Science
press releases.

Science2 Apr 2025

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Comparing wealth and survival rates in the U.S. with those in Europe, researchers found that over a 10-year period, Americans across all wealth levels were more likely to die than their European counterparts. The findings were detailed in a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine by a team led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health. The analysis compared data from more than 73,000 adults in the U.S. and different regions of Europe who were age 50 to 85 in 2010 to ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

At only two days old, Sophie was losing too much weight, and too quicky. Further genetic testing would show that Sophie has one of a group of rare conditions called CODE (congenital diarrhea and enteropathies) that disrupts the function of cells in the intestine, causing diarrhea and preventing infants from absorbing the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. For Sophie’s parents, Samantha and Kyle, this meant a complete re-envisioning of the life they had expected as a family. “Suddenly, our days were filled with medical treatments and frequent hospital visits, requiring us to adjust to being not ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Dozens of amphibians perished together on an ancient floodplain around 230 million years ago, according to a study published April 2, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Aaron M. Kufner of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S., and colleagues. Early in the Age of Dinosaurs, alligator-sized amphibians called metoposaurid temnospondyls were common in freshwater habitats. Several fossil sites contain large concentrations of temnospondyls buried together, but determining how these bonebeds formed is often difficult due to ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is also known as the pomace or vinegar fly. It can be found in large numbers in organic waste bins during the summer and in the fruit and vegetables section of grocery stores on hot days. It is attracted to the odor of pre-rotting fruit, where microorganisms, especially yeasts, have multiplied and invaded the fruit and switched their metabolism to alcoholic fermentation. This is why rotten fruit contains significant amounts of alcohol. Alcohol consumption requires a risk assessment There is no doubt that the consumption of large amounts of alcohol is harmful to human beings.. ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Excessive screen time among adolescents negatively impacts multiple aspects of sleep, which in turn increases the risk of depressive symptoms — particularly among girls. That is the conclusion of a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Sebastian Hökby of Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and colleagues. Recently, the Swedish Public Health Agency published recommendations that adolescents use no more than two-to-three hours of daily leisure screen time, partly to promote better sleep. ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

The United States Cystic Fibrosis Foundation released the first guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF), in order to improve timely detection of CF in infants from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The new guideline, based on systematic literature reviews and published in the International Journal of Neonatal Screening, reflects rigorous scientific investigation and perspectives from parents, CF specialists, public health representatives, primary care providers and genetic counselors. CF is a genetic disorder that causes problems with digestion and breathing. Currently, newborns in every state are screened for ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Spending on glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists among US adults

About The Study: Spending on glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) increased from 2018 to 2023, with the largest growth rates from 2022 to 2023. Although spending for certain GLP-1 RAs increased substantially, spending declined for others. This study estimated that more than $71 billion was spent on GLP-1 RAs and more than $50 billion on a product based on either semaglutide or tirzepatide molecules. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Stavros Tsipas, MA, email stavros.tsipas@ama-assn.org. To ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Early-life ozone exposure and asthma and wheeze in children

About The Study: In this cohort study with relatively low ambient ozone exposure, early-life ozone was associated with asthma and wheeze outcomes at age 4 to 6 and in mixture with other air pollutants but not at age 8 to 9. Regulating and reducing exposure to ambient ozone may help reduce the significant public health burden of asthma among U.S. children. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Logan C. Dearborn, MPH, email dearbl@uw.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.4121) Editor’s ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Dark diversity reveals global impoverishment of natural vegetation

A study recently published in Nature indicates that human activities have a negative effect on the biodiversity of wildlife hundreds of kilometres away. A research collaboration led by the University of Tartu assessed the health of ecosystems worldwide, considering both the number of plant species found and the dark diversity – the missing ecologically suitable species. For the study, over 200 researchers studied plants at nearly 5,500 sites in 119 regions worldwide, including all continents. At each site, they recorded all plant species on 100 m2 and identified the dark diversity – native species that could live there but were absent. ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Tomato plants delay shoot meristem maturation to achieve heat-stress resilience

As global temperatures continue to rise, extreme heatwaves pose a significant threat to agricultural productivity. Studies estimate that for every 1°C increase above pre-industrial levels, crop yields decline by approximately 6-8%. The ability of plants to withstand heat stress is therefore critical for ensuring food security, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms have largely remained elusive. Now, however, a new study led by Prof. XU Cao's team at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sheds light on an adaptive strategy that may ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Experts challenge aspirin guidelines based on their undue reliance on a flawed trial

Recent guidelines have restricted aspirin use in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association (AHA)/American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines restricted aspirin to patients under 70, and more recently, the United States Preventive Services Task Force restricted aspirin use to patients under 60. However, heart attack and stroke risks both rise with age, leaving health care providers unsure about when to stop prescribing aspirin, whether it should be used for primary prevention, and which patients would benefit most. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

McGill discovery sheds new light on autism, intellectual disabilities

A new study by McGill University researchers yields insights into how the disruption of calcium transport in the brain is linked to autism and intellectual disability. The findings, published in the journal Nature, not only upend a long-held belief among neuroscientists, but could pave the way for treatments. The researchers discovered that tiny protein structures on brain cells, known as AMPA receptors, can transport calcium. While previous research had suggested that disruptions in calcium ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

UPTON, N.Y. — High temperatures and ionizing radiation create extremely corrosive environments inside a nuclear reactor. To design long-lasting reactors, scientists must understand how radiation-induced chemical reactions impact structural materials. Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory recently performed experiments showing that radiation-induced reactions may help mitigate the corrosion of reactor metals in a new type of reactor cooled by molten salts. Their findings are published in the journal Physical ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

EMBARGOED UNTIL 09:00 BST WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL Tinker Tots: A Citizen Science Project to Explore Ethical Dilemmas in Embryo Selection Researchers at the University of Oxford, University of Exeter, and the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine present a new, interactive study. Oxford, 2 April 2025: When choosing an embryo for implantation during in vitro fertilization (IVF), would you consider its chances of developing a health condition? What about traits like creativity, intelligence, ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Sensing sickness

Beekeepers in the United States lost more than 55 percent of managed colonies last year—the highest loss rate since the Apiary Inspectors of America began determining them in 2011. A new study from University of Vermont scientists and international collaborators supports a novel method for testing hygienic behavior in honey bees that could promote breeding more disease resistant colonies in the future. “Beekeepers are losing bees at a rate that they say is unsustainable,” says Samantha Alger, director of the Vermont Bee Lab at the UVM and lead author of the study. “In the ‘80s, beekeepers lost colonies ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Building multifamily housing in California is more than twice as expensive as it is in Texas, with much of the difference driven by state and local policies that contribute to long permitting and construction timelines, and higher local development fees, according to a new RAND report based on cost information from more than 100 completed apartment projects. The high cost of housing and its associated effect on homelessness is a defining policy issue in California. The cost of building multifamily housing is 2.3 times higher in California than Texas and 1.5 times higher than in Colorado, ...

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Science2 Apr 2025

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the portion of the cell responsible for manufacturing and folding proteins. Proteins are essential for a wide range of cellular functions—as enzymes, transporters, hormones, antibodies, receptors, and more. They must be folded into the correct three-dimensional shape to function properly. If the ER is unable to manufacture or fold proteins correctly, the cell develops ER stress, which activates the unfolded protein response (UPR)—a protective mechanism aimed at restoring cellular function. While UPR begins ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

NEW YORK, April 1, 2025 — Researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) and at Florida International University report in the journal Science their insights on the emerging field of complex frequencies excitations, a recently introduced scheme to control light, sound and other wave phenomena beyond conventional limits. Based on this approach, they outline opportunities that advance fundamental understanding of wave-matter interactions and usher wave-based technologies into a new era. In conventional light wave- and sound wave- based systems such as wireless cell phone technologies, microscopes, speakers ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Mountain snowpacks accumulate snow throughout the winter, building up stores of water that will supply communities across the American West throughout the long dry season. Now, a new study shows that as storms carry snow to the Rocky Mountains, they are also bringing mercury and other contaminants from mines in the region. The research helps scientists understand how contaminants are spread by atmospheric circulation and has implications for snowpack preservation and illuminating the lasting environmental impact of mining activities. The study, published in the May issue of the journal Environmental Pollution, examined contamination levels for ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

Doubling down on metasurfaces

Almost a decade ago, Harvard engineers unveiled the world’s first visible-spectrum metasurfaces – ultra-thin, flat devices patterned with nanoscale structures that could precisely control the behavior of light. A powerful alternative to traditional, bulky optical components, metasurfaces today enable compact, lightweight, multifunctional applications ranging from imaging systems and augmented reality to spectroscopy and communications. Now, researchers in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are doubling down, literally, on metasurface technology ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

Researchers tracked 89 Northern Saw Whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) along a migration corridor in Western Montana, underscoring the efficacy of telemetry studies for detailed investigations into the movements of birds. Their paper, “Migration and Roosting Behavior of Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) During Fall Migration in Western Montana,” was published in the Journal of Raptor Research. The research team was surprised to discover that owls demonstrated stopover behavior, meaning pauses along migration for resting and refueling, as well as notable individual ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Peking University, March 31, 2025: A simulation on the origin and evolution of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has been conducted by a PKU research team led by Nie Ji, Associate Professor of School of Physics, and Hu Yongyun, Dean of Institute of Ocean Research, along with a research team from National Natural Science Foundation of China. Their study, recently published in Nature Communications, reveals the coherent relationship between NAO and the evolution of continents, mountains and oceans. Why It Matters: NAO plays a critical role in shaping climate patterns, affecting temperature, precipitation, and storms across regions like Europe, China, ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

A step toward plant-based gelatin

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2025 – With increased awareness about food sources and their environmental impacts, replacing animal-derived products in food and drugs is a significant research area. One common — but often overlooked — animal protein is gelatin, found everywhere from candy to plastic-free packaging. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Ottawa present gum tragacanth as a plant-based alternative to gelatin for creating edible films. “Gelatin has ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

The ability to predict wildfires - such as those that recently devastated Los Angeles and Canada - is advancing rapidly with the help of ML–driven high-quality data. A new paper, published today (Tuesday 1 April, 16:00 BST | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58097-7) in Nature Communications, highlights how the collection and integration of higher-quality data can significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of wildfire predictions. The paper evaluates how ECMWF's new data-driven fire danger forecasting model, the Probability of Fire (PoF), performed in 2023 and in recent extreme events. ECMWF has been producing fire ...

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Science1 Apr 2025

The food and fuel that farms itself

Under the right conditions, duckweed essentially farms itself. Wastewater, ponds, puddles, swamps—you name it. If there’s enough sunlight and carbon dioxide, the aquatic plant can grow freely. But that’s not all that makes it intriguing. Packed inside duckweed’s tiny fronds is enormous potential as a soil enricher, a fuel source, protein-rich foods, and more. New findings at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) could help bring all that potential to life. CSHL Professor and HHMI Investigator Rob Martienssen and Computational Analyst Evan Ernst started working with duckweed over 15 years ago. They see their latest research as one of the most important ...

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