Microplastics have become nearly impossible to avoid. They have been detected in oceans, drinking water and even the human body, but scientists are still uncovering how they affect human health. Now, researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have uncovered evidence that one of the world’s most common plastics may do more than pollute the environment. Their findings suggest that polyethylene may contribute to fatty liver disease and worsen the condition when combined with an unhealthy diet.

Psychedelics like psilocybin (from magic mushrooms), LSD, DMT and mescaline profoundly alter how we perceive, feel and think. After decades of neglect, they are again the subject of serious scientific inquiry, largely because of their promise for treating depression, anxiety, addiction and other conditions. But this therapeutic promise has run ahead of a more basic understanding: While a great deal of attention has gone to whether psychedelics help treat mental disorders, far less has gone to what they actually do in a general sense—the fundamental way they change perception, thought and consciousness. Only by understanding these basic mechanisms can we ever make sense of the therapeutic effects.

Researchers from three institutions, including UC Santa Barbara, have demonstrated that artificial intelligence has the potential to make future visual prostheses, like a bionic eye, more precise, predictable and responsive to an individual user.

A new study reveals that the cardioprotective drug dexrazoxane significantly reduces heart damage caused by chemotherapy in pediatric cancer patients 15 years or more after treatment ends.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease in which the body’s own immune system overreacts to minimal or inappropriate stimuli, producing recurrent attacks of fever and painful inflammation. The disease is caused by mutations in MEFV, the gene that encodes a protein called pyrin.