Science
press releases.

Science19 Mar 2024

Icariin-releasing 3D-printed scaffolds for in situ regeneration of cleft bone

Alexandria, VA, USA – A study exploring the potential of 3D-printed scaffolds with controlled delivery of small molecule, icariin (ICA), to promote cleft bone regeneration through recruitment and activation of endogenous stem/progenitor cells was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

New study finds significant differences in intimate partner violence injury patterns across age groups

Intimate partner violence (IPV) disproportionately impacts women and younger populations, with incidences peaking between adolescence and young adulthood. Alarmingly, a strong correlation exists between IPV experienced in adolescence and its persistence into adulthood. Radiologists can play a key role in identifying physical signs of IPV, since specific fracture patterns detected in imaging have been shown to be predictive of abuse in children and adults. However, limited information is available about injury patterns in IPV-exposed adolescents and emerging adults despite their vulnerability. In a recent study, researchers from Brigham and ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

The heat index — how hot it really feels — is rising faster than temperature

Texans have long endured scorching summer temperatures, so a global warming increase of about 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 Celsius) might not sound like much to worry about. But a new study concludes that the heat index — essentially how hot it really feels — has increased much faster in Texas than has the measured temperature: about three times faster. That means that on some extreme days, what the temperature feels like is between 8 and 11 F (5 to 6 C) hotter than it would without climate change. The study, using ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Study details effects of heat-related emergencies; vulnerable populations found to be most at risk

Boston, MA – In the first national estimate of county-level disparities in heat-related emergencies, a new study led by investigators from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute found that vulnerable communities were at high risk. The study, “County-Level Disparities in Heat-Related Emergencies,” was published in the March 19 edition of JAMA Network Open. Climate change has led to significant heat waves with increasing frequency and intensity; the hottest on record occurred in July 2023. Prior studies have highlighted the role of extreme heat waves on significant health-related outcomes including cardiovascular and all-cause mortality ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

The science is in: Being good is actually good for you

“A wonderful book full of fascinating scientific insights explained with great clarity, inspiring us to let kindness reign in our hearts and thus accomplish the twofold benefit of others and oneself.” —Matthieu Ricard, author of Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Transform Ourselves and the World The science is in: being good is actually good for you. In this bracingly original book, The Biology of Kindness—the first in a trilogy on the topic of daily wellness—the science of mindfulness and the findings of biology come together to show how kindness and optimism improve ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Happiness poll: Democrats and Diden voters report more happiness than GOP and Trump supporters

Voters of the Democratic party and U.S. President Joe Biden are happier than voters for the Republican party and former U.S. President Donald Trump, while older and wealthier adult voters are happier than younger and less-wealthy ones, according to a new Florida Atlantic University PolCom and Mainstreet Research happiness poll released today in advance of the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness on March 20. “Happiness is important to understand as it influences the well-being and satisfaction of citizens, which in turn shapes their voting behavior,” said Carol Bishop Mills, Ph.D., FAU’s communication professor, PolCom co-director, and expert in relational ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Assessing the impact of malaria interventions through routine sampling of pregnant women

Genetic diversity of the malaria parasite in pregnant women and children declined in an area targeted for malaria elimination in Mozambique, according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation and the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM). The findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight the added value of routine sampling of pregnant women as a cost-effective strategy to enhance genomic surveillance of the parasite and detect changes in transmission within the community. Genomic surveillance of the malaria parasite P. falciparum is essential ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Family out-of-pocket expenditure on dental care

Alexandria, VA, USA – A study aiming to determine if poorer families pay more for dental care as a proportion of their total income than richer families. was presented at the 102nd General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 13-16, 2024, in New Orleans, LA, USA. The abstract, ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

BU study finds coping is related to longevity in older men

(Boston)—Coping is defined as cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage stressors that people believe exceed their ability and resources to respond to effectively. While previous research has linked stressor characteristics, such as the type of event and its duration, and how stressed people feel in response to them, to higher mortality risk, far fewer studies have considered the long-term health consequences of how we manage stressors (coping) in large-scale studies. In a new study from ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Dehydration is rampant among Florida farm workers, new study shows

Nearly all farm workers who participated in a recent study in Florida were dehydrated at the end of their shifts, and more than half were still dehydrated the following morning. The study, a partnership between the University of Illinois Chicago and the Farmworker Association of Florida, used urine samples collected first thing in the morning, at lunch and at the end of a shift to assess the risk of dehydration over five days in May 2021 and May 2022 at a vegetable farm in southern Florida. A total of 111 workers, most of them men from Mexico and Guatemala, participated in the study, which is published in the journal ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Rising rates of head and facial injuries from exercise and weightlifting

Waltham — March 18, 2024 — Numbers of craniofacial injuries related to exercise and weightlifting have increased sharply over the past decade, reports a study in The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "Incidence of craniofacial injury significantly increased between 2013 and 2022, illuminating the need for better education and risk mitigation strategies," according to the new research by Rohan Mangal, MSc, and colleagues of University of Miami. Rates of exercise-related head and facial injuries appear higher for men than women, and ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

A breakthrough in solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries: Twice the quality with streamlined processes

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has reached a significant milestone with the publication of a groundbreaking study in a globally esteemed journal, marking a crucial stride toward the commercialization of all-solid-state batteries, free from the inherent risks of explosion and fire. Dr. Park Jun-woo of the KERI Next-Generation Battery Research Center and Sung Junghwan (student researcher at the UST KERI Campus) have successfully engineered a revolutionary technology. This technology, focused on the "size-controlled ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

New research highlights strong demand for data on personalized risk of preeclampsia

South San Francisco, Calif. (March 19, 2024) - A new study in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth finds that objective information about risk of preeclampsia could be key to driving patient behavior change and creates motivation among pregnant patients to follow provider recommendations on prevention, even among those who are medication-hesitant. Key findings include: 91% of the study participants desired predictive testing for preeclampsia 94% reported they would want blood pressure monitoring at home if found to be at high risk 88% reported they would be more motivated to follow their provider’s medication recommendations if at high risk. This finding was consistent ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Molecular crystal motors move like microbes when exposed to light

NEW ORLEANS, March 19, 2024 — At first glance, Rabih O. Al-Kaysi’s molecular motors look like the microscopic worms you’d see in a drop of pond water. But these wriggling ribbons are not alive; they’re devices made from crystallized molecules that perform coordinated movements when exposed to light. With continued development, Al-Kaysi and colleagues say, their tiny machines could be used by physicians as drug-delivery robots or engineered into arrays that direct the flow of water around submarines. The ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

When words make you sick

In a new book, experts in a variety of fields explore nocebo effects – how negative expectations concerning health can make a person sick. It is the first time a book has been written on this subject. “I think it’s the idea that words really matter. It’s fascinating that how we communicate can affect the outcome. Communication in health care is perhaps more important than the patient recognises,” says Charlotte Blease, who is a researcher at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

Is your partner’s disturbed sleep keeping you up at night? Letting go of unattainable dreams may keep you both happy in bed

We all know that getting a good night’s sleep is vital for physical and mental health. Yet many people share a bed with a partner who can’t help disturb their sleep. For example through their insomnia, frequently going to the bathroom, snoring, or a tendency to toss and turn in bed. Unsurprisingly, research has shown that poor sleep can lead to increased anger and decreased satisfaction with the relationship. But can we avoid falling in this trap, short of sleeping in separate bedrooms? Yes, if we are naturally good – or learn to be so – at goal disengagement, the mental ...

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Science19 Mar 2024

New technique measures psilocybin potency of mushrooms

Since the 1970s, the federal government has listed the active ingredients in mushrooms—psilocybin and psilocin—as illegal and having no accepted medical use. However, in recent years, medical professionals have found that these substances are safe and effective for treating stubborn conditions such as treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some jurisdictions now allow for the medical use of mushrooms, while others are considering permitting or at least decriminalizing their recreational use. Clinicians now find themselves needing to carefully ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

Food companies’ sponsorship of children’s sports encourages children to buy their products, Canadian research suggests

*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* Food companies’ sponsorship of children’s sports may encourage children to buy their products, new research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) (Venice 12-15 May), has found. The Canadian research also found that many children view food companies that sponsor or give money to children’s sports as being “generous” ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

USC receives $3.95 million CIRM grant for organoid resource center

To democratize access to lab-grown organ-like structures known as organoids and other advanced stem cell and transcriptomic technologies, USC will launch the CIRM ASCEND Center, dedicated to “Advancing Stem Cell Education and Novel Discoveries.” Funded by a $3.95 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the voter-created state agency charged with distributing public funding to support stem cell research and education, ASCEND joins a network of shared resources laboratories ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

The costs of a changing landscape

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL MARCH 18, 2024 AT 3:00 PM U.S. EASTERN TIME Renewable energy sources are essential for transitioning towards a decarbonized energy system and making the electricity grid more environmentally sustainable. Clean energy alternatives like wind power can effectively replace fossil fuels, contributing to reduced air pollution and slow down climate change. Wind power has emerged as the fastest-growing non-hydro renewable energy source worldwide. However, the implementation of wind energy infrastructure, including windmills, faces significant challenges. One major obstacle is the opposition from local communities. Wind turbines, the primary ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

UMD researchers develop genomic method of monitoring for pesticide resistance

Farmers rely on pesticides to control agricultural pests. But insects often develop resistance to the toxins in pesticides. University of Maryland researchers have developed and successfully tested a strategy for using genomics to monitor for and identify emerging resistance to specific toxins early, well before it becomes a widespread problem. The work will enable farmers to mitigate resistance and prolong the effectiveness of pest management tools. The research was published on March 18, 2024, in the Proceedings of ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light. This could allow the development of bioinspired optical materials with possible applications ranging from invisible cloaking devices to coatings to more efficiently harvest ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

Americans support democratic norms, elected officials don't

Following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, many Americans have raised concerns about the future of democracy in the United States. Yet the American public, including Democrats and Republicans alike, strongly oppose anti-democratic actions and partisan violence, according to a new study by the Polarization Research Lab. "Democracy is under threat in America, but these data show we are not on the brink of a citizen-supported push toward authoritarianism," says the lab's ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

Newborn piglets serve as a model for studying influenza

Although prevention and treatment strategies are available for influenza, they are not sufficient for vulnerable populations such as young children and newborns. In a new study, published in Virology, a multidisciplinary team of researchers have studied newborn piglets to better understand the progression of influenza infections. The influenza A virus can infect a variety of birds and mammals, including humans and pigs, due to which it is a threat to public health and food security. While it causes mild ...

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Science18 Mar 2024

Kallistatin contributes to the beneficial metabolic effects of weight loss

After weight loss, people with overweight and obesity express more of the protein Kallistatin* in subcutaneous white adipose tissue. This was demonstrated by researchers from the DZD in a recent study. In addition, Kallistatin improves metabolism and could open up new therapeutic options for people with obesity and type 2 diabetes in future. The results have now been published in Molecular Metabolism. An increasing number of people are developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. These are highly complex and multifaceted diseases. In order to treat them sustainably, new approaches to therapy are needed. Clinical studies on humans have ...

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