Science
press releases.

Science24 Jul 2024

Our ability to recognize music might not diminish with age, with older concert attendees identifying themes in music as well as younger participants

Our ability to recognize music might not diminish with age, with older concert attendees identifying themes in music as well as younger participants ### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305969 Article Title: Age and familiarity effects on musical memory Author Countries: Canada, UK Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: this work was supported by BRZ’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada grant. The funders had no role ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

New study confirms mammal-to-mammal avian flu spread

ITHACA, N.Y. – A new Cornell University study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission – between cows and from cows to cats and a raccoon. “This is one of the first times that we are seeing evidence of efficient and sustained mammalian-to-mammalian transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1,” said Diego Diel, associate professor of virology and director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

MD Anderson Research Highlights for July 24, 2024

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include low-dose radiation for B-cell lymphoma, a target for overcoming treatment resistance in pancreatic cancer, decreased public trust in U.S. health agencies providing cancer information, ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Arc Institute welcomes first Scientific Advisory Board members; appoints two new members to Board of Directors

Today, Arc Institute, the scientific research organization pioneering new models for scientific discovery and translation, is announcing the creation of its Scientific Advisory Board and its first two Scientific Advisors, as well as the appointment of two new members to the Arc Board of Directors. New Scientific Advisory Board Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., and Dr. Aviv Regev, Ph.D., join as the first two members of Arc’s Scientific Advisory Board and will provide strategic guidance, share their ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Intelligent compaction: ensuring highway durability with advanced monitoring

Highway construction often faces challenges in ensuring long-term subgrade performance due to traditional compaction quality control (QC) methods that rely on manual adjustments and sporadic testing. These methods are susceptible to human error, inefficiency, and incomplete assessments. Addressing these issues requires advanced, real-time monitoring systems. Such systems can provide comprehensive and accurate QC, highlighting the need for innovative technologies to improve highway construction standards. Researchers from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, alongside partners from Hunan and China Renewable Energy Engineering ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

URI partners on study that tracked whale shark for record-breaking four years

KINGSTON, R.I. – July 22, 2024 – A team of researchers at the University of Rhode Island and Nova Southeastern University in Florida have been tracking a 26-foot endangered whale shark – named “Rio Lady” – with a satellite transmitter for more than four years – a record for whale sharks and one of the longest tracking endeavors for any species of shark. Whale sharks, which live from 80 to 130 years, are the world’s largest fish and third largest creature in the ocean – behind blue and fin whales. The size of a small school bus, they inhabit tropical oceans and ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

FDA-mandated CAR-T monitoring period could be halved

(WASHINGTON, July 24, 2024) – In patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL), the two hallmark post-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapy toxicities are extremely rare after two weeks, supporting a shorter, more flexible toxicity monitoring period, according to a study published in Blood Advances. Currently, three CAR T-cell therapies — axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel), and lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) — are approved for treating DLBCL, a cancer that affects the white blood cells responsible for producing antibodies. However, patients receiving these therapies are ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Mixed approach to reforestation better than planting or regeneration alone

DURHAM, NC – Reforestation in low- and middle-income countries can remove up to 10 times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at lower cost than previously estimated, making this a potentially more important option to fight climate change, according to a study in Nature Climate Change. Reforestation regrows trees on degraded lands where human activities removed original forests. Most current reforestation programs focus on tree planting alone, but the study estimates that nearly half of all suitable reforestation locations would be more effective at sequestering carbon if forests were allowed to grow back ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth to rip apart their prey

Scientists have discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons’ teeth are tipped with iron. Led by researchers from King’s College London, the study gives new insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide clues to how dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey. Native to Indonesia, Komodo dragons are the largest living species of monitor lizard, averaging around 80kg. Deadly predators, Komodos have sharp, curved teeth similar to many carnivorous dinosaurs. They eat almost any kind of meat, from smaller reptiles and birds to deer, horses or ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

African research to benefit from new open data management course

Open data practices in African research institutions will be bolstered thanks to a new online course for librarians to coincide with International Open Access Week (21-27 October 2024). The Open Data Management Foundational Course – to be offered entirely free over four weeks by open data experts – is a direct response to calls to strengthen the research data management capacity of librarians in Africa. The course will be facilitated by AfLIA, the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions, as part of an ongoing collaboration ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

NEWPORT, Ore. – Hours after tagging an endangered basking shark off the coast of Ireland in April, researchers captured what they believe is the first ever video of a shark or any large marine animal being struck by a boat. The data, collected by an activity measurement device similar to a FitBit and a connected camera, provided scientists a unique opportunity to learn more about the impact of vessel strikes on large marine animals, which is a rising concern around the globe, said Taylor Chapple, a shark researcher at Oregon State University’s Hatfield ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Could Botox make walking easier in children with cerebral palsy?

A recent randomized clinical trial published in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology assessed whether injections of botulinumtoxin-A in calf muscles benefit children with cerebral palsy. “We hypothesized that injections with botulinumtoxin-A in the calf muscles would make walking easier, caused by improved ankle joint functioning following spasticity reduction,” the authors wrote. In the trial, one botulinumtoxin-A treatment was not superior to placebo in making walking easier (measured as a reduction in energy cost or improved walking capacity); however, there was some evidence of a delayed improvement in energy cost. Moreover, there was some evidence of a decrease ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

New study finds alarming rise in persistent ‘forever chemicals’ in pesticides

WASHINGTON — A peer-reviewed study published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has found that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly being added to U.S. pesticide products, contaminating waterways and posing potential threats to human health. The study, Forever Pesticides: A Growing Source of PFAS Contamination in the Environment, is the first-ever comprehensive review of the many ways PFAS are introduced into U.S. pesticide products. Pesticides containing PFAS are used throughout the country on staple ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

At what age do Olympic athletes peak?

There’s a lot that goes into an Olympic athlete’s quest for gold – years of training and rigour – but also, an athlete’s age. A team of University of Waterloo students used statistics to figure out when an Olympic track-and-field athletes’ peak performance will be. Track-and-field encompasses running, jumping, throwing, and combined event disciplines. Most athletes’ career performance progressions can typically be visualized as a bell curve, in which they train over several years to reach their best performance, or “peak,” at a ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

When it comes to butterflies, people prefer pretty ones. That’s a problem for scientists.

Research shows humans often perceive attractive people as more intelligent, healthier, better leaders and more trustworthy. It turns out this bias extends to the insect world. A new study by scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences reveals that data reported on a popular community science platform is biased. On iNaturalist, butterflies with captivating markings, easily identifiable features or those that are familiar species are reported more frequently than obscure species with no distinct qualities. Why it matters: Online ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

UBC Okanagan study raises concerns about partner violence in queer relationships

When people think of a concussion or a traumatic brain injury caused by intimate partner violence (IPV), they might picture people in a heterosexual relationship, or a man hurting a woman. But a UBC Okanagan researcher points out that IPV, and its repercussions, is an issue in all relationships. Doctoral student Tori Stranges recently published a paper examining the prevalence and damage done by violence in Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex and Asexual (2SLGBTQIA+) relationships. “It’s very common for people to think that violence doesn’t ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

The unintended consequences of success against malaria

For decades, insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide spraying regimens have been important – and widely successful – treatments against mosquitoes that transmit malaria, a dangerous global disease. Yet these treatments also – for a time – suppressed undesirable household insects like bed bugs, cockroaches and flies. Now, a new North Carolina State University study reviewing the academic literature on indoor pest control shows that as the household insects developed resistance ...

Read the release

Science24 Jul 2024

Eyes for Love: Searching for light and a mate in the deep, dark sea, male dragonfishes grow larger eyes than the females they seek

Chestnut Hill, Mass (07/24/2024) – A small but ferocious predator, the male dragonfish will apparently do anything for love. Or at least to find a mate. A new study by researchers at Boston College found the eyes of the male dragonfish grow larger for mate-seeking purposes, making the dragonfish an anomaly in vertebrate evolution, the team reported today in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. Like many creatures that inhabit the dark depths of the sea, dragonfishes survive thanks to numerous ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Plant Biologist Siobhan Brady named HHMI Investigator

iobhan Brady, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center at the University of California, Davis, has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. The prestigious Investigator program, which Brady describes as “life changing,” will provide her with roughly $9 million in research support over a seven-year term, with the option to renew. Brady’s research aims to understand how plants use their roots to respond to environmental stressors, and to use this information to develop plants that are better able to respond to climate ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir for HIV prevention is safe in pregnancy

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) was safe and well tolerated as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) before and during pregnancy in the follow-up phase of a global study among cisgender women. The analysis of outcomes from more than 300 pregnancies and infants will be presented at the 2024 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) in Munich, Germany. “Cisgender women experience biological changes and social dynamics that can increase their likelihood of acquiring HIV during pregnancy and the postnatal period, and we need to offer them evidence-based options when they may need them most,” said Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H., ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Large language models don’t behave like people, even though we may expect them to

CAMBRIDGE, MA – One thing that makes large language models (LLMs) so powerful is the diversity of tasks to which they can be applied. The same machine-learning model that can help a graduate student draft an email could also aid a clinician in diagnosing cancer. However, the wide applicability of these models also makes them challenging to evaluate in a systematic way. It would be impossible to create a benchmark dataset to test a model on every type of question it can be asked. In a new paper, MIT researchers took a different approach. They ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Asexual reproduction usually leads to a lack of genetic diversity. Not for these ants.

Genetic diversity is essential to the survival of a species. It’s easy enough to maintain if a species reproduces sexually; an egg and a sperm combine genetic material from two creatures into one, forming a genomically robust offspring with two distinct versions of the species’ genome. Without that combination of different genetic makeups, asexually reproducing species typically suffer from a lack of diversity that can doom them to a limited run on Earth. One such animal should be the clonal raider ant, which produces daughter after genetically identical daughter directly from an unfertilized ovum ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Best Paper awards lack transparency and do not increase equitability

Research awards are an integral part of the universal “prestige economy” in science, but do they incentivize greater transparency, inclusivity, and openness? This study uses cross-disciplinary data to explore the level of transparency of publicly available award descriptions and assessment criteria, asking whether such awards contribute to or propagate existing reproducibility crises and inequities in science. ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002715 Article ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Co-analysis of methylation platforms for signatures of biological aging in the domestic dog

“In this study, we explore the potential of the three largest, publicly available DNA methylation datasets in dogs to identify signals of biological age.” BUFFALO, NY- July 23, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 13, entitled, “Co-analysis of methylation platforms for signatures of biological aging in the domestic dog reveals previously unexplored confounding factors.” Chronological age reveals the number of years an individual has lived since birth. By contrast, biological age varies between individuals of the same chronological ...

Read the release

Science23 Jul 2024

Mass layoffs and data breaches could be connected, according to researchers

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A research team led by faculty from Binghamton University, State University of New York has been exploring how mass layoffs and data breaches could be connected. Their theory: since layoffs create conditions where disgruntled employees face added stress or job insecurity, they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors that heighten the company’s vulnerability to data breaches. The research, outlined in a paper titled “The Impacts of Layoffs Announcement on Cybersecurity Breaches,” was presented by Binghamton ...

Read the release