Science
press releases.

Science25 Jun 2025

More sex, less pain and irritation for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 25, 2025)—It’s no secret that women often become less interested in sex with age. However, orgasm and satisfaction have been shown to not decline significantly with age. A new study suggests regular sexual activity may limit vulvar pain, irritation, and dryness, which are all common reasons women have less sex as they get older. Results of the study are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society. Estrogen deficiency during and after menopause may reduce the life expectancy of women and impair their quality of life through a condition called genitourinary ...

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Science25 Jun 2025

New review highlights histone and non-histone lysine lactylation: From molecular mechanisms to therapeutic frontiers

A review article recently published in Molecular Biomedicine by Prof. Juan Du and Dr. Xia Peng of Capital Medical University School of Stomatology presents an authoritative and up-to-date synthesis of the molecular biology of lysine lactylation (Kla), a novel post-translational modification that connects cellular metabolism with gene expression and protein function. First described in 2019, Kla is now known to modify not only histones but also a vast array of non-histone proteins. These modifications regulate processes such as inflammation, DNA repair, cancer metabolism, and immune signaling. While histone Kla has been the primary focus of earlier research, this new ...

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Science25 Jun 2025

Bushfire evacuation simulator wins prestigious US prize

A collaboration spanning Europe, Australia and North America to create a cutting-edge bushfire evacuation simulator has been recognised for its contribution to fire safety. The simulator visualises bushfire spread and people movement based on traffic congestion, weather conditions and other factors to calculate how quickly a community can escape a fire. The award-winning team from RMIT University, Imperial College London, Canada’s National Research Council, Lund University and end-users like GHD Group, have collaborated for over eight years to develop and test the free-to-use simulation tool, ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

The first “SpongeBooster of the Year” award celebrates efforts in wetland restoration

Over recent centuries, the intensification of land use has caused the loss of natural sponge functions in landscapes. River straightening, bank stabilisation and embankments disrupt the natural exchange of water with the floodplains, which not only absorb and slowly release water during droughts but also provide diverse habitats, nature-based flood protection, and valuable recreational areas. Restoring wetlands is vital in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. The "SpongeBoost" project supports policy-making, ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

UK annual cost of dog walkers’ hand/wrist injuries estimated to top £23 million

The annual cost of hand and wrist injuries among dog walkers in the UK is estimated to top £23 million, with women and the over 65s most at risk as a result of being pulled along on the dog leash, finds a review of the available evidence, published online in the journal Injury Prevention. Cases of dog walking injuries have been rising in recent years in tandem with an increase in dog ownership and dog walking to improve fitness, explain the researchers. In the UK alone, there are around 8.5 million dogs–one for every seven to eight people. Despite the many cognitive and physical health benefits of dog ownership, it is not without ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

A unified theory of the mind

In a new paper with implications for preventing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, Keith Hengen, an associate professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, suggests a new comprehensive approach to understanding how the brain works and the rules it must follow to reach optimal performance. “There’s a common perception that the human brain is the most complicated thing in the universe,” Hengen said. “The brain is immensely powerful, but that power may arise from a relatively simple set of mathematical principles.” Hengen ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

World’s soft coral diversity retains signature of an ancient, vanished sea

It is of vital importance to, on occasion, consider how little we know about the spinning rock we all live on. Take coral reefs, for example. Given how much they’ve been studied, you’d think we’ve learned just about everything about them by now. But talk to a marine biologist, and they will quickly disabuse you of this notion. “A majority of the things that are out there on coral reefs are simply unknown to us or haven’t been formally described or named,” said Catherine McFadden, a professor of life sciences at Harvey Mudd College. McFadden is ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

The evolution from reptile-like to upright posture in mammals was highly dynamic and complex

The transition from sprawling (reptile-like) to more upright (parasagittal) posture and locomotion was a transformative event in mammalian evolution. A study published June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dr. Robert Brocklehurst and Professor Stephanie Pierce at Harvard University, USA and colleagues suggests that parasagittal posture evolved via an indirect, dynamic, and radiating process. Non-mammalian synapsids (tetrapod vertebrates), the ancestors of extant mammals, underwent major musculoskeletal reorganization, including ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

An evolutionary trade-off has limited how fish catch their prey

A trade-off between tooth size and jaw mobility has restricted fish evolution, Nick Peoples at the University of California Davis, US, and colleagues report June 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. Ray-finned fish are a diverse and widespread group, representing 99% of living fish species. Two key adaptations have helped them thrive: large teeth and extendible jaws. Fish with larger teeth can access a wider range of food sources, while the ability to rapidly extend the upper jaw allows fish to hunt fast-swimming prey by using suction forces to pull them closer. However, these two innovations are rarely found in the same fish species. To find out why, ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Head over heels

For over a century, scientists have puzzled over a fundamental mystery in our evolutionary history: how did mammals go from sprawling like lizards to striding like cats and dogs? This transition—from a sprawled stance (like a lizard) to an upright (parasagittal) posture—marked a pivotal moment in mammal evolution. While the earliest non-mammalian synapsids, the ancestors of living mammals, had a sprawling posture, researchers debated when and how the upright postures of modern mammals evolved. Now, a groundbreaking study in PLOS ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Drive to survive: The seemingly impossible reproduction of dogroses hinges on a centromere trick

An international research team led by Dr. André Marques from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, Prof. Dr. Christiane Ritz from the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz and Dr. Aleš Kovařík from the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has achieved a significant breakthrough in research into the reproduction of dogrose. The study, which has now been published in the renowned journal "Nature", shows how differences in the size of the centromeres - the central docking sites for chromosomes - play a decisive role in the extraordinary chromosome inheritance ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

New methodology for 3D braiding machine design unveiled

Researchers from Donghua University in China and the University of British Columbia have introduced a novel design methodology for 3D rotary braiding machines, offering a significant step forward in the production of complex geometric textile composites. Their work, published in Engineering, details a programmable design approach based on circle-cutting and combination strategies, which enhances the ability to create 3D braided composites with intricate shapes. 3D braided composites are highly valued for their exceptional mechanical properties, such as high ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Strategic choices behind accounting standards unveiled in new study

New study explores why foreign firms listed in the U.S. choose between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. The research finds that firms strategically weigh the flexibility of financial reporting and the costs of compliance, rather than following the common standards in their listing jurisdiction. These insights help explain the real motivations behind financial disclosure decisions and offer guidance for regulators and investors alike. A new study by Dr. Heylel-li Biton of the Hebrew University Business School sheds light on a long-standing question in global finance: Why do foreign firms listed in the United ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

New 3D modeling method quantifies light-shading impact of freshwater microalgae

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research have developed a novel three-dimensional modeling method that accurately quantifies how microalgae affect underwater light conditions—one of the most critical factors in aquatic ecosystem health. Published in Water Research, the study addresses a longstanding challenge in hydrobiology: measuring the projected area—the light-blocking surface—of diverse microalgae species, many of which form colonies ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

USPSTF recommendation statement on screening for intimate partner violence and caregiver abuse of older or vulnerable adults

Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that clinicians screen for intimate partner violence in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for caregiver abuse and neglect in older or vulnerable adults. Intimate partner violence affects millions of U.S. residents across the lifespan and is often unrecognized. Abuse of older or vulnerable adults by a caregiver or someone else they may trust is common and can result in ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Charging devices with indoor lighting

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2025 — When you think of solar panels, you usually picture giant cells mounted to face the sun. But what if “solar” cells could be charged using fluorescent lights? Perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) have emerged as a lower-cost, higher-efficiency alternative to traditional silicon solar cells due to their material structure and physical flexibility. Their large power conversion efficiency rate (PCE), which is the amount of energy created from the amount of energy hitting the cell, makes PeSCs well suited to converting lower light sources into energy. In APL Energy, by AIP Publishing, researchers from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Food allergies at summer camp: The cost-effective solution to keep kids safe

Going off to summer camp can be a scary experience for children, but it can be even more nerve-wracking for parents of kids with food allergies. New UVA Health research reveals the most cost-effective way to keep those children safe. For most summer camps, stocking a supply of epinephrine – a common treatment for allergic reactions – rather than leaving it up to campers to bring their own is a safe strategy with the lowest overall cost for everyone involved, the UVA researchers found. “Stock, unassigned ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

What can tiny molecules in ants and naked mole-rats tell us about societal roles?

Key Takeaways Researchers led by Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine Shelley Berger explore the genetic basis of how communal-dwelling organisms like leafcutter ants and naked mole-rats divide labor among their societies They discovered that pathways dating back hundreds of millions of years are conserved across animal kingdoms Their findings offer fundamental insights into the origins of complex social behaviors and the neuroplasticity of assigned roles From the bright lights of cities that don’t ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Sentinel-based index boosts tracking of Spartina alterniflora

Researchers have unveiled a simple yet effective satellite-based tool to track Spartina alterniflora, one of the most aggressive invasive plant species threatening coastal wetlands. Using freely accessible Sentinel-2 imagery, the new Spartina alterniflora Index (SAI) enables precise, large-scale mapping of this fast-spreading species. Outperforming traditional vegetation indices and rivaling machine learning models in accuracy, SAI offers a scalable and practical solution for environmental monitoring and wetland protection. Originally introduced to China in the 1970s to control erosion and support land ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Tomatoes in the Galápagos are quietly de-evolving

On the younger, black-rock islands of the Galápagos archipelago, wild-growing tomatoes are doing something peculiar. They’re shedding millions of years of evolution, reverting to a more primitive genetic state that resurrects ancient chemical defenses. These tomatoes, which descended from South American ancestors likely brought over by birds, have quietly started making a toxic molecular cocktail that hasn’t been seen in millions of years, one that resembles compounds found in eggplant, not the modern tomato. In a study published recently in Nature Communications, scientists at the University ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Is it immoral to be too rich?

Is excessive wealth immoral? Most people do not think so, but members of societies that are more equal and wealthy than average are more likely to believe it is wrong to have too much money. Currently, the world’s eight richest individuals have as much wealth as the bottom 50% of people worldwide. There are two distinct moral objections to such extreme wealth. One is that economic inequality is wrong, an opinion shared by a majority of people worldwide. The other is that extreme wealth itself is wrong. Jackson Trager and Mohammad Atari recruited survey samples mirroring demographics in terms of gender, education, and age for 20 nations, totaling 4,351 participants overall. Participants ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Poll shows wide variation in older adults’ preparations to age in place

Overall, 46% of adults age 65 and older have taken steps to “age in place,” according to a new poll. This includes 31% who have made modifications to make their home more age-friendly and 26% who have already moved to a place that can meet their needs as they age. Some older adults have done both. That’s even though most older adults polled – 84% – said it’s very or somewhat likely that they’ll live in their current home for the rest of their life. This includes 80% of those who have not yet taken any steps to age in place. The new findings from the National Poll on ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

The urge to delay a return to pleasure

People often delay returning to lost pleasures, according to a study. When people are unable to engage in enjoyable activities, from catching up with friends to going to the movies, one might think that they would jump at the chance to return. However, Linda Hagen and Ed O’Brien show in a series of surveys and experiments that people often delay returning to previously rewarding behaviors. After the end of COVID-19 shutdowns, surveyed Americans reported waiting additional time to return to restaurants, movie theaters, parties, vacations, and family visits so that their return would be especially ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Strategy to prevent age-related macular degeneration identified

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identifies a possible way to slow or block progression of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in people over age 50. The WashU Medicine researchers and their international collaborators implicated problems with cholesterol metabolism in this type of vision loss, perhaps helping to explain the links between macular degeneration and cardiovascular disease, which both worsen with age. The new findings — identified using human plasma samples and mouse models of macular degeneration — suggest that increasing ...

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Science24 Jun 2025

Doubts cast over suggestions incestuous ‘god-kings’ ruled during Neolithic Ireland

New research cast doubts over suggestions an incestuous social elite ruled over the ancient people of Ireland, 5500 years ago. A paper led by researchers from University College Dublin, in collaboration with University of Bergen, Australian National University, University of York, University of Exeter, University of Liverpool, and Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit (a commercial archaeological company), has questioned the belief that burial within the ‘mega’ passage tomb of Newgrange was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented ...

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