Science
press releases.

Science13 May 2024

When consumers would prefer a chatbot over a person

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Actually, sometimes consumers don’t want to talk to a real person when they’re shopping online, a new study suggests. In fact, what they really want is a chatbot that makes it clear that it is not human at all. In a new study, researchers at The Ohio State University found that people preferred interacting with chatbots when they felt embarrassed about what they were buying online – items like antidiarrheal medicine or, for some people, skin care products. “In general, research shows people would rather interact with a human customer ...

Read the release

Science13 May 2024

Taking electroretinography to the next level with a soft multi-electrode system

Eye diseases are becoming more prevalent worldwide, partly because of the aging population, but also because of our greatly increased screen time compared to previous generations. Considering our use of displays will most likely keep rising due to technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, we must improve our diagnostic techniques for the early detection and monitoring of ocular diseases. Among the arsenal of tools ophthalmologist have at their disposal, electroretinography (ERG) still holds much-untapped potential. Simply put, ERG consists of taking measurements of the electrical ...

Read the release

Science13 May 2024

Dramatic increase in fentanyl seized by authorities in last six years

The number of illicit fentanyl seizures by law enforcement in the United States grew by more than 1,700 percent between 2017 and 2023, according to a new analysis. Further, the share of total fentanyl seizures that involved pills quadrupled over the same period–with the 115.6 million pills seized in 2023 representing 49 percent of total seizures. This is the first time that such up-to-date seizure data has been published differentiating between fentanyl powder and pills, says the research team led by experts at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of Florida. Law enforcement drug seizures are used as a proxy for drug availability ...

Read the release

Science13 May 2024

Over 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl seized by law enforcement in 2023

Law enforcement seizures of illicit fentanyl increased dramatically in number and size between 2017 to 2023 in the U.S., especially in pill form, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The number of individual pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement was 2,300 times greater in 2023 compared to 2017, with 115,562,603 pills seized in 2023 vs. 49,657 in 2017. The proportion of fentanyl pill seizures to the total number of fentanyl seizures more than quadrupled, ...

Read the release

Science13 May 2024

World-first regulations to combat sedentary behaviour among children in China show global promise

Pioneering measures to tackle sedentary behaviour among children in China have proved effective, according to new research. The study, led by the University of Bristol, reveals regulations recently introduced by the Chinese government to reduce school children’s sedentary behaviour by restricting online gaming companies catering for this age group, limiting the amount of homework schoolteachers can assign, and curtailing when private tuition businesses can provide lessons, significantly reduced total sedentary time as well as how long they spent on different sedentary activities. The measures were associated with a 13.8% daily sedentary drop overall, ...

Read the release

Science12 May 2024

CSUFT-led team creates novel flame-retardant, smoke-suppressing, and superhydrophobic transparent bamboo for future glasses

Professors Yiqiang Wu and Caichao Wan, along with their team from Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CSUFT), have pioneered a groundbreaking transparent material derived from natural bamboo. This innovative material features a three-layered flame-retardant barrier, effectively reducing heat release, slowing flame spread, and restraining the emission of combustible volatiles, toxic smoke, and CO. Their findings have been documented in the journal Research. Silica glass, a widely used transparent material in the construction industry, ...

Read the release

Science12 May 2024

Large-scale Finnish study discovers link between premature menopause and mortality risk

Women who enter menopause before the age of 40 are more likely to die young, but may lower their risk with hormone therapy, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. This long-term Finnish study is the largest carried out on the association between premature menopause and mortality, which highlights the importance of regular medical checkups and appropriate hormone therapy use in these women. Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. However, about 1% of women go through menopause before the age of 40 years, known as premature menopause or ...

Read the release

Science12 May 2024

Junk food marketing on videogame livestreaming platforms like Twitch increases purchases and consumption among teens

Viewers bombarded with 52 minutes of junk food advertising every hour. Young people exposed to influencer and digital game-based marketing consume an additional 37 calories in foods that are high in fat, salt, and sugar after each exposure. Findings underscore urgent need for digital food marketing polices to protect young viewers. Food and drink advertisements on videogame livestreaming platforms (VGLSPs) like Twitch are associated with more positive attitudes towards, and purchases and intake of, unhealthy foods that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar (HFSS) like energy drinks among adolescents aged 18 or younger, according ...

Read the release

Science11 May 2024

Chronic stress during adolescence may reduce fertility in adulthood

Male rats exposed to moderate and repeated stress during adolescence may have reduced fertility, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. This study sheds light on the harmful effects that early-life stress has on health and could help to uncover future prevention strategies for children and adolescents. While hormone levels fluctuate pathologically — especially during life stages such as puberty — stress can cause too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. This hormonal imbalance negatively impacts puberty and the reproduction ...

Read the release

Science11 May 2024

Stress hormone during pregnancy linked to IQ in children

Higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol during the third trimester of pregnancy may impede intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in boys aged 7 years old, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. Surprisingly, cortisol levels in the blood are not associated with IQ scores in girls, but higher urine cortisone levels improved their scores. The findings highlight the important role cortisol plays in fetal development in boys and girls independently. Prenatal exposure to cortisol — a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress — is needed for fetal development and ...

Read the release

Science11 May 2024

Arm fat may reveal women and men at risk of spinal fracture

Measuring the total mass of fat in the arms could potentially predict which women and men over 50 are at risk of spinal fracture, according to research presented at the 26th European Congress of Endocrinology in Stockholm. The findings may help identify high-risk individuals with a more simple and inexpensive method and influence the design of their exercise plans. Osteoporosis is a common disease among older people, but is also among the most undiagnosed and untreated medical conditions in the world. Many people do not have noticeable symptoms of osteoporosis until they experience an injury or fracture, which most ...

Read the release

Science11 May 2024

Craft-based firms can project authenticity through credibly and visibly communicating their identity — but not through overt means

Consumers are drawn to authenticity when it comes to craft-based firms, and a new study published in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal explores what factors can help give credence to such a quality. The study, authored by Stanislav D. Dobrev of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and J. Cameron Verhaal of Tulane University, looked at how managers in identity-driven markets are challenged to maintain their authenticity as their company’s scale of operations expands. In such craft industries, the authors note, ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Reducing prejudice in war zones proves challenging

There are 62.5 million internally displaced persons worldwide, according to 2022 data by the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. These individuals were forced to leave their homes but remain in the same country. Prior research has shown that internally displaced persons often experience prejudice and discrimination, as residents in their new locale fear that the migrants may be insurgents or criminals, or compete for jobs. Now, a new Dartmouth study involving Afghanistan indicates that changing such attitudes is an uphill battle. Given the decades of fighting there, Afghanistan has had one of the largest populations ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Chapman professor contributes to breakthrough hemostasis and wound healing research

A breakthrough study, published in Science Translational Medicine, features a biomedical engineering innovation with the potential to transform trauma care and surgical practices. Chapman University’s Fowler School of Engineering Founding Dean and Professor, Andrew Lyon, is a member of this multidisciplinary, multi-university scientific research team developing platelet-like particles that integrate into the body’s clotting pathways to stop hemorrhage. Sanika Pandit, an alumna of Chapman University, is also among the 15 authors in this research. Addressing a longstanding gap in surgical and trauma care, this advancement holds potential for patient implementation. Patients ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Melanoma in darker skin tones: Race and sex play a role, Mayo study finds

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer that accounts for 75% of all skin-cancer-related deaths, is often detected later in people with darker skin complexions — and the consequences can be devastating, a Mayo Clinic study reveals. While melanoma may be found less frequently in people with darker complexions than fair ones, this potentially serious form of cancer can strike anyone. The study, which consisted of 492,597 patients with melanoma, suggests that added vigilance in early screening is particularly needed for Black men, whose cancers ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Hubble celebrates the 15th anniversary of servicing Mission 4

Fifteen years ago, human hands touched NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. As astronauts performed finishing tasks on the telescope during its final servicing mission in May 2009, they knew they had successfully concluded one of the most challenging and ambitious series of spacewalks ever conducted. But they couldn’t have known at the time what an impact they had truly made. “I had high hopes that Hubble would last at least five years more, and maybe even a little more to overlap with Webb,” said astronaut and former associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate John ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

UVA Data Art Competition draws more than 130 submissions and announces winners

Data has the power to tell captivating stories and reveal hidden insights, often in aesthetically compelling ways. In celebration of this, the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science hosted an art competition to commemorate the opening of its new building and to invite participants from all over the world to tell unique stories by transforming raw data into art. The School received more than 130 submissions from nine countries, far exceeding expectations for an inaugural competition. After selecting eight finalists from a wide range of artistic formats, the winners were announced during ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Why so many jobs are boring: New MSU study identifies large interest gaps in US labor market

MSU has a satellite uplink/LTN TV studio and Comrex line for radio interviews upon request. EAST LANSING, Mich. – A recent study out of Michigan State University found large gaps between people’s career interests and U.S. job demands. These gaps indicate that the interest demands of the U.S. labor market differ drastically from the supply of interested people, revealing how many people have unfulfilled interests at work. The study, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, is the first to look at labor gaps using career ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Unlocking the secrets of evolution

Ever since Darwin published his landmark theory of how species evolve, biologists have been fascinated with the intricate mechanisms that make evolution possible. Can mechanisms responsible for the evolution of a species over a few generations, called microevolution, also explain how species evolve over periods of time extending to thousands or millions of generations, also called macroevolution? A new paper, just published in Science, shows that the ability of populations to evolve and adapt over a few generations, ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

HKUST researchers throw new light on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis

A research team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has discovered how carboxysomes, carbon-fixing structures found in some bacteria and algae, work. The breakthrough could help scientists redesign and repurpose the structures to enable plants to convert sunlight into more energy, paving the way for improved photosynthesis efficiency, potentially increasing the global food supply and mitigating global warming. Carboxysomes are tiny compartments in certain bacteria and algae that encase particular enzymes in a shell made of proteins. They perform carbon fixation, which is ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Worker rights are one of the least protected human rights, new research reveals

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Worker rights are among the least protected human rights in the world, according to new research from faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. The findings are part of a new report published by the CIRIGHTS Data Project, the largest human rights dataset in the world. Since 1981, the project has ranked countries around the world on their respect for human rights, providing an annual “report card” on 25 internationally recognized human rights. The project ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Developing an efficient host-vector system for a model archaeon by solving CRISPR-based host-plasmid conflict

This study is led by Prof. Qunxin She (Shandong University) and Dr. Guanhua Yuan (Shandong University). The research group has constructed versatile genetic tools for Saccharolobus islandicus REY15A, one of the very few archaeal models for archaea biology and CRISPR biology research, and these include efficient genome editing, robust protein expression systems, interference plasmid assay, gene silencing and CRISPR-based gene editing. Nevertheless, plasmid vectors constructed for this crenarchaeon thus far are based solely on the pRN2 cryptic plasmid. “A dual host-vector system is required to enrich the genetic toolbox for this model archaeon.” the ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Tracing HIV in Indonesia

The HIV variant dominant in Indonesia was introduced from Thailand over multiple events. The Kobe University study traces where it came from and how it spread from there, offering insights of possible value to the development of treatments against the disease. HIV is the virus causing AIDS, but one of the things that make it so difficult to treat is that there are many variants of it. Kobe University virologist KAMEOKA Masanori says, “The diversity is increasing every day and the prevalent virus strains differ from region to ...

Read the release

Science10 May 2024

Under 4-minute milers’ longevity shows that extreme exercise doesn’t seem to curb lifespan

Extreme exercise doesn’t seem to shorten the lifespan as is widely believed, suggest the findings of a study on the longevity of the first 200 athletes to run a mile in under 4 minutes, and published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. They outlive the general population by several years, shows the study, which marks the 70th anniversary of the seminal achievement of Roger Bannister, who was the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes in May 1954. While regular moderate exercise is considered a pillar of healthy ageing, ...

Read the release

Science9 May 2024

Good vibrations: New tech may lead to smaller, more powerful wireless devices

What if your earbuds could do everything your smartphone can do already, except better? What sounds a bit like science fiction may actually not be so far off. A new class of synthetic materials could herald the next revolution of wireless technologies, enabling devices to be smaller, require less signal strength and use less power. The key to these advances lies in what experts call phononics, which is similar to photonics. Both take advantage of similar physical laws and offer new ways to advance technology. While photonics takes advantage of photons – or light – phononics does the same with phonons, which are the physical particles that transmit mechanical vibrations ...

Read the release