Science
press releases.

Science30 Jan 2026

A new approach to chiral α-amino acid synthesis - photo-driven nitrogen heterocyclic carbene catalyzed highly enantioselective radical α-amino esterification

Professor Jian Wang's research group at Tsinghua University reported a photocatalyzed/nitrogen heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed asymmetric radical α-alkoxycarbonylation reaction of amines. Using dibenzylaniline derivatives and readily available pyrocarbonates as starting materials, chiral α-amino acid esters can be synthesized in one step. Further deprotection reactions yield chiral α-amino acids containing primary, secondary, or tertiary amine groups. This research provides a novel method for obtaining structurally diverse chiral α-amino acid derivatives and has ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Researchers enable microorganisms to build molecules with light

Researchers are continually looking for new ways to hack the cellular machinery of microbes like yeast and bacteria to make products that are useful for humans and society. In a new proof-of-concept study, a team from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology showed they can expand the biosynthetic capabilities of these microbes by using light to help access new types of chemical transformations. The paper, published in Nature Catalysis, demonstrates how the bacteria Escherichia coli can be engineered to produce these new molecules in ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Laws to keep guns away from distressed individuals reduce suicides

In 2023, more than half of all suicide deaths in the United States involved firearms. “Red flag” laws—also called Extreme Risk Protection Orders or ERPOs—are designed to reduce these deaths by authorizing temporary firearm removal from individuals deemed at high risk of harming themselves or others. ERPO laws had been implemented in 21 states and the District of Columbia as of February 2025. But the laws’ effectiveness in preventing suicides was still unclear. However, a new analysis ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Study shows how local business benefits from city services

It’s common to wonder as tax season ramps up: Are taxes too high? According to a new study by University of Cincinnati economics professor David Brasington, the answer is no, at least when it comes to Ohio’s city service taxes. These taxes go toward local services such as funds for the fire department, road repair and park upkeep. “It seems like public services are not over-provided at the local level in Ohio,” Brasington said. “Because good things seem to happen when people renew these taxes instead of cut them.” Brasington, PhD, published a new study in Regional Science and Urban Economics called “Effect ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Trends in US live births by race and ethnicity, 2016-2024

About The Study: This analysis documents a major demographic transition; non-Hispanic white births now constitute less than half of U.S. births, while Hispanic births exceed one-fourth. These shifts reflect declining fertility across most groups, contrasted with immigration trends and younger ages among Hispanic women that sustain overall birth rates. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amos Grünebaum, MD, email agrunebaum@northwell.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.56659) Editor’s ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Sex and all-cause mortality in the US, 1999 to 2019

About The Study: In this cohort study of 47,000 adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, after accounting for demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race and ethnicity), behavioral factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol use), and chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), males had a 63% greater risk of all-cause mortality than females. These findings suggest that there may be intrinsic biological factors (sex hormones, chromosomes, or immune response) associated with sex differences in mortality. Further research should investigate the effects ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Sepsis study IDs simple ways to save lives in Africa

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major unrecognized cause of deadly sepsis among people with HIV in Africa, a sweeping new study reveals. Beginning treatment for TB immediately – even before sepsis patients are diagnosed with TB – could save countless lives, the researchers say. The ATLAS study, conducted over five years at hospitals in Tanzania and Uganda, has found that more than half of the hundreds of patients enrolled in the study had TB and that immediate treatment increased their chances of survival significantly. The ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Can desert sand be used to build houses and roads?

The globe may be running out of sand suitable for concrete. Researchers are therefore testing a possible solution for using desert sand as a material. The world's most important building material Concrete is the world's most widely used building material – second only to water. Globally, more than four billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. Concrete consumption is so enormous that it accounts for around eight percent of the world's CO₂ emissions. To make concrete, sand is needed, and not just any sand: it must be of the right size and shape. Therefore, rock is crushed into gravel and sand, and river sand is excavated ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

Devastation of island land snails, especially in the Pacific

A comprehensive new review paper reveals the staggering loss of biodiversity among island land snails globally. Lead author Robert Cowie of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and co-authors note that ‘devastation’ is not a hyperbolic term, pointing out that extinction rates on high volcanic islands commonly range from 30% to as high as 80%. The review was published recently in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Tracking trends through the ‘shell bank’ While the review is global in scope, Cowie, along with Philippe Bouchet and Benoît ...

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Science30 Jan 2026

New roadmap shows how to turn farm nitrogen models into real world water quality gains

“A lot of governments are spending serious money on farm conservation, yet the rivers are not getting cleaner as fast as people expect,” said lead author Yi Pan of Zhejiang University in China. “Our work shows that the problem is not that best management practices are useless. It is that our planning tools have been aiming at the wrong processes, the wrong places, and the wrong time scales for nitrogen.”​ The new review pulls together advances in hydrology, computer modeling, and social science to propose a practical optimization framework tailored specifically to agricultural nitrogen, one of the ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Research spotlight: Discovering risk factors for long-term relapse in alcohol use disorder

John F. Kelly, PhD, of the Recovery Research Institute and Department of Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham, is the lead author of a paper published in Frontiers in Public Health, “Long-term relapse: markers, mechanisms, and implications for disease management in alcohol use disorder.” Q: What challenges or unmet needs make this study important? Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of leading causes of preventable death in the United States and worldwide, and leads to substantial disease and medical complication. While treatments are available that can help ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Helping hands: UBCO research team develops brace to reduce tremors

UBC Okanagan researchers have advanced their work on developing a non-invasive, accessible way to reduce uncontrolled hand tremors. In a newly published study, the team has demonstrated how a new wearable device may reduce involuntary hand tremors linked with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Hand tremors affect millions of people worldwide and can interfere with everyday activities such as eating, writing and personal care, explains Dr. Hadi Mohammadi, Professor in UBCO’s School of Engineering. Current treatments often involve medication or surgery, while existing wearable devices can be costly, bulky or cause unwanted side effects. “Hand ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Hippocampus does more than store memories: it predicts rewards, study finds

A preclinical study published in Nature has found evidence that the hippocampus, the brain region that stores memory, also reorganizes memories to anticipate future outcomes. The findings, from researchers at the Brandon Lab at McGill University and their collaborators at Harvard University, reveal a learning process that had not been directly observed before. “The hippocampus is often described as the brain’s internal model of the world,” said senior author Mark Brandon, Associate Professor in McGill’s Department of Psychiatry and Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre. “What ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

What ice-fishing competitions reveal about human decision-making

The international research team used GPS watches and wearable cameras to observe the behavior of 74 experienced ice fishers during competitions in eastern Finland. Across 477 fishing trips on ten different lakes, they recorded more than 16,000 decisions about where to fish and when to leave a location. Using these high-resolution movement and contextual data, the scientists built computational models to understand the underlying decision-making processes. Social information as a compass—but not always The analysis shows ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Scientists solve the mystery of why termite kings and queens are monogamous

Termites are among the most successful animals on Earth, forming vast societies that can number in the millions. But how did such complex social systems evolve from solitary ancestors that looked much like today’s cockroaches? New research from the University of Sydney has uncovered a surprising answer: termites didn’t become more socially complex by gaining new genes, but by losing them – including genes linked to sperm competition. The findings shed new light on the long-standing question of whether monogamy ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Breakthrough study reveals early neural circuit that determines food reward

Why do we sometimes keep eating even when we’re full and other times turn down food completely? Why do we crave salty things at certain times, and sweets at other times? The answers, according to new neuroscience research at the University of Delaware, may lie in a tiny brain in an organism you might not expect. Lisha Shao, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, has uncovered a neural network in the brains of fruit flies that represents a very early step in how the brain decides — minute by minute — whether a specific ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Can justice happen on a laptop? Study says yes

As courts increasingly turn to virtual proceedings, jurors who deliberate online may be just as attentive, engaged and fair-minded as those who meet face-to-face, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The study, published in Law and Human Behavior, compared 54 mock juries. Twenty-four of them met in person and 30 deliberated virtually using the same civil trial materials. Across most measures, the two formats produced nearly identical results. “Despite concerns that virtual formats substantially ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Landmark FAU/CSU study: More paid time off keeps US workers from quitting

At the height of the “Great Resignation” in 2021, more than 50 million workers in the United States quit their jobs, driven by stress, burnout and rising expectations for sustainable work. Nearly half cited inadequate benefits as a main reason for leaving. The U.S. is the only country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – a group of 38 high-income nations – that does not guarantee paid time off (PTO), paid vacation or paid maternity leave. While some employers have expanded PTO, many workers still get none, and fewer than half have consolidated leave. With replacement costs ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Traditional and novel virologic markers for functional cure and HBeAg loss with pegylated interferon in chronic hepatitis B

Background and Aims The rate of functional cure (HBsAg loss) remains unsatisfactory following pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) treatment in chronic hepatitis B. To optimize PEG-IFN administration, this study aimed to evaluate virological markers to predict functional cure and/or hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) loss. Methods Relevant studies assessing virologic markers for predicting functional cure and HBeAg loss after PEG-IFN therapy were systematically retrieved from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science up to November 2023. Predictive effectiveness was evaluated via the summary receiver operating characteristic ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Rethinking ultrasound gel: a natural solid pad for clearer, more comfortable imaging

Ultrasonography is a non-invasive imaging technique used for real-time imaging. This versatile technique is used as a reliable diagnostic tool in various modalities. The conventional liquid gel used in ultrasonography is a critical component of this process that acts as an acoustic coupling medium, removing the air gap between the probe and skin surface. This allows improved image resolution and accurate diagnostic interpretations. However, the liquid gel has a quick drying time, which often compromises the image quality. Additionally, it may irritate patients and occasionally become contaminated. The clinician's performance is ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Research from IOCB Prague reveals a previously unknown mechanism of genetic transcription

Scientists at IOCB Prague are uncovering new details of gene transcription. They have identified a previously unknown molecular mechanism by which the transcription of genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into ribonucleic acid (RNA) can be initiated. The researchers focused on a specific class of molecules known as alarmones, which are found in cells across a wide range of organisms and whose levels often increase under conditions of cellular stress. The results were published in the prestigious ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Women with stroke history twice as likely to have another during or soon after pregnancy

Research Highlights: Female stroke survivors were more than twice as likely as their stroke-free counterparts to have another stroke while pregnant and in the six weeks after childbirth, according to an analysis of a large national database of electronic health records. In addition, the risk of ischemic stroke during pregnancy and the early postpartum period was 82% more likely among pregnant women who had a previous heart attack and 25% more likely in women with obesity. Note: The study featured in this news release is a research abstract. Abstracts presented at the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Stroke survivors may be less lonely, have better recovery if they can share their feelings

Research Highlights: Stroke survivors who felt they could not talk about their feelings or fears about their health with close friends or family reported feeling lonelier and had worse physical and mental recovery when assessed one year after the stroke. Difficulty sharing their feelings with family/friends was as important as the severity of the stroke for identifying patients who would experience greater disability and poorer physical function one year after the stroke. Supporting caregivers, family and health care professionals ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Embedding critical thinking from a young age

Education systems need to focus more on independent critical thinking and rational, evidence-based learning and problem-solving to find answers to many of the unprecedented environmental, social and economic challenges facing humanity, experts say. Scientists from around the world, including Flinders University microbiologist Dr Jake Robinson, have called for a radical refocus of school curricula from early years to high school to include more critical thinking and learning skills to empower students to ‘think outside the box’. “Cultivating deep, critical and systems-oriented thinking is no longer optional (but) ...

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Science29 Jan 2026

Researchers develop soft biodegradable implants for long-distance and wide-angle sensing

In a study published in Nature, a team led by Prof. SU Yewang from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Dr. LI Shuang from Tsinghua University and Prof. YU Xinge from the City University of Hong Kong, developed a soft, biodegradable, wireless sensing device which can monitor multiple signals from inside the body over long distances (e.g., 16 cm), while maintaining accuracy across varying positions and angles. Monitoring internal physiological signals is essential for effective ...

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