Science
press releases.

Science31 Jan 2024

UTIA trade expert elected president of SAEA

Andrew Muhammad, professor and Blasingame Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Policy at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has been elected president of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. The newly elected president will be recognized at the Association’s upcoming annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 3-6. “We are excited for Dr. Muhammad in this important leadership role,” says Bill Johnson, interim department head for UT’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “His previous experience with SAEA and his global perspective on agriculture ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

New study has promising results for anti-aging effects from enzymatically modified isoquercitrin

From the study: This research examines the anti-aging potential of the flavonoid derivative of isoquercitrin known as enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ). A 28-day clinical trial with 30 volunteers aged 31–55 years highlighted EMIQ's effectiveness. Participants using EMIQ-containing Essence displayed reduced facial trans-epidermal water loss and skin roughness, alongside improved skin elasticity. This study emphasizes EMIQ's potential as an anti-photoaging ingredient in cosmetics, warranting further research. The findings pave the way for developing innovative skincare products addressing photoaging effects. ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Ketamine helped many severely depressed veterans, study shows

Ketamine has received a lot of attention as a potential treatment for depression, but few studies have revealed how well it works in real world settings, especially in patients with complex mental health needs. Now, a new study of data from veterans who had tried many depression treatments but still had severe symptoms suggests a series of intravenous doses of ketamine gave many at least partial relief. For a minority, it led to full remission. Nearly half of 215 veterans with treatment resistant depression who received ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Rice study shows how allyship can combat discrimination in STEM for Blacks, Latinos

Calling out discriminatory behavior is an effective way for white students to help combat racism against Black and Latino science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students, according to new research from Rice University. “(Absent) Allyship in STEM: Can Psychological Standing Increase Prejudice Confrontation?” appears in a recent edition of the Journal of Business and Psychology. The research, led by Eden King and Mikki Hebl from Rice, examines whether Black and Latino college students face discrimination when studying STEM and how allies can help combat racist behavior in these situations. “There is already a serious lack of representation ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Exposure to even moderate levels of radon linked to increased risk of stroke

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Now a new study has found exposure to this invisible, odorless gas is also linked to an increased risk of stroke. The study, which examined exposures in middle age to older female participants, found an increased risk of stroke among those exposed to high and even moderate concentrations of the gas compared to those exposed to the lowest concentrations. The study is published in the January 31, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Polycystic ovary syndrome tied to memory, thinking problems

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 MINNEAPOLIS – People with polycystic ovary syndrome may be more likely to have memory and thinking problems in middle age, according to new research published in the January 31, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study does not prove that polycystic ovary syndrome causes cognitive decline. It only shows an association. Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder that is defined by irregular menstruation and elevated levels of a hormone called androgen. Other symptoms may include excess hair growth, acne, infertility and poor metabolic ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Archaeological evidence of seasonal vitamin D deficiency discovered

Rickets ran rife in children following the Industrial Revolution, but University of Otago-led research has found factory work and polluted cities aren’t entirely to blame for the period’s vitamin D deficiencies. In a Marsden funded study, just published in PLOS One, researchers from Otago, Durham University, University of Edinburgh, University of Brighton, and University of Queensland, sampled teeth from a cemetery site in industrial era England, looking for microscopic markers of nutritional disease. Lead author Dr Annie Sohler-Snoddy, Research ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Perspective paper explores the debate over sentient machines

A researcher from the New Jersey Institute of Technology has published a perspective paper that examines sentience and its application to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Sentience describes the ability to sense and feel, drawing its meaning from the Latin word sentire which means “to feel.” The paper addresses a set of ideological commitments at stake in debates over sentient machines. The author proposes that artificial sentience is both necessary and impossible. The perspective paper is published in the Journal of Social Computing on December 31, 2023. “I argue ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Looking for love? Try finding purpose as well

The world of online dating can be overwhelming with the dizzying array of options for attracting a partner but new research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that those looking for love may have more success if they also seek a sense of purpose in life. Researcher Isabella D’Ottone, in the lab of Patrick Hill, associate professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences, published a study about how that sense of purpose can affect how others may rate dating app profiles. Those whose profiles show a sense of purpose were rated higher on various scales for attractiveness compared ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Dissipative soliton vanishes, breathing dynamics occur

Solitons are quasiparticles that propagate along a non-dissipative wave. Put another way, they are waveforms that hold their shape as they move—like a single wave moving across the surface of a pond. They can also show the particle-like behavior, such as collision, attraction, and repulsion. Ultrafast fiber laser is an ideal platform to explore nonlinear dissipation dynamics, but also deepen the understanding of optical soliton properties. In dissipative system, dissipative soliton can be obtained due to the balance between nonlinearity and ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Black summer bushfires in Australia wiped $2.8 billion from tourism supply chain

A first of its kind study of the 2019-2020 ‘Black Summer’ bushfires in Australia has revealed that the tourism industry nationwide took an immediate hit of $2.8 billion in total output to its broader supply chains and almost 7300 jobs disappeared nationwide. The fires four years ago triggered widespread tourism shutdowns in many parts of the country in the lead up to the peak Christmas and New Year season, resulting in $1.7 billion direct losses to the tourism industry, which triggered the larger drop in supply chain output. “These results are an illustration of what can be expected in the future not only in Australia, but in other ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Anchoring single Co sites on bipyridine-based CTF for photocatalytic oxygen evolution

Photocatalytic water splitting using semiconductors is regarded as a promising technique for producing hydrogen fuel from solar energy. The oxygen evolution half reaction has proven to be the bottleneck for photocatalytic overall water splitting owing to the high energy barrier and the sluggish kinetics. It is a big challenge to develop efficient photocatalysts for the advancement of water oxidation. Similar to graphene carbon nitride, π-stacked covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) have gained much attention in photocatalytic water splitting in recent years. The fully conjugated structure with the regular channels in the crystalline network will provide defined pathways for ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

AI-powered app can detect poison ivy

Poison ivy ranks among the most medically problematic plants. Up to 50 million people worldwide suffer annually from rashes caused by contact with the plant, a climbing, woody vine native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Western Bahamas and several areas in Asia. It’s found on farms, in woods, landscapes, fields, hiking trails and other open spaces. So, if you go to those places, you’re susceptible to irritation caused by poison ivy, which can lead to reactions that require medical attention. Worse, most people don’t know ...

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Science31 Jan 2024

Unprecedented success continues: 2023 employment gains for people with disabilities outshine those of counterparts without disabilities

East Hanover, NJ – January 30, 2024 – Amidst the backdrop of a remarkable four-year streak of growth, the employment indicators for people with disabilities reached unprecedented milestones in 2023. This achievement stands in stark contrast to the experiences of people without disabilities who faced a more severe decline during the COVID-19 pandemic and a slower recovery, not surpassing their pre-pandemic employment levels until 2023. That’s according to the National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE) 2023 Year-End Special Edition, ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Study suggests secret for getting teens to listen to unsolicited advice

A new study may hold a secret for getting your teenager to listen to appreciate your unsolicited advice. The University of California, Riverside, study, which included “emerging adults” — those in their late teens and early 20s — found teens will appreciate parents’ unsolicited advice, but only if the parent is supportive of their teens’ autonomy. Parents support autonomy by providing clear guidelines for limitations and rules that will be enforced. They ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

XRCC1: A potential prognostic and immunological biomarker in low-grade gliomas

“We conducted a comprehensive investigation into the potential of XRCC1 as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic indicator in diverse cancer types.” BUFFALO, NY- January 30, 2024 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 1, entitled, “XRCC1: a potential prognostic and immunological biomarker in LGG based on systematic pan-cancer analysis.” X-ray repair cross-complementation ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

The emergence of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern during 2020-22 created a need to understand the drivers of such growth

The emergence of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern during 2020-22 created a need to understand the drivers of such growth; this study uses a Bayesian model to reveal how a set of key covariates (the infecting variant, symptom status, age and number of prior exposures) affect viral kinetics at both individual and population levels ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002463 Article Title: Combined analyses of ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Mutations in the Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase 1 gene SOD1 can cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) in a process that involves dissociation of the SOD1 dimer

Mutations in the Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase 1 gene SOD1 can cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) in a process that involves dissociation of the SOD1 dimer; this study shows that a novel cyclic thiosulfinate cross-linker has favorable drug-like properties and can stabilize the SOD1 dimer in vivo, with therapeutic implications for fALS ##### In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper in PLOS Biology: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002462 Author ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

New research finds concerningly low levels of trust in fisheries institutions post-Brexit

Peer-reviewed - Survey Rebuilding trust in fisheries governance will be vital to create a sustainable industry post-Brexit England, according to new research. Strong trust between managers and fishers is essential for achieving sustainable fisheries, but new research from the University of East Anglia has found worryingly low levels of trust in fisheries following the UK’s departure from the European Union. The survey pioneered a methodology assessing different elements influencing trust. It revealed perceived incompetence, indifference to fishers' livelihoods, and inadequate consultation as major drivers of fishers' distrust towards fishery regulators. Lead ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Research indicates nearly six million American women became pregnant from rape, sexual coercion, or both during their lifetimes

Ann Arbor, January 30, 2024 – Experiencing a pregnancy from sexual violence is common in the United States, according to research conducted by investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier. Nearly six million women in the United States who were raped, sexually coerced (defined as non-physically forced unwanted penetration), or both became pregnant as a result. This equates to about one in twenty American ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Beating the freeze: Up to $11.5 million for eco-friendly control over ice and snow

Images New, nontoxic materials could one day keep solar panels and airplane wings ice-free, or protect first responders from frostbite and more, thanks to a new University of Michigan-led project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The research team will study biological molecules used by other living things to survive freezing temperatures. The project officially begins this week and includes researchers from Raytheon Technologies, North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota. Existing materials used to accomplish these feats come with serious downsides. For instance, road salts ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Study provides new explanation for why placenta may not properly separate at birth, putting mother and newborn at risk

A new study led by researchers at UCLA may change the way clinicians and scientists understand, diagnose and treat placenta accreta spectrum disorder, a serious condition in which the placenta fails to separate from the uterus at birth, jeopardizing the life and health of both mother and baby. Researchers previously believed that certain overly invasive placental cells, called trophoblasts, were responsible for keeping the connection intact. But this new research, which identifies genetic and cellular changes within single cells where the placenta ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

UCSF scientist wins Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research

[New York, January 30, 2024] – Sergio E. Baranzini, PhD, a geneticist, neuroimmunologist and data scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, is the winner of this year’s Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research. Dr. Baranzini is being recognized for his pioneering efforts to integrate vast pools of information to understand complex mechanisms that cause MS and to develop more precise approaches to stop the disease and end it by prevention. Baranzini is a Distinguished Professor and holds the Heidrich Friends and Family endowed chair in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Salk Professor Joanne Chory honored with Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science

LA JOLLA (January 30, 2024)—Salk Institute Professor Joanne Chory has been selected by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to receive a Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science for her achievements in plant science. She will receive a 14-karat gold medal and a $10,000 honorarium at the Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony in April 2024. Chory joins other extraordinary scientists and engineers as a Franklin laureate, including Nikola Tesla, Marie and Pierre Curie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Jane Goodall, among others. “Joanne’s contributions to the field of plant biology have impacted and will continue to impact scientists around the world,” ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Smartphone-based shopping mall walking program and daily walking steps

About The Study: This study found that the use of a smartphone-based mall walking program combined with physical shopping mall facilities and lottery-based digital incentive coupons may motivate people to increase their daily number of walking steps. Authors: Masamichi Hanazato, Ph.D., of Chiba University in Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.53957) Editor’s ...

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