Science
press releases.

Science12 Jan 2026

Codes in the cilia: New study maps how Cilk1 and Hedgehog levels sculpt tooth architecture

Changes in early tooth development can have surprisingly big effects on a person’s smile. Missing teeth, extra teeth, unusually small or large teeth, or teeth that fuse together can cause problems in appearance, chewing , and long-term oral and general health issues. Because these problems arise from intricate signaling networks that operate during tooth development, the underlying biological causes can be difficult to pinpoint, making diagnosis and prevention challenging. Scientists have uncovered many of the networks involved, but it remains challenging to fully explain how the body decides how many teeth to form—or where each ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

TV depictions of Hands-Only CPR are often misleading

Research Highlights: Scripted TV programs in the U.S. often inaccurately portray who is most likely to need CPR and where out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen, according to an analysis of more than 160 TV episodes aired since 2008. TV programs tend to focus on white people or men receiving CPR, which mirrors real-life disparities where women and Black and Latino adults are less likely than white people to receive CPR from a lay rescuer. The analysis examined TV depictions of out-of-hospital CPR as a potential reason why there is a low prevalence of Hands-Only ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

What TV gets wrong about CPR—and why it matters for saving lives

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 5 A.M., ET, MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2026 What TV Gets Wrong About CPR—and Why it Matters for Saving Lives PITTSBURGH, Jan. 12, 2026—Scripted television often shows outdated CPR techniques for lay people, potentially fueling misconceptions that could delay bystanders’ lifesaving interventions in the crucial moments after a real-life cardiac arrest. That’s according to University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers in the first analysis of TV depictions of bystander CPR, published today in Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes. In 2008, the American Heart Association (AHA) endorsed ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

Compressed data technique enables pangenomics at scale

Engineers at the University of California have developed a new data structure and compression technique that enables the field of pangenomics to handle unprecedented scales of genetic information. The team, led by UC San Diego electrical and computer engineering professor Yatish Turakhia, described their compressive pangenomics approach in Nature Genetics on Jan. 12, 2026. Pangenomics, a subset of bioinformatics, is the study of many different genomes from one specific species. This can provide a more holistic picture of the natural ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

Like alcohol units, but for cannabis – experts define safer limits

Researchers at the University of Bath in the UK are proposing thresholds for safe – or at least safer – cannabis use and hope their findings will help people monitor consumption and keep it within recommended limits – similar to how alcohol units guide safer drinking. The threshold recommendations, proposed in a paper published today in the journal Addiction, are based on a system for measuring cannabis consumption not by weight but by THC content (THC is the compound responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis). In the same ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

Why are men more likely to develop multiple myeloma than women?

Rates of multiple myeloma (MM), the second most common blood cancer in the United States, are increasing and are twice as high in men than in women. A new study published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, provides insights that may help to explain this disparity. To investigate the sex difference in MM, researchers analyzed data on 850 patients with newly diagnosed MM enrolled in the Integrative Molecular And Genetic Epidemiology (IMAGE) study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Compared with female patients, male patients were more likely to have advanced (International Staging System stage III) disease at the time of diagnosis. Males ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

Smartphone-based interventions show promise for reducing alcohol and cannabis use: New research

by W.B. Kagan PISCATAWAY, NJ – Young adults today are digital natives—naturally fluent with devices and online platforms—so some of their most effective behavioral-health interventions will likely arrive in their pockets via text, app, or other mobile medium. Now, new research shows that such interventions for alcohol and cannabis use among young adults show potential to reduce harms, according to three reports in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Heavy drinking and cannabis use among young adults continue to exact a great cost from individuals and society, ...

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Science12 Jan 2026

JULAC and Taylor & Francis sign open access agreement to boost the impact of Hong Kong research

Researchers in Hong Kong will have greater opportunities to share their work with a global audience through a new open access (OA) agreement between the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) and Taylor & Francis. The three-year agreement enables researchers at all participating institutions to publish OA articles in over 2,000 Taylor & Francis and Routledge Open Select (hybrid) journals without payment of an OA article publishing charge. Articles will be open on publication and free to access and reuse for readers around the world, ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

The vast majority of US rivers lack any protections from human activities, new research finds

The U.S. boasts more than 4 million miles of rivers, peppered with laws and regulations to protect access to drinking water and essential habitat for fish and wildlife. But in the first comprehensive review of river protection, research co-led by the University of Washington shows that the existing regulations account for less than 20% of total river length and vary widely by region. Freshwater conservation strategies have historically emphasized protections against land use and development on public ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

How well-meaning allies can increase stress for marginalized people

ITHACA, N.Y. – Someone in the office makes a racially insensitive comment, and a white co-worker asks a Black colleague to help correct the offender. In three studies, a Cornell University researcher found that this kind of maneuver can backfire. In such scenarios, the marginalized person then views the person who asked for their help less favorably – and is less likely to want to associate with them in the future. “A marginalized person’s willingness to get involved in confronting prejudice is much more complicated than simply just trying to reduce prejudice in the workplace,” said Merrick Osborne, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Control valve discovered in gut’s plumbing system

Although constipation and diarrhea may seem like opposite problems, they both hinge on the same underlying issue: how much fluid moves into the gut. These common issues affect millions of people in the U.S. each year, yet scientists have not fully understood what regulates intestinal fluid balance. Now, in a new Northwestern University study, scientists have uncovered a key molecular switch that helps control the gut’s “water faucet.” By studying bisacodyl — one of the world’s most widely used laxatives — the research team discovered an ion channel, called TRPM4, acts as a master switch for controlling fluid flow in the intestine. The ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

The Age of Fishes began with mass death

445 million years ago, life on our planet was forever changed. During a geological blink of an eye, glaciers formed over the supercontinent Gondwana, drying out many of the vast, shallow seas like a sponge and giving us an ‘icehouse climate’ that, together with radically changed ocean chemistry, ultimately caused the extinction of about 85% of all marine species – the majority of life on Earth. In a new Science Advances study, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Important new source of oxidation in the atmosphere found

Shantou/Turin/Leipzig. Hydroperoxides are strong oxidants that have a significant influence on chemical processes in the atmosphere. Now, an international research team involving the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has shown that these substances also form from α‑keto acids such as pyruvic acid in clouds, rain and aerosol water when exposed to sunlight. These reactions could be responsible for 5 to 15 percent of the observed atmospheric hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the aqueous phase. This means that the photolysis of α-keto acids has now been identified as another important source of atmospheric oxidants, the researchers ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Why it is so hard to get started on an unpleasant task: Scientists identify a “motivation brake”

Background Most of us know the feeling: maybe it is making a difficult phone call, starting a report you fear will be criticized, or preparing a presentation that’s stressful just to think about. You understand what needs to be done, yet taking that very first step feels surprisingly hard. When this difficulty becomes severe, it is known medically as avolition. People with avolition are not lazy or unaware: they know what they need to do, but their brain seems unable to push the "go" ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Collaborative study uncovers unknown causes of blindness

Researchers from Radboud university medical center and University of Basel have discovered new genetic causes of inherited blindness. Their study shows that changes in specific pieces of DNA, which play a role in processing genetic information, can lead to retinitis pigmentosa. This eye condition affects about 1 in 5,000 people worldwide, causing ‘tunnel vision’ and often leads to legal blindness. The discovery provides clarity for dozens of families globally and opens new possibilities for diagnostics and counseling in hereditary conditions. Retinitis ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Neural progesterone receptors link ovulation and sexual receptivity in medaka

A research team led by Hiroshima University and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have proposed a neuroendocrine mechanism in bony fish that signals ovulation from the ovaries to the brain, using the medaka fish as a model; the first step to elucidate the neural circuits for facilitation of sexual receptivity in female teleosts. Bony fish (teleosts) are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates, inhabiting a wide variety of aquatic environments. Females of many species are sexually receptive only when eggs have developed in the ovaries and are ready for spawning. In other words, sexual ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Breastfeeding may lower mums’ later life depression/anxiety risks for up to 10 years after pregnancy

Breastfeeding may lower mothers’ later life risks of depression and anxiety for up to 10 years after pregnancy, suggest the findings of a small observational study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open. The observed associations were apparent for any, exclusive, and cumulative (at least 12 months) breastfeeding, the study shows. Breastfeeding is associated with lower risks of postnatal depression and anxiety, but it’s not clear if these lowered risks might persist in the longer term, say the researchers. To find out, they tracked the breastfeeding behaviour ...

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Science9 Jan 2026

Hobbies don’t just improve personal lives, they can boost workplace creativity too

As millions of us embark on New Year pledges to eat better, exercise more and learn something new, research published today suggests hobbies could do more than improve your personal life, they could make you better at work. The study by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Erasmus University Rotterdam explored how ‘leisure crafting’ - intentionally shaping your free time through goal setting, learning and connection - does not just boost well-being outside the office but can spill over into creativity, engagement, and meaning at work, especially for ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

UW researchers analyzed which anthologized writers and books get checked out the most from Seattle Public Library

Seattle Public Library, or SPL, is the only U.S. library system that makes its anonymized, granular checkout data public. Want to find out how many times people borrowed the e-book version of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” in May 2018? That data is available. The hitch is that the library’s data set contains nearly 50 million rows, and a single title can appear variously. Morrison’s “Beloved,” for instance, is listed as “Beloved,” “Beloved (unabridged),” “Beloved : a novel / by Toni Morrison” and so on. To track trends in the catalogue over the last 20 years, ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

UCLA receives $7.3 million for wide-ranging cannabis research

UCLA has received four grants totaling $7.3 million from the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to support research on a broad range of topics, from the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids to the cardiovascular risks of cannabis use and strategies for addressing California's unregulated cannabis market. The funding will support research by faculty from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA College of Letters and Science and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “This ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

Why this little-known birth control option deserves more attention

Self-administered injectable contraceptives have been available in the United States for more than two decades, yet a new study has found only about a quarter of reproductive health experts prescribe it — and many are unaware it’s even an option. Researchers surveyed 422 clinicians who regularly prescribe birth control and found that only about a third of those who were aware of the option prescribe it. The providers said they were concerned about their patients’ ability to self-inject, the medication’s ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

Johns Hopkins-led team creates first map of nerve circuitry in bone, identifies key signals for bone repair

When a house catches on fire, we assume that a smoke alarm inside will serve one purpose and one purpose only: warn the occupants of danger. But imagine if the device could transform into something that could fight the fire as well. In a new study in today’s issue of Science, a multi-institutional team lead by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine has shown in mice that the body’s “pain alarms” ― sensory neurons ― actually have such a dual function. In the event ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

An illegal fentanyl supply shock may have contributed to a dramatic decline in deaths

After rising for decades in the United States, opioid overdose deaths have been declining dramatically since 2023, with the annual rate of fentanyl overdose deaths dropping by more than a third by the end of 2024. What’s behind this sudden decline? In this Policy Forum, Kasey Vangelov and colleagues evaluate the evidence for an international supply shock in fentanyl in 2023 and conclude that it could be responsible for the steep decline in overdose deaths. Studying the ups and downs of an illegal drug economy is difficult, but the researchers use data from several sources, ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

Is “Smoking Gun” evidence enough to prove scientific discovery?

Embargoed: Not for Release Until 2:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time Thursday, 08 January 2026. A group of scientists, including Sergey Frolov, professor of physics at the University of Pittsburgh, and coauthors from Minnesota and Grenoble have undertaken several replication studies centered around topological effects in nanoscale superconducting or semiconducting devices. This field is important because it can bring about topological quantum computing, a hypothetical way of storing and manipulating quantum information while protecting it against errors. In all cases they found alternative explanations of similar ...

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Science8 Jan 2026

Researchers observe gas outflow driven by a jet from an active galactic nucleus

Active galactic nuclei, energetic and luminous regions powered by an accreting supermassive black hole at the center of some galaxies, can launch a jet that drives a gas outflow, shaping star formation in their host galaxy. Justin Kader and colleagues have observed this phenomenon in the nearby active galaxy VV 340a. Kader et al. observed the jet and galaxy across infrared, optical, radio, and sub-millimeter wavelengths, using the James Webb Space Telescope, Keck-II telescope, the Jansky Very Large Array and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. The researchers combined these observations with modeling, to show that the low-power radio jet emitted ...

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