New research has found, for the first time, a scientific solution that enables future internet infrastructure to become completely open and programmable while carrying internet traffic at the speed of light.

The research by High Performance Networks (HPN) group in the University of Bristol's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is published in the world's first scientific journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.

The current internet infrastructure is not able to support independent development and innovation at physical and network layer functionalities, protocols, and services, while at the same time supporting the increasing bandwidth demands of changing and diverse applications.

Data sharing in medical research could soon become the norm, according to a series of articles published this month in PLOS Medicine. The papers, representing authors from the World Health Organization, the pharmaceutical corporation GlaxoSmithKline, the US National Library of Medicine, and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and summarized in an Editorial by the PLOS Medicine Editors, discuss recent progress towards acceptance of data sharing, in particular for research related to public health emergencies, and for reports from clinical trials. The Editorial discusses the challenges that remain, including the need to ensure that researchers who share data receive appropriate recognition.

Women who began having menstrual cycles at a younger age are at greater risk of developing gestational diabetes, a disease affecting up to 7 percent of pregnant women that can cause babies to develop type 2 diabetes and other complications, new research shows.

Previous research has shown an association between beginning menstrual cycles, or menarche, at a young age and the development of type 2 diabetes. However, the new study, published in Diabetes Care, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Diabetes Association, looked specifically at menarche and gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that begins or is first recognized during pregnancy.

Contrary to current clinical belief, regular caffeine consumption does not lead to extra heartbeats that have been linked to heart-or stroke-related morbidity and mortality.

The study, which measured the chronic consumption of caffeinated products over a 12-month period, rather than acute consumption, appears in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association. The authors say it is the largest to date to have evaluated dietary patterns in relation to extra heartbeats.

The magnetic compass that birds use for orientation is affected by polarized light. This previously unknown phenomenon was discovered by researchers at Lund University in Sweden.

The discovery that the magnetic compass is affected by the polarization direction of light was made when trained zebra finches were trying to find food inside a maze. The birds were only able to use their magnetic compass when the direction of the polarized light was parallel to the magnetic field, not when perpendicular to the magnetic field.

Take a look at any food label and there's a good chance all design elements, from the color palette to the smallest detail, were meticulously chosen.