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press releases.

Science22 May 2024

Legacy of Indigenous stewardship of camas dates back more than 3,500 years, OSU study finds

An Oregon State University study found evidence that Indigenous groups in the Pacific Northwest were intentionally harvesting edible camas bulbs at optimal stages of the plant’s maturation as far back as 3,500 years ago. The findings contribute to the growing body of research around Traditional Ecological Knowledge and practices, demonstrating the care and specificity with which Indigenous groups have been stewarding and cultivating natural resources for millennia. Camas is an ecological and cultural keystone, meaning it is a species that many other organisms depend on and that features prominently within many cultural practices. “If you think about salmon as being a charismatic ...

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Science22 May 2024

Some teen girls clocking up close to 6 smartphone hours/day, Finnish study finds

Some teenage girls are clocking up close to 6 hours a day on their smartphones, with a significant proportion of them likely addicted to social media, finds research published online in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood. Social media addiction was associated with poorer health and wellbeing, the findings indicate. Recent research has linked increasing levels of anxiety among teen girls with social media use, note the researchers. This may involve several factors, one of which is addiction, with estimated international prevalence ranging from 5% to 31%, they add. Because both anxiety and social media use are more common among girls, the researchers wanted to: measure ...

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Science22 May 2024

Language change harms our ability to communicate and understand

EMBARGO: WEDNESDAY 22 MAY, 00:01 BST (TUESDAY 21 MAY, 19:01 ET). Changes to the definitions of conceptual words like ‘woke’ and ‘gaslighting’ are harming our ability to communicate and understand our experiences, a Leeds academic argues. In a new paper published in The Philosophical Quarterly journal, an ethicist at the University of Leeds has coined a term for the harm caused when language change leaves us lost for words. Words such as ‘woke’, ‘depression’, ...

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Science22 May 2024

Jamestown Colony residents ate dogs with Indigenous ancestry

Dogs with Indigenous ancestry were eaten during a period of starvation at Jamestown, the first English settlement in North America in the 17th century, according to new research in American Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology. This discovery changes historians’ understanding of how Indigenous communities negotiated their relationship with rising colonial powers during this period. It also suggests that early European colonists depended on local Indigenous communities for their very survival, especially during the initial settlement period. Researchers analysed ancient mitochondrial DNA from archaeological dogs from Jamestown ...

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Science21 May 2024

Acute pseudoaneurysms following head gunshot wounds

New Rochelle, NY, May 21, 2024—A new study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neurotrauma contends that a significant fraction of traumatic intracranial aneurysms (TICAs) is missed on initial contrasted scans of patients suffering a civilian gunshot wound to the head (cGSWH). The study was designed to characterize acute TICAs using admission CT angiography (aCTA). Click here to read the article now. The study showed that the presence of an intracerebral hematoma was the main predictor of TICA in cGSWH. Larger intracerebral hematomas in patients with cGSWH suggest hidden TICAs. “When CTA was performed acutely, TICAs were ...

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Science21 May 2024

Misinformation swirled during Taiwan's 2024 elections

With more than 70 countries hosting national elections, 2024 is the biggest election year in history, according to The Economist. But how misinformation impacts elections, especially with the rise in content generated by artificial intelligence, continues to be of concern. A research team examined misinformation narratives on social media in 2023 regarding the Taiwanese presidential election on January 13, 2024. They were especially interested in how narratives targeted relations between Taiwan and the United States. Misinformation targeted mistrust and skepticism toward the U.S. rather ...

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Science21 May 2024

Detecting odors on the edge: Researchers decipher how insects smell more with less

Whether it’s the wafting aroma of our favorite meal or the dangerous fumes seeping from a toxic chemical, the human sense of smell has evolved into a sophisticated system that processes scents through several intricate stages. The brains of mammals have billions of neurons at their disposal to recognize odors they are exposed to, from pleasant to pungent. Insects such as fruit flies, on the other hand, have a mere 100,000 neurons to work with. Yet their survival is dependent upon their ability to decipher the meaning of complex odor mixtures around them to locate food, seek potential mates and avoid predators. Scientists have pondered how insects are able to smell, or extract ...

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Science21 May 2024

Consultative support to pediatric primary care providers in providing gender-affirming care

New Rochelle, NY, May 21, 2024—A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Telemedicine and e-Health found that access to consultative support can increase pediatric primary care provider comfort providing gender-affirming care. Click here to read the article now. The literature suggests that access to gender-affirming medical care is associated with improved medical outcomes among adolescents who identify as gender diverse or endorse a gender identity that differs from their sex assigned at birth. An increasing number of gender diverse youth seek guidance and support from their pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs), who often lack adequate training in this ...

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Science21 May 2024

Alaska’s rusting waters: Pristine rivers and streams turning orange

Dozens of Alaska’s most remote streams and rivers are turning from a crystal clear blue into a cloudy orange, and the staining could be the result of minerals exposed by thawing permafrost, new research in the Nature journal Communications: Earth and Environment finds. For the first time, a team of researchers from the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and other institutions have documented and sampled some of the impaired waters, pinpointing ...

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Science21 May 2024

Jefferson Lab director named to 2024 Hampton Roads Power List

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Stuart Henderson, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, has been named to the Hampton Roads Power List by Inside Business. The list recognizes the major players in Hampton Roads’ economy. According to Inside Business, the 2024 list considered milestones and current events, and it features “the talk of Hampton Roads and the change that’s coming.” “I am honored to be included in this list of people who are moving Hampton ...

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Science21 May 2024

Inherited genes play a larger role in melanoma risk than previously believed

CLEVELAND - When it comes to skin cancer, most people think of warnings about sunburn and tanning beds. Thoughts of “cancer genes” or inherited risks are reserved for diseases like breast cancer or colon cancer. A new study challenges this status quo by showing that genetics play a larger role in melanoma risk than recognized. Physicians rarely order genetic screens to assess risk factors for patients with a family history of melanoma because, according to the previous, limited studies, only 2-2.5% of all cases are genetic. For the same reason, insurance companies rarely cover these tests outside of the most extreme ...

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Science21 May 2024

Two promising UCF researchers earn 2024 NSF CAREER Awards

Two Promising UCF Researchers Earn 2024 NSF CAREER Awards Early-career professors Fan Yao and Li Fang are receiving significant research funding to continue catalyzing their work as part of an annual NSF grant program. By Eddy Duryea ’13 ORLANDO, May 21, 2024 – UCF assistant professors Li Fang and Fan Yao have been named 2024 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development program (CAREER) award winners. The recipients were awarded funding through five years for their submitted projects. Fang, who is an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Physics within the College of Sciences, is using the ...

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Science21 May 2024

Innovative imaging technique may revolutionize ureteral thermal injury detection

In a groundbreaking study, scientists have explored a novel approach to detect electrothermal ureteral injuries, a common complication during pelvic surgery. The ureters, delicate tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder, are particularly vulnerable due to their proximity to other anatomical structures. Unfortunately, current detection methods often fall short in promptly identifying subtle thermal injuries, which can take days or even weeks to manifest. Enter optical coherence tomography ...

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Science21 May 2024

Body lice may be bigger plague spreaders than previously thought

A new laboratory study suggests that human body lice are more efficient at transmitting Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, than previously thought, supporting the possibility that they may have contributed to past pandemics. David Bland and colleagues at the United States’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Biology on May 21st. Y. pestis has been the culprit behind numerous pandemics, including the Black Death of the Middle Ages that ...

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Science21 May 2024

Gun violence touches nearly 60 percent of Black Americans – and predicts disability

Roughly 60 percent of all Black Americans are exposed to some form of gun violence, and such exposures predict elevated rates of disability, according to Rutgers Health research. Survey data from 3,015 Black Americans linked specific disabilities ranging from trouble concentrating to difficulty dressing or bathing with exposure to various types of gun violence: being shot, being threatened with a firearm, knowing a shooting victim, and witnessing a shooting or hearing of one nearby. “Traditionally, the majority of efforts related to gun violence have focused on reducing homicides, but this study indicates that we need ...

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Science21 May 2024

A rise in sea urchins and related damage to kelp forests impacts Oregon’s gray whales and their food

NEWPORT, Ore. – A recent boom in the purple sea urchin population off the southern Oregon Coast appears to have had an indirect and negative impact on the gray whales that usually forage in the region, a new study shows. When urchin numbers rise, the spiky marine invertebrates can devour kelp forests that are a critical habitat for zooplankton, the tiny aquatic organisms that are the primary prey of many marine animals. Damaged kelp forests lead to reductions in zooplankton, and with fewer zooplankton to feed on, gray whales spend less time foraging there, researchers with Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute found. “This study shows the cascading ...

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Science21 May 2024

New tool may help prioritize high-risk infants for RSV immunization

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 9:39 a.m. PT, May 21, 2024 Session: C17 – Pediatric Impact of COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections Clinical Prediction Tool for Prioritizing Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prevention Products for High-Risk Infants During Current Limited Availability of Nirsevimab in the United States Date and Time: Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 9:39 a.m. PT Location: San Diego Convention Center, Room 6D (Upper Level) ATS 2024, San Diego – On the heels of a shortage of nirsevimab for infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) prevention, a new tool ...

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Science21 May 2024

Research reveals endurance exercise training impacts biological molecules

As part of an ongoing national research effort to better understand how physical activity improves health and prevents disease, seven University of Colorado Department of Medicine faculty members contributed to an article recently published in Nature, an international journal of science. The paper, “Temporal dynamics of the multi-omic response to endurance exercise training,” discusses how eight weeks of endurance exercise training affected male and female young adult rats. The researchers found that all bodily tissues that were tested ...

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Science21 May 2024

MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 21, 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 offer insights into biomarkers that predict immunotherapy responses, a possible treatment strategy for patients with LKB1-deficient cancers, therapeutic targets to prevent acute myeloid leukemia (AML) progression ...

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Science21 May 2024

New therapeutic avenues in bone repair

Birmingham researchers have shown PEPITEM, a naturally occurring peptide (small protein) holds promise as a new therapeutic for osteoporosis and other disorders that feature bone loss, with distinct advantages over existing drugs. PEPITEM (Peptide Inhibitor of Trans-Endothelial Migration) was first identified in 2015 by University of Birmingham researchers. The latest research, published today in Cell Reports Medicine, show for the first time that PEPITEM could be used as a novel and early clinical intervention to reverse the impact of age-related musculoskeletal diseases, with ...

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Science21 May 2024

Tracking down toxic metals from tobacco smoke

Cigarette smoke has been studied for years, revealing a multitude of contaminants, including toxic metals. But exactly which of those metals can be traced to secondhand or thirdhand smoke? Solving this problem has been a challenge for the research community because many of the metals found in tobacco smoke could also come from industrial or naturally occurring pollutants contaminating indoor and outdoor air. Now, a recent study by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has identified 28 trace metals in tobacco smoke. The findings reported in the journal ...

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Science21 May 2024

Black and Hispanic Americans experience wider temperature swings

Extreme heat can harm human health, but so can temperature extreme swings. Large daily temperature variation (DTV) has been associated with elevated mortality in studies around the world. Trees and other vegetation can lower DTV, as trees reduce temperature through transpiration during the day and also trap long-wave radiation in the atmosphere under the canopy at night, increasing temperature. But green space is not equally distributed in most cities. Shengjie Liu and Emily Smith-Greenaway examined inequality in DTV exposure in the US, using monthly nighttime and daytime land surface temperature data from satellites. ...

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Science21 May 2024

Gamers say they hate ‘smurfing,’ but admit they do it

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Online video game players believe the behavior known as “smurfing” is generally wrong and toxic to the gaming community – but most admit to doing it and say some reasons make the behavior less blameworthy, new research finds. The new study suggests that debates about toxicity in gaming may sometimes be more complex and nuanced than is often acknowledged, according to the researchers. Online video games use what are called “matchmaking systems” to pair players based on skill. “Smurfing” is when players cheat these systems by creating new accounts so that they can play against people lower ...

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Science21 May 2024

How plants mate for life and repel other suitors

A group of scientists from Nagoya University in Japan has used a specialized microscopic technique to observe the internal reproduction process of the Arabidopsis plant. Their findings, published in EMBO Reports, reveal the mechanism behind a female flower selectively attracting a single male counterpart. These findings provide insights that may help optimize seed production and improve agricultural breeding practices. Angiosperms, commonly referred to as flowering plants, have male and female reproductive organs. In the process of plant reproduction, when a pollen grain that ...

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Science21 May 2024

Screen time not the main factor making parent-child interactions worse, study finds

Technology use is at an all-time high and understanding how this impacts daily life is crucial. When it comes to parent-child interactions, scientists have coined the term ‘technoference,’ meaning technology interference. It occurs when parent-child interaction and communication are disrupted by the use of digital devices. But is distraction caused by digital devices more detrimental to parent-child interaction than when parental distraction comes from different sources? Researchers in Switzerland have investigated. “In this study, we show that ...

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