Science
press releases.

Science25 Mar 2025

PCSK9 and APOA4: the dynamic duo in TMAO-induced cholesterol metabolism and cholelithiasis

Background and Aims Cholesterol synthesis and gallstone formation are promoted by trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a derivative of trimethylamine, which is a metabolite of gut microbiota. However, the underlying mechanisms of TMAO-induced lithogenesis remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to explore the specific molecular mechanisms through which TMAO promotes gallstone formation. Methods Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to compare serum concentrations of TMAO, apolipoprotein A4 (APOA4), and ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Gas injection setup in new fusion system is guided by public-private research

When the plasma inside a fusion system starts to misbehave, it needs to be quickly cooled to prevent damage to the device. Researchers at Commonwealth Fusion Systems believe the best bet is a massive gas injection: essentially, a well-timed, rapid blast of cooling gas inside their fusion system, which is known as SPARC. But how many gas valves does it take to quickly tame a plasma that is hotter than the sun? The team has to strike the perfect balance: with too few valves, some parts of SPARC might overheat. With too many, valuable space inside the ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Offering paid time off dramatically cuts odds of employees quitting their jobs

About 4.5 million workers in the United States quit their jobs in 2022, continuing a trend that began after the 2007 Great Recession. Despite better labor conditions and the pandemic’s decline, many adults are still less willing to return to work compared to previous recessions, making it harder for companies to attract and retain top talent. Moreover, voluntary turnover – when an employee quits their job as opposed to being fired or laid off – costs U.S. businesses more than $1 trillion each year. Beyond recruitment and training expenses, turnover disrupts operations, damages customer relationships, and often leads to further departures. Replacing an employee ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

The evolution of low-temperature adapted enzymes

Life has evolved over billions of years, adapting to the changing environment. Similarly, enzymes—proteins that speed up biochemical reactions (catalysis) in cells—have adapted to the habitats of their host organisms. Each enzyme has an optimal temperature range where its functionality is at its peak. For humans, this is around normal body temperature (37 °C). Deviating from this range causes enzyme activity to slow down and eventually stop. However, some organisms, like bacteria, thrive in extreme environments, such as hot springs or freezing polar waters. These extremophiles have enzymes adapted to function in harsh conditions. For ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Were large soda lakes the cradle of life?

Along with nitrogen and carbon, phosphorus is an essential element for life on Earth. It is a central component of molecules such as DNA and RNA, which serve to transmit and store genetic information, and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which cells need to produce energy. Phosphorus may also have played a key role in the origin of life. Certain conditions are needed to trigger the start of the biochemical processes that precede life. One of these is the presence of sufficient phosphorus. Its availability regulates the growth and activities of organisms. Unlike nitrogen or carbon, however, phosphorus is relatively ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

New study uncovers key pathways in hydronium and hydroxide ion neutralization

A new study provides fresh insight into traditional acid-base chemistry by revealing that the mutual neutralization of isolated hydronium (H₃O⁺) and hydroxide (OH⁻) ions is driven by electron transfer rather than the proton transfer that is expected in bulk liquid water. Using deuterated water ions and advanced 3D coincidence imaging of the neutral products, researchers found two electron-transfer mechanisms that produce hydroxyl radicals (OH), which are crucial in atmospheric chemistry. These findings reshape our understanding ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Hydrophilic coating makes for unflappable golf balls

SAN DIEGO, March 25, 2025 — The upcoming U.S. Open has professional golfers and spectators looking forward to getting on the green. But the grass’ condition, regardless of a player’s skill, can drastically skew the chances of a winning putt. Now, scientists can slow the roll of a golf ball on a lightning-fast, dry course and speed it up on a sluggish, wet course thanks to a coating that soaks up water molecules without interfering with the ball’s aerodynamics. Thomas J. Kennedy III, owner of Chemical Innovative Solutions Inc., will present his results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

New research reveals venomous findings in non-animals

A new published study reveals plants, fungi, bacteria, protists, and even some viruses deploy venom-like mechanisms, similar to that of venomous snakes, scorpions and spiders, according to researchers at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. The definition of venom is a biological toxin introduced into the internal milieu of another organism through a delivery mechanism such as a sting or bite that inflicts a wound. According to lead author William K. Hayes, PhD, professor of biology for the Department of Earth and Biological Sciences at the School of Medicine, the findings show that reliance on venom for solving problems like predation, ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

E-scooter crashes mainly caused by reckless driving

Crashes on electric scooters are mostly due to the behaviour of the riders, with one-handed steering and riding in a group being some of the largest risk factors. The researchers are also concerned about riders who deliberately crash or cause dangerous situations when riding, a phenomenon that seems to be specific to electric scooters. This is shown by a study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, which for the first time examines the causes behind crashes with electric scooters from naturalistic data within an urban environment. The arrival of electric scooters in cities has meant an opportunity to quickly and smoothly make shorter trips. But not ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Tandem design on electrocatalysts and reactors for electrochemical CO2 reduction

Electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) driven by green electricity represents a promising strategy for CO2 mitigation and utilization by producing fuels and chemicals. Tandem strategy based on multifunctional tandem catalysts or cascade reactors enables deep CO2 reduction to high-value multi-carbon products. Nevertheless, it is challenging to precisely regulate the multi-step reaction pathways toward efficient CO2 conversion. A comprehensive understanding of the tandem reaction mechanisms is crucial for guiding the rational design of advanced catalysts and reactor systems to address these challenges. This review systematically ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

An extension of process calculus for asynchronous communications between agents with epistemic states

It plays a central role in intelligent agent systems to model agents’ epistemic states and their changes. Asynchrony plays a key role in distributed systems, in which the messages transmitted may not be received instantly by the agents. Epistemic interaction behaviors can change agents’ epistemic states, while the latter will affect the former. So far, the literature mainly focuses on formalizing the change of epistemic state after receiving information. To model epistemic interactions between ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Researchers achieve de novo biosynthesis of plant lignans using synthetic yeast consortia

Lignans are low molecular weight polyphenolic compounds with important antitumor and antiviral properties. However, their low amounts in medicinal plants and complex structures make sustainable production through plant extraction and chemical synthesis challenging, limiting their availability to meet market demand. In a study published in Nature Chemical Biology, a research group led by Prof. ZHOU Yongjin from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with Prof. ZHANG Lei ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Ferroptosis contributes to immunosuppression

Iron-dependent ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic cell death mechanism, is gaining attention for its role in immune suppression. Ferroptosis, driven by excessive lipid peroxides and iron-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS), differs from other cell death forms in its immunogenicity. It involves the regulation of the cystine/glutamate transport system xc−, with glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) preventing toxic lipid peroxide accumulation. Ferroptosis-related factors are implicated in various diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Macrophages, crucial for immune response, are affected by ferroptosis. ...

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Science25 Mar 2025

Cloud band movement influences wet spells during Indian monsoon

The monsoon rains have long remained the lifeblood of India, providing the lion’s share of the water used for drinking and irrigation. The yearly arrival of the rains, which quenches the thirst of the harsh summers, is caused by the movement of cloud bands from the equator towards the north. A recent study from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has shown that contrary to previous understanding, the strength of the cloud band plays a key role in its movement as well as the density of rains that the Indian subcontinent receives during the wet spells of the monsoon. India receives 80% ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Black infants and children consistently have double the risk for death compared to Whites

Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 24 March 2025 Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, threads, and Linkedin Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

The secret behind pedestrian crossings – and why some spiral into chaos

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2025 (3:00 PM U.S. Eastern time) Pedestrian crossings generally showcase the best in pedestrian behaviour, with people naturally forming orderly lanes as they cross the road, smoothly passing those coming from the opposite direction without any bumps or scrapes. Sometimes, however, the flow gets chaotic, with individuals weaving through the crowd on their own haphazard paths to the other side. Now, an international team of mathematicians, co-led by Professor Tim Rogers at the University of Bath in the UK and Dr Karol Bacik at MIT in ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Mathematicians uncover the logic behind how people walk in crowds

Next time you cross a crowded plaza, crosswalk, or airport concourse, take note of the pedestrian flow. Are people walking in orderly lanes, single-file, to their respective destinations? Or is it a haphazard tangle of personal trajectories, as people dodge and weave through the crowd? MIT instructor Karol Bacik and his colleagues studied the flow of human crowds and developed a first-of-its-kind way to predict when pedestrian paths will transition from orderly to entangled. Their findings may help inform the design of public spaces that promote safe and efficient thoroughfares. In a paper appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

The right moves to reign in fibrosis

By Leah Shaffer The cells in human bodies are subject to both chemical and mechanical forces. But up until recently, scientists have not understood much about how to manipulate the mechanical side of that equation. That’s about to change. “This is a major breakthrough in our ability to be able to control the cells that drive fibrosis,” according to Guy Genin, the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, speaking of research recently published in Nature Materials. Fibrosis is an affliction wherein ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

New non-surgical contraceptive implant is delivered through tiny needles

Mass General Brigham and MIT investigators have developed a long-acting contraceptive implant that can be delivered through tiny needles to minimize patient discomfort and increase the likelihood of medication use. Their findings in preclinical models provide the technological basis to develop self-administrable contraceptive shots that could mimic the long-term drug release of surgically implanted devices. The new approach, which would reduce how often patients need to inject themselves and prove valuable for patients with less access to hospitals and other medical care ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

New research reveals secrets about locust swarm movement

MEDIA INQUIRES WRITTEN BY Laura Muntean Adam Russell laura.muntean@ag.tamu.edu 601-248-1891 FOR ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Avoidable mortality across US states and high-income countries

About The Study: This study found that avoidable mortality (comprising both preventable deaths related to prevention and public health and treatable deaths related to timely and effective health care treatment) has worsened across all U.S. states, while other high-income countries show improvement. The results suggest poorer mortality is driven by broad factors across the entirety of the U.S. While other countries appear to make gains in health with increases in health care spending, such an association does not exist across U.S. states, raising questions regarding U.S. health spending efficiency. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Irene ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Breastfeeding duration and child development

About The Study: Exclusive or longer duration of breastfeeding was associated with reduced odds of developmental delays and language or social neurodevelopmental conditions in this cohort study. These findings may guide parents, caregivers, and public health initiatives in promoting early child development. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Inbal Goldshtein, PhD, email inbal@kinstitute.org.il. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.1540) Editor’s Note: Please see the ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Moiré than meets the eye

A moiré pattern appears when you stack and rotate two copies of an image with regularly repeating shapes, turning simple patterns of squares or triangles into a groovy wave pattern that moves across the combined image in an optical delight. Similarly, stacking single layers of sub-nanometer-thick semiconductor materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) can generate a moiré potential, and novel electronic and optoelectronic properties may emerge between the layers. A moiré potential is a “seascape” of potential energy with regularly repeating peaks and valleys. They were previously thought to be stationary. But a team of ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

Some depression prevention programs may not help Black youth

WASHINGTON – A depression prevention program that has helped white youth wasn’t effective for Black youth, raising concerns about the need for more research to help racially diverse groups, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. “I was very surprised that we couldn’t help Black youth as much as white youth, and we don’t know why there was such a profound difference in the outcomes.” said lead researcher Patrick Pössel, Dr. rer. soc., a professor of counseling psychology ...

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Science24 Mar 2025

White-collar crimes: ‘Fall from grace’ and the stigma of reentry into society

People convicted of federal white-collar crimes come from different social and demographic backgrounds compared to those convicted of other offenses. Typically older and from the middle class, white-collar offenders face unique challenges during reentry into society. Yet, research on how social class influences their reintegration remains scarce. A study by Florida Atlantic University, in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, explores these challenges, focusing on how stigma, social background and emotional factors impact white-collar offenders as they transition into society ...

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