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press releases.

Science11 Feb 2024

The Complete Library of Charles Darwin revealed for the first time

Charles Darwin – arguably the most influential man of science in history, accumulated a vast personal library throughout his working life. Until now, 85 per cent of its contents were unknown or unpublished. This year, coinciding with Darwin’s 215th birthday, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, the scholarly project helmed by Dr John van Wyhe at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Biological Sciences, has released an online 300-page catalogue detailing Darwin’s complete personal library, with 7,400 titles across 13,000 volumes and items including books, pamphlets and journals. ...

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Science11 Feb 2024

Anne Ephrussi wins the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award 2024

11 February 2024 – EMBO and FEBS are delighted to announce that Anne Ephrussi, emerita of EMBL Heidelberg, Germany, is the recipient of this year's FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award. It celebrates outstanding female life scientists, recognizing their research achievements and contribution to a particular discipline over the past five years in Europe. The awardees are inspiring role models who help pave the way for future generations of women in science. “It is a huge honour and most humbling to receive the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award. This recognition ...

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Science10 Feb 2024

Why ventilators can be tough on preemie lungs

ROCKVILLE, MD – Many premature infants need mechanical ventilation to breathe. However, prolonged ventilation can lead to problems like respiratory diseases or ventilation-induced injury. Jonas Naumann and Mareike Zink study the physics of mechanical stress from ventilation at Leipzig University, in Leipzig, Germany and discovered some of the mechanisms that explain why premature lungs are especially sensitive to stress. Naumann will present their research at the 68th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, to be held February 10 - 14, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When you breathe normally, your diaphragm and the muscles between ribs create a negative pressure inside the ...

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Science10 Feb 2024

Faster monkeypox (mpox) testing through CRISPR

ROCKVILLE, MD – Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a rare viral disease that is spread through physical contact between people. Currently, testing for mpox requires lab equipment and can take a few hours to get test results. But new research suggests a way for faster testing that could be done in any clinic soon. Md. Ahasan Ahamed, a graduate student mentored by Weihua Guan at Pennsylvania State University will present this research at the 68th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, to be held February 10 - 14, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though mpox symptoms are generally mild with fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, severe cases can occur and require medical attention. ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Discoveries can be used to optimize production of annatto powder

Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) and the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil have shown for the first time that bixin or annatto powder, a carotenoid pigment extracted from the seeds of the achiote or annatto tree (Bixa orellana), is not produced only in the seeds but also in other organs, and that the process intensifies in the plant’s adult phase. An article on the study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, also describes genetic modifications in the species that can optimize production of the pigment, which is widely used in the food ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Speed baiting: new report offers strategy for increasingly crowded Utah fishing

There may, as they say, be plenty of fish in the sea — but angling opportunities on Utah’s streams, rivers and lakes are getting more crowded. The number of anglers trying their luck on Utah waters has consistently increased over the years, meanwhile it’s getting more expensive for state managers to raise and stock gamefish and increasingly difficult to access water-based recreation during the ongoing megadrought. Managers of fisheries in the state are being asked to do more with less these days, and they’re working more strategically to create sustainable opportunities for everyone picking up a rod and ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Research reveals the key to an irresistible online dating profile

In writing a good online dating profile, the average love-seeker is likely to fill it up with all the appealing qualities and interests that make them special. They paraglide and do hot yoga on the weekends; enjoy Riesling on the beach or seeing indie bands in basements; are a Libra with Scorpio rising; or have a dog or three kids or an iguana. There’s one thing they routinely leave out, however: what they want to know about their potential partner. Yet, that detail might the most important thing to include, according ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Surprisingly vibrant colour of 12-million-year-old snail shells

Snail shells are often colourful and strikingly patterned. This is due to pigments that are produced in special cells of the snail and stored in the shell in varying concentrations. Fossil shells, on the other hand, are usually pale and inconspicuous because the pigments are very sensitive and have already decomposed. Residues of ancient colour patterns are therefore very rare. This makes this new discovery by researchers from the University of Göttingen and the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW) all the more astonishing: they found pigments in ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Yale joins the ‘Snowball’ fight over global deep freeze periods

New Haven, Conn. — A Yale-led research team has picked a side in the “Snowball Earth” debate over the possible cause of planet-wide deep freeze events that occurred in the distant past. According to a new study, these so-called “Snowball” Earth periods, in which the planet’s surface was covered in ice for thousands or even millions of years, could have been triggered abruptly by large asteroids that slammed into the Earth. The findings, detailed in the journal Science Advances, may answer a question ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Mariana Mesel-Lemoine appointed as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Institut Pasteur

Acting on a proposal from the Institut Pasteur President Yasmine Belkaid, the Institut Pasteur Board of Governors appointed Mariana Mesel-Lemoine as Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Wednesday February 7, 2024. This appointment marks a significant milestone in the history of the Institut Pasteur, and it is the first French research institute to establish a position of this kind at such a senior and strategic level. Mariana Mesel-Lemoine will report directly to the President. Her mission will be to propose policy and strategy priorities related to diversity, equity and inclusion for the "Pasteur 2030" Strategic Plan, to oversee ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Time to anticoagulation reversal and outcomes after intracerebral hemorrhage

About The Study: In hospitals participating in Get With The Guidelines–Stroke, earlier anticoagulation reversal was associated with improved survival for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. These findings support intensive efforts to accelerate evaluation and treatment for patients with this devastating form of stroke. Authors: Kevin N. Sheth, M.D., of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Temperature-sensitive prosthetic limb improves amputee dexterity and feelings of human connection

Sensory feedback is important for amputees to be able to explore and interact with their environment. Now, researchers have developed a device that allows amputees to sense and respond to temperature by delivering thermal information from the prosthesis’ fingertip to the amputee’s residual limb. The “MiniTouch” device, presented February 9 in the journal Med, uses off-the-shelf electronics, can be integrated into commercially available prosthetic limbs, and does not require surgery. Using the thermally sensitive prosthetic hand, ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Towards a natural prosthetic hand: A study published in Med has developed a temperature-sensitive prosthetic limb that improves amputee interactions and feelings of human connection

Pisa, 9 February 2024. “When one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I could feel the warmth of another person with my phantom hand. it was a very strong emotion for me, it was like reactivating a connection with someone”. Thanks to a sensorised prosthetic hand that provides realistic and real-time thermal feedback, Fabrizio, a 57-year-old man from Pistoia with a transradial (wrist) amputation, was able to discriminate between and manually sort objects of different temperatures or materials and ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Pioneering technique reveals new layer of human gene regulation

A technique can determine for the first time how frequently, and exactly where, a molecular event called “backtracking” occurs throughout the genetic material (genome) of any species, a new study shows. Published online February 9 in Molecular Cell, the study results support the theory that backtracking represents a widespread form of gene regulation, which influences thousands of human genes, including many involved in basic life processes like cell division and development in the womb. Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the work revolves around genes, the stretches ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Innovative coating prevents limescale formation

Hot water tanks, washing machines, kettles: limescale forms in every domestic appliance that comes into contact with (hot) water – especially in areas where the water is hard, meaning high in calcium. Often the only thing that helps is to use vinegar or a special descaler to dissolve the rock-​hard deposits and restore the appliance’s functionality. This is a nuisance in households – and an expensive problem in thermal power stations, for example those that generate electricity, where the formation of limescale is known as fouling. Heat exchangers are particularly prone to limescale, which greatly reduces the efficiency of the systems: ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

The Lancet: Black women in the USA were murdered six times more often than White women between 1999 and 2020, state-level analysis indicates

Analysis of racial disparities in US homicide rates indicates Black women were on average six times more likely to die by homicide than White women between 1999 and 2020. Homicide rates among Black women were significantly higher than for White women in all 30 states analysed, with some evidence suggesting the biggest differences are in states with the highest racial inequities. The greatest disparity in homicide rates was in Wisconsin in 2019-2020, when Black women were 20 times more likely to be ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Repeat testing for pre-eclampsia does not lead to better outcomes for pregnant women, but a single test is still beneficial

A single test to speed up diagnosis of a serious disease in pregnant women does not need to be repeated, new research has found. Results from the PARROT-2 trial, published today in the Lancet by researchers from King’s College London and funded by Jon Moulton Charitable Trust, Tommy’s Charity and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, has ruled out the need for routine repeat placental growth factor-based testing (PIGF) for all women with suspected pre-eclampsia. PARROT-2 is a large, multi-centre UK trial in 1,252 women ...

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Science9 Feb 2024

Urgent call for antitrust measures to safeguard innovation in spatial biology

Recent breakthroughs in spatial biology technology have transformed biomedical research; however, legal disputes are preventing small, innovative companies from advancing new technologies and ideas. Ongoing litigation poses a threat to the progress of even the most promising scientific technologies and the potential discoveries they could enable, according to the authors of the exclusive article titled “Sounding an Alarm Over Spatial Biology,” in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News (GEN). Click here to read the article ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

45 finalists named for the 2024 Hertz Fellowships

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation today announced 45 finalists for the 2024 Hertz Fellowships in applied science, mathematics and engineering. Selected from more than 860 applicants and representing 21 universities, the finalists advance to a culminating round of interviews for one of the most competitive and coveted doctoral fellowships in the nation. The 2024 class of Hertz Fellows will be announced in May. Since 1963, the Hertz Foundation has granted fellowships empowering the nation’s most promising young ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

Professor of Finance named ECGI Fellow

AUSTIN, Texas -- In recognition of her research and scholarship, Laura Starks, a professor of finance at The University of Texas at Austin, was recently named a fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). She is among eight new fellows selected from academia in Europe and the United States. ECGI, founded in 2002, is an international scientific nonprofit association that serves as a forum on corporate governance among academics, legislators, and practitioners. Starks is the George Kozmetsky Centennial University Distinguished Chair in the McCombs School of ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

NJIT researchers unveil method to detect 'forever chemicals' in under 3 minutes

PFAS have earned the name “forever chemicals” with good reason — the man-made compounds, which can take thousands of years to degrade and are found in everything from grease-resistant food packaging to water-repellent clothing, have made their way into nearly half the U.S. tap water supply. Now, in a study featured in Elsevier’s Journal of Hazardous Materials, New Jersey Institute of Technology chemists have demonstrated a new lab-based method to detect traces of PFAS from food packaging material, water and soil samples in just three minutes or less. Researchers say their approach could ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

Atmospheric nitrate radicals degrade floral scents, disrupting pollinator-plant interactions

Air pollutants reduce nocturnal hawkmoth pollination of evening primrose flowers by altering the flowers’ appealing scents, according to a new study that involved field experiments in Washington state. The findings illustrate the impact of anthropogenic airborne pollutants on an animal’s olfactory ability and suggest that such pollutants may limit global pollination. Human activities have drastically altered the environment. Sensory pollutants – human-introduced noise, artificial light, and chemical pollutants – can change animal behavior and fitness by introducing new stimuli or modifying naturally ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

Ultra-fast magma flow into dike below Grindavík Iceland

The 15-kilometer-long magma dike that formed beneath Grindavík, Iceland, in November 2023, which caused widespread damage and evacuation of the local population, reached an unprecedented subsurface magma flow rate of 7400 cubic meters per second, researchers report. The dike formation preceeded the more recent Sundhnúkur eruptions in December 2023 and January 2024. The study, which combined satellite-based geodetic observations and seismic measurements of the Sundhnúkur crater chain and physical modeling, shows how fracturing and tectonic stress can drive massive magma flow into dikes with only modest overpressure in the feeding magma body. According to the authors, the ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

The analysis of biological networks allows understanding the complexity of multiple sclerosis

International research led by the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) at Pompeu Fabra University, in collaboration with Hospital del Mar, Hospital Clínic, Charité - Medical University of Berlin, and the universities of Oslo and Genoa, has developed a computational biology tool, based on multi-level network analysis, to achieve an integrated vision of multiple sclerosis. This tool could be used to study other complex diseases such as types of dementia. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune ...

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Science8 Feb 2024

Fibroblasts in the penis are more important for erectile function than previously thought

Regular erections could be important for maintaining erectile function, according to a new study on mice published in Science by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. “We discovered that an increased frequency of erections leads to more fibroblasts that enable erection and vice versa, that a decreased frequency results in fewer of these cells,” says principal investigator Christian Göritz. In a new study on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University in Sweden ...

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