Science
press releases.

Science6 Jan 2026

Back pain linked to worse sleep years later in men over 65, according to study

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — About half of older men suffer from sleep problems, back pain or both, according to Soomi Lee, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. Lee recently led a study to investigate whether one precedes the other and found that back problems can predict sleep problems years later in men over 65 years old. “We know that back pain and sleep are serious issues for older adults,” Lee said. “We studied data collected over several years to understand whether poor sleep could predict back pain or if back pain ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

Do supervised consumption sites bring increased crime? Study suggests that’s a myth

Overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites in Toronto are not associated with long-term increases in local crime, McGill University researchers have found. Over 10 years, crime reports remained stable or declined in neighbourhoods where sites opened, the researchers said. Their findings land amid debates across Canada about how harm reduction services intersect with public health and safety. “Opposition from the public and policymakers has often centred on neighbourhood safety and decline. We wanted to find out whether the data supported those claims,” said Dimitra Panagiotoglou, an associate professor in McGill’s ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

New mass spec innovation could transform research

Weight says a lot. In the kitchen, it could mean cooking with too little or too much of an ingredient. For scientists, a molecule’s weight can help determine its makeup. This, in turn, can shed light on whether a potential drug is acting on the body or not working at all. Weight can even reveal what tumors are made of, potentially influencing treatment options. For measures like this and more, researchers turn to a technique called mass spectrometry. “A mass spectrometer is essentially a very precise scale,” says Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Research Associate Professor Paolo ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

A role for orange pigments in birds and human redheads

A pigment that makes feathers and hair orange helps prevent cellular damage by removing excess cysteine from cells. Pheomelanin is an orange-to-red pigment that is built with the amino acid cysteine and found in human red hair and fair skin, as well as in bird feathers. Previous research has shown that pheomelanin is associated with increased melanoma risk, raising questions about why evolution has maintained genetic variants that promote pheomelanin production. Ismael Galván and colleagues studied 65 adult zebra finches divided into treatment and control groups. In the ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

Scientists discover molecular ‘reshuffle’ and crack an 80-year-old conundrum

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have uncovered a long‑elusive molecular ‘reshuffle', a breakthrough that tackles one of chemistry’s most persistent challenges and could transform the way medicines are manufactured. In a paper published today (6th January) in Nature Chemistry, researchers from the School of Chemistry have found a key to unlocking an 80-year-old chemical puzzle, which could have important ramifications for fine chemical processes like those involved in the manufacture of medicines. Chiral molecules are asymmetric or non-superimposable on their mirror image. Each side is different, existing in “right hand” ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

Autism research reframed: Why heterogeneity is the data, not the noise

KODAIRA, Tokyo, JAPAN, 6 January 2026 -- In a revealing Genomic Press Interview published today in Genomic Psychiatry, Dr. Noritaka Ichinohe challenges a foundational assumption that has quietly constrained psychiatric research for decades: the belief that meaningful explanation requires averaging away individual differences. His three decades of translational neuroscience across Japanese research institutions have instead demonstrated that biological heterogeneity, far from being statistical noise to eliminate, constitutes the very phenomenon demanding ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

Brazil's genetic treasure trove: supercentenarians reveal secrets of extreme human longevity

SÃO PAULO, SP, BRAZIL, 6 January 2026 -- A Viewpoint published today in Genomic Psychiatry by Dr. Mayana Zatz and colleagues at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, University of São Paulo, examines why Brazil represents one of the most valuable yet underutilized resources for understanding extreme human longevity. The synthesis draws upon the team's ongoing research with a nationwide cohort of long-lived individuals while contextualizing recent advances in supercentenarian biology. Where Genetic Diversity Meets Exceptional Aging Why do some humans live ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

The (metabolic) cost of life

There are “costs of life” that mechanical physics cannot calculate. A clear example is the energy required to keep specific biochemical processes active — such as those that make up photosynthesis, although the examples are countless — while preventing alternative processes from occurring. In mechanics, no displacement implies zero work, and, put simply, there is no energetic cost for keeping things from happening. Yet careful stochastic thermodynamic calculations show that these costs do exist — and they are often quite significant. A ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

Single-capillary endothelial dysfunction resolved by optoacoustic mesoscopy

Microvascular endothelial dysfunction (MiVED) is implicated in several health conditions, such as hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), and diabetes. MiVED is considered an early marker of endothelial impairment that often precedes dysfunction in larger arteries. Our study aims to address the lack of suitable technologies for detailed in-vivo MiVED observation by introducing fast raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy (fRSOM), which can resolve cutaneous MiVED features at single-capillary resolution. The ...

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Science6 Jan 2026

GmWOX1 regulates the mediolateral polarity of compound leaves in soybean

This study was led by Prof. Jianghua Chen from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The authors identified four WOX1 homologs in soybean and uncovered their roles in leaf development. They found that GmWOX1a and GmWOX1b are specifically expressed at the initiation sites of leaf primordia and in the middle domain of leaf primordia. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, they generated multiple knockout mutants and demonstrated the functional redundancy among four WOX1 genes. Triple mutants Gmwox1acd and Gmwox1bcd showed ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

New "Stomata in-sight" system allows scientists to watch plants breathe in real-time

URBANA, Ill. — For centuries, scientists have known that plants "breathe" through microscopic pores on their leaves called stomata. These tiny valves are the gatekeepers that balance the intake of carbon dioxide into the leaf for photosynthesis against the loss of water vapor from the leaf to the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a groundbreaking new tool that allows them to watch and quantify this process in real-time and under strictly controlled environmental conditions. The study, published in the journal Plant Physiology, introduces a system dubbed "Stomata In-Sight." It solves a long-standing ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Anorexia nervosa may result in long-term skeletal muscle impairment

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric condition characterized by a fear of weight gain and reduced calorie consumption that can result in dangerous weight loss. This condition is thought to affect around 1-4% of all women, and those who suffer from it, or have suffered from it, are estimated to be three times more likely to die prematurely than those who have never had it. Anorexia nervosa (or AN) doesn’t just result in fat loss. It can also result in a 20-30% loss of skeletal muscle strength and size, which is critical to longevity and the ability to do basic activities like grocery shopping or picking up babies. Along with treating the psychiatric component, ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Narrative-based performance reviews deemed fairest by employees

ITHACA, N.Y. – Shifting from numerical to narrative-based performance reviews can significantly impact employees’ perceptions of fairness and their likelihood of improving performance based on the feedback, according to Cornell University-led research. The study, published in the Academy of Management Discoveries, compared responses to performance feedback delivered in one of three formats: numerical-only, narrative-only or a combination of both. Their findings suggest that narrative-only feedback was generally perceived as the fairest, and gives ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Gender stereotypes reflect the division of labor between women and men across nations

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Bern in Switzerland have conducted the first cross-temporal, multinational study to compare views of gender using data collected 30 years apart. An international study reveals that people’s beliefs about the attributes of women and men follow from the differing social roles that they typically occupy in homes and workplaces in their respective societies. The goal driving the research was to understand the sources of stereotypes of men as assertive and ambitious and of women as the kinder and more caring gender. The study showed that these stereotypes reflect the differing social ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Orthopedics can play critical role in identifying intimate partner violence

A study by researchers at Mass General Brigham highlights the opportunity for orthopedic surgeons to play a critical role in identifying patients who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). While orthopedic surgeons are experts in musculoskeletal injuries, screening patients to identify IPV is not routine. This is highlighted by the findings that only 0.3% of referrals for IPV from orthopedic surgeons compared to 29% from the emergency department. Correcting misperceptions about the prevalence of IPV, ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Second spider-parasitic mite described in Brazil

When researchers studying spiders and scorpions at the Zoological Collections Laboratory of the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, came across a few-millimeter-long spider wearing something resembling a pearl necklace, they knocked on the door of a colleague specializing in mites. Ricardo Bassini-Silva, a researcher and curator of the Acarological Collection at the same laboratory, quickly identified the “necklace” as mite larvae. Previously, there had only been one record of spider-parasitic mites ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Private equity acquired more than 500 autism centers over the past decade, new study shows

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Private equity firms have acquired more than 500 autism therapy centers across the U.S. over the past decade, with nearly 80% of those acquisitions occurring over a four-year span, according to a new study from researchers at the Brown University Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research. Study author Yashaswini Singh, a health economist at Brown’s School of Public Health, said the work highlights how financial firms are rapidly moving into a sensitive area of health care without much public scrutiny or data on where this is happening or why. “The big takeaway is ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Scientific validity of blue zones longevity research confirmed

New York, NY, Birmingham, AL, & Sassari, Italy — A new peer-reviewed paper published in The Gerontologist provides the most comprehensive scientific response to date addressing recent critiques of the so-called “blue zones,” regions of the world known for unusually high concentrations of people living long, healthy lives. In the article, “The validity of blue zones demography: a response to critiques,” authors Steven N. Austad, PhD (Scientific Director, American Federation for Aging Research/AFAR and Distinguished Professor, Protective Life Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging Research at the University ...

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Science5 Jan 2026

Geometry shapes life

Life begins with a single fertilized cell that gradually transforms into a multicellular organism. This process requires precise coordination; otherwise, the embryo could develop serious complications. Scientists at ISTA have now demonstrated that the zebrafish eggs, in particular their curvature, might be the instruction manual that keeps cell division on schedule and activates the appropriate genes in a patterned manner to direct correct cell fate acquisition. These insights, published in Nature Physics, could help improve the accuracy of embryo assessments in IVF. Nikhil Mishra ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

Not playing by the rules: USU researcher explores filamentous algae dynamics in rivers

LOGAN, UTAH, USA -- Algae is a ubiquitous feature in waterways throughout the globe, including western North America. Slippery, green epilithic algae is a familiar sight on river rocks. Toxic blue-green algae – cyanobacteria – is a visually interesting, yet worrisome phenomenon. Increasingly prevalent filamentous algae, with its long, voluminous green strands joins the picture, and is presenting new questions for scientists, recreationalists and land managers. “In recent years, people have noted very large filamentous algae blooms ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

Safer receipt paper from wood

Every day, millions of people use thermal paper without thinking about it. Receipts, shipping labels, tickets, and medical records all rely on heat‑sensitive coatings to make text appear. More specifically, heat triggers a reaction between a colorless dye and a “developer,” producing dark text where the paper is warmed. Thermal paper is a small object with a large footprint. It is produced at scale, handled daily, and often recycled, which allows its chemicals to spread into water and soil. For decades, the most common developers have been bisphenol A (BPA) and, more recently, bisphenol S (BPS). Both can affect living organisms by disrupting hormone signaling, ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

UCLA study links scar healing to dangerous placenta condition

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) used to be a rare pregnancy condition, but it now affects roughly 14,000 pregnancies annually, posing a major cause of maternal death. Yet why it happens is still not well understood. Placenta accreta occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall, and doesn’t detach after birth, often resulting in life-threatening bleeding and a need for a hysterectomy. The strongest and most common risk factor is a previous cesarean delivery, as scarring from prior cesarean births can change how the placenta attaches in future pregnancies. New research led by UCLA Health suggests that how this scar tissue heals could be the key to better understand ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

Delayed or absent first dose of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination

About The Study: In this cohort study of children with regular access to care, most received their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine on time, but the proportion not receiving the MMR vaccine by 2 years of age has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Children who did not receive their 2- and 4-month vaccines on time were significantly more likely to not receive any MMR vaccine by 2 years, highlighting opportunities for intervention. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nina B. Masters, PhD, MPH, email ninam@truveta.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.51814) Editor’s ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

Trends in US preterm birth rates by household income and race and ethnicity

About The Study: In this population-based cross-sectional study, household income disparities in preterm birth widened over time. Black race moderated the association between income and preterm birth, underscoring the need to examine the role of racism in preterm birth disparities. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Erika G. Cordova-Ramos, MD, email gabriela.cordovaramos@bmc.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.50664) Editor’s ...

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Science2 Jan 2026

Many mothers in Norway do not show up for postnatal check-ups

In a new study, Christine Agdestein has surveyed several aspects of the postnatal check-up. Agdestein is a specialist in general practice and a general practitioner, and is currently a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The research project is part of her PhD. "An important finding is that the majority are satisfied with the 6-week check-up with their GP. This is an important offer for those who have recently given birth. GPs have an important role in postnatal care," says Christine Agdestein. "Not much research has been done on the postnatal check-up before, and therefore it is extra rewarding that we can ...

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