Science
press releases.

Science14 Jun 2024

Group tests novel therapeutic strategy to minimize progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

In an animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Brazilian researchers tested a therapy that combines photobiomodulation using laser light or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with idebenone, an antioxidant compound investigated for application in neurodegenerative diseases. As reported in an article published in the journal PLOS ONE, the strategy prevented muscle degeneration and improved regenerative capacity in the muscle fibers affected by the disease. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common and most severe form of childhood muscular dystrophy and most often ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Tea crop saviors: Genomic insights into the tea grey geometrid's survival strategy

In a breakthrough that could redefine tea crop protection, a new study has shed light on the genetic makeup of the tea grey geometrid, Ectropis grisescens. Through the re-sequencing of 43 genomes, scientists have mapped out the pest's population structure and its remarkable adaptation to tea crops, offering new avenues for managing this agricultural adversary. Amidst the lush tea plantations, a microscopic menace looms—the tea grey geometrid, a pest that can decimate tea yields with its insatiable appetite. The economic and qualitative havoc wreaked by this insect has prompted an urgent call for innovative pest control solutions. However, the genomic secrets ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Tiny New Zealand bird delivers a lesson in birdsong evolution

Parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds can learn to make new sounds. No-one knew, but New Zealand’s smallest bird, the rifleman or titipounamu, may have a rudimentary version of the same talent. University of Auckland research into the bird is part of a rethinking of how and when vocal learning evolved in birds. Scientists traditionally assumed birds were split into two groups - those which can learn sounds (parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds) and those which can’t - but the study published in the scientific journal Communications Biology ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

The phase transition of multi-component (TiZrVNb)C ceramics

In recent years, high-entropy carbide ceramics have received extensive attention and become another research focus in the high entropy materials field, which are also known as multi-component carbide ceramics. The multi-component carbide ceramics not only inherit the special properties of high-entropy materials brought by complex compositions, but also keep the advantages of transition metal carbide ceramics as a kind of ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs), such as high melting point, high-temperature stability, high Young's modulus, high hardness, and ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

RECLARIT: Self-management in practice

Disease activity, structural damage, and progression all impact the lives of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and can cause psychosocial distress. While inhibition of inflammation and structural changes have improved significantly following advances in pharmacological treatment in recent dates, the observed impact of these disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) on key psychosocial outcomes is limited.3 An important feature within the EULAR recommendations on self-management in people with inflammatory arthritis is that digital healthcare is tagged as being essential in supporting and optimising self-management2. . Thus healthcare professionals need to be aware ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Tackling issues in childhood arthritis

Community awareness that children and young people get arthritis is low.1 This is associated with delays in diagnosis, worse clinical outcomes, and adverse societal factors such as stigma and isolation. Raising awareness of childhood arthritis is crucial in combatting these issues to improve the lives of those living with JIA. An abstract plenary session at the 2024 EULAR congress shared work from Juvenile Arthritis Research – a patient organisation in the UK that is involved in a variety of projects to raise awareness and support JIA patients and their families. These include a variety ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Predictors for organ damage

cSLE is a rare multisystem disorder with significant associated morbidity, but evidence-based guidelines are sparse, and as such management is often based on clinical expertise.2 The EULAR/ACR-2019 criteria have shown sensitivity in cSLE patients, which could allow earlier recognition of patients with single or major organ involvement,3 but identifying specific predictors in this vulnerable group is vital for preventing long-lasting damage. The new work, presented at the 2024 EULAR congress, aimed ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Osteoarthritis: associations and comorbidities

In the 2023 update of their recommendations for osteoarthritis management, EULAR – The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology – recognise osteoarthritis as a severe disease, and one with important implications for both the individual and society.3 However, most people with osteoarthritis do not receive optimal management,4,5 and this represents an important unmet need – especially when considering additional systemic comorbidities. To explore this further, ComOA6 has combined case-control and cohort studies for over 3 million people in primary care in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain. The analyses – shared at ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

High-precision measurements challenge our understanding of Cepheids

“Classical Cepheids” are a type of pulsating star that rhythmically brightens and dims over time. These pulsations help astronomers measure vast distances across space, which makes Cepheids crucial “standard candles” that help us understand the size and scale of our universe. Despite their importance, studying Cepheids is challenging. Their pulsations and potential interactions with companion stars create complex patterns that are difficult to measure accurately. Different instruments and methods used over the years have led to inconsistent data, ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Is magnesium the sleeping potion that enables sandhoppers to survive cold winters?

Magnesium compounds are a common ingredient of many remedies designed to help people wind down and escape the stresses of modern life. However, a new study has shown it is not only humans that are using forms of the chemical as a way to help them survive challenging conditions. In tests conducted on beaches in Cornwall, and in the laboratory at the University of Plymouth, scientists confirmed the findings of previous studies which showed large sandhoppers (Talitrus saltator) increase the levels of magnesium ions in their bodies as temperatures fall. This slows them down so they are less active than they would be during the warmer months. However, the new study has shown for the first time ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

Report highlights trajectory challenges for women in elite football

Report highlights trajectory challenges for women in elite football A new report commissioned by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPRO), undertaken by Edith Cowan University (ECU), surveyed footballers across 12 countries in six confederations. More than 700 players participated in the survey, with 71.5% classifying themselves as professional, with a further ...

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Science14 Jun 2024

New mechanisms in the development of stroke were discovered

A group of researchers from the University of Tartu and international scientists discovered new mechanisms of how stroke occurs by studying changes in mouse and human cells. The study lays the foundation for new, more precise treatment methods and better diagnostics, which could improve cardiovascular health in the future. One of the authors of the study, a PhD student of Faculty of Medicine of University of Tartu Katyayani Sukhavasi said that affecting people of all ages, every fifth minute, someone suffers a stroke resulting in brain bleeding or ischemia. „Consequently, many people die ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Sweaty cattle may boost food security in a warming world

Sweaty cows may not sound like the most exciting company, but in a warming world, researchers can’t get enough of them. When cattle are too hot, they tend to stop eating, said Raluca Mateescu, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor in the department of animal science. This affects the cattle’s health and growth and threatens the longevity of the food supply coming from that herd. Climate change is making it more difficult to raise cattle – growth and reproduction are affected by heat – so ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Researchers issue ‘call to action’ for data on more diverse range of dog owners

Virginia Tech’s Audrey Ruple and Courtney Sexton, already deeply involved in data collection and analysis for dog health and connections to humans through the Dog Aging Project, are imploring fellow scientists to cast the net even wider for data on the shared environments of humans and dogs in a perspective piece that appears this month in the journal Science. “Human environments and the impacts of environmental factors can vary substantially, and this variation should be captured by future studies of dogs to more accurately assess exposure risks for different and vulnerable populations,” ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

UTA awards more than $130,000 to spark new research

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation at The University of Texas at Arlington has granted 10 Research Enhancement Program (REP) awards valued at more than $130,000 to support new research initiatives. The REP grant serves as seed funding for launching new research, providing a foundation for recipients to pursue future research and funding from external sources. “UTA is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and research discoveries for our community of scholars,” said Kate C. Miller, vice ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Only one in 20 therapies tested in animals reach approval for human use

An analysis of reviews of translational biomedical research reveals that just 5% of therapies tested in animals reach regulatory approval for human use. The study, an umbrella review, published June 13th in the open access journal PLOS Biology, summarizes other systematic reviews and provides high level evidence that while the rate of translation to human studies is 50%, there is steep drop off before final approval. The authors argue that improved robustness and generalizability of experimental approaches could help increase the chances of translation and final approval. Animal studies are used in basic research ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Antimalarial compounds show promise to relieve polycystic ovary syndrome

Plant-derived compounds best known for their antimalarial properties relieve polycystic ovary syndrome, a major public health problem that affects millions of women worldwide. These compounds, called artemisinins, achieve their affect by suppressing ovarian androgen production in multiple rodent models as well as in a small cohort of human patients, according to a new study. The findings not only underscore the versatility of artemisinins but reveal a promising new approach for preventing and treating the disorder. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

The scary, yet promising world of phages, the pathogen's pathogen

Bacteriophages, viruses that attack and destroy bacteria, are everywhere in the natural world where they play a vital role in regulating microbe populations in ways that are not yet well understood. New research led by the University of Utah and University College London (UCL) has found that plant bacterial pathogens are able to repurpose elements of their own bacteriophages, or phages, to wipe out competing microbes. These surprise findings suggest such phage-derived elements could someday be harnessed as an alternative to antibiotics, according to Talia Karasov, an assistant professor in the U’s School of ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Low-dose glucocorticoids in SLE

In a session on diagnosing and managing complex diseases at the 2024 EULAR congress in Vienna, two abstracts tackled this issue. First, Filippo Vesentini presented on the risk of flare with glucocorticoid compared to low-dose maintenance – based on a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from people with SLE. Flare-free remission and predictors of such were evaluated respectively in remitted patients on and off glucocorticoids. During follow-up, 484 patients achieved remission at least once during ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Unpicking the pathogenesis of RA

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes joint inflammation and destruction.1 There is currently no cure – and although there are many treatments, their effectiveness varies from person to person, suggesting an undefined pathogenic diversity.1 Deep characterisation of myeloid cell subsets by single cell RNA sequencing across healthy and inflamed tissues in RA has led to the identification of new pathogenic cell states and subsets – with data coming from five large-scale studies.1-5 But subset overlap across studies and compartments – such as in blood versus synovial tissue – has not yet ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Kids First DRC launches enhanced data portal to strengthen collaborative pediatric research

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center (Kids First DRC) announces the release of an upgraded Kids First Data Resource Portal, designed to streamline big data search and data analysis. Accessible at portal.kidsfirstdrc.org, the new portal represents a significant advancement in data accessibility, user experience, and collaborative potential with researchers, families, and patients. Elevated User Experience Introducing several key enhancements, the new Kids First DRC Portal prioritizes user-centric ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Parliamentary members use simpler language on hot days

Climate change has many widespread and complicated effects on the well-being of people and the planet, and a new study in iScience on June 13 has now added a surprising one to the list. After analyzing the language used in seven million parliamentary speeches around the world, it shows that high temperatures lead to a significant and immediate reduction in politicians’ language complexity. The results suggest that rising heat may come with impacts on our cognitive abilities with real and immediate consequences, the researchers say. The study also showcases ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Food: Greater gender equality associated with men eating meat more frequently than women

Men tend to eat meat more frequently than women and the extent of the differences in meat consumption frequency between both genders tend to be greater within countries with higher levels of gender equality and social and economic development, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that this could be due individuals within these countries having greater opportunities to express food preferences. Christopher Hopwood and colleagues investigated differences in meat consumption between men and women across countries with differing levels of social ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Confronting trauma alleviates chronic pain among older veterans

A new study led by UCLA Health and the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office found chronic pain among older adults could be significantly reduced through a newly developed psychotherapy that works by confronting past trauma and stress-related emotions that can exacerbate pain symptoms. Published in JAMA Network Open on June 13, the study compared the newer therapy, known as emotional awareness and expression therapy, or EAET, to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, in treating chronic pain as well as mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among older veterans. The ...

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Science13 Jun 2024

Association between cost sharing and naloxone prescription dispensing

About The Study: The elimination of cost sharing might be associated with increased naloxone dispensing to commercially insured and Medicare patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., email chuak@med.umich.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2024.8378) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. Embed this link ...

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