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press releases.

Science5 Feb 2026

Rates of autism in girls and boys may be more equal than previously thought

Autism has long been viewed as a condition that predominantly affects male individuals, but a study from Sweden published by The BMJ shows that autism may actually occur at comparable rates among male and female individuals. The results show a clear female catch-up effect during adolescence, which the researchers say highlights the need to investigate why female individuals receive diagnoses later than male individuals. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased over the past three decades, with a high male-to-female diagnosis ratio of around 4:1. The increase in prevalence is thought to ...

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Science5 Feb 2026

Are returning Pumas putting Patagonian Penguins at risk? New study reveals the likelihood

More images available via the link in the Notes Section Summary: Some Argentinian penguins are experiencing high levels of predation from pumas recolonising their historical territory. A new study has quantified the risk on long-term penguin population survival. Over four years, pumas at a national park on the Argentinian Patagonia coast are thought to have killed over 7,000 adult penguins (7.6% of the colony’s adult population) – but left many uneaten. Long-term, however, puma predation alone is unlikely to threaten colony viability, while low breeding success and reduced juvenile survival appear to be ...

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Science5 Feb 2026

Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON PRESS RELEASE Under embargo until 00:01 GMT Thursday 5 February Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests Humans’ exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme injury, according to new research. For ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Ancient American pronghorns were built for speed

ANN ARBOR—The fastest land animal in North America is the American pronghorn, and previously, researchers thought it evolved its speed because of pressure from the now-extinct American cheetah. But recently, that theory has come under fire. Now, a University of Michigan study examining fossilized ankle bones of ancient relatives of the American pronghorn has shown that the pronghorn was evolving to be faster more than 5 million years before the American cheetah appeared on the continent. The study, ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Pediatric Investigation review highlights the future of newborn screening with next-generation sequencing

Every year, millions of newborns undergo routine screening as a preventive strategy to detect inherited disorders before symptoms emerge. Newborn screening (NBS) programs have traditionally relied on biochemical markers to identify specific groups of treatable conditions, achieving remarkable success at a population level. However, as researchers increasingly uncover genetically driven diseases that manifest early in life, questions are emerging about whether existing screening frameworks are adequate ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Call for papers: 10th anniversary special issue of Big Earth Data

The journal Big Earth Data was first launched in 2017 and has since stood out as the world’s first scholarly journal dedicated to Earth-related big data, emerging as a flagship platform at the intersection of Earth science, space science, information science, and sustainability science. Over the past decade, we have witnessed and fostered transformative advancements, from multi-source data fusion to large-model-driven analysis and from cloud computing platforms to digital twin Earth, while upholding a commitment to supporting ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Janus meta-imager enables asymmetric image transmission and transformation in opposite directions

A team of researchers from Peking University, Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new optical device capable of asymmetrically transmitting and transforming images in two opposite directions. Dubbed the “Janus meta-imager,” the device is based on diffractive deep neural networks (D²NNs) and metasurfaces, and operates without external power or nonlinear materials. Unlike conventional asymmetric imaging systems that rely on active components or limited unidirectional functions, the Janus meta-imager can perform different imaging tasks in forward and backward directions. For example, in simulations, ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

More isn’t always better: Texas A&M research links high-dose antioxidants to offspring birth defects

Antioxidants have been marketed as miracle supplements, touted for preventing chronic diseases and cancers; treating COPD and dementia; and slowing aging. While antioxidant therapies are widely used to treat male infertility, a new study from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) found that regularly consuming high doses of antioxidants negatively influences sperm DNA and may lead to offspring born with differences in craniofacial development. In a study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, a team of researchers led by Dr. ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

New transgenic zebrafish models decades of muscle atrophy in weeks

Bar Harbor, Maine — As people age, muscles naturally lose mass and strength, a condition known as sarcopenia. The decline can make everyday activities harder and increases the risk of falls, disability and early death. At the moment, the best defense is regular exercise throughout our lives, as effective treatments to slow or prevent muscle atrophy are limited. Progress has been slowed in part because in most vertebrates, aging unfolds over many years, making it difficult for biomedical researchers to study quickly in the laboratory. Now, MDI Biological Laboratory Associate Professor Romain Madelaine, ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

If you want to feel gratitude in your life, embrace nostalgia, VCU research finds

Did you skip your last high school reunion? If so, you may want to reconsider when the next anniversary rolls around. The experience could lead to increased feelings of gratitude, according to a new study led by Jeffrey Green, Ph.D., a professor of psychology in Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences. That’s because engaging in nostalgic experiences – or even just listening to nostalgic music, or drifting into a nostalgic reverie – can strengthen feelings of social connection, ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Malaria: Newly identified “crown” stage controls parasite reproduction

Researchers studying the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum have discovered a previously unknown stage in its life cycle that appears to be crucial for reproduction. This is important because malaria depends on the parasite’s rapid ability to multiply inside the human body, so stopping its reproduction could help prevent severe disease and save lives. Using a new live-imaging method, the team found that before the parasite can divide, a key structure inside the cell must reshape into a “Crown” form and connect to the cell’s nucleus. This ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Pigs and grizzlies, not monkeys, hold clues to youthful human skin

PULLMAN, Wash. — The secret to youthful appearance and repairing scars may lie in a microscopic skin structure humans share with pigs and grizzly bears — but, surprisingly, not monkeys. While it had been thought these ridge and valley-like skin microstructures — called rete ridges — form during fetal growth, researchers at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine found they actually develop shortly after birth and identified a key molecular signal that drives their development. The findings, published in the journal Nature, could lead to new therapies designed to reverse or slow skin aging and improve wound and scar ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Innovative card deck by Case Western Reserve professor empowers kids to tackle stress head-on

CLEVELAND—A Case Western Reserve University professor has developed an innovative card deck designed to help children manage stress and build emotional resilience in today’s challenging world. Following the COVID-19 pandemic—and amid ongoing global and societal stressors—Jennifer King, an associate professor and co-director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve, realized that people needed to know the fundamentals of stress management. She created “Take a Break” micropractice cards in 2022 to help people relax, ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Calling for young editorial board members

Eligibility Criteria Endorse the journal's editorial philosophy. Make significant contributions to the journal in areas such as peer review, evaluation and promotion. Specialize in Robotics, Biomedical Engineering or Neuro Engineering. Be actively engaged in research, with an international academic perspective. Candidates should typically be under 40 years old, holding a position such as Associate Professor/Associate Chief Physician, or Assistant Professor or higher in a tenure-track system. Outstanding candidates may be given more lenient requirements. Have published at least 10 articles as the first author or corresponding author in leading journals of their field. May ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Uncommon names are increasing globally: Reflecting an increase in uniqueness-seeking and individualism

Highlights Associate Professor Yuji Ogihara of Aoyama Gakuin University reviews empirical studies that examined temporal changes in the frequency of (un)common names. Accumulated evidence has demonstrated that uncommon names increased over time in many nations: Germany, the U.S., the U.K., France, Japan, China, and Indonesia. All the nations that were examined have shown an increase in uncommon names. Thus, the phenomenon is observed more generally, not locally in some limited nations. This increase in uncommon names reflects broader ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Stacking the genetic deck: How some plant hybrids beat the odds

In the plant world, when two different species mate, their offspring often don’t survive. The reason lies in their DNA: incompatible genes often mix in their offspring, triggering a fatal breakdown known as hybrid lethality that acts as a reproductive barrier to keep species separate. Using tobacco plants and their wild relatives, a research group led by graduate student Shota Nagai and Associate Professor Takahiro Tezuka at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Osaka Metropolitan University, explored what ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

Unsupervised strategies for naïve animals: New model of adaptive decision making inspired by baby chicks, turtles and insects

Embargo: 00.05 (GMT) 4 February 2026 / 7.05 pm ET 3 February 2026 Precocial animals, the ones that move autonomously within hours after hatching or birth, have many biases they are born with that help them survive, finds a new Royal Society paper led by Queen Mary University of London. The new model proposed by the researchers suggest that naïve animals like newborn turtles and chicks are not blank slates but are supported by the presence of multiple biases that interact. Researchers found that early biases are surprisingly widespread among newborns of various species. However, these choice biases are not ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

How cities primed spotted lanternflies to thrive in the US

Spotted lanternflies are adapting to the pressures of city life such as heat, pollution, and pesticides, according to genomic analyses of the invasive insects in the US and their native China. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, show how urbanization may be shaping the spotted lanternfly’s spread into new environments. “Cities can act as evolutionary incubators that may help an invasive species to better deal with pressures like heat and pesticides, which then helps them to better adapt to new environments,” ...

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Science4 Feb 2026

UK polling clerks struggle to spot fake IDs, study reveals

The introduction of mandatory photo ID in the 2024 general election may not have provided the security boost promised by the government, new research suggests. Polling clerks operating during the UK’s first mandatory voter ID election made mistakes in 36% of cases when tested with real ID documents, according to the research. Even on a simpler test comparing high-quality photos taken seconds apart, the clerks made errors 16% of the time. The findings of the study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, challenge ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

Scientists uncover how biochar microzones help protect crops from toxic cadmium

A new study reveals that biochar can create tiny but powerful soil microenvironments that significantly reduce cadmium contamination in crops. The findings offer fresh insight into how this carbon-rich material can improve food safety and environmental health when applied to polluted farmland. The research, published in Sustainable Carbon Materials, shows that when biochar is mixed into soil, it forms a distinct zone known as the “charosphere.” Within only a few millimeters around each biochar particle, soil chemistry changes in ways that ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

Where fires used to be frequent, old forests now face high risk of devastating blazes

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new analysis shows that the Pacific Northwest’s mature and old-growth forests are most at risk of severe wildfire in areas that historically burned frequently at lower severity. The study by scientists at Oregon State University and USDA Forest Service Research & Development is important because those forests are culturally, economically and ecologically significant, supporting biodiversity while storing vast amounts of carbon, and they are under increasing threat of stand-replacing wildfire. Researchers used state-of-the-art modeling techniques to gain knowledge that can help guide ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

New paper proposes a framework for assessing the trustworthiness of research

Media Contact: pr@cos.io A new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) proposes a systems-level framework for evaluating the trustworthiness of research findings across methods and approaches. The paper, “A Framework for Assessing the Trustworthiness of Research Findings”, is authored by a multidisciplinary group of research leaders with expertise in metascience, research integrity and assessment, and science communication: Brian Nosek (Center for Open Science; University of Virginia), David Allison (Baylor College of Medicine), Kathleen Hall Jamieson ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

IPO pay gap hiding in plain sight: Study reveals hidden cost of ‘cheap stock’

Before the opening bell ever rings on a company’s initial public offerings, some of the executives may already be sitting on a quiet windfall. An IPO can act as a source of “cheap money” because of how stock options are valued before a company goes public. In private firms, options are supposed to be issued “at the money,” with exercise prices reflecting the fair value of the shares at the time of the grant. But without a public market price, those valuations rely on models and judgment, giving companies wide discretion. When the ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

It has been clarified that a fungus living in our body can make melanoma more aggressive

Cancer is one of the causes responsible for the most deaths worldwide; in 2020, for example, it resulted in ten million deaths. It has been estimated that micro-organism infections caused between 13-18% of these cases. Until now, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified thirteen micro-organisms as carcinogenic, which include viruses, bacteria and parasites. However, recent studies have shown that there are other micro-organism types linked to cancer; some of them are fungi. The Candida albicans fungus is one of them: “This fungus is part of ...

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Science3 Feb 2026

Study highlights stressed faults in potential shale gas region in South Africa

A swarm of small earthquakes within the Karoo Basin in South Africa has revealed a critically stressed fault that could be perturbed by potential shale gas exploration in the area, according to a new report in Seismological Research Letters. The analysis by Benjamin Whitehead of the University of Cape Town and colleagues concludes that the Karoo microseismicity occurred along a buried fault that may extend through sedimentary layers to the crystalline bedrock, which would increase its vulnerability to stresses produced ...

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