Science
press releases.

Science25 Mar 2024

20,000 years of shared history on the Persian plateau

All present day non African human populations are the result of subdivisions that took place after their ancestors left Africa at least 60.000 years ago. How long did it take for these separations to take place? Almost 20.000 years, during which they were all part of a single population. Where did they live for all this time? We don’t know, yet. This is a conversation that could have taken place one year ago, now it is possible to give clearer answers to these questions thanks to the study recently published in Nature Communications (1) led by the researchers from the University ...

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Science25 Mar 2024

New UM study reveals unintended consequences of fire suppression

MISSOULA – The escalation of extreme wildfires globally has prompted a critical examination of wildfire management strategies. A new study from the University of Montana reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation. The study used computer simulations to show that attempting to suppress all wildfires results in fires burning with more severe ecological impacts, with accelerated increases in burned area beyond those expected from fuel accumulation or climate change. “Fire suppression has unintended consequences,” said lead author Mark Kreider, a Ph.D. ...

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Science25 Mar 2024

Filming ultrafast molecular motions in single crystal

Understanding the behavior of matter is crucial for advancing scientific fields like biology, chemistry, and materials science. X-ray crystallography has been instrumental in this pursuit, allowing scientists to determine molecular structures with precision. In traditional X-ray crystallography experiments, a single crystal is exposed to X-rays multiple times to obtain diffraction signals. This poses a problem, where the sample has its structure altered or damaged by X-ray exposure. In recent years, advances in technology have allowed for the development of “time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography” (TR-SFX). In serial ...

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Science25 Mar 2024

Better phosphorus use can ensure its stocks last more than 500 years and boost global food production - new evidence shows

More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertiliser last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. But these benefits will only happen if countries are less wasteful with how they use phosphorus, a study published today in Nature Food shows. Around 30-40 per cent of farm soils have over-applications of phosphorus, with European and North American countries over-applying the most. The global population is due to hit nearly 10 billion by 2050 and it is estimated that to feed ...

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Science25 Mar 2024

2 in 3 parents say their adolescent or teen worries about how sick days may impact grades

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Many parents struggle deciding whether their middle or high school aged child should stay home from school if they don’t feel well, a new national poll suggests. Among top factors: how their adolescent or teen is behaving due to symptoms and if they can get through a school day, the risk that they’re contagious and whether the student will miss a test, presentation or after school activity. One in five parents also consider if their child needs a mental health day, according to the University of Michigan ...

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Science24 Mar 2024

Bedrest may affect cholesterol dynamics differently depending on age

A new study examining cholesteryl esters suggests that periods of prolonged inactivity may affect people differently depending on their age. Cholesteryl esters — which consist of cholesterol molecules bonded with fatty acids — store and transport cholesterol throughout the body. As people get older, their risk of being hospitalized or bedridden increases. These long periods of inactivity come with a host of negative health effects such as reduced insulin function and loss of lean muscle, bone mass and strength. Scientists are working to better understand the biology involved in these changes so that ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Maple syrup producers provide sweet news for threatened birds

The summer mating season is looking to get a lot easier for the scarlet tanager, one of a number of migratory songbirds that use the forests of northeastern North America to find a mate. In recent decades, the loss and degradation of bird habitats has led to a precipitous decline in bird populations. Now, a $2 million grant awarded to the National Audubon Society’s Bird-Friendly Maple program, in partnership with College of Natural Resources and Environment Associate Professor Ashley Dayer, will look to improve bird habitats by encouraging maple syrup producers to incorporate forest management practices that allow other ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

SFU Publishing Director Hannah McGregor's new book asks "Can podcasting save academia?"

A new book from Lori Beckstead, Ian M. Cook, and SFU Publishing Director Hannah McGregor, explores how the growth of scholarly podcasting may engender radical possibilities for how we conceive of knowledge creation and peer review, and the transformative potential of new modes of creating and reviewing expert knowledge. "Podcast Or Perish" investigates the historical development of the norms of scholarly communication and asks how podcasting might change how we think about scholarly work. Could this be the call to action academia needs? Read ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Tudor era horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals

Archaeological analysis of a near unique animal cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed the international scale of horse trading by the elites of late medieval and Tudor England. Using advanced archaeological science techniques, including studying chemical composition, researchers have been able to identify the likely origins of several physically elite horses and the routes they took to reach British shores during the formative years of their life. These animals – akin to modern supercars – were sourced from a variety of locations across ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Scientists explore complex pattern of tipping points in the Atlantic’s current system

An international team of scientists have warned against relying on nature providing straightforward ‘early warning’ indicators of a climate disaster, as new mathematical modelling shows new fascinating aspects of the complexity of the dynamics of climate. It suggests that the climate system could be more unpredictable than previously thought. By modelling the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, one of the main ocean current systems, the team which included mathematicians from the University of Leicester have found that the stability of ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Your dog understands that some words “stand for” objects

It’s no surprise that your dog can learn to sit when you say “sit” and come when called. But a study appearing March 22 in the journal Current Biology has made the unexpected discovery that dogs generally also know that certain words “stand for” certain objects. When dogs hear those words, brain activity recordings suggest they activate a matching mental representation in their minds. “Dogs do not only react with a learned behavior to certain words,” says Marianna Boros (@FamDogProject) of the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, one of the paper’s co-first authors. “They also don’t ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Your dog understands that some words ‘stand for’ objects, new study shows

It’s no surprise that dogs can learn to understand and respond to human words. Your dog can learn to sit when you say “sit” and come when called. But a new study has made the surprising discovery by recording brain activity that dogs generally also know that certain words “stand for” certain objects. When they hear those words, they activate a matching mental representation in their minds. “Dogs do not only react with a learned behavior to certain words,” says Marianna Boros of the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. “They also don’t just associate that word with an object ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Most new doctors face some form of sexual harassment, even after #MeToo

More than half of all new doctors face some form of sexual harassment in their first year on the job, including nearly three-quarters of all new female doctors and a third of males, a new study finds. That’s actually down somewhat from the percentage of new doctors who experienced the same five or six years before, according to the paper published in JAMA Health Forum by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School and Medical University of South Carolina. And today’s ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Researchers propose a new way to identify when babies become conscious

Academics are proposing a new and improved way to help researchers discover when consciousness emerges in human infancy. When over the course of development do humans become conscious? When the seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes was asked about infant consciousness by his critics, he eventually suggested that infants might have thoughts, albeit ones that are simpler than those of adults. Hundreds of years later, the issue of when human beings become conscious is a question which remains a challenge for psychologists and philosophers alike. But now, in response to a recent ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Multiple unsafe sleep practices found in most sudden infant deaths

There were multiple unsafe sleep practices at play in more than three-quarters of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths reported in 23 jurisdictions between 2011 and 2020, a new study reveals. The researchers say the findings underscore the need for more comprehensive safe-sleep education for new parents, including from healthcare providers. Of 7,595 infant deaths reviewed, almost 60% of the infants were sharing a sleep surface, such as a bed, when they died. This practice is strongly discouraged by sleep experts, who warn that a parent or other bed partner could unintentionally ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants

Embargoed until 08:00 AM GMT / 04:00 AM ET Friday 22 March 2024 Bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants Plant species which are recommended as ‘pollinator friendly’ in Europe begin flowering up to a month too late for bees, resulting in low colony survival and low production of queens. This is the first time that research has quantified the decline in colony survival and queen production due to a shortage of early season food. Enhancing ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Multi-cusped postcanine teeth are associated with zooplankton feeding in phocid seals.

The morphology of an animal's teeth often reflects its diet. A well-known example of a mammal that feeds in the water is the crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophaga), which consumes large amounts of zooplankton. Crabeater seals have complex, jagged teeth, which are believed to function as a sieve to retain krill in their mouths and filter it from seawater. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica) also preys on large quantities of zooplankton and possesses distinctive jagged teeth. Thus, while behavioral observations and tooth morphology studies suggest a ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Longer genes are linked to aging

· Long genes have more potential sites for DNA damage · Genes involved in brain loss during aging and linked to Alzheimer’s are very long · New view of biological aging differs from previous beliefs CHICAGO --- What causes our body to age? Four complementary studies, including one from Northwestern Medicine, have come to the same conclusion: long genes. In a new paper, the scientists write about their findings and how they advance existing knowledge about aging. “Long genes ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

If faces look like demons, you could have this extraordinary condition

Imagine if every time you saw a face, it appeared distorted. Well, for those who have a very rare condition known as prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), which causes facial features to appear distorted, that is reality. As the Dartmouth-based website about prosopometamorphopsia explains, "'Prosopo' comes from the Greek word for face 'prosopon' while 'metamorphopsia' refers to perceptual distortions.''' Specific symptoms vary from case to case and can affect the shape, size, color, and position ...

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Science22 Mar 2024

Research reveals link between menstrual cycles, emotions, and sleep patterns in women

Women experience disruptions in their sleep patterns and report heightened feelings of anger in the days leading up to their period, according to new research. The study sheds new light on the intricate relationship between women's menstrual cycles, emotions, and sleep patterns. Co-author Dr Jo Bower, of the University of East Anglia’s School of Psychology, said: “Our research provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between menstrual cycles, emotions, ...

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Science21 Mar 2024

Replacing sugar with sweeteners can improve weight loss control over the long-term in adults in the overweight range, finds European randomised controlled trial

*This is an early press release from the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) Venice 12-15 May. Please credit the Congress if using this material* New research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12-15 May), suggests that replacing sugar-sweetened food and drinks with low/no energy sweetened products can help weight control for at least one year after rapid weight loss in adults, without increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The findings of a year-long randomised controlled trial involving adults with overweight and obesity and children in the overweight range from Northern, Central and ...

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Science21 Mar 2024

Novel imaging platform allows researchers to study placental development in pregnant mice

DURHAM, N.C. -- Physicians and biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a method to visualize the growth of a placenta throughout a mouse’s pregnancy. By coupling an implantable window with ultrafast imaging tools, the approach provides the first opportunity to track placental development to better understand how the organ functions during pregnancy. This new perspective gives researchers a precise way to examine how lifestyle factors like alcohol consumption and health complications like inflammation can affect the placenta and potentially lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The research appears March 20 as the cover ...

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Science21 Mar 2024

Novel method to measure root depth may lead to more resilient crops

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As climate change worsens global drought conditions, hindering crop production, the search for ways to capture and store atmospheric carbon causing the phenomenon has intensified. Penn State researchers have developed a new high-tech tool that could spur changes in how crops withstand drought, acquire nitrogen and store carbon deeper in soil. In findings published in the January issue of Crop Science, they describe a process in which the depth of plant roots can be accurately estimated by scanning leaves with ...

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Science21 Mar 2024

UTEP faculty launch research lab to support human performance

EL PASO, Texas (Mar. 21, 2024) - Professors at The University of Texas at El Paso have launched a new industrial engineering lab focused on supporting human performance and behavior in various application areas. Projects include supportive exoskeletons for high-strain occupations and virtual reality that simulates high-stress environments. The facility, known as the Physical, Information and Cognitive Human Factors Engineering (PIC-HFE) Research Lab, was established with the help of a $350,000 STAR grant from the State of Texas. The lab is led by Priyadarshini Pennathur, Ph.D., and Arunkumar ...

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Science21 Mar 2024

Scientists find core regulatory circuit controlling identity of aggressive leukemia

A collaboration between scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute uncovered four proteins that govern the identity of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), an aggressive form of cancer. These proteins comprise a core regulatory circuit (CRC) that surprisingly incorporates a dysregulated signaling protein. Establishing the CRC for this lymphoma gives researchers insight into potential vulnerabilities that may be future therapeutic targets. The findings were published today in Cell Reports Medicine. “Mutations in signaling pathways have long been known to drive oncogenic transformation ...

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