Monday, April 20, 2026

Nordic Seas Overturning Circulation strengthens as Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) weakens, new study

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

While the AMOC, a major Atlantic current system, has weakened, its northern branch, the NOC, has remained stable over the past century, with models projecting a slight strengthening in the future. The NOC carries water past Iceland into the Nordic Seas before returning to the Atlantic, flowing as dense deep water over underwater ridges between Greenland, Iceland and Scotland.

“The stability of the NOC and its projected increase have been viewed by some as a contradiction to the weakening AMOC. But our findings tell us the opposite. The strengthening of the NOC is a physical consequence of AMOC weakening,” said co-author Stefan Rahmstorf of PIK.

“Our model results indicate that a density-driven mechanism links these opposing trends. A weakened AMOC leads to reduced salt transport into the subpolar North Atlantic, lowering the density of water there, and strengthening the NOC by increasing the density contrast with the waters further north,” explained lead author Sasha Roewer, PIK researcher when the study was conducted and now with the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology.

Using detailed climate model data and a simplified model of the Atlantic and Nordic Seas, the researchers investigated how changes in water density link the AMOC and NOC.

According to the model simulations, the NOC may keep strengthening as a result of AMOC weakening. But only until deep convection in the Nordic Seas shuts down – a change that could then trigger the collapse of both currents.

“A strengthening of the NOC is not a sign of a stable AMOC, but rather a symptom of its weakening and perhaps even a precursor of its shutdown, with profound impacts for the global climate,” Stefan Rahmstorf concluded.

Article

Roewer, S., Fiedler, L., Årthun, M., Huiskamp, W., Rahmstorf, S. (2026): Nordic overturning increases as AMOC weakens in response to global warming. Ocean Science [DOI: 10.5194/os-22-1195-2026]

Journal

Ocean Science

DOI

10.5194/os-22-1195-2026

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Nordic overturning increases as AMOC weakens in response to global warming.

Article Publication Date

20-Apr-2026

New publication about the influence of Southern Hemisphere waters on the Indonesian Throughflow

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

Overview - connection between the Southern Ocean and the Banda Sea — image:
The star on the map indicates the origin of the sample material. Based on their analyses, the researchers were able to demonstrate that there is a connection between the Southern Ocean and the Banda Sea (Indonesia).
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Credit: Graphic: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen; M. Hollstein

The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) is the only low-latitude connection between two ocean basins and an important component of the global ocean circulation. Every second, it transports approximately 15 million cubic meters of water from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean. Today, the ITF is thought to transport mainly waters of North Pacific origin. Even though the significance of the ITF for the global ocean circulation and climate has long been established, little is known about the hemispheric origin of the water masses contributing to its overall transport in the past.

To study the hemispheric origin of the ITF source waters, an international team led by Prof. Markus Kienast from Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada) measured nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) in a sediment core from the Banda Sea, Indonesia – located at the heart of the ITF. “The isotopic compositions of subsurface nitrate in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere source waters of the ITF are substantially different and by measuring δ15N in the Banda Sea core, we could detect the contribution of these waters to the ITF through time,” explains Dr. Martina Hollstein, corresponding author of the study. “Our results show a remarkable long-term stability of the nitrogen cycle all along the equatorial Pacific, with Southern Hemisphere-sourced subsurface waters contributing significantly to the total ITF transport during the last 800,000 years.”

The study reveals that the Southern Hemisphere contribution has been much higher than previously thought. “This is an important finding. Because it implies a relevant and direct conduit by which high southern Pacific climate signal is transmitted to the Indonesian Seas and from there, to the Indian and Atlantic Oceans,” says PD Dr. Mahyar Mohtadi from MARUM and Faculty of geosciences at the university of Bremen, also corresponding author of the study.

The transport of elements within the water column and towards the ocean floor is also being investigated further as part of the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”, which is currently based at MARUM and the Institute of Marine Chemistry and Biology (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg. The aim is to estimate their budget under current and past conditions of the Earth system.

More information
Working group Low-Latitude Climate Variability https://www.marum.de/en/Low-Latitude-Climate-Variability.html

Contact
Dr. Martina Hollstein
Low-Latitude Climate Variability
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen
Email: mhollstein@marum.de

PD Dr. Mahyar Mohtadi
Low-Latitude Climate Variability
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen
Email: mmohtadi@marum.de

Participating Institutions
•   Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax (Canada)
•   MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany
•   Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Germany
•   Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania (Australia)
•   College of Marine Science, University of South Florida (USA)
•   College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China (China)
•   Institute of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University (Taiwan)

MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the ocean floor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the ocean and the ocean floor significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, and create unique biological systems. MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society and the marine environment, and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data and makes it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperates with commercial and industrial partners in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-71786-1

Article Title

Significant Southern Hemisphere contribution to the Indonesian Throughflow over the last 800,000 years

Article Publication Date

14-Apr-2026

Severe childhood malaria linked to cognitive impairment later in life

Indiana University

Mother and child in Africa — image:
A mother and her child providing consent to participate in the Malarial Impact on Neurobehavioral Development (MIND) study.
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Credit: Photo courtesy Chandy John, IU School of Medicine

INDIANAPOLIS — Severe childhood malaria is linked to long-term cognitive impairment, according to a new study from Indiana University School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators at Makerere University in Uganda.

The findings, recently published in JAMA, suggest children who survive cases of cerebral malaria and severe malarial anemia experience cognitive and academic impairment that persists into adolescence. The correlation highlights an urgent need for the development of better prevention strategies and more effective therapies to minimize the lasting effects of one of the world’s most dangerous diseases.

The World Health Organization reported 282 million malaria cases in 2024, with children under 5 accounting for about 75% of 610,000 global deaths.

"Cerebral malaria and severe malarial anemia, which affect more than a million children every year, are not only causes of death in children, but also associated with very long-term costs in terms of a child’s thinking and their academic achievement," said Chandy John, MD, the Ryan White Professor of Pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, who co-led the study. "These costs, particularly in the area of math skills, can affect their ability to do well in school, to go to college and to get a good job."

Malaria is caused by mosquito-transmitted parasites, with symptoms ranging from mild to life-threatening. Severe cases can cause complications to blood cell production resulting in malarial anemia, and serious neurological issues leading to coma, which defines cerebral malaria.

In the Malarial Impact on Neurobehavioral Development (MIND) study, children from two prior cohort studies of severe malaria were followed up four and 15 years after their initial episode, and their scores in cognition and academic achievement were compared to those of children in the community who did not have severe malaria. They found that children who survived cerebral malaria and severe malarial anemia experienced cognitive impairment, with cognition scores the equivalent of 3 to 7 IQ points below their community peers.

Specific clinical factors in children with cerebral malaria or severe malarial anemia, such as the presence of acute kidney injury and elevated levels of uric acid, which is necessary for some body functions but can be toxic when present in too high levels, were found to be associated with worse long-term cognitive outcomes.

The group’s future work will focus on determining if cerebral malaria and severe malarial anemia are causing the cognitive impairment, and how to prevent it.

"Cohort studies can show an association, but they can’t prove that these illnesses caused the impairment," John said. "Instead, we can look at potential pathways in the body and the brain and see how they relate to cognition. That’s what we’re doing in our current study, SMART Brain."

SMART Brain, short for Severe Malaria and Risk to The Brain, will allow the scientists to use models of the brain to explore further the link between specific processes that occur in severe malaria and brain injury.

"If we can identify pathways that lead to brain injury, then we can come up with interventions that may prevent brain injury, and test these in clinical trials," John said. "That could potentially protect the brain and improve cognitive and academic outcomes for hundreds of thousands of children in countries with malaria."

IU School of Medicine’s Kagan Mellencamp, Jie Ren, Andrea Conroy, Dibyadyuti Datta, Christian Kautzman and Michael Goings are co-authors on the study. Additional authors include Paul Bangirana, Jacqueline Nakitende, Ruth Namazzi and Richard Idro from Makerere University, Robert Opoka from Aga Khan University and Bjarne Robberstad from University of Bergen.

This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health.

About the Indiana University School of Medicine

The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 15 in 2025 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.

Writer: Jackie Maupin, jacmaup@iu.edu

For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news

Journal

JAMA

Plastic texturing kills viruses when they land

Researchers have developed a thin plastic film that tears apart viruses on contact, offering a promising new way to keep high touch surfaces such as smartphones and hospital equipment from spreading disease.

RMIT University

26055-Antiviral Texturing-FINAL-Web-1 — image:
Transparent acrylic samples with engineered nanotextured surfaces, prepared for microscopy analysis, showing how clear plastic can be turned into a coating that physically tears viruses apart on contact. Image: RMIT
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Credit: RMIT University

Researchers have developed a thin plastic film that tears apart viruses on contact, offering a promising new way to keep high‑touch surfaces such as smartphones and hospital equipment from spreading disease.

The innovation is not only effective at killing viruses, but also far more practical and scalable than earlier metal and silicon‑based antiviral surfaces.

The flexible acrylic surface is textured with ultra‑fine structures called nanopillars that grab and stretch the outer shell of the virus so much that it ruptures, killing the virus through mechanical force rather than chemical disinfectants.

Unlike earlier studies on antiviral coatings, this research published in Advanced Science shows stretching rather than skewering viruses is a more effective kill.

In lab tests with the human parainfluenza virus 3 (hPIV-3) – which causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia – about 94% of the virus particles were either ripped apart or damaged to the point where they could no longer replicate to cause infection within one hour of contact with the surface.

Study lead author and PhD candidate Samson Mah from Australia’s RMIT University, said the team used cheap, flexible plastic that can be made in big factory rolls, like cling wrap.

“As nanofabrication tools get better, our results give a clearer guide to which nanopatterns work best to kill viruses,” he said.

“We could one day have surfaces like phone screens, keyboards and hospital tables covered with this film, killing viruses on contact without using harsh chemicals.

“Our mould can be adapted to roll‑to‑roll manufacturing, meaning antiviral plastic films could be produced at scale with existing factory equipment.”

Mah said the research revealed how distance between the nanopillars matters far more than their height.

“By tweaking the spacing and height of the nanopillars, we discovered how tightly they are packed together is far more important than how tall they are for breaking viruses apart,” he said.

“When the nanopillars are closer together, more of them can press on the same virus at once, stretching its outer shell past breaking point.”

While early experiments on rigid substrates such as nanospike silicon showed viruses could be physically disrupted, this study showed the surfaces textured with not only spiky-like nanofeatures, but also with blunt nanopillars can efficiently kill viruses.

This new research shows the same virus‑killing action on flexible plastic and proposes a simple design rule: the closer together the nanofeatures such as spikes or nanopillars are, the better they work.

This strongest effect came from densely packed nanopillars with about 60 nanometres between them, while widening the gaps to 100 nanometres reduced the antiviral power and 200 nanometres effectively switched it off.

So far, the work has focused on hPIV‑3, an enveloped virus with a fatty outer membrane; the team now plans to test smaller and non‑enveloped viruses to see how broadly the nanotextured surface works.

An enveloped virus has a fragile fatty membrane around it that can be more easily disrupted by nanopillars, while a non-enveloped virus lacks this outer layer, making it harder to kill.

More research is also needed to study the texturing’s effectiveness on curved surfaces, which affects the nanopillars’ spacing.

Study co‑author Distinguished Professor Elena Ivanova from RMIT said the team is keen to work with industry to further the research.

“We think this texturing is a strong candidate for everyday use and we’re ready to partner with companies to refine it for large‑scale manufacturing,” she said.

Organisations wishing to partner with RMIT can contact research.partnerships@rmit.edu.au.

‘Designing Scalable Mechano-Virucidal Nanostructured Acrylic Surfaces for Enhanced Viral Inactivation’, is published in Advanced Science. (DOI: 10.1002/advs.202521667)

Microscope image of a virus cell being ruptured by the nanotextured surface.

Credit

RMIT University

Journal

Advanced Science

DOI

10.1002/advs.202521667

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

Designing Scalable Mechano-Virucidal Nanostructured Acrylic Surfaces for Enhanced Viral Inactivation

Energy-efficient cooling elements from a 3D printer: Elastocaloric cooling systems at Hannover Messe

Saarland University

Visitors to this year’s Hannover Messe can experience a sudden drop in temperature at first hand – all brought about by simply stretching a metal alloy and then releasing it again. The underlying elastocaloric technology offers a cleaner, greener alternative to traditional cooling and heating systems. Professor Paul Motzki and his team at Saarland University are key players in the field and are driving developments ever closer towards real-world applications. Working with 3D-printing specialists led by Professor Dirk Bähre, they are also developing novel, energy-efficient geometries for the cooling elements. The team is showcasing their technology at Hannover Messe from 20 to 24 April (Hall 11, Stand D41).

The shiny cubes, each with a striking geometry, could easily be taken for stylish decorative items. For the researchers who work with these 3D-printed structures, however, their appeal lies in their functionality rather than their aesthetics. The manufacturing engineers in Professor Dirk Bähre’s team and the smart materials specialists led by Professor Paul Motzki are interested in how these metal structures behave in the innovative cooling and heating systems currently being developed in Saarbrücken. ‘This is the next stage in the development of elastocaloric technology. The research we are currently undertaking on these new structures is still in the realm of basic research – but we are already thinking about practical use and developing solutions for real-world applications,’ explains Paul Motzki. The novel geometries of these new cooling and heating elements are designed to boost heat transfer efficiency by maximizing the surface area over which thermal energy is exchanged.

Instead of cooling with refrigerants that are harmful to our climate, or heating with fossil fuels like oil or gas, elastocaloric systems use components manufactured from the shape-memory alloy nickel-titanium. Until now, Paul Motzki’s team at Saarland University has been researching the elastocaloric properties of bundles of ultrathin wires and thin sheets made from this alloy. These components release heat when pulled or compressed, and they absorb heat when the mechanical load is removed. The Saarbrücken engineers are using the elastocaloric effect to transport heat from one location to another – for example, to transfer heat out of a cooling chamber. The research teams at Saarland University and at the Saarbrücken Center for Mechatronics and Automation Technology (ZeMA) have been investigating the elastocaloric effect for more than 15 years, with the long-term aim of cooling and heating cars, buildings and industrial facilities in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way. At this year’s Hannover Messe, the team is demonstrating that their technology has moved beyond pure fundamental research and is already well on its way towards real-world applications.

Cool new materials

Enormous quantities of energy are consumed worldwide for cooling and heating – and as the climate changes, demand is set to rise further. Unlike conventional cooling and heating methods, elastocaloric technology promises significantly higher efficiency. Powered solely by electricity, elastocaloric systems are as clean as the electricity that is used to power them. The European Commission has identified elastocaloric cooling as the most promising alternative to conventional cooling technologies, and the World Economic Forum listed it among the ‘Top Ten Emerging Technologies’. The technology is based on the special properties of nickel-titanium – an alloy that, when deformed, behaves very differently from conventional metals.

Nickel-titanium is what is known as a ‘shape memory alloy’, i.e. the material can be deformed and then return to its original shape, due to a reversible phase transformation between two solid crystal lattice structures. This phase transformation is accompanied by heat transfer. ‘At room temperature, the alloy is in its high-temperature phase. When we apply tensile or compressive stress to the material, we force it to adopt the low-temperature phase. This is an exothermic process in which the material warms up and releases heat to the surroundings. Once the material has cooled back down to ambient temperature, we release the mechanical stress. This enables the alloy to transform back to its high-temperature phase and – as this is an endothermic process – the material cools down,’ explains Paul Motzki. Put simply: when a nickel-titanium wire is stretched, it releases heat to the air or liquid flowing past it; when the stress is removed, it cools down and is able to absorb heat from its surroundings. This mechanical deformation cycle of repeated tensile loading and unloading is the key principle behind the new technology. No additional sensors are required, as the material itself has its own intrinsic sensing properties. ‘Each deformation of the wires corresponds to a specific electrical resistance value. So the resistance measurements can tell us exactly how the material is deforming at any given moment. That means a position sensor is effectively built in,’ Motzki explains.

The researchers in Saarbrücken aim to maximize thermal energy transfer by maximizing surface area. The larger the surface area, the more efficiently heat can be transferred to the working medium – air or water. Up until now, the team has increased surface area by creating bundles containing many ultrathin shape-memory wires. In the next generation of these devices, the cooling and heating elements will provide even more contact area by incorporating a porous geometric nickel-titanium structure. To achieve this goal, Paul Motzki’s research group is working with Dirk Bähre’s team to develop an intricate nickel-titanium structure through which the heat-transfer medium (air or water) can flow. The researchers are refining and optimizing the design of these delicate alloy lattices. A variety of complex geometries are undergoing experimental testing to determine which structures yield the most efficient heat transfer. The three-dimensional alloy structures are produced layer by layer using additive manufacturing in a 3D printer.

Preparing the technology for real-world applications

While laboratory experiments and testing are ongoing, Motzki and his team are also working to develop the emergent field of elastocalorics for real-world deployment. The materials that will be used in future elastocaloric cooling systems will need to be suitable for continuous operation in refrigerators and cooling units. ‘We are working to develop materials and designs that are robust enough for continuous use and for ease of maintenance. We build questions about potential future applications into the development process right from the outset; it’s a core principle of our research and it also shapes the curricula of our degree programmes such as Systems Engineering and Sustainable Materials and Engineering,’ says Paul Motzki, who, like Dirk Bähre, involves numerous doctoral researchers as well as undergraduate students in this work.

One of the questions being addressed experimentally is how to mechanically load the materials in ways that ensure a long service life. This involves matching the properties of the alloy to the tensile and compressive cycling regimes. ’For example, in designs that use wire bundles, we want to achieve a lifetime of more than one million cycles,’ says Paul Motzki. At some point, however, even the best material will fatigue. ‘That’s why we are also developing a simple and fast replacement concept. We are designing the relevant components so that they can be exchanged easily, because maintainability is a key factor in determining whether this new technology can translate into reliable day-to-day deployment,’ explains Motzki.

Funding and current projects in elastocalorics

The German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space is funding the project ‘DEPART!Saar’ with up to €18 million under its ‘T!Raum’ programme. The aim of this project is to strengthen Saarland’s economy by developing regional innovation and transfer structures that will accelerate the transfer of elastocaloric technology into real-world applications. In the SmartCool project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Saarbrücken engineers are working with Volkswagen AG, Fraunhofer IPM and the company Ingpuls to develop lightweight, energy-efficient cooling systems for electric vehicles. In a further research project, the team is working with European partners to develop an elastocaloric air conditioning system that can be used to cool and heat individual rooms of residential buildings. The project consortium led by Paul Motzki will receive a total of €4 million in funding under the ‘EIC Pathfinder Challenge’ from the European Innovation Council. With additional funding from an ‘ERC Starting Grant’ from the European Research Council, Paul Motzki and his team are advancing elastocaloric technology using a globally unique combination of shape-memory materials and smart-film actuators. Dielectric elastomers are the second smart materials field in which Paul Motzki is a recognized expert.

At Hannover Messe, the researchers are on hand to explain the technology and are also looking for partners from academia and industry to develop elastocaloric systems further and create applications ranging from household appliances to industrial cooling systems. One of the exhibits being showcased is a functional prototype of the first elastocaloric mini fridge, which demonstrates proof of concept by cooling a drinks can. At the heart of the mini fridge are bundles of 200-micrometre-thin nickel-titanium wires that rotate around a circular cooling chamber. The wire bundles are stretched on one side of the chamber, and the tension is released on the other. Air that flows past the wires, carries heat out of the chamber, cooling the chamber and the can of drink it contains.
Joint exhibition stand ‘Germany’s Saarland’ (Hall 11, Stand D41).

Having more kids associated with reduced risk of stroke and brain damage, research co-led by UT Health San Antonio shows

Number of live births could be an important predictive factor

The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center

SAN ANTONIO, April 20, 2026 – While some say having lots of kids can make you lose your faculties, a new study suggests otherwise.

Research co-led by UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, associates a greater number of live births with a reduced risk of stroke or brain damage for mothers. As more women than men have strokes, the finding is seen as significant in helping determine risk.

The study, titled, “Number of Live Births as a Protective Factor Against Clinical and Covert Brain Infarcts: The Framingham Heart Study,” was published on April 7 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, and on behalf of the association.

“Our findings would suggest that reproductive factors – for example, number of live births – may be an additional factor to consider when assessing stroke risk in women,” said Sudha Seshadri, MD, a behavioral neurologist, professor and founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio.

She is joint senior author of the study with Emer R. McGrath, PhD, with the School of Medicine at the University of Galway in Ireland. “Inclusion of this risk factor in female-specific clinical prediction rules for stroke may enhance risk prediction in women,” Seshadri said.

Reproductive factors in stroke

The study notes that stroke is a major cause of morbidity and death and disproportionately affects women, who account for 57% of all strokes in the United States.

Reproductive factors – for example, age at first menstrual period, age at menopause, circulating estrogen levels, number of pregnancies and use of hormone replacement therapy – affect overall lifetime exposure to estrogen, and therefore have been implicated as important predictors of future stroke risk in women.

Generally, greater exposure for a longer period or to higher levels of the body’s own estrogen has recently been associated with a lower burden of cerebral small-vessel disease in women. However, evidence for some factors, such as live births, has been conflicting.

For this study, researchers determined the association between number of live births and other female-specific reproductive factors and subsequent risk of stroke and magnetic resonance imaging markers of vascular brain injury in a community-based cohort. That cohort was the Framingham Heart Study, a long-term and ongoing community-based observational study of residents in Framingham, Massachusetts, dating to 1948. Seshadri serves as senior investigator.

Live births and decreased risk

The scientists followed 1,882 women over time, and who were stroke-free at a baseline examination during 1998 to 2001 and at a mean age of 61. They considered reproductive factors including the women’s number of live births given, age at menopause, postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy use, and serum estradiol and estrone levels.

During a median 18-year follow-up, they assessed the same participants for number of strokes from all causes, and secondarily for “covert brain infarcts” – like brain lesions representing vascular damage from restricted or reduced blood blow – and white matter hyperintensity volume, detected by MRI.

Over that period, 126 women had strokes. The researchers used statistical analyses known as multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for major vascular risk factors, and determined that three or more live births were associated with a reduced risk of stroke. Similarly, they found that three or more live births were associated with decreased risk of vascular brain injury.

“This may be an important factor to include in female-specific clinical prediction rules for stroke, but will require further study,” Seshadri said.

The researchers found no significant association between other reproductive factors and stroke or MRI markers of vascular brain injury.

Other authors of the study are with Boston University; Mass General Brigham, Boston; and University of California-Davis.

Number of Live Births as a Protective Factor Against Clinical and Covert Brain Infarcts: The Framingham Heart Study

Senan Maher, Matthew R. Scott, Rachel F. Buckley, Charles S. DeCarli, Hugo J. Aparicio, Jose Rafael Romero, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Joanne M. Murabito, Shalender Bhasin, Alexa S. Beiser, Sudha Seshadri, Emer R. McGrath

Published April 7, 2026, by Journal of the American Heart Association

Link to full study: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.125.044037

UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), offering a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient care facilities staffed by medical, dental, nursing and allied health professionals who conduct more than 2.5 million patient visits each year. It is the region’s only academic health center and one of the nation’s leading health sciences institutions, supported by the schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences and public health that are leading change and advancing fields throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit UTHealthSA.org.

Stay connected with UT Health San Antonio on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio is dedicated to providing comprehensive dementia care while advancing treatment through clinical trials and research. The Biggs Institute is a National Institute on Aging (NIA)-designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio). In addition to providing patient care and conducting research, the Biggs Institute partners with the School of Nursing at UT San Antonio to offer the Caring for the Caregiver program.

Journal

Journal of the American Heart Association

DOI

10.1161/JAHA.125.0440

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Number of Live Births as a Protective Factor Against Clinical and Covert Brain Infarcts: The Framingham Heart Study

Article Publication Date

17-Apr-2026

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Monday, April 20, 2026

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New publication about the influence of Southern Hemisphere waters on the Indonesian Throughflow

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DOI

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Severe childhood malaria linked to cognitive impairment later in life

Journal

Plastic texturing kills viruses when they land

Microscope image of a virus cell being ruptured by the nanotextured surface.

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DOI

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Article Title

Energy-efficient cooling elements from a 3D printer: Elastocaloric cooling systems at Hannover Messe

Having more kids associated with reduced risk of stroke and brain damage, research co-led by UT Health San Antonio shows

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DOI

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