around more massive or lighter young stars. Since the 2010s, their detailed structures have been revealed by 8-meter class telescopes such as the Subaru Telescope (in visible and infrared light) and the ALMA Observatory (in radio wavelengths). Although many planets have been inferred indirectly from fine structures in these disks—such as gaps or spiral arms—directly capturing newly formed planets (protoplanets) within the disks has so far been achieved only in a few cases, including PDS 70 b and c and AB Aurigae b (AB Aur b). This is thought to be because most protoplanets are embedded within the disk, and become more visible only when they carve gaps in the disk or are observed from directly above. Protoplanets are also considered to be actively gathering material from the surrounding disk as they grow. However, detailed spectroscopic observations of this mass accretion from an embedded disk have, until now, been limited to the PDS 70 system. In the present study, an international team of researchers led by the Astrobiology Center (Japan) and the University of Texas at San Antonio (USA) succeeded in detecting hydrogen emission lines from AB Aur b using the multi-object spectrograph MUSE mounted on the VLT. These emission lines are interpreted as evidence of mass accretion from the circumplanetary disk onto the protoplanet.

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Journal

The Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI

10.3847/2041-8213/adf7a0 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

VLT/MUSE Detection of the AB Aurigae b Protoplanet with Hα Spectroscopy

 

Plants, islands and climate change: Biologist Julian Schrader receives an ERC Starting Grant

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

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Dr Julian Schrader has received an ERC Starting Grant.

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Credit: Cornelia Sattler

Dr Julian Schrader has been awarded one of the European Research Council’s (ERC) coveted Starting Grants to study island plant life. The biologist will use the 1.5 million euros grant to investigate the interaction between climate change and the spread of plant species. To do this, he will relocate from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, to Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the German Centre for Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv). The ERC Starting Grant is one of Europe’s most prestigious research awards.

Climate change, changes in land use, and invasive species are causing problems for native plants worldwide. “All around the world, climate zones are increasingly shifting toward the poles – and with them the habitats of many species. The survival of plant species depends heavily on whether or not they can follow these movements. Yet, we still know very little about these migration processes, the underlying details, and their consequences for species communities,” says Dr Julian Schrader. The biologist aims to close this knowledge gap with his ERC-funded research project.

Schrader specialised in research on and about island a few years ago. “Around 20 per cent of all known plant species are found only on islands. Yet islands account for only around five per cent of the world’s land mass,” explains Schrader. In recent years, he has intensively studied the flora of more than 880 Australian islands. The ERC grant will help him to continue and expand this research. “My goal is to link data on the distribution of plant species with so-called functional traits. These include, for example, a plant’s height and the size and quantity of its seeds. I hope this will provide new insights into which species spread more effectively and are therefore more likely to colonise new areas,” says Schrader. This data could be used to make predictions about how biodiversity will develop on islands.

With the funding of the ERC Grant, Schrader is returning to Germany and will establish a working group at MLU and iDiv. “The Halle-Leipzig area is an extremely attractive environment for my research. Halle’s geobotany department has an outstanding reputation worldwide, and iDiv is a global leader in the synthesis of research data on biodiversity,” says Schrader. While his research project focuses on islands, the results could also contribute to a better understanding of the mainland. Later in his ERC project, Schrader will draw on the sPlot database which is one of the world’s most comprehensive databases on Earth’s vegetation containing around 2.5 million datasets. It is located at iDiv and headed by MLU-geobotanist Professor Helge Bruelheide.

Julian Schrader, born in 1988, is an internationally renowned biodiversity researcher. He became the head of the Plant Ecology Lab at Macquarie University in Sydney in 2023. Schrader is the author and co-author of more than 60 scientific studies published in journals such as “Nature”, “Global Change Biology” and “Ecology Letters”. He studied at the universities of Osnabrück and Göttingen. In 2019, he obtained his doctorate at the University of Göttingen with a thesis on coral islands in West New Guinea. He then moved to Australia on a research fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The European Research Council awards its ERC Starting Grants to outstanding postdoctoral researchers who have applied with proposals for ambitious and promising research projects. A total of just under 3,928 project proposals were submitted in this round of ERC Starting Grants, of which 478 were selected for funding across Europe. Just over 12 percent of the proposals will be funded.

 

Semaglutide reduces cocaine use in rats

University of Gothenburg

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Elisabet Jerlhag och Cajsa Aranäs, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

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Credit: Photo: Johan Wingborg, Elin Lindström

A drug already prescribed for type 2 diabetes and obesity may one day be used to treat cocaine addiction. In animal studies, researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, found that semaglutide reduced both cocaine use and relapse.

One of the world’s most prescribed drugs for type 2 diabetes and obesity, semaglutide also reduced rats’ motivation to keep taking cocaine. Scientists believe the drug may blunt cocaine’s ability to raise dopamine levels in the brain, lowering the sense of reward. Exactly how semaglutide works in the brain is still not fully understood.

The study, published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology, was based on experiments in which rats were trained to self-administer cocaine. On average, cocaine use dropped by 26 percent, relapse-like behavior by 62 percent, and motivation to seek the drug by 52 percent.

Needs to be tested in humans

The lead author is Cajsa Aranäs, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg:

“Our results show that an established drug can affect key behaviors behind cocaine addiction. We hope this could open the way for new treatments, but clinical trials are needed before we know if the same effect is seen in patients.”

No approved drugs today

Elisabet Jerlhag, Professor of Pharmacology at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, led the study:

“There is a pressing demand for treatments for cocaine addiction. Currently, no drugs are available, and the risk of relapse is very high. If these findings in rats hold up in clinical trials, semaglutide could become the first pharmacological option to complement psychological therapy and support programs.”

Several GLP-1 receptor drugs are currently approved worldwide, but semaglutide is the best known, sold under names such as Ozempic and Wegovy.

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Journal

European Neuropsychopharmacology

DOI

10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.07.001 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Semaglutide suppresses cocaine taking, seeking, and cocaine-evoked dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens

AI can evaluate social situations similar to humans

University of Turku

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Artificial intelligence can detect and interpret social features between people from images and videos almost as reliably as humans, according to new a study from the University of Turku in Finland.

People are constantly making quick evaluations about each other's behaviour and interactions. The latest AI models, such as the large language model ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, can describe what is happening in images or videos. However, it has not been clear whether AI's interpretive capabilities are limited to easily recognisable details or whether it can also interpret complex social information.

Researchers at the Turku PET Centre in Finland studied how accurately the popular language model ChatGPT can assess social interaction. The model was asked to evaluate 138 different social features from videos and pictures. The features described a wide range of social traits such as facial expressions, body movements or characteristics of social interaction, such as co-operation or hostility. The researchers compared the evaluations made by AI with more than 2,000 similar evaluations made by humans.

The research results showed that the evaluations provided by ChatGPT were very close to those made by humans. AI's evaluations were even more consistent than those made by a single person.

“Since ChatGPT's assessment of social features were on average more consistent than those of an individual participant, its evaluations could be trusted even more than those made by a single person. However, the evaluations of several people together are still more accurate than those of artificial intelligence,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Severi Santavirta from the University of Turku.

Artificial intelligence can boost research in neuroscience

The researchers used AI and human participants' evaluations of social situations to model the brain networks of social perception using functional brain imaging in the second phase of the study. Before researchers can look at what happens in the human brain when people watch videos or pictures, the social situations they depict need to be assessed. This is where AI proved to be a useful tool.

“The results were strikingly similar when we mapped the brain networks of social perception based on either ChatGPT or people's social evaluations," says Santavirta.

Researchers say this suggests that AI can be a practical tool for large-scale and laborious neuroscience experiments, where, for example, interpreting video footage during brain imaging would require significant human effort. AI can automate this process, thereby reducing the cost of data processing and significantly speeding up research.

“Collecting human evaluations required the efforts of more than 2,000 participants and a total of more than 10,000 work hours, while ChatGPT produced the same evaluations in just a few hours,” Santavirta summarises.

Practical applications from healthcare to marketing

While the researchers focused on the benefits of AI for brain imaging research, the results suggest that AI could also be used for a wide range of other practical applications.

The automatic evaluation of social situations by AI from video footage could help doctors and nurses, for example, to monitor patients' well-being. Furthermore, AI could evaluate the likely reception of audiovisual marketing by the target audience or predict abnormal situations from security camera videos.

“The AI does not get tired like a human, but can monitor situations around the clock. In the future, the monitoring of increasingly complex situations can probably be left to artificial intelligence, allowing humans to focus on confirming the most important observations,” Santavirta says.

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Journal

Imaging Neuroscience

DOI

10.1162/IMAG.a.134 

Method of Research

Imaging analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

GPT-4V shows human-like social perceptual capabilities at phenomenological and neural levels

 

New organic polymer paves the way for recyclable water-based batteries

Tohoku University

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Schematic of a recyclable aqueous battery.

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Credit: Kouki Oka et al.

Aqueous batteries have been around for centuries. They are safe and relatively low-cost, but their adoption in new energy storage systems - such as grid storage and electric vehicles - has been limited. One major reason is material compatibility: many electrode materials do not perform well in aqueous electrolytes. For organic redox polymers in particular, hydrophobicity has been a barrier. Like other polymer materials, they also present challenges when it comes to decomposition and recycling.

Now, a research team from Tohoku University, working in collaboration with NITTO BOSEKI CO., LTD., has developed a new organic redox polymer that addresses these long-standing challenges.

To overcome the hurdles, the team introduced p-dihydroxybenzene - an organic molecule with high charge storage capacity - into a polyamine, which is water-soluble due to its positive charge. This was achieved through a simple condensation reaction. The resulting polymer retains high hydrophilicity, can be used as an electrode-active material at room temperature (25°C), and can be broken down into its raw components under mild conditions at temperatures below 100°C.

"This study provides a design strategy for making hydrophobic redox molecules compatible with aqueous systems," said Kouki Oka, associate professor at Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University. "By combining high charge storage capacity with recyclability, we can open new directions for sustainable battery research."

The findings highlight two key benefits. First, the use of water-based electrolytes avoids the risk of fire associated with conventional flammable solvents. Second, because the new polymers are made from abundant elements and can be easily decomposed, they may help reduce resource consumption and plastic pollution.

"Our next step is to evaluate durability and other performance factors to understand the full potential of this material for real-world applications," added Oka.

The research was published online in Polymer Journal on August 26, 2025 and was selected for the special issue Rising Stars in Polymer Science 2025.

 

Synthesis and decomposition of p-dihydroxybenzene substituted polyamine. 

Credit

Kouki Oka et al.

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Journal

Polymer Journal

DOI

10.1038/s41428-025-01085-x 

Article Title

Hydroquinone-Substituted Polyallylamine: Redox Capability for Aqueous Polymer-Air Secondary Batteries and Recyclability

Slime as a material for multifunctional sphere

Technical University of Munich (TUM)

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Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed hollow microspheres made of mucus and polydopamine using a simple and scalable production method. These tiny spheres are intended to serve as packaging for therapeutic substances, for example in joints or on the oral mucosa. Their properties and mode of action can be adjusted by the choice of materials and are also influenced by the surrounding biological environment.

Oliver Lieleg, Professor of Biopolymer Materials, and his team are harnessing the diverse properties of mucins – the key components of the natural linings such as those found in the oral mucosa or the stomach – to create technological solutions in biomedicine. Their latest development is a multifunctional microsphere made of mucin and polydopamine. The microsphere is designed to enable a retarded release of molecular cargoes at body sites where adhesion of such drug carriers is otherwise difficult, such as on the oral mucosa or on cartilage.

This good adhesion has been tested on animal tissue and is brought about by the strong adhesive properties of polydopamine. At the same time, mucin adds valuable features: it renders the spheres more adjustable regarding their pore size and allows them to act as a natural lubricant. “In joints, for example, this could help prevent damage created by joint movements. It may also provide a protective coating on injured tissue in the mouth, another advantage in addition to the microspheres’ function as drug delivery agents” explains Di Fan, first author of the study.

The hollow spheres are easy to produce, load, and seal

Production of the new hollow spheres starts with an established process: a core is first coated with the desired materials and then removed, leaving behind a hollow structure. With other materials, the spheres sometimes shrink or even collapse when the core is dissolved. In contrast, the microspheres made from polydopamine and mucin remain structurally stable. Their surface is porous. This allows the cargo to be added after microsphere production and to enter the spheres by diffusion, as shown with model cargo molecules in the study.

The next step is new and crucial: the researchers apply an additional component to the surface, which partially seals the shells of the spheres. This helps keep more of the cargo inside the sphere after loading while ensuring that it is gradually released over time. A range of materials can be used for this locking step, but the approach proved particularly effective with silver ions – positively charged atoms of silver.

Protect or destroy: how material selection and the biological setting determine the effect

The choice of material for sealing is also crucial for the effects of the microspheres. “If silver ions are used, the microspheres help kill cells. This could be particularly useful in treating tumors,” says Di Fan, who demonstrated different effects in cell cultures.

In contrast, without silver ions, the anti-inflammatory properties of polydopamine take effect and protect cells from chemical stress instead. This is especially useful in tissue suffering from inflammation, with potential applications in cases such as osteoarthritis or chronic wounds. Both the type of sealing agent used and the biological setting influence how quickly the cargo is released.

“With the hollow microsphere system, we have created a versatile drug release system that is easy to produce, scalable, and adaptable,” explains project leader Lieleg. “Our chosen combination of mucin and polydopamine brings together many advantages offered by those biomolecules that go beyond the typical tasks of a classical drug release system; for example, it can protect or eliminate cells – depending on the envisioned application.”

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Journal

Small

DOI

10.1002/smll.202503238 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Multi-Functional Polydopamine-Mucin Hollow Particles Provide Tunable Shell Permeability, ROS Scavenging, Tissue Adhesion, and Lubricity for Biomedical Applications