Science
press releases.

Science14 Aug 2024

Dark rituals: Understanding society's fascination with death and disaster

Understanding why the popularity of organised events steeped in themes of death, disaster and suffering, such as the well-known Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Jack the Ripper Walking Tours and Remembrance Sunday, could be key to a deeper understanding of society, say researchers from the University of Surrey. In a study published by Annals of Tourism Research, researchers introduce a comprehensive framework to analyse these events, drawing from fields as diverse as thanatology (the scientific study of death and the practices associated with it), dark tourism, and collective memory ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Gender-sensitive job titles may affect women’s interest in job ads

A new study suggests that the use of gender-sensitive language in the title of job advertisements may influence the level of interest demonstrated by female potential applicants. Dominik Hetjens of Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, and Stefan Hartmann of Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 14, 2024. German is one of many languages in which every noun is grammatically masculine, feminine, or neutral. For instance, ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Lake Erie walleye growth is driven by parents’ size, experience

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has found. The findings surprised the scientists, who expected recent temperatures and food availability to have the highest impact on walleye growth. Cold winters and more sizable mothers were associated with faster growth in 3- to 5-year-old walleye offspring, the analysis showed, suggesting that warmer winters that come with ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Patterns of intelligence

The coordinated activity of brain cells, like birds flying in formation, helps us behave intelligently in new situations, according to a study led by Cedars-Sinai investigators. The work, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, is the first to illuminate the neurological processes known as abstraction and inference in the human brain. “Abstraction allows us to ignore irrelevant details and focus on the information we need in order to act, and inference is the use of knowledge to make educated guesses about the world around us,” said Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, professor and Board of Governors Chair in Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai and co-corresponding author of the ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Brigham researchers develop an implantable device to detect and respond to opioid overdose

In preclinical models, the subcutaneously implanted device continuously monitored vital signs and delivered naloxone automatically and rapidly when it detected opioid overdose The opioid epidemic continues to have devastating effects in the United States, exacerbated by the increasing presence of fentanyl in illicit opioids. Naloxone is an effective antidote, but it usually requires rapid administration from a bystander. Now, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Larger teams in academic research worsen career prospects, study finds

As the Paris Olympics captured the world’s attention this month, it proved apparent that winning medals often hinged on the success of teamwork. While such an approach clearly works in sports, new research suggests teamwork is not always the desired method … especially for young scientists trying to find an academic job. “We found that if your team size in your discipline is large, your prospects for an academic career go down,” said Donna Ginther, the Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Kansas. Her paper titled “The rise of teamwork and career prospects in academic science” ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Consumer-grade insecticide sprays fail to control cockroaches, study shows

Annapolis, MD; August 14, 2024—A common variety of consumer insecticide sprays is mostly ineffective and of "little to no value" in eliminating cockroach infestations, a new study shows. Residual insecticides are designed to be sprayed on surfaces where cockroaches are likely to appear, exposing them to the toxic ingredient when they move across the surface later. But laboratory testing by researchers at the University of Kentucky and Auburn University shows that the residues have little effect on German cockroaches (Blattella germanica), ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Early life exposure to common chemical permanently disrupts gut microbiome

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Early life exposure to ‘forever chemicals’ in the environment permanently disrupts the gut microbiome in mice, contributing to the development of metabolic disease in later life, according to new research led by Penn State. The results, published today (Aug. 14) in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggest that human exposure to these chemicals during early childhood may be contributing to the recent epidemic of metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes among adults. The researchers focused specifically on 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Exploring the structures of xenon-containing crystallites

Noble gases have a reputation for being unreactive, inert elements, but more than 60 years ago Neil Bartlett demonstrated the first way to bond xenon. He created XePtF6, an orange-yellow solid. Because it’s difficult to grow sufficiently large crystals that contain noble gases, some of their structures — and therefore functions — remain elusive. Now, researchers have successfully examined tiny crystallites of noble gas compounds. They report structures of multiple xenon compounds in ACS Central ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Fear of appearing prejudiced can inhibit accurate performance feedback to women

PULLMAN, Wash. – Evaluators who want to avoid appearing prejudiced may overcorrect and give women inflated performance feedback, new research indicates, which is a practice that could ultimately hinder their ability to improve and advance. A Washington State University-led research team investigated the connection between overly positive performance reviews and “protective paternalism,” the belief that women need to be handled carefully and shielded from harm. While it may be well-intentioned, ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Historic map reveals how mussel farm is bringing shellfish reefs back to the seabed

The UK’s first large scale offshore mussel farm is allowing shellfish reefs to return to parts of the seabed off England’s south coast for the first time in up to 150 years, a new study has revealed. Researchers have spent the past decade examining the environmental impact of the farm, which was first established in Lyme Bay off the coast of South Devon in 2013. In that time, the seabed beneath the farm’s ropes has begun to undergo a transformation as mussels from the lines are ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Rare archaeological site reveals ‘surprising’ Neanderthal behaviour at Pyrenees foothills

An unchartered area in the foothills of the Southern Pyrenees in Spain is providing insights into a poorly known period of Neanderthal history, offering clues that could help archaeologists uncover the mystery of their downfall, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU). Abric Pizarro is one of only a few sites worldwide dating from 100,000 to 65,000 years ago during a period called MIS 4. The researchers have gathered hundreds of thousands of artefacts, including stone tools, animal bones and other evidence, providing significant data about the Neanderthal way of life during that time -- largely unknown in human history until now. The findings ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

How our biases are reflected in how fast we make decisions

Quick decisions are more likely influenced by initial biases, resulting in faulty conclusions, while decisions that take time are more likely the result in better information, according to new research led by applied mathematicians at the University of Utah. A team that included Sean Lawley, an associate professor of mathematics, and three former or current Utah graduate students used the power of numbers to test a decision-making model long used in psychology. They developed a framework to study the decision-making processes in groups of people holding various levels of bias. “In large populations, what we see is that slow deciders are making more accurate ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Australians outlive their peers in high income Anglophone countries by 1-4 years

Australians outlive their peers in 5 high income English speaking countries, including the UK and the US, by between 1 to 4 years, finds an analysis of international longevity data, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. Most of this advantage accrues between the ages of 45 and 84, with death rates from drug and alcohol misuse, screenable/treatable cancers, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases all lower, the analysis shows. While high income countries achieved good life expectancy gains during the 20th century, the trends have been much less favourable in the 21st century, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, note ...

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Science14 Aug 2024

Australia offers lessons for increasing American life expectancy

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Despite being home to some of the world’s most dangerous animals, Australia has led the English-speaking world in life expectancy for the last three decades. As for other high-income Anglophone countries, the Irish saw the largest gains in life expectancy, while Americans have finished dead last since the early 1990s, according to a team of social scientists led by a Penn State researcher. The team published their findings today (August 13) in the journal BMJ Open. “One lesson ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Less sleep and later bedtime in childhood linked to future substance use

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A good night’s sleep is essential for children’s health and development, but childhood sleep patterns may also be linked to future substance use. A new study, led by a team of Penn State researchers, found that adolescents were more likely to have consumed alcohol or tried marijuana by age 15 if they went to bed later and slept fewer hours during childhood and adolescence. The team published their findings in Annals of Epidemiology. “The study suggests that there might be some critical ages when sleep can be a target for intervention,” said Anne-Marie Chang, associate professor of ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Common equine painkiller disrupts assisted reproduction technique efficiency in mares, Texas A&M research finds

By Courtney Price, Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have discovered that phenylbutazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly prescribed in horses, can affect the ability of a mare’s egg cells — called “oocytes” — to become viable embryos, which is a crucial step in assisted reproduction in horses. This discovery, recently published in the journal Theriogenology, is significant because of the time and money that horse owners ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Children born prematurely fall into three groups

About thirteen million babies each year are born prematurely, with preterm birth linked to increases in risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), problems with social development, and lower grades. A problem with past analyses of prematurity, however, is that they do not capture the variety seen in children born pre-term, including some with outcomes better than the average results for full- term children. Pre-term means birth before 37 weeks of gestation, with full term being 40 weeks. The tendency to lump preterm babies into one group hinders efforts to tailor care for any one child, researchers say. Now a new study, published online August 13 ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

A new method for protection from plant pathogens could help support global food security.

By modifying a plant intracellular immune receptor (NLR), researchers have developed a potential new strategy for resistance to rice blast disease, one of the most important diseases threatening global food security. The collaborative team from the UK and Japan have recently published their research in PNAS. This could have implications for future approaches to crop protection and ultimately global food supply stability. The research was led from the Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism at the John Innes Centre, with partners at The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of East Anglia, and the Division of Genomics and Breeding, Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Japan. For a ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

MSK Research Highlights, August 13, 2024

New research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) found patients with non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases may benefit from up-front stereotactic radiosurgery; identified a connection between antibiotic use and autoimmune diseases; and uncovered a previously unknown structural role for messenger RNAs in the cytoplasm of cells. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer brain metastases may benefit from upfront stereotactic radiosurgery For patients with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain, targeted therapies called ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

The atmosphere in the room can affect strategic decision-making, study finds

The atmosphere within a group can influence the outcome of strategic decision-making, according to a new study co-authored by Bayes Business School (formerly Cass). Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor of Strategic Management at Bayes, along with researchers from University of Queensland, Macquarie University and Leuphana University of Lüneburg, found that different atmospheres led to people speaking and interacting in different ways that changed how they made sense of the strategy. For instance, when the atmosphere was pensive, people were cautious about the way to proceed, whereas, when it was curious they felt ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Measuring Martian winds with sound

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2024 – Mars has a notoriously inhospitable environment, with temperatures that fluctuate dramatically over the course of a Martian day and average minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Its surface is mostly covered in red dust, with terrain typified by craters, canyons, and volcanoes. And its atmosphere is extremely thin, comprising only about 1% of the density of Earth’s. Needless to say, measuring wind speeds on the red planet is challenging. Martian landers have been able capture measurements — some gauging the cooling rate of heated materials ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Smartwatch measures of outdoor exposure and nearsightedness in children

About The Study: In this 1-year prospective cohort study of children with smartwatches, continuous outdoor exposure with at least 15 minutes accompanied with no less than 2,000 lux sunlight intensity was associated with less myopic shift. These findings suggest that future outdoor interventions should focus not only on the overall time outdoors but also on the effective outdoor exposure patterns, as a means to effectively prevent myopia (nearsightedness) in children. Corresponding Authors: To ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Study finds emergency department visits by children associated with water beads more than doubled from 2021 to 2022

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have found more than an estimated 8,000 visits to U.S. emergency departments (EDs) associated with water beads from 2007 through 2022, and the number of these visits increased rapidly by more than 130% from 2021 to 2022. In a study published in American Journal of Emergency Medicine, researchers analyzed 16 years of data and call for a more comprehensive regulatory approach to prevent water bead-associated injuries. The increase in ...

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Science13 Aug 2024

Reduce, reuse, reflycle

A Macquarie University team proposes using genetically engineered black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) to address worldwide pollution challenges and produce valuable raw materials for industry, including the USD $500 billion global animal feed market. In a new paper published on 24 July in the journal Communications Biology, scientists at Macquarie University outline a future where engineered flies could transform waste management and sustainable biomanufacturing, addressing multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Synthetic biologist Dr Kate Tepper is lead author of the paper and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Applied BioSciences, Macquarie University. “One ...

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