Science
press releases.

Science27 Mar 2025

How calcium may have unlocked the origins of life’s molecular asymmetry

A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo has uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping life’s earliest molecular structures. Their findings suggest that calcium ions can selectively influence how primitive polymers form, shedding light on a long-standing mystery: how life’s molecules came to prefer a single “handedness” (chirality). Like our left and right hands, many molecules exist in two mirror-image forms. Yet life on Earth has a striking preference: ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

How survivors spanned the globe after Earth’s biggest mass extinction

Scientists don’t call it the “Great Dying” for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction – the most extreme event of its kind in Earth’s history. What followed was a mysterious, multimillion-year span that could be called the “Great Dulling,” when marine animal communities looked remarkably alike all over the planet, from the equator to the poles. Researchers have long sought an explanation for this so-called taxonomic homogenization – a scene that played out after other mass extinctions over the past ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Study explores how time-restricted eating affects weight loss

Time-restricted eating is the latest craze for people looking to lose weight, but whether it works is still the calorie-burning question. A new study from the University of Mississippi shows that when healthy adults pair an eight-hour eating window with regular exercise, they lose more fat – without sacrificing lean muscle – compared to exercise alone, according to a study released in the International Journal of Obesity, which is published by the Nature Publishing Group. “We saw that this did lead to more fat loss and reduced body fat percentage over time when healthy adults were following both exercise with time-restricting ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Researchers have discovered a new mechanism for rapid liver regeneration triggered by glutamate

Research conducted by the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), published today in ‘Nature’, reveals a mechanism in mice that is triggered just minutes after acute liver damage occurs. This finding opens up avenues for future treatments of serious liver damage to include a diet enriched with the amino acid glutamate. Glutamate supplementation can promote liver regeneration and benefit patients in recovery following hepatectomy or awaiting a transplant, the authors write in ‘Nature’. Activating liver regeneration is key to treating diseases that involve severe liver damage, which are becoming increasingly frequent and are associated ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Long-term risk of stroke after transient ischemic attack or minor stroke.

About The Study: Patients who have had a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke are at a persistently high risk of subsequent stroke. The findings from this study underscore the need for improving long-term stroke prevention measures in this patient group. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Faizan Khan, PhD, email faizan.khan1@ucalgary.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.2033) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Suicide risk and living alone with depression or anxiety

About The Study: In this cohort study of 3.7 million individuals, living alone with depression or anxiety was associated with an increased risk of suicide, particularly among middle-aged individuals and men. These findings underscore the importance of preventing mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, while addressing living arrangements as a critical factor in suicide risk assessments for individuals with these conditions. Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Hong Jin Jeon, MD, PhD (jhj001001@gmail.com) and Kyungdo Han, PhD (hkd917@naver.com). To access the embargoed study: Visit ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Getting hit by lightning is good for some tropical trees

Getting zapped with millions of volts of electricity may not sound like a healthy activity, but for some trees, it is. A new study, published in New Phytologist, reports that some tropical tree species are not only able to tolerate lightning strikes, but benefit from them. The trees may have even evolved to act as lightning rods. The research was led by Evan Gora, a forest ecologist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Gora studies how lightning impacts biodiversity and carbon storage in Panama’s tropical forests. Lightning kills hundreds of millions of trees per year. But in 2015, while working in Panama, Gora and his colleagues came across ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Soldiers can cope with killing

Taking a person’s life is not automatically harmful to a soldier’s mental well-being if the circumstances justified it, according to a study of more than 14,600 soldiers. “Killing another person does not in itself seem to be something that goes against human nature, and it doesn’t necessarily harm the mental health of the person who does it,” said Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand, a Norwegian clinical psychologist. Commander Nordstrand is the head of research and development at the Institute of Military Psychiatry, Norwegian Armed Forces – Joint ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Blue pigment improves foundation makeup shades for dark skin

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 — On the shelves of makeup counters and drugstores sits an array of foundations in various olive, ivory and fair shades. But for people with darker skin tones, finding the right foundation shade can be a challenge. Dark foundations on the market often fall flat, appearing gray-like once applied on the skin. But now, researchers report a blue cosmetic color additive that gives these foundations the warmth and depth they currently lack. Gabriella Baki, associate professor of pharmaceutics and director of the cosmetic science and formulation design undergraduate program at the University of ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Study shows link between the start of the working day and time preferences

Those who start work earlier express more discomfort with the seasonal time change. This is the main conclusion of a study that the lecturers at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the University of Seville (US), Jorge Mira Pérez and José María Martín Olalla, have just published in the journal Chronobiology International, in which they analyse in detail the results of the public consultation organised by the European Commission in 2018 in the then 28 member states, which ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

Build it and they shall come

Designing walkable neighborhoods has gained attention as a method to increase physical activity among urban populations. Moreover, highly walkable areas stimulate increased neighborhood retail sales, higher property values, and greater urban sustainability. However, only limited methods are available for improving walkability in the urban centers of highly motorized suburban cities. In the urban areas of suburban cities, increasing land-use diversity by opening a multifunctional facility is considered one of the most effective strategies for an architecture-scale intervention. Dr. Haruka Kato, ...

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Science26 Mar 2025

New study challenges the ‘monogamy-superiority myth’, as non-monogamous people report just as happy relationships and sex lives

Monogamous and non-monogamous individuals report similar levels of satisfaction in both their relationships and sex lives, according to a comprehensive new meta-analysis. Published today in The Journal of Sex Research, the peer-reviewed study debunks the prevailing belief that monogamous relationships – defined as exclusive romantic and sexual commitment to one partner – are inherently superior in fostering fulfilling relationships compared to alternative structures. While monogamy has been the predominant type of relationship in much of recent Western history, many individuals choose alternative structures. Non-monogamy includes various ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

New mums advised to do two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week

New mums should be strongly encouraged to begin clocking up at least two hours of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity such as brisk walking and muscle strengthening exercises each week in the first three months after birth, when physically able, to improve health and well-being, say experts in a new guideline published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They also strongly recommend daily pelvic floor muscle training to reduce the risk of urinary incontinence, and taking steps to improve sleep ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

A multimodal light manipulator

Interferometers, devices that can modulate aspects of light, play the important role of modulating and switching light signals in fiber-optic communications networks and are frequently used for gas sensing and optical computing. Now, applied physicists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have invented a new type of interferometer that allows precise control of light’s frequency, intensity and mode in one compact package. Called a cascaded-mode interferometer, it is a single waveguide on a silicon-on-insulator ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Lessons from Venezuela’s democratic collapse: How opposition movements can defy autocratic leaders

Until the 1990s, Venezuela was home to one of the most established democracies in Latin America. Today, however, it stands as one of the region’s most firmly entrenched authoritarian regimes. How did this shift occur, and what can other countries learn from Venezuela’s transformation? A new paper from political scientist Laura Gamboa at the University of Notre Dame chronicles the country’s 25-year evolution, during which Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro, destroyed ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

A hit of dopamine tells baby birds when their song practice is paying off

DURHAM, N.C. -- In his home office in Durham, Duke neuroscientist Richard Mooney shows a series of images of a bird’s brain on song. In one, what looks like a pointillist painting illustrates a young zebra finch’s myriad attempts to sound more like an adult, capable of wooing a mate. In another, squiggly lines trace the ebb and flow of chemical signals in the reward circuit of the bird’s brain. “Their songs don’t sound like much at first,” said Mooney, who has studied birdsong for four decades. That’s because some things take considerable practice to master. Nobody walks onto a tennis court for the first time and plays ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Basketball analytics investment is key to NBA wins and other successes

If you filled out a March Madness bracket this month, you probably faced the same question with each college match-up: What gives one team an edge over another? Is it a team’s record through the regular season? Or the chemistry among its players? Maybe it’s the experience of its coaching staff or the buzz around a top scorer. All of these factors play some role in a team’s chance to advance. But according to a new study by MIT researchers, there’s one member who consistently ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Scientific cooperation is strategic for Brazil to strengthen relations with Europe

Relations between Europe and South America – and especially with Brazil - are at a favorable moment, due to factors such as the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed in December 2024 and currently being approved. However, in order to take advantage of this window of opportunity and be competitive, Brazil must continue to expand scientific and technological cooperation with European partners. This assessment was made by the Brazilian Ambassador to Germany, Roberto Jaguaribe, ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

UTA inventors recognized worldwide for innovations

Inventors from The University of Texas at Arlington have once again been a vital part of the University of Texas System’s recognition as one of the world’s leading innovation centers. According to the prestigious National Academy of Inventors (NAI), UT System ranks No. 6 on its Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents list for 2024. UTA contributed 23 patents—an increase of 15% over 2023—to UT System’s total of 234 last year. “Being a top-ranking member of the Top 100 Worldwide ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

How a mother’s connection during pregnancy shapes future relationships

A recent study conducted by Nora Medina, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, along with colleagues from the University of Chicago, highlights the importance of the emotional bond that a mother establishes with her child during pregnancy. The study team followed 160 young, low-income, racially diverse mothers from pregnancy until their children were two and a half years old. Mothers who felt more connected to their babies during pregnancy were more likely to have a healthier, positive relationship with their children ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Spreading and clotting of platelets are regulated by separate pathways

When skin is cut or damaged, tiny cell fragments circulating in the blood, called platelets, arrive at the injury and spread out to stop the blood from leaking out. Once enough layers of platelets accumulate, like stacks of sandbags against a flood, a blood clot is formed, trapping red blood cells. When the break occurs in a blood vessel, the clot contracts to facilitate smooth blood flow through the vessels. Until recently, researchers believed that platelet spreading and clot contraction were controlled ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Biology Open smashes the peer review mold

Academic peer review is notoriously cumbersome. The process assesses the quality of scientific research prior to publication in an academic journal, sometimes delaying publication by many months. The system depends on members of the academic community providing their time and expertise for free. However, finding reviewers can be lengthy and there are no consequences when reviewers produce poor-quality reports lacking constructive feedback. Daniel Gorelick, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biology Open believed that there could an alternative. ‘My vision is a ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Making foie gras without force-feeding

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2025 — Foie gras is a unique delicacy made from the liver of a duck or goose. While it can be an acquired taste, the buttery, fatty dish is an indulgent cuisine prized in many parts of the world. Foie gras is distinct from regular fowl liver thanks to its high fat content, which is traditionally achieved by force-feeding the ducks and geese beyond their normal diets. Researcher Thomas Vilgis is a lover of foie gras, but he wondered if there was a more ethical way to enjoy the dish. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, Vilgis, as well as researchers from Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the University of Southern Denmark, created a process to ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

The best butter for a vegan shortbread

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2025 – Butter is a key ingredient in many baked goods, but for those who are lactose intolerant, finding a good alternative can be a challenge. Vegan butters can sometimes have the wrong consistency, or produce bakes that are not quite right, leaving bakers frustrated or unwilling to try dairy-free alternatives. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Strathclyde examined the properties of several vegan or dairy-free butter alternatives inside one of the region’s most well-known snacks: Scottish shortbread. “We have a Ph.D. student in the group who is a vegan, and he turns all of our baking habits upside down,” ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

C. diff uses toxic compound to fuel growth advantage

The pathogen C. diff — the most common cause of health care-associated infectious diarrhea — can use a compound that kills the human gut’s resident microbes to survive and grow, giving it a competitive advantage in the infected gut. A team led by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has discovered how C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) converts the poisonous compound 4-thiouracil, which could come from foods like broccoli, into a usable nutrient. Their findings, published March 25 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, increase ...

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