Science
press releases.

Science20 Nov 2024

Morton Arboretum tree root scientist recognized as top-cited researcher for second straight year

LISLE, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2024)— For the second year in a row, The Morton Arboretum’s Tree Root Biologist Luke McCormack, Ph.D., has been recognized as one of the most cited and influential researchers worldwide by global information services provider Clarivate’s esteemed annual list of “Highly Cited Researchers.” The 2024 list, released Nov. 19, includes influential researchers at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations around the world, who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their research field(s). McCormack, who debuted ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Curiosity, images, and scientific exploration

When we gaze at nature’s remarkable phenomena, we might feel a mix of awe, curiosity, and determination to understand what we are looking at. That is certainly a common response for MIT’s Alan Lightman, a trained physicist and prolific author of books about physics, science, and our understanding of the world around us. “One of my favorite quotes from Einstein is to the effect that the most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious,” Lightman says. “It’s the fundamental emotion that is the cradle of true art and true science.” Lightman explores those concepts in his latest book, “The ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Researchers catalog the microbiome of US rivers

Rivers and streams serve as critical connectors across vast geographical landscapes, trickling out of tucked-away headwaters and snaking thousands of miles toward oceans and deep seas. These waterways directly impact human and environmental health, agriculture and energy production, and supply the United States with two-thirds of its drinking water. And yet, compared with other larger waterbodies, the microbiology of rivers is relatively understudied. A Colorado State University-led team of scientists have contributed to changing that — detailing for the first time both broad and specific information ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

First molecule identified that promotes gut healing while inhibiting tumour progression

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a molecule that can both help the intestines to heal after damage and suppress tumour growth in colorectal cancer. The discovery could lead to new treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and cancer. The results are published in the journal Nature. Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis do not respond to available treatments, highlighting the need to identify novel therapeutic strategies. In a new study published in Nature, researchers propose that promoting ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Trends in postpartum depression by race, ethnicity, and prepregnancy BMI

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, postpartum depression (PPD) diagnosis increased significantly across all racial and ethnic groups and body mass index (BMI) categories over the past decade. While rising PPD may reflect improved screening and diagnosis practices, the persistently high rates highlight the need to develop and implement interventions to prevent the condition while expanding efforts to mitigate the impact of PPD on maternal and child health. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Darios Getahun, MD, PhD, ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Short-term and long-term mortality risk after preterm birth

About The Study: The findings of this population-based matched cohort study suggest that individuals born preterm were at an increased risk of death from birth until their third and fourth decades of life, with higher risks as gestational age decreased. Some of these associations may have been partly due to underlying health determinants that affected preterm birth and mortality. These findings suggest that preterm birth should be recognized as a risk factor for mortality and could inform preventive strategies. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Asma M. Ahmed, PhD, MD, MPH, email asahmed@wakehealth.edu. To access ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Preterm birth associated with increased mortality risk into adulthood, study finds

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Nov. 20, 2024 – According to a new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, being born preterm is associated with an increased risk of death from birth until the third and fourth decades of life. The study appears online today in JAMA Network Open. About 10% of all births worldwide are classified as preterm, which occurs when a baby is born before 37 weeks gestation. Globally, preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality and the second leading cause of death for children under the age of 5. “Understanding the long-term effects of preterm birth ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Researchers eliminate the gritty mouth feel: How to make it easier to eat fiber-rich foods

Fiber is something that most of us get far too little of. To change that, we need to actually enjoy eating it. Food researchers from the University of Copenhagen have now invented a "disguise" that solves the problem of the dry and gritty mouth feel of fibers. Think of how it would be to drink a juice with wheat bran in it – you may imagine an unpleasant gritty sensation which would make you less prone to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this feeling is often associated with insoluble dietary fibers. ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Garden produce grown near Fayetteville works fluorochemical plant contains GenX, other PFAs

Residential garden produce grown near the Fayetteville Works fluorochemical plant can expose those who consume it to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to a new study conducted by researchers from North Carolina State University, East Carolina University and the Colorado School of Mines. “It is often assumed that contaminated drinking water is the main pathway through which we are exposed to PFAS,” says Detlef Knappe, professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at NC State and a lead investigator of the study. “An important goal of our study was to determine whether people ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Masseter muscle volume might be a key indicator of sarcopenia risk in older adults

As populations age, the prevalence of sarcopenia—a progressive loss of muscle mass and function—has become an increasingly urgent public health concern. Sarcopenia increases the risk of falls and frailty, reduces the quality of life for older adults, and heightens the likelihood of requiring long-term care. Preventing sarcopenia is, therefore, crucial for alleviating this healthcare burden. A pioneering study conducted by researchers from Juntendo University in Japan sheds light ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Chromatwist wins innovate UK smart grant for £0.5M project

Spin-out ChromaTwist has won a prestigious Innovate UK Smart grant to co-fund a £0.5m project. The funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, covers 70% of the cost of a project that will take ChromaTwist’s novel dyes to the next level in terms of enhanced brightness and staining indices, to make cells and cellular structures stand out more clearly during bio-imaging. The funding also allows ChromaTwist, which is raising funds, to push on with technical development and prepare for scale-up and ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Can sown wildflowers compensate for cities’ lack of natural meadows to support pollinating insects?

In a study published in Ecological Entomology, a journal from the Royal Entomological Society, researchers assessed whether a shortage of natural meadows in urban spaces for pollinating insects might be addressed by creating meadows where wildflowers are planted or sown among grasses. The research, which was conducted in Warsaw, Poland, showed no difference in the composition of insect-pollinated plants between these two meadow types. There was also no difference between the meadow types concerning the species richness of butterflies, bees, and hoverflies. The number of butterflies ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Scientists discover the molecular composition of potentially deadly venomous fish

New research in FEBS Open Bio reveals insights into the venom of two of the most venomous fish species on earth: the estuarine stonefish (Synanceia horrida) and the reef stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa), which are typically found in the warm and shallow regions of the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. Through multiple analytical techniques, investigators discovered the presence of three neurotransmitters new to stonefish venom, namely gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), choline, and 0-acetylcholine. Although these molecules ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

New DESI results weigh in on gravity

Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today. A new study using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has traced how this cosmic structure grew over the past 11 billion years, providing the most precise test to date of gravity at very large scales. DESI is an international collaboration of more than 900 researchers from over 70 institutions around the world and is managed by the Department of Energy’s ...

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Science20 Nov 2024

Boosting WA startups: Report calls for investment in talent, diversity and innovation

A new report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre reveals Western Australia’s startup and innovation ecosystem requires targeted reforms and investment to unlock its full potential, calling for improvements in talent development, gender diversity and access to capital and infrastructure to support a more diversified economy. The report, titled ‘Dare to Venture: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Western Australia’, highlights WA’s strengths in mining, ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Changing the definition of cerebral palsy

In the United States, there are currently more adults living with cerebral palsy than children. Despite this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still label cerebral palsy as “the most common motor disability in childhood.” This definition not only ignores cerebral palsy as a lifelong condition but contributes to a lopsided research focus directed only at pediatric care and not care into adulthood and across the lifespan, experts say. University of Michigan Health’s Mark Peterson, Ph.D., M.S., FACSM, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, has been working to make sure the definition of cerebral ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Black Britons from top backgrounds up to three times more likely to be downwardly mobile

Even when their parents are lawyers, doctors, or executives, Black Britons are substantially more likely to end up in working class jobs than their White peers, a new study from the University of Kent reveals. Funded by the Leverhulme Trust, this research shows that Black men from the most advantaged families are three times more likely than White men from similar backgrounds to be in working class jobs beyond age 30. Black women are also twice as likely as White women to experience this kind of downward mobility. This is true even after removing ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Developing an antibody to combat age-related muscle atrophy

Fukuoka, Japan—We all age. And while humanity’s life expectancy has increased dramatically in the modern era, we still struggle with the inevitable health issues our bodies face as we get up in the years. For example, the decrease of muscle mass and function, leading to weakness and atrophy. This is a pressing concern in a super-aging society like Japan where—while people live longer—without proper muscle strength, quality of life can be drastically diminished. In findings that may eventually lead to targeted ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Seed slippage: Champati cha-cha

WASHINGTON, Nov 19, 2024 – Champatis, the seeds of the Lapsi tree, are valued in Nepal for their medical, economic, social, and cultural significance. They are also popular among children as simple playthings. But for a group of physicists, these unique seeds—and the way they bounce and roll down slopes—could help them better understand landslides and avalanches, leading to research that could save lives. In a study published this week in Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, a team ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Beyond backlash: how feeling threatened by diversity can trigger positive change

In recent years, employers across North America have introduced or boosted equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programs in hopes of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace culture. But studies have shown that fostering diversity can come with a steep cost, as employees from dominant groups often felt threatened, leading to a backlash against the very groups the employers are seeking to support. But could those feelings of threat also lead to learning and change, and eventually allyship? ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Spinning fusion fuel for efficiency

A different mix of fuels with enhanced properties could overcome some of the major barriers to making fusion a more practical energy source, according to a new study. The proposed approach would still use deuterium and tritium, which are generally accepted as the most promising pair of fuels for fusion energy production. However, the quantum properties of the fuel would be adjusted for peak efficiency using an existing process known as spin polarization. In addition to spin polarizing half the fuels, the percentage of deuterium would be increased from the usual amount of roughly 60% or more. Models created by scientists at the U.S. Department ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

The American Pediatric Society names Dr. Beth Tarini as the recipient of the 2025 Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award

The American Pediatric Society (APS) is pleased to announce Beth A. Tarini, MD, MS, MBA, as the 2025 Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award recipient for her considerable contributions to pediatric science. The award will be presented to Dr. Tarini during the APS Presidential Plenary at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2025 Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 24 – April 28. The award was created in honor of one of the world’s leading nephrologists, Norman J. Siegel, MD, FASN. Dr. Siegel was an outstanding ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Content moderators are influenced by online misinformation

Repeated exposure to lies online may influence the beliefs of professional content moderators, with consequences for online platforms. Hundreds of thousands of content moderators, typically based in non-Western countries, identify and weed out problematic and false content on social platforms. However, constant exposure to misinformation could convince some content moderators that false claims are true, in what is known as the “illusory truth effect.” Hause Lin and colleagues assessed the extent of this effect among professional content moderators in India and the Philippines and explored whether encouraging an accuracy mindset reduces the effect. ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Adulting, nerdiness and the importance of single-panel comics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – While comics have become a culturally popular and widely studied art form in recent decades, one format remains overlooked: the single-panel comic. Comics like “The Family Circus,” “Ziggy” and “Little Lulu” are often seen as simplistic and not worthy of critical attention, argues Michelle Ann Abate, author of the new book Singular Sensations: A Cultural History of One-Panel Comics in the United States. “There tends to be a belief there ...

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Science19 Nov 2024

Populations overheat as major cities fail canopy goals: new research

A new study led by RMIT University in Australia measuring access to nature for eight major global cities found most still have inadequate canopy cover, despite access to an abundance of trees. Less than 30% of buildings in New York City, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Denver, central Sydney and central Melbourne were in neighbourhoods with adequate canopy cover. New York and Amsterdam both scored almost 0% for canopy cover despite 92% and 50% of buildings having views of at least three trees, respectively. The research, a collaboration with the Technical University of Munich, studied over 2.5 million buildings across ...

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