Science
press releases.

Science30 Apr 2024

Innovation promises to prevent power pole-top fires

Engineers in Australia have found a new way to make power-pole insulators resistant to fire and electrical sparking, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires and reduce blackouts. Pole-top fires pose significant challenges to power providers and communities worldwide. In March, pole-top fires cut power from 40,000 homes and businesses in Perth. The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements found that power outages experienced by 280,000 customers from various energy providers during Black Summer fires were mainly triggered by events involving insulators ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Tambourine Philanthropies commits over $5 million in new funding for research into ALS, in partnership with the Milken Institute

WASHINGTON, DC (April 30, 2024)—Tambourine Philanthropies (Tambourine), in partnership with the Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), is pleased to announce the recipients of its ALS Breakthrough Research Fund. Tambourine has committed over $5 million total to eight teams around the world for basic and discovery-focused research aiming to change how we understand and treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Tambourine launched the ALS Breakthrough Research ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

E-bike incentives prove to be worth the investment

Electric bicycle rebates have exploded in popularity in North America as transportation planners try to get people out of their cars and into healthier, more climate-friendly alternatives. However, there is limited understanding of the full impacts of these incentives. Are new cycling habits sustainable? Who benefits most from these incentives? And are they worth the cost? Researchers at UBC’s Research on Active Transportation (REACT) Lab have some answers. They surveyed participants in an e-bike incentive program offered by the District of ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Unlocking the genetic mysteries behind plant adaptation: New insights into the evolution of a water-saving trait in the pineapple family (bromeliaceae)

Researchers at the University of Vienna, along with collaborators from France, Germany, Switzerland and the USA, have achieved a major breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the complex actions that cause plant adaptation and ecological diversity. The results of their study are now published in Plant Cell. Some plant species have evolved a water-saving trait called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM). CAM plants like most ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

A new anticoagulant with no risk of bleeding

Anticoagulant treatments are crucial for managing many conditions, such as heart disease, stroke and venous thrombosis. Current options, however, carry an inherent risk of serious bleeding due to trauma or unforeseen events. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the University of Sydney has developed a new anticoagulant, designed to have an on-demand reversible activity, with a fast-acting ‘‘antidote’’. This approach could revolutionise the use of anticoagulants in surgery or other applications. The mechanism of activation and deactivation of the active principle ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

MSD joins the Open Targets consortium

Open Targets, a public-private partnership dedicated to pre-competitive drug discovery research, today announced MSD, the tradename of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA, as the latest partner to join the consortium. Open Targets aims to accelerate the development of safe and effective medicines by leveraging cutting-edge technologies to identify, prioritise, and validate potential drug targets. MSD’s expertise in drug discovery will complement the strengths of the current partners: EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the Wellcome Sanger Institute, GSK, Sanofi, Pfizer, and Genentech, ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Unveiling nature's custodians: groundbreaking study highlights crucial role of scavengers in wetlands

A pioneering study highlights the importance of carrion and scavengers in wetlands on a global scale. A study by researchers from the Ecology area of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the Ecology department of the University of Alicante (UA) reveals the fundamental importance of scavengers and carrion in wetlands. The article, published in Biological Reviews, emphasizes that the benefits provided by scavengers far outweigh the potential drawbacks. Among their essential functions are the recycling and transportation of nutrients and the regulation of water quality, benefiting the entire ecosystem, from soil and plants to birds and mammals. Historically, ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Data scarcity challenges identification of endocrine disruptors

As a result, the researchers recommend updating the information requirements in the EU legislation, REACH. They also propose various approaches for evaluating chemical substances to ensure that all available information is fully utilized. Researchers from DTU National Food Institute and the University of Southern Denmark have screened the scientific literature for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency to find substances showing signs of endocrine disrupting properties and thus being potentially harmful to humans and ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Let widgeongrass be a weed in the seagrass yard -- making seagrass restoration more resistant to rising temperatures using generalist grasses

New research demonstrates that seagrass habitat restoration can be enhanced by including other grasses in addition to the declining or lost species and – ultimately – that restoration efforts must proactively select species that can withstand current and intensifying stressors driven by human activities and climate change. Rising global temperatures combined with centuries of humans working within our seascapes has reshaped coastal ecosystems. Rebuilding or restoring coastal habitat is becoming ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Group sales incentives boost weak brand sales, study finds

New research co-authored by a UC Riverside business professor provides some sound advice for managers of retail outlets that limit their product selection to a particular brand: Managers should factor in the strength of their brand when structuring the pay incentives for their sales staff. The study focused on what marketing scholars call “brand-managed” retail operations. These outlets include “stores within stores,” such as counters in major department stores with dedicated sales staff that offer just one brand of cosmetics such as Clinique. They can also be stores ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats

The fearsome, saber-like teeth of Smilodon fatalis — California's state fossil — are familiar to anyone who has ever visited Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits, a sticky trap from which more than 2,000 saber-toothed cat skulls have been excavated over more than a century. Though few of the recovered skulls had sabers attached, a handful exhibited a peculiar feature: the tooth socket for the saber was occupied by two teeth, with the permanent tooth slotted into a groove in the baby tooth. Paleontologist Jack Tseng, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, doesn't think the double fangs ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Frequent teen vaping might boost risk of toxic lead and uranium exposure

Frequent teen vaping might boost the risk of exposure to lead and uranium, potentially harming brain and organ development, suggests research published online in the journal Tobacco Control. The findings underscore the need for implementation of regulations and prevention efforts targeting teens, emphasise the researchers. Vaping is popular with teens. In 2022, an estimated 14% of US high school students—around 2.14 million—and more than 3% of middle school students—around 380,000—reported vaping in the preceding month, note the researchers. Certain metals have been identified in e-cigarette aerosols and ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Microarray patches safe and effective for vaccinating children, trial shows

EMBARGOED UNTIL 23:30 UK TIME MONDAY 29 APRIL 2024 Peer-reviewed/Randomised Control Trial/Humans The phase 1/2 randomized trial compared results from the measles and rubella vaccine delivered by a microarray patch, a small sticking plaster-like device with an array of microscopic projections that painlessly penetrate the skin and deliver the vaccine, or by conventional injection with a needle and syringe. The trial, which involved 45 adults (18-40 years old), 120 toddlers (15-18 months old) and 120 infants (9-10 months old) in The Gambia, ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

Rensselaer researcher publishes groundbreaking study on labor market discrimination against transgender people

In 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Bostock vs. Clayton County that transgender people are legally protected from employment discrimination. This came at a time of increased visibility, but also of legal and social challenges to the rights of transgender individuals. Meanwhile, there has been very little study of labor market discrimination against them. Rensselaer researcher Billur Aksoy, Ph.D., has recently conducted an innovative survey of Americans’ attitudes toward transgender people in the workplace. Her paper, “Understanding Labor Market Discrimination Against Transgender ...

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Science30 Apr 2024

What's new in transportation data at PSU?

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) maintains two large, public transportation data lakes: PORTAL and BikePed Portal. The latest round of funding for PORTAL, in the amount of $1.6 million, was awarded in February 2024 and will cover PORTAL's activities through the next five years. BikePed Portal, too, recently received $100K for another year of funding, and both are the focus of some exciting innovations in transportation data. The two centralized ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Sour Patch adults: 1 in 8 grown-ups love extreme tartness, study shows

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For most people, biting into a lemon would leave them puckered up and desperate to lose that sour flavor, but a new study by Penn State researchers revealed that roughly one in eight adults like intensely sour sensations. The cross-cultural study, recently published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, demonstrated there is a subset of “sour likers” who enjoy exceptionally sour foods. “This is the first time it's been convincingly shown that there is a segment of adults who likes strongly sour things,” said John Hayes, professor ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Polyamorous youth report facing stigma, heightened levels of depression

PULLMAN, Wash. – While increasingly visible among adults, polyamory also exists among adolescents, and as a new study indicates, so does the stigma that can come with it. A Washington State University study of 323 youth ages 12 to 17 at an LGBTQ+ summer camp found that 54, or about 16.7%, identified as polyamorous or ambiamorous, meaning they were open to either monogamous or polyamorous relationships. These “poly” and “ambi” youth reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than their LGBTQ+ peers. The study, one of the first to investigate polyamorous relationships in youth, was published in the journal Psychology & Sexuality. “It ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Three Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty members honored by AAAS

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Boleslaw Szymanski, Ph.D., and Chunyu Wang, M.D. Ph.D., have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement Science (AAAS). Steven Cramer, Ph.D., who was elected AAAS Fellow in 2017, was elected Council Member of the Section on Engineering. The mission of the AAAS is to “advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all.” Each year, AAAS elects fellows whose “efforts… are scientifically or socially distinguished.” Over RPI’s 200-year history, 70 RPI faculty members have been ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Scientists harness the wind as a tool to move objects

Researchers have developed a technique to move objects around with a jet of wind. The new approach makes it possible to manipulate objects at a distance and could be integrated into robots to give machines ethereal fingers. ‘Airflow or wind is everywhere in our living environment, moving around objects like pollen, pathogens, droplets, seeds and leaves. Wind has also been actively used in industry and in our everyday lives – for example, in leaf blowers to clean leaves. But so far, we can’t control the direction the leaves move – we can only blow them together into a pile,’ says Professor Quan Zhou from Aalto University, who led the study. The first ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Long snouts protect foxes when diving headfirst in snow

ITHACA, N.Y. – When hunting for mice in winter, red and arctic fox are known to plunge headfirst at speeds of 2-4 meters per second, but their sharp noses reduce the impact force in snow and protect them from injury, according to a new Cornell University study. The fundamental research sheds light on the biomechanics of the unique hunting behavior (known as mousing), advances our understanding of animal adaptations and offers insights into snow injuries people experience during snowboarding or skiing. The study published April 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Hongbo Chi, PhD named 2023 AAAS Fellow

(MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 29, 2024)- Hongbo Chi, PhD, a faculty member and the Robert G. Webster Endowed Chair in Immunology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has been recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science Family of Journals. Chi will be formally inducted Sept. 21, during the organization’s annual Fellows Forum in Washington D.C. Chi is the most recent St. Jude faculty member selected as an AAAS Fellow. Other St. Jude honorees include: Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti, PhD, Victor Torres, PhD, Douglas Green, PhD, Charles Rock, ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Study reveals higher injury and assault rates among NYC food delivery gig workers dependent on the work

A study published Monday in the Journal of Urban Health by a team of CUNY researchers finds that food delivery gig workers in New York City face a high risk of injury and assault, particularly those dependent on gig work as their main job. The study analyzes data from a survey of 1,650 delivery workers, collected between October and December 2021 by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Alarmingly, about 22% reported experiencing injuries, and 21% reported assaults while on the job, with those using e-bikes or mopeds more than twice as likely to be injured or assaulted compared to those who deliver by car. Of particular importance was the relationship ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Rice’s Yousif Shamoo elected AAAS fellow

Rice University bioscientist Yousif Shamoo has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. The lifetime honor, one of the highest in the scientific community, is accorded to fewer than 1% of AAAS members each year. Shamoo, the Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor in the Department of Biosciences, was recognized “for distinguished contributions to research on multidrug resistance, protein structure ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

TCT 2024 Career Achievement Award to be presented to Robert A. Harrington, MD

NEW YORK – April 25, 2024 – The TCT® 2024 Career Achievement Award will be presented to Robert A. Harrington, MD, during Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics® (TCT®), the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation® (CRF®). TCT® will take place October 27-30 2024, in Washington, DC at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The award is given each year to an outstanding individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the field of interventional cardiology and has transformed ...

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Science29 Apr 2024

Quantitative study assesses how gender and race impact young athletes’ perceptions of their coaches

Quantitative study assesses how gender and race impact young athletes’ perceptions of their coaches Across the U.S., there are over 8 million student-athletes in high school and college. Engaging in sports can contribute to physical, mental, and social benefits, and coaches can play a key role in student-athletes’ continued participation in sports. A recent study led by UNC Greensboro’s Dr. Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu, published in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, examines how multiple aspects of a young athlete’s ...

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