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press releases.

Science6 Mar 2024

Uncovering the cyclization mechanism of cyclic β-1,2-glucan synthase

The polysaccharide β-1,2-glucan consists of repeating units of glucose linked together by β-1,2-glycosidic bonds. Cyclic β-1,2-glucans (CβGs) occur in different bacterial species and have a role in bacterial infections and symbiotic relationships. CβG biosynthesis is catalyzed by cyclic β-1,2-glucan synthase (CGS), an enzyme that catalyzes the cyclization (closed ring formation) of linear β-1,2-glucan (LβG). Since the method for large-scale enzymatic synthesis of linear β-1,2-glucan has already been established, combining it with this enzyme is technically feasible for efficient ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

More than half of American Indian youth may have abnormal or high cholesterol

More than 70% of American Indian young adults aged 20-39 and 50% of American Indian teens have cholesterol levels or elevated fat in the blood that put them at risk for cardiovascular disease, suggests a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. In some cases, these levels — specifically high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, often thought of as “bad cholesterol,” — were linked to plaque buildup and cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. The findings, ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

How does wearing makeup affect skin during exercise?

New research published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology reveals the effects of wearing cosmetic foundation during aerobic exercise on the skin and its pores. The study included 43 healthy college students (20 males and 23 females). Foundation cream was applied to participants on half of the face in two different areas (forehead and upper cheek). The other half of the face served as control. Moisture increased after exercise in both the non-makeup and makeup zones; however, there was a greater increase in moisture in the makeup zones. This may be a result of makeup preventing ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

Unveiling the sun from behind the clouds: Reshaping the chemical image resolution

Raman spectral preprocessing Raman spectroscopy detects the molecular bond information of the chemical components of the sample in situ in a non-destructive and label-free manner (Terms >>>). It is an emerging metabolic-related spectromics technology in biological and clinical medical research and is expected to promote the evolution of precision medicine. At present, Raman spectroscopy is applied in biomedical detections of body fluids, exosomes, cells/microbes, and tissues, among which Raman ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

How do we control the size and shape of pores in 3D scaffolds?

This article was directed and written by Dr. Lucía Pérez Sánchez, Ldi. Misael A. Ortiz de la O, Dr. Marco Antonio Álvarez Pérez and Dr. Janeth Serrano Bello (Laboratorio de Bioingeniería de Tejidos, División de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Facultad de Odontología, UNAM) Dra. Monserrat Llaguno Munive (Laboratorio de Física Médica, Subdirección de Investigación Básica, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología) and Dr. Osmar A. Chanes Cuevas (Laboratorio de Investigación ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

Living in “leafy” areas may boost bone density and lower osteoporosis risk

Living in leafy areas near gardens, parks, and green spaces, may boost bone density and lower the risk of osteoporosis, finds research published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Lower levels of air pollution in green spaces is a significant contributory factor to the associations found, conclude the researchers. Osteoporosis weakens bones, making them fragile and prone to fracture. It can lead to chronic pain, diminished mobility, and poorer quality of life. Already a major health issue worldwide, its global prevalence is set to rise with the rapid ageing of the population and changes in ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

Novel device for stomach complaints has successful human trial

The endoscopic mapping device, developed over more than a decade by scientists at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, consists of an inflatable sphere covered in sensors, delivered down the oesophagus and able to measure electrical activity in the gut. In the same way abnormal heart electrical signals can cause serious heart problems, so research has found faulty bioelectric gut waves can lead to stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and bloating. But often doctors can’t find out what the problem is. ...

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Science6 Mar 2024

Research explores the cooling effects of ‘scuba-diving’ in lizards

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Anoles are the scuba-diving champions of the lizard world, able to stay underwater for more than 16 minutes. For animals whose body temperature depends on the environment, time spent in a cool running stream can have some tradeoffs, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. A recent study by Binghamton University doctoral candidate Alexandra M. Martin, Christopher K. Boccia of Queens University in Canada, and Binghamton University Assistant Research Professor of Biological Sciences Lindsey ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Gender gap on Wikipedia

Since it was created in 2001, Wikipedia has become a key element of the modern public sphere, which has revolutionized the way we create and share information. However, it has defects when it comes to its decentralization and flexibility, specially regarding inclusion and diversity. Some gender biases that stand out are shown in its content and its editorial participation. It has a low percentage of women’s biographies and an unequal representation in editing. Also, there are gaps in the gender representation regarding its content, biases in editing and participation, as well as imbalances in readership. These ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Electrolyte cation types control electrochemical reactions on an electrode surface

1. An international research group consisting of NIMS and the Finnish University of Jyväskylä has discovered through its electrode-electrolyte system research that electron and proton (i.e., hydrogen ion) transfer mechanisms during oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs) on electrode surfaces vary depending on the types of cations dissolved in the electrolytic solution. These results suggest that the energy conversion efficiencies and selectivity of electrochemical systems (e.g., fuel cells and water electrolysis hydrogen production systems) can be improved by selecting optimal reaction pathways and that this could be achieved without using expensive electrode ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

The dangers of misaligned product co-development contracts—and how they can derail innovation in high-tech firms

Researchers from Mansoura University and University of Guelph published a new Journal of Marketing study that examines how misaligned contracts can erode innovation outcomes of high-tech firms. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “Collaborating to Innovate: Balancing Strategy Dividend and Transactional Efficiencies” and is authored by Nehal Elhelaly and Sourav Ray. When a giant multinational like Unilever partners with one of its major suppliers, such as the industrial enzyme-producer Novozyme, the collaboration can fast-track ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

New publication highlights urgency of parasitic wasp release to save native bird

DENVER/March 5, 2024 – Researchers with the University of Minnesota, funded by Morris Animal Foundation, hope to release highly-specialized parasitic wasps to serve as a biological control method to save Darwin’s finches from a dire threat: the invasive avian vampire fly, Philornis downsi. This species has been devastating finch populations on the Galapagos Islands by laying eggs in their nests, with the emerging larvae harming the nestlings. To protect these iconic birds and other endemic species impacted by the fly, ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Tiny worms tolerate chornobyl radiation

The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant transformed the surrounding area into the most radioactive landscape on Earth. Humans were evacuated, but many plants and animals continue to live in the region, despite the high levels of radiation that persist nearly four decades later. A new study led by researchers at New York University finds that exposure to chronic radiation from Chornobyl has not damaged the genomes of microscopic worms living there today—which doesn’t mean that the region is safe, the scientists caution, but suggests that these worms are exceptionally resilient. In ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

New research details negative consumer impacts of BLM support on major companies and brands

INFORMS Journal Marketing Science New Study Key Takeaways: Brands that supported BLM on social media during the height of the movement suffered negative impacts on social media. Negative impacts were felt from both Democratic and Republican consumers. The ‘bandwagon effect’ was one of the more significant factors. Some brands with more historical prosocial posting on social media and socially oriented missions suffer less from the negative effects and may even benefit from supporting ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Having self-control leads to power

Out-of-control behavior by CEOs and other powerful people constantly makes headlines – so much so that some might consider impulsivity a pathway to power. New research from the UC San Diego Rady School of Management and Texas A&M University finds that having self-control is often what leads to power. In a paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers find that showing self-control influences how powerful an individual is perceived to be by their peers, as well as how much power they are granted by those peers. In a series of seven experiments with roughly 3,500 participants, both students ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Endocrine Society elects Lange as 2025-2026 President

WASHINGTON—Endocrine Society members elected Carol Lange, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn., as its 2025-2026 President. She will serve as President-Elect for a year beginning in June 2024 before becoming President in June 2025. Lange is a Professor of Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, holds the Tickle Family Land Grant Endowed Chair of Breast Cancer Research, and is the Associate Director for Basic Science and the Director of the Molecular, Genetic, and Cellular Targets of Cancer Training Program at the University of Minnesota Masonic ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

A call for standardization of controls in lifespan studies

“[...] we posit that the majority of results in biology of aging may be irrelevant to the fundamental aim of this field and must be acknowledged appropriately.” BUFFALO, NY- March 5, 2024 – A new research perspective was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 4, entitled, “On standardization of controls in lifespan studies.” In this new paper, researchers Olga Spiridonova, Dmitrii Kriukov, Nikolai Nemirovich-Danchenko, and Leonid Peshkin from Harvard Medical ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

How bias shows up in maps made with citizen science data

When biologist Elizabeth Carlen pulled up in her 2007 Subaru for her first look around St. Louis, she was already checking for the squirrels. Arriving as a newcomer from New York City, Carlen had scrolled through maps and lists of recent sightings in a digital application called iNaturalist. This app is a popular tool for reporting and sharing sightings of animals and plants. People often start using apps like iNaturalist and eBird when they get interested in a contributory science project (also sometimes called a citizen science project). Armed with cellphones equipped with cameras and GPS, app-wielding volunteers can submit geolocated data that iNaturalist then translates into user-friendly ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Rice’s Nai-Hui Chia wins NSF CAREER Award

HOUSTON – (March 5, 2024) – Nai-Hui Chia, an assistant professor of computer science at Rice University, has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop a new theoretical framework to facilitate the development of efficient quantum algorithms for a range of problems in quantum physics and computer science as well as enhance the security of quantum cryptography. The highly competitive grants are awarded each year to a selective cohort of about 500 early career faculty across all disciplines engaged in pathbreaking research and committed to growing their field through outreach and education. “Quantum computing holds immense ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Vaginal ring and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis found safe for HIV prevention throughout pregnancy

WHAT: The monthly dapivirine vaginal ring and daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine were each found to be safe for HIV prevention among cisgender women who started using one of them in their second trimester of pregnancy, according to findings presented today at the 2024 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver. Pregnant people are estimated to be three times more likely to acquire HIV through sexual intercourse than similarly aged people who ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Odysseus has a new home and brings the Earthling Project along for the ride

March 5, 2024, Mountain View, CA – The moon lander Odysseus, known as Odie, touched down on the Moon's surface on February 22, becoming the first time the U.S. has landed on the Moon in more than 50 years and the first commercial moon lander to successfully land on the Moon. Along with its science payload, the spacecraft also brought along a fusion of art and space exploration, SETI Institute's Artist in Residence (SETI AIR), Felipe Pérez Santiago's Earthling Project, a collection of global musical compositions representing Earth's cultural ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Using light to precisely control single-molecule devices

In a new Nature Communications study, Columbia Engineering researchers report that they have built highly conductive, tunable single-molecule devices in which the molecule is attached to leads by using direct metal-metal contacts. Their novel approach uses light to control the electronic properties of the devices and opens the door to broader use of metal-metal contacts that could facilitate electron transport across the single-molecule device. The challenge As devices continue to shrink, their electronic ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Lab-grown liver organoid to speed up turtle research, making useful traits easier to harness

AMES, Iowa – At a Biotechnology Council event a few years ago, Nicole Valenzuela’s ears perked up when she heard what a group of researchers in Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine had in the works: a method for creating a lab-grown, simplified mimic of dog intestines. “I told them, ‘Oh! I want to do that but with turtles. Is it doable?” said Nicole Valenzuela, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State. It is indeed doable, new research from a team led by Valenzuela shows. The three-dimensional clusters ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Study finds no safety concerns when the dapivirine vaginal ring is used during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, according to results presented at CROI 2024

PITTSBURGH, March 5, 2024 -- Results of the third and final cohort of the DELIVER (MTN-042) Phase IIIb study found no safety concerns with use of the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring beginning during the second trimester of pregnancy and up to the time of delivery, researchers reported today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2024) in Denver. With this latest data, the researchers believe there is now sufficient evidence that the dapivirine ring is safe to use ...

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Science5 Mar 2024

Toward understanding sperm quality

A novel screening system developed at Kyoto University enables researchers to investigate sperm cell development and health at the molecular level. The new approach, published in Cell Genomics, promises breakthroughs in male contraception and infertility treatments. The study, led by Professor Jun Suzuki of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), addresses a critical gap by directly targeting genes within testicular cells inside living organisms. Utilizing a genetic tool called CRISPR, which can ...

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