Science
press releases.

Science25 Oct 2024

Taurine reduces atherosclerotic plaque area and stability in mice

Background and objectives Previous studies suggest that taurine supplementation may attenuate atherosclerosis by reducing lipid levels. However, energy drinks containing taurine have been shown to increase blood pressure, a key risk factor for atherosclerosis. Thus, the role of taurine in atherosclerosis remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the effect of taurine on the development of atherosclerotic plaques. Methods Plasma taurine levels were measured in 105 patients with varying degrees of coronary heart disease and in 40 healthy individuals using 1,2-13C2-taurine-based ultra-performance ...

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Science25 Oct 2024

“Well-man” thrown from castle identified from 800-year-old Norse saga

A passage in the Norse Sverris Saga, the 800-year-old story of King Sverre Sigurdsson, describes a military raid that occurred in AD 1197, during which a body was thrown into a well at Sverresborg Castle, outside Trondheim in central Norway, likely as an attempt to poison the main water source for the local inhabitants. A new study published in the Cell Press journal iScience on October 25 describes how researchers used ancient DNA to corroborate the events of the saga and discover details about the “Well-man,” blending history and archaeology ...

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Science25 Oct 2024

Study: Invasive silver carp reduce movement in Chicago-area water

URBANA, Ill. — Invasive silver carp have been spreading throughout the Mississippi River Basin since their introduction a half-century ago. Yet, try as they might, the fish have not advanced beyond a particular stretch of the Illinois River north of Kankakee. Research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows the fish are likely avoiding contaminants from the Chicago Area Waterway, which flows south before petering out around Kankakee. A new study, published today in Scientific Reports, shows silver carp change their behavior and metabolism when introduced to water from the Illinois River north of Kankakee, representing Chicago-area water. “When animals ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Human actions cause insect color change

New Zealand’s native stoneflies have changed colour in response to human-driven environmental changes, new research shows. Just published in the journal Science, the University of Otago study provides arguably the world’s most clear-cut case of animal evolution in response to change made by humans. Co-author Professor Jon Waters, of the Department of Zoology, says the stonefly has become a different colour due to recent deforestation. “In natural forested regions, a native species has evolved ‘warning’ colours that mimic those of a poisonous forest species, to trick predators into ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Johns Hopkins Children’s Center research in mice suggests zinc supplements have potential value to directly treat short bowel syndrome

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say they have identified a gene pathway involving the mineral zinc in mice that may someday point the way to using zinc-based supplements to directly help people with a rare disorder called short bowel syndrome (SBS). The findings, published Oct. 7 in Nature Communications, help advance efforts toward more effective, potential treatment regimens for both children and adults with the debilitating condition. SBS, which affects 10,000–20,000 adults and children in the United States, is marked by damage to and shortening of ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Kalinin receives David Adler Lectureship Award

Sergei Kalinin, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been named the winner of the David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics by the American Physical Society. The award recognizes one outstanding contributor in the field of materials physics who is notable for high-quality research, review articles, and lecturing. “I am deeply honored to receive the Adler Award, as it recognizes the critical transition in materials discovery that my colleagues at the University of Tennessee and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and I have championed,” ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Evaluating the link between chemicals and declining insect populations

Few people are fans of stink bugs, mosquitoes, or boll weevils, but insects play a key role in the circle of life that makes up the planet’s environment. In fact, world-renowned biologist E. O. Wilson famously declared that if insects vanished, our environment would collapse. Scientists have noted that insect behaviour has been changing, and their populations are declining – on average 2-3% per year. This has prompted them to investigate the potential causes of this change, such as habitat loss due to overdevelopment, climate change, and chemical use. EMBL researchers and collaborators recently investigated how pesticides, herbicides, ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Bird study finds sons help their parents less than daughters because they’re scouting future prospects

Male birds help their parents less than females because they’re too busy scouting for new places to live and breed, a remarkable new study shows. The study, led by researchers at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter, examined the cooperative behaviour and movement patterns of social birds called white-browed sparrow weavers, which live in the Kalahari desert. These birds live in family groups in which only a dominant pair breeds – and their grown-up offspring, particularly females, help ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Study offers ‘compelling evidence’ for continuous stroke care improvement

Research Highlights: A retrospective look at Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke registry data from 2003 to 2022 finds substantial and sustained improvements in acute stroke care among those in the quality improvement program. Researchers found increased adherence to evidence-based stroke care translates to better clinical outcomes and, ultimately, more patients being discharged home or to a skilled nursing facility more quickly. Overall, authors say the positive trends suggest concerted quality improvement initiatives can improve ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Professor awarded NEH grant to advance anthropology research collections at Texas A&M

Dr. Katie Custer Bojakowski, an instructional assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University and the director and curator of its Anthropology Research Collections (ARC), has been awarded a Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The NEH’s Preservation Assistance Grants program helps organizations protect their collections of historical and cultural items, making sure they remain available for students, scholars and the public. These grants help address risks to these collections, ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

New tool helps scientists spot patterns in mountains of data

Neuroscientists have learned a lot – like which neurons and circuits are associated with different behaviors – by recording the activity of small sets of neurons. But what happens when you record thousands of neurons at one time? Or when you want to figure out the role of neurons when there isn’t an obvious external catalyst or you’re not sure what you’re even looking for? That’s where Rastermap comes in. The new visualization tool developed by the Stringer and Pachitariu labs at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus helps ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Glomerular filtration rate changes following UTI in children with vesicoureteral reflux

About The Study: This cohort study uses data from the Children With Vesicoureteral Reflux trial to assess estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) changes in participants with vs without recurrent urinary tract infections. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, David S. Hains, MD, MBA, email dhains@iu.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.4546) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Zebrahub: New atlas tracks zebrafish development like never before

When early cartographers undertook perilous expeditions to map unknown corners of the world with sextants, compasses, and hand-drawn diagrams, it’s unlikely they imagined that someday anyone with an internet connection would have access to a seamless view of the entire planet from the comfort of their own home. Today, pioneering scientists are working to create a similar experience for a much tinier, but no less important domain: developing embryos. The goal is to track and map the behavior of each and every cell working together to create an adult lifeform, and present that map in a clickable, ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

A multi-functional simulation platform for on-demand ride service operations

On-demand ride services or ride-sourcing services have been experiencing fast development and steadily reshaping the way people travel in the past decade. Various optimization algorithms, including reinforcement learning approaches, have been developed to help ride-sourcing platforms design better operational strategies to achieve higher efficiency. However, due to cost and reliability issues, it is commonly infeasible to validate these models and train/test these optimization algorithms within real-world ride-sourcing platforms. Acting as a proper test bed, a simulation platform for ride-sourcing systems will thus be essential for both ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Researchers improve speed and accuracy of 3D surface measurements

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a faster and more accurate method for acquiring and reconstructing high-quality 3D surface measurements. The approach could greatly improve the speed and accuracy of surface measurements used for industrial inspection, medical applications, robotic vision and more. “Traditional 3D imaging works by comparing two viewpoints, similar to how our eyes work together to judge depth,” said research team leader Ce Zhu from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. “In contrast, our new approach ‘feels’ the surface by projecting light ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

GPX4 promoter hypermethylation induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury regulates hepatocytic ferroptosis

Background and Aims Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is a key factor in ferroptosis, which is involved in ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, little is known about its role in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI). This study aimed to investigate the role of GPX4 methylation in ferroptosis during HIRI. Methods For the in vivo experiments, an ischemia-reperfusion model was created by subjecting mice to simulated HIRI. Ferroptosis occurrence, GPX4 promoter methylation, and global methylation levels were then assessed. Results Ferroptosis ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Belief in growth is key to becoming the best

It takes a lot to succeed with ambitious goals. Among other things, we need passion and belief that we will succeed, and we usually need support from others. However, we also need to have the right attitude – the right mindset, one that makes us willing to do what it takes to change and improve. Experts refer to it as a growth mindset. So, how do we know if we actually have the right mindset? How can a coach know if a talented athlete has the mindset needed to become one of the best? An individual’s mindset is influenced by external factors that can change, and it may also vary from day to ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Risk of developing EoE high when other allergic conditions factored in

BOSTON (Oct. 24, 2024) – Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), a disorder of the esophagus, is increasingly recognized as a major cause of swallowing difficulties in children and adults. It affects about one in 2,000 people and is part of a spectrum of allergic conditions. A new study being presented at this year’s American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston investigated the probability of patients with certain atopic (allergic) conditions developing EoE. “We did a separate analysis of four common allergic conditions – asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy – to determine ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Ion-pairing: A new approach to lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal assembly

Self-assembling molecules into organized structures is highly valuable for developing new materials. One notable class of these materials is lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs), which are molecular assemblies of amphiphilic π-electronic molecules, with water-absorbing and water-repelling parts. The term “lyotropic” refers to liquid crystal phases that depend on the concentration of the molecules in a solvent, while “chromonic” indicates that these molecules are stacked into columnar assemblies. In a solvent, these structures are stabilized by π–π interactions and hydrophobic effects. Examples of ...

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Science24 Oct 2024

Epic voyage to uncover what causes tsunamis

A team of international scientists, including two researchers from The Australian National University (ANU), will soon sail to the Japan Trench to discover more about what causes tsunamis. The researchers will be on board the world’s most advanced drilling-equipped science vessel, Chikyu. It will drill directly into the Tōhoku-oki earthquake fault zone, where one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Japan occurred in 2011. The stress accumulated at this junction over hundreds of years was suddenly released, causing the tectonic plate on which Japan sits to skip upwards and eastwards by up to 50 metres. This shallow slip displaced a vast area ...

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Science23 Oct 2024

Suicide risk highest on Mondays and New Year’s Day

Suicide risk is highest on Mondays and increased on New Year’s Day, whereas suicide risk on weekends and Christmas varies by country and region, finds an analysis of data from 26 countries published by The BMJ today. The researchers say their results can help to better understand the short term variations in suicide risks and define suicide prevention action plans and awareness campaigns. According to the World Health Organization, more than 700,000 people died due to suicide in 2019, accounting for approximately 1.3% of deaths, which was higher than the number of deaths by malaria, HIV/AIDS, and breast cancer. Previous studies have shown that suicide ...

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Science23 Oct 2024

Airbnb rentals linked to increased crime rates in London neighborhoods – study

Latest research has revealed a “positive association” between the number of properties listed as Airbnb rentals and police-reported robberies and violent crimes in thousands of London neighbourhoods between 2015 and 2018. In fact, the study from University of Cambridge and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that a 10% increase in active Airbnb rentals in the city would correspond to an additional 1,000 robberies per year across London.* Urban sociologists say the rapid pace at which crime rises in conjunction with new rentals suggests that the link is related more to opportunities for crime, rather than loss ...

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Science23 Oct 2024

Implantable device may prevent death from opioid overdose

The opioid epidemic claims more 70,000 lives each year in the U.S., and lifesaving interventions are urgently needed. Although naloxone, sold as an over-the-counter nasal spray or injectable, saves lives by quickly restoring normal breathing during an overdose, administrating the medication requires a knowledgeable bystander ­– limiting its lifesaving potential. A team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Northwestern University in Chicago has developed a device that may rescue people from overdose without bystander help. In animal studies, the researchers found that the implantable device detects an overdose, rapidly delivers naloxone ...

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Science23 Oct 2024

Half of young adults support prison time for non-consensual condom removal

Almost nine in 10 young adults in the UK believe that removing a condom during sex without the other person’s permission is sexual assault, and around half support prison time as a penalty, finds a new study by UCL researchers. This is the first UK study to cover views on non-consensual condom removal. It is published in PLOS ONE and surveyed 1,729 people between the ages of 18 and 25, living in the UK. Young people were chosen as the focus of the study as, out of all demographics, they use condoms the most. The survey consisted of several examples of non-consensual condom removal, which ...

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Science23 Oct 2024

Symbiosis in ancient Corals

Coral reefs rank among the most biodiverse habitats on Earth and are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea. Modern reef building corals evolved in the Triassic Period around 250 million years ago. They can live in symbiosis with tiny organisms, often algae, that can carry out photosynthesis. This photosymbiosis is particularly beneficial in nutrient-poor waters because it helps the corals to recycle scarce nutrients. Geological evidence reveals that corals already existed in the Devonian period, over 385 million ...

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