Science
press releases.

Science22 Apr 2024

Historically redlined areas see more modern-day gun violence

In the 1930s, the United States government introduced redlining, a discriminatory practice that categorized neighborhoods based on people’s race or ethnicity and denied financial services to residents in certain areas—redlining disproportionately affected marginalized communities. While redlining was officially outlawed in 1968, new research from Boston Children’s Hospital suggests a relationship between historic redlining and present-day gun violence. “We found a significant, dose-dependent correlation between discriminatory designations from the 1930s and the incidence of non-suicide firearm fatalities ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Bonobos aren’t as peace-loving as we thought

The endangered bonobo, the great ape of the Central African rainforest, has a reputation for being a bit of a hippie. Known as more peaceful than their warring chimpanzee neighbors, bonobos live in matriarchal societies, engage in recreational sex, and display signs of cooperation both inside and outside their immediate social groups. But this relaxed reputation isn’t quite reality, according to a new Harvard study in Current Biology. Observing bonobos and chimps in their natural environments over roughly three years, researchers found that actual rates of aggressive acts among male bonobos were notably higher than among male chimps. “These ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Smartphone swabs provide convenient toxicology testing

A simple and convenient method to collect drug use data from the surface of a smartphone is revealed for the first time in a new study published in De Gruyter’s Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. By helping clinicians understand what drugs people are taking in certain contexts, the research could protect public health and improve the treatment of patients suspected of overdosing. Understanding the most common drugs in a particular area, who uses them, when they use them and in what contexts can help inform life-saving treatment decisions but given the illegal nature ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

European union should adopt a research-based approach to ensure the quality and safety of substances of human origin

April 22, 2024 European Union Should Adopt a Research-Based Approach to Ensure the Quality and Safety of Substances of Human Origin London/Toronto – Substances of human origin (SoHOs) such as blood, plasma, skin, corneas, and embryos play an increasing role in life-saving medical procedures. Governments around the world are reevaluating their healthcare policies to ensure of a supply of SoHOs for their population, while also considering the best-interests of both donors and patients. A ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Hao receives funding for NOAA AMSU-A CDR Products Support

Hao Receives Funding for NOAA AMSU-A CDR Products Support ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Life goals and their changes drive success

“Where is my life going?” “Who do I want to be?” As future-thinkers, adolescents spend significant time contemplating these types of questions about their life goals. A new study from the University of Houston shows that as people grow from teenagers to young adults, they tend to change the importance they place on certain life goals, but one thing is certain: The existence of high prestige and education goals, as well as their positive development, can drive success. “Adolescents who endorsed higher levels of prestige and education goals tended to have higher educational attainment, income, ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Newmetasurface innovation unlocks precision control in wireless signals

Researchers have unveiled a technology that propels the field of wireless communication forward. This cutting-edge design, termed a reconfigurable transmissive metasurface, utilizes a synergistic blend of scissor and rotation actuators to independently manage beam scanning and polarization conversion. This introduces an innovative approach to boosting signal strength and efficiency within wireless networks. Reconfigurable metasurfaces are transforming wireless communication by adjusting electromagnetic (EM) wave characteristics such as amplitude, phase, and polarization. These planar arrays enhance wave control, boosting functionalities ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Sleeter to receive funding for website project

Nathan Sleeter, Research Assistant Professor, History and Art History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM), is set to receive funding for: “American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) at 50 website.” RRCHNM researchers will develop a website that will tell the story of AISES’s first 50 years, its founding mission, its growth, and the individuals who have been part of its work supporting American Indians in STEM. Sleeter will serve as project director. The researchers will also conduct and record oral history ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Alem conducting PRNT analysis of samples from Athari Biosciences

Farhang Alem, Interim Director of the Biomedical Research Laboratory, Institute for Biohealth Innovation, received funding for: “PRNT Analysis of Samples from Athari BioSciences.” Researchers with the Biomedical Research Laboratory will perform Plaque Reduction Neutralization Tests (PRNTs) on Athari patient serum samples with parameters defined by Athari. They will also produce and deliver a report containing all patient serum sample titer results for SARS-CoV-2. PRNT analysis is a serological test that utilizes the ability of a specific antibody to neutralize a virus, and in turn, prevent the virus ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Preoperative GLP-1 receptor agonist use and risk of postoperative respiratory complications

About The Study: Preoperative use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in patients undergoing emergency surgery was not associated with a higher risk of postoperative respiratory complications compared with patients not using GLP-1 RAs. The results of this study suggest that liberalizing withholding guidelines for GLP-1 RAs preoperatively should be considered. Authors: Anjali A. Dixit, M.D., M.P.H., of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California, ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

This alloy is kinky

A metal alloy composed of niobium, tantalum, titanium, and hafnium has shocked materials scientists with its impressive strength and toughness at both extremely hot and cold temperatures, a combination of properties that seemed so far to be nearly impossible to achieve. In this context, strength is defined as how much force a material can withstand before it is permanently deformed from its original shape, and toughness is its resistance to fracturing (cracking). The alloy’s resilience to bending and fracture across an enormous range of conditions could open the door for a novel class of materials for next-generation engines that can operate at higher ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Analyzing the impact of ovulation-inducing agents on the quality of embryo

Low birth rates have become a serious problem in many developed countries throughout the world, with Japan being a prime example. In Japan particularly, aging and stress have led to a massive rise in infertility, which now affects one in every 4.4 couples. To find a workaround this condition, many couples have now turned to assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) for conception. However, even though ARTs and IVF methods are well-established and have been widely used for over four decades, birth rates post IVF in Japan are still critically low, peaking at a meager 10.2%. One of the reasons ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

People think 'old age' starts later than it used to, study finds

Middle-aged and older adults believe that old age begins later in life than their peers did decades ago, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. “Life expectancy has increased, which might contribute to a later perceived onset of old age. Also, some aspects of health have improved over time, so that people of a certain age who were regarded as old in the past may no longer be considered old nowadays,” said study author Markus Wettstein, PhD, of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. However, the study, which was published in the journal Psychology and Aging, also found evidence that the trend of later perceived old age has slowed ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Afib more common and dangerous in younger people than previously thought

PITTSBURGH, April 22, 2024 – Atrial fibrillation (Afib), a common type of arrhythmia that is on the rise in people under the age of 65, is more dangerous in this increasingly younger population than previously thought, according to a new study published today in Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology and authored by physician-scientists at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute. The study, which is among the first to examine a large group of Afib patients younger than 65 in the U.S., found that these younger patients were more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure, stroke or heart ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Endoscopic techniques for removing large colorectal polyps

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cancer in the United States. This highlights the importance of early detection and treatment of precancerous lesions like large polyps. Endoscopy offers a minimally invasive approach to removing these polyps, reducing the need for traditional surgery. This review, published in eGastroenterology, explores advancements in endoscopic resection techniques, specifically Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) and Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD). Complete removal of large polyps (>10 mm) is crucial to prevent progression to CRC. Piecemeal resection during endoscopic procedures can increase the risk ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Speech Accessibility Project now sharing recordings, data

The Speech Accessibility Project, which aims to make automatic speech recognition technology more accessible to people with speech differences and disabilities, is now sharing some of its voice recordings and related data with universities, nonprofits and companies. The project team is accepting signed data use agreements and one-page proposals for 211 recordings of people with Parkinson’s. The download also includes text of the original speech prompts and a transcript of the participants’ responses. A subset includes annotations ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Pressure in the womb may influence facial development

Physical cues in the womb, and not just genetics, influence the normal development of neural crest cells, the embryonic stem cells that form facial features, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study published in Nature Cell Biology found that an increase in hydrostatic pressure sensed by the embryo can hinder the healthy development of facial features in mouse and frog embryos and in human embryoids (cell structures grown in the lab from human stem cells), suggesting that differences in pressure might affect the risk of facial malformations. The ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

3 in 5 parents play short order cook for young children who don’t like family meal

While most parents of preschool and elementary aged children strive to give their children a balanced, nutritional diet, some of their strategies to promote healthy eating may backfire, a national poll suggests. A top example from the report: Three in five parents customize meals if their child doesn’t like what everyone else is eating. Meanwhile, one in eight parents require children to eat everything on their plate, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. And while just one in three believe the standard American diet is healthy for kids, few have tried alternative, potentially more nutritional ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

What do you know about measles and vaccination?

With measles cases rising in Canada and internationally, it is important for clinicians to understand the disease and the role of vaccination against measles. Two practice articles in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240415 https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240371 provide succinct overviews of this highly infectious disease. Many clinicians may not have direct experience with measles diagnosis and treatment as Canada achieved measles elimination status in 1998. “The increase in measles activity globally and in Canada is a reminder of the importance of immunization. ...

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Science22 Apr 2024

Everest mountaineer’s letters digitized for the first time

Letters written by the famous mountaineer George Mallory have been made available to a global audience for the first time, in the centenary year of his fatal attempt to scale Everest. An alumnus of Magdalene College, Cambridge, Mallory is known for purportedly replying "because it's there" when asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Everest. There is still debate about whether he and his climbing partner Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine did in fact make it to the top ...

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Science19 Apr 2024

NEC Society Statement on the Watson vs. Mead Johnson Verdict

Given the litigation involving products used to feed and support the growth of preterm infants and the direct implication for infants who are at risk of and who have been affected by necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the NEC Society previously released a statement on the lawsuits. This statement addresses the Watson case. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a devastating intestinal inflammatory disease that can affect premature or otherwise medically fragile infants during their first weeks and months of life. Upon diagnosis, many babies have only hours or days before their intestines become necrotic, progressing to sepsis, multisystem ...

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Science19 Apr 2024

Surf clams off the coast of Virginia reappear – and rebound

The Atlantic surfclam, an economically valuable species that is the main ingredient in clam chowder and fried clam strips, has returned to Virginia waters in a big way, reversing a die-off that started more than two decades ago. In a comprehensive study of surfclams collected from an area about 45 miles due east from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Rutgers scientists found the population to be thriving and growing. A likely reason could be that environmental conditions improved, and another possibility is that the clams adapted, ...

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Science19 Apr 2024

ORNL researchers win Best Paper award for nickel-based alloy tailoring

Rishi Pillai and his research team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive a Best Paper award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Gas Turbine Institute in June at the Turbo Expo 2024 in London. The winning paper is “Leveraging Additive Manufacturing to Fabricate High Temperature Alloys with Co-Designed Mechanical Properties and Environmental Resistance,” which Pillai presented in June at the Turbo Expo 2023 in Boston. The ORNL scientists co-designed a compositionally graded nickel-based alloy for molten halide salts-supercritical carbon dioxide heat exchangers. The objective ...

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Science19 Apr 2024

New copper-catalyzed C-H activation strategy from Scripps Research

LA JOLLA, CA—Inspired by what human liver enzymes can do, Scripps Research chemists have developed a new set of copper-catalyzed organic synthesis reactions for building and modifying pharmaceuticals and other molecules. The new reactions are expected to be widely used in drug discovery and optimization, as well as in other chemistry-based industries. In their study, which initially published in an unedited version on March 28, 2024, in Nature, the chemists showed that their new methods can be used to perform two modifications—called dehydrogenations and lactonizations—on ...

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Science19 Apr 2024

New compound from blessed thistle promotes functional nerve regeneration

Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a plant in the family Asteraceae and also grows in our climate. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb as an extract or tea, e.g. to aid the digestive system. Researchers at the Center for Pharmacology of University Hospital Cologne and at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Cologne have now found a completely novel use for Cnicin under the direction of Dr Philipp Gobrecht and Professor Dr Dietmar Fischer. Animal models as well as human cells have shown that Cnicin significantly accelerates axon (nerve fibres) growth. The study ...

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