Science
press releases.

Science14 May 2025

Insurer exits after the Inflation Reduction Act Part D redesign

About The Study: In 2023 and 2024, more Part D beneficiaries were affected by their insurer exiting the marketplace than in previous years. This increase could be associated with changes to Medicare Part D from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which increased Part D plan sponsor financial liability. These IRA provisions were designed to lower out-of-pocket costs for Part D beneficiaries, but increased Part D plan exits could lead to more limited coverage options and less competitive Part D marketplaces. Corresponding Author: To contact ...

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Science14 May 2025

How we think about protecting data

How should personal data be protected? What are the best uses of it? In our networked world, questions about data privacy are ubiquitous and matter for companies, policymakers, and the public. A new study by MIT researchers adds depth to the subject by suggesting that people’s views about privacy are not firmly fixed and can shift significantly, based on different circumstances and different uses of data. “There is no absolute value in privacy,” says Fabio Duarte, principal research scientist in MIT’s Senseable City Lab and co-author of a new paper outlining the results. “Depending on the application, people might ...

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Science14 May 2025

Could a mini-stroke leave lasting fatigue?

MINNEAPOLIS — A transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke, is typically defined as a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain that causes symptoms that go away within a day, but a new study finds that people who have this type of stroke may also have prolonged fatigue lasting up to one year. The study is published on May 14, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The study does not prove that mini-strokes cause lasting fatigue; it only shows an association. “People ...

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Science14 May 2025

Different ways of ‘getting a grip’

To the point Different hand use: Two ancient human relatives, Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, had different finger bone morphologies that indicate they used different types of hand grips, both when using tools and when climbing Internal structure of the finger bones: A. sediba had a mix of ape-like and human-like features, while H. naledi had a unique pattern of bone thickness, suggesting different loading patterns and possible grip types. Human Evolution: Ancient human relatives adapted to their environments in diverse ways, balancing tool use, ...

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Science14 May 2025

Mass General Brigham researchers pinpoint ‘sweet spot’ for focused ultrasound to provide essential tremor relief

KEY TAKEAWAYS Three decades ago, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital pioneered MRI-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy, a technique that offers lifechanging results for patients. In a new study, researchers looked at results from more than 350 patients treated with MRgFUS for essential tremor to assess clinical improvements and side effects. Their research creates a model of an optimal location for ablation, which will help make the procedure safer and more effective for patients at Mass General Brigham and around the world. For millions of people around the world with essential tremor, everyday activities ...

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Science14 May 2025

A step forward in treating serious genetic disorders prenatally

Injecting medicine into the amniotic fluid staves off progression of spinal muscular atrophy in utero. Evidence is mounting that clinicians can treat serious genetic disorders prenatally by injecting medicine into the amniotic fluid, thus preventing damage that begins in utero. A UC San Francisco-led study found that delivering medicine for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) via the amniotic fluid was safe, and it helped prevent damage to nerve cells in the spinal cord, a part of the central nervous system that is responsible for movement. One experiment was done in mice with SMA — a neurodegenerative disease that causes muscular weakness, atrophy, ...

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Science14 May 2025

Loneliness increases risk of hearing loss: evidence from a large-scale UK biobank study

A large-scale cohort study led by researchers from Tianjin University, Shenyang Medical College, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong has uncovered strong evidence that loneliness may independently increase the risk of hearing loss. The findings were published in Health Data Science on May 2, 2025. Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent global health conditions, affecting more than 1.5 billion people. While physiological and behavioral risk factors are well-documented, the role of psychosocial factors such as loneliness has been underexplored. This study sought to determine ...

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Science14 May 2025

Earliest reptile footprints rewrite the timeline of tetrapod evolution

"I'm stunned." says Per Ahlberg of Uppsala University, who coordinated the study; "A single track-bearing slab, which one person can lift, calls into question everything we thought we knew about when modern tetrapods evolved." The story of the origin of tetrapods began with fishes leaving the water, and ended with the descendants of these first colonists on land diversifying into the ancestors of the modern amphibians and amniotes (the group that includes reptiles, birds and mammals). ...

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Science14 May 2025

Chinese researchers reveal lipid-based communication between body and gut microbes

The human gut is home to trillions of microbes that not only aid in digestion but also play a key role in shaping our immune system. These microbes communicate with the body by releasing a range of molecules that influence how immune cells grow and function. To maintain a healthy balance between host defense and microbial coexistence, the body deploys a variety of defense tools—such as mucus, antimicrobial proteins, antibodies, and complement proteins—to control microbial activity and fend off harmful invaders. But one mystery has lingered: Can our bodies selectively recognize and manage specific bacteria among this incredibly diverse microbial community? In ...

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Science14 May 2025

A downside of taurine: it drives leukemia growth

A new scientific study identified taurine, which is made naturally in the body and consumed through some foods, as a key regulator of myeloid cancers such as leukemia, according to a paper published in the journal Nature. The preclinical research shows that scientists are a step closer to finding new ways to target leukemia, which is one of the most aggressive blood cancers. The Wilmot Cancer Institute investigators at the University of Rochester were able to block the growth of leukemia in mouse models and in human leukemia cell samples by using genetic tools to prevent taurine from entering cancer ...

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Science14 May 2025

Cannabis use among older adults

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study of cannabis use in veterans ages 65 to 84, use was common, and more than one-third who used in the past 30 days had any cannabis use disorder. The prevalence of past 30-day cannabis use was close to tobacco use prevalence, and risk factors for cannabis use were similar to those observed in other populations. Frequent and inhaled cannabis use was associated with higher odds of any cannabis use disorder. Routine health screening for cannabis use in Veterans Health Administration clinical settings is necessary ...

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Science14 May 2025

New catalyst boosts efficiency of CO2 conversion

We've all heard that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions need urgent solutions, but what if we could turn this greenhouse gas into useful chemicals or fuels? Electrochemical CO2 conversion—the process of transforming carbon dioxide into valuable products—is a promising path toward greener energy and reducing emissions. The catch? Existing methods either don't last long or consume too much energy, limiting their real-world use. Low-temperature CO2 conversion, for instance, typically lasts less than 100 hours and reaches efficiencies below 35%. The process can be more practical at higher temperatures—between 600 and 1,000 degrees Celsius—but ...

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Science14 May 2025

Australia’s oldest prehistoric tree frog hops 22 million years back in time

Newly discovered evidence of Australia’s earliest species of tree frog challenges what we know about when Australian and South American frogs parted ways on the evolutionary tree. Previously, scientists believed Australian and South American tree frogs separated from each other about 33 million years ago. But in a study published today in Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, palaeontologists from UNSW Sydney say the new species, Litoria tylerantiqua, is now at about 55 million years old, ...

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Science14 May 2025

Molecular testing of FLT3 mutations in hematolymphoid malignancies in the era of next-generation sequencing

FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations represent some of the most pivotal genetic alterations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), influencing disease biology, risk stratification, and treatment response. This review highlights the structural, functional, and clinical aspects of FLT3 mutations, emphasizing the transformative role of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in mutation detection, measurable residual disease (MRD) monitoring, and precision therapy. Introduction FLT3 encodes a receptor tyrosine ...

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Science14 May 2025

Uncovering compounds that tame the heat of chili peppers

When biting into a chili pepper, you expect a fiery sensation on your tongue. This spiciness is detected because of capsaicinoid compounds. But for some peppers, despite high levels of capsaicinoids, the heat is mysteriously dull. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have identified three compounds that lessen peppers’ pungency. These results challenge the reliability of the century-old Scoville scale, which traditionally bases its rating on two capsaicinoids. “The discovery of natural dietary compounds that reduce pungency presents promising opportunities ...

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Science14 May 2025

Updated version of the "How Equitable Is It?" tool for assessing equity in scholarly communication models

[Strasbourg, 14 May 2025] The “How Equitable Is It?” tool, designed to assess the equity of scholarly communication models, has been officially launched today in its updated version following a comprehensive review of community feedback. Originally introduced as a beta version in September 2024 at the OASPA conference, this refined version of the tool incorporates significant improvements based on input from across the scholarly publishing ecosystem. Developed by a multi-stakeholder Working Group, comprising librarians, ...

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Science14 May 2025

Got data? Breastfeeding device measures babies’ milk intake in real time

While breastfeeding has many benefits for a mother and her baby, it has one major drawback: It’s incredibly difficult to know how much milk the baby is consuming. To take the guesswork out of breastfeeding, an interdisciplinary team of engineers, neonatologists and pediatricians at Northwestern University has developed a new wearable device that can provide clinical-grade, continuous monitoring of breast milk consumption. The unobtrusive device softly and comfortably wraps around the breast ...

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Science14 May 2025

Autistic people communicate just as effectively as others, study finds

There is no significant difference in the effectiveness of how autistic and non-autistic people communicate, according to a new study, challenging the stereotype that autistic people struggle to connect with others. The findings suggest that social difficulties often faced by autistic people are more about differences in how autistic and non-autistic people communicate, rather than a lack of social ability in autistic individuals, experts say. Researchers hope the results of the study will help reduce the stigma surrounding autism, and lead to more effective ...

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Science14 May 2025

Manitoba Museum and ROM palaeontologists discover 506-million-year-old predator

Palaeontologists at the Manitoba Museum and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) have discovered a remarkable new 506-million-year-old predator from the Burgess Shale of Canada. The results are announced in a paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science. Mosura fentoni was about the size of your index finger and had three eyes, spiny jointed claws, a circular mouth lined with teeth and a body with swimming flaps along its sides. These traits show it to be part of an extinct group known as the radiodonts, which also included the famous Anomalocaris canadensis, a meter-long predator that shared ...

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Science14 May 2025

Not all orangutan mothers raise their infants the same way

A new study of wild Sumatran orangutans by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) has found that mothers consistently differ in their maternal behaviors toward their infants, even after controlling for biological, social, and environmental factors. Mothers also consistently vary from one another in how flexibly they adjust their parenting as their infants grow. For this study, the researchers analysed data on six maternal behaviors collected over 15 years. “Our study shows that Sumatran orangutan mothers are not all the same when it comes to parenting behaviors,” said Revathe Thillaikumar, a postdoctoral researcher at MPI-AB and ...

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Science13 May 2025

Study reveals distinct mechanisms of action of tirzepatide and semaglutide

New animal research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May), reveals distinct metabolic adjustments to tirzepatide and semaglutide treatment, with tirzepatide temporarily increasing energy expenditure and semaglutide initially reducing energy expenditure. Importantly, the biggest metabolic changes happen directly after treatment and disappear quickly after treatment is stopped. Anti-obesity drugs like tirzepatide and semaglutide have shown substantial promise in promoting weight loss and improving metabolic ...

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Science13 May 2025

Prominent chatbots routinely exaggerate science findings, study shows

When summarizing scientific studies, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and DeepSeek produce inaccurate conclusions in up to 73% of cases, according to a new study by Uwe Peters (Utrecht University) and Benjamin Chin-Yee (Western University, Canada/University of Cambridge, UK). The researchers tested the most prominent LLMs and analyzed thousands of chatbot-generated science summaries, revealing that most models consistently produced broader conclusions than those in the summarized texts. Surprisingly, prompts ...

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Science13 May 2025

First-ever long read datasets added to two Kids First studies

This new Kids First data creates a fuller understanding of how genetics contributes to childhood cancers and congenital disorders, opening additional doors for prevention and treatment. WHO: The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First), an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kids First data, tools, and resources are available via the Kids First Data Resource Center (DRC). WHAT: The 2025 releases represent the first batch of long read sequencing data ...

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Science13 May 2025

Zhaoqi Yan named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar

SAN FRANCISCO—Zhaoqi Yan, PhD, a scientist at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar. The fellowship award is given annually to five postdoctoral researchers in the United States who demonstrate exceptional creativity in the field of neuroscience. Yan studies how blood proteins that leak into the brain through damaged blood vessels can drive brain inflammation and neurodegeneration. Molecular mechanisms behind this dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier remain unclear, and effective therapeutic strategies are lacking—something Yan hopes to change. With the support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, he will use cutting-edge techniques to ...

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Science13 May 2025

Butterflies hover differently from other flying organisms, thanks to body pitch

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2025 – Butterflies’ flight trajectories often appear random or chaotic, and compared with other hovering insects, their bodies follow seemingly mysterious, jagged, jerking motions. These unique hovering patterns, however, can potentially provide critical design insights for developing micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) with flapping wings. To help achieve these applications, researchers from Beihang University studied how butterflies use aerodynamic force generation to achieve hovering. They discuss ...

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