Science
press releases.

Science30 Jan 2024

Comparison of sleeve gastrectomy vs Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial of 1,735 patients undergoing primary bariatric surgery found that both laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were performed with a low perioperative risk without clinically significant differences between groups. Authors: Suzanne Hedberg, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden 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.2023.53141) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Tomato juice’s antimicrobial properties can kill salmonella

Washington, D.C.—Tomato juice can kill Salmonella Typhi and other bacteria that can harm people's digestive and urinary tract health, according to research published this week in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Salmonella Typhi is a deadly human-specific pathogen that causes typhoid fever. “Our main goal in this study was to find out if tomato and tomato juice can kill enteric pathogens, including Salmonella Typhi, and if so, what qualities they ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Comfort isn’t only a feeling, it’s a study

A lot of factors go into an individual’s comfort, and it’s more than just how one feels about the temperature The thermal environment refers to the physical surroundings as it pertains to the heat exchange of an individual and its environment. Naturally, the thermal environment also relates to comfort, or more specifically, thermal comfort. This type of comfort is an important metric to measure an individual’s feelings as it relates to their environment and can be directly associated with health, efficiency, comfort, and energy consumption. ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

After 7 years, alcohol control program still reduces child abuse

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A neighborhood alcohol control project in Sacramento that reduced cases of child abuse and neglect soon after implementation still had a positive impact seven years later, a new study found. Results showed that, in one of the neighborhoods where the program was put into place, total entries into foster care were reduced by 11.8% and alcohol-related foster care entries were reduced by 11.2% a full seven years after implementation. These new results were not as strong as those found right after the project was implemented, and there are other caveats to the success of the program. But the results are still very encouraging, said Bridget Freisthler, ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Asparagus and orchids are more similar than you think

What does an asparagus have in common with a vanilla orchid? Not much, if you are just looking at the two plants’ appearances. However, when you look inside - their leaves are more similar than you would think – as revealed by the composition of their cell walls. By studying plant cell walls – which are to plants what skeletons are to humans – we can reveal the composition of how leaves and stems of plants are actually constructed. This is exactly what a team of University of Copenhagen researchers has done, in a large comprehensive study. In doing so, they have created something truly novel: a large "reference catalogue" ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Goats can tell if you are happy or angry by your voice alone

HONG KONG (18 Jan 2024) — Goats can tell the difference between a happy-sounding human voice and an angry-sounding one, according to research co-led by Professor Alan McElligott, an expert in animal behaviour and welfare at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK). The study reveals that goats may have developed a sensitivity to our vocal cues over their long association with humans, according to the study published in Animal Behaviour. Long known for their own sonorous vocal skills, goats in the study tended to spend longer gazing towards the source of the sound after a change in the valence of a human voice, i.e., when the playback switched from a happier to ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Scientists identify how fasting may protect against inflammation

Cambridge scientists may have discovered a new way in which fasting helps reduce inflammation – a potentially damaging side-effect of the body’s immune system that underlies a number of chronic diseases. In research published in Cell Reports, the team describes how fasting raises levels of a chemical in the blood known as arachidonic acid, which inhibits inflammation. The researchers say it may also help explain some of the beneficial effects of drugs such as aspirin. Scientists have known for some time that our diet – particular a high calorie Western diet – can increase our risk of diseases ...

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Science30 Jan 2024

Superfluids could share characteristic with common fluids

Every fluid — from Earth’s atmosphere to blood pumping through the human body — has viscosity, a quantifiable characteristic describing how the fluid will deform when it encounters some other matter. If the viscosity is higher, the fluid flows calmly, a state known as laminar. If the viscosity decreases, the fluid undergoes the transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The degree of laminar or turbulent flow is referred to as the Reynolds number, which is inversely proportional to the viscosity. The Reynolds law of dynamic similarity or Reynolds similitude, states that if two fluids flow around similar structures with different length ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Do tree-planting campaigns follow best practices for successful forest restoration?

Global tree-planting campaigns have reached fad-like proportions over the past decade, and it’s easy to understand their appeal. Healthy forests help in the fight against climate change by absorbing some of our excess carbon dioxide emissions, and they can provide wildlife habitat and quality-of-life benefits for local human communities too. So why not plant more trees? It seems like an easy win. But the problem is, there’s a huge difference between simply planting a tree and making sure that trees survive and grow over the long-term. And without the necessary ecological understanding or long-term planning and ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

How a walk in nature restores attention

New research from University of Utah psychology researchers is helping prove what American authors John Muir and Henry David Thoreau tried to teach more than 150 years ago: Time spent in nature is good for the heart and soul. Amy McDonnell and David Strayer are showing it is good for your brain, too. Their latest research, conducted at the university’s Red Butte Garden, uses electroencephalography (EEG), which records electrical activity in the brain with small discs attached to the scalp, to measure participants’ attentional capacity. “A walk in nature enhances certain executive control processes in the brain above and beyond the benefits associated with exercise,” ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Spatial model predicts bumblebee exposure to pesticide use

It has long been known that agricultural pesticides are one of the greatest threats to bees and other essential pollinators. What farmers have lacked is an understanding of how different pesticides, applied at various times on a variety of crops, affect the risk of exposure to bees living near the fields. Researchers have drawn from real-world data to try to address this gap, developing and testing a spatial model for predicting pesticide exposure in bumblebees. The journal Science of the Total Environment published the work, based on the interactions of the yellow-faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

A firm eye on the proboscis

EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY, 29 JANUARY 2024, 21:00 CET (20:00 LONDON TIME, 15:00 U.S. EASTERN TIME) Have you ever seen a hummingbird hawk moth? When people encounter this moth for the first time, they are usually intrigued: Looking like a cross between a butterfly and a bird – hence the name – this animal has the amazing ability to hover like a helicopter for long periods. On closer inspection, another feature of the hummingbird hawk moth quickly catches the eye: the spiralling curled proboscis, which is as long as the entire animal. The moth uses its proboscis ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

People are inclined to hide a contagious illness while around others, research shows

A startling number of people conceal an infectious illness to avoid missing work, travel, or social events, new research at the University of Michigan suggests. The findings are reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Across a series of studies involving healthy and sick adults, 75% of the 4,110 participants said they had either hidden an infectious illness from others at least once or might do so in the future. Many participants reported boarding planes, going on dates, and engaging in other social interactions while secretly sick. More than 61% of healthcare workers participating in the study also ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Jobs and geography may affect hearing: New study maps hearing loss by state and county across the US

Chicago, IL – January 24, 2024 – The first study to map the prevalence of bilateral hearing loss in the United States by state and county finds that rates of hearing loss are higher among men, non-Hispanic Whites, and residents of rural areas. Bilateral hearing loss is hearing loss in both ears. West Virginia, Alaska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Arizona had the highest rates of hearing loss, while the District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Connecticut had the lowest (see top ten highest and ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Rising sea levels could lead to more methane emitted from wetlands

As sea levels rise due to global warming, ecosystems are being altered. One small silver lining, scientists believed, was that the tidal wetlands found in estuaries might produce less methane – a potent greenhouse gas – as the increasing influx of seawater makes these habitats less hospitable to methane-producing microbes. However, research from biologists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley indicates that these assumptions aren’t always true. After examining the microbial, chemical, and geological features of 11 wetland zones, the team found that a wetland region exposed ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

From Baby Boomers to Gen Alpha – Is it time to stop talking about generations?

'Millennials don't really want to work. They're far too focused on avocado toast and chai lattes!' Just one of the many clichés expressed by workers over the age of fifty. And those being criticized? Well, they often reply with a bored 'OK, Boomer' followed by an eye roll and some ironic remark about the excessively performance-driven worldview of those born between the mid 1950s and the mid 1960s. Work, it seems, just isn't as important to the young as it is to older generations. But it's not just about baby boomers and millennials. Parked between them is Generation X, ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Can science beat counterfeit detector pens? (video)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29, 2024 — Counterfeit detector pens use a starch-iodine reaction to identify fake bills. But could you fool them with chemistry? In today’s episode, we dive into the chemistry of iodine, its color and its clock reactions, all while making a little extra cash on the side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDaVCyOBSsY Reactions is a video series produced by the American Chemical Society and PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to Reactions at http://bit.ly/ACSReactions and follow us on Twitter @ACSReactions. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Food insecurity and premature mortality and life expectancy in the us

About The Study: Although the association of food security and life expectancy varied across sex and racial and ethnic groups, overall, lower levels of food security were associated with a higher risk of premature mortality and a shorter life expectancy in this study of 57,000 adults. The findings of this study highlight the potential importance of improving food security in promoting population health and health equity. Authors: Lu Qi, M.D., of Tulane University in New Orleans, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Wealth redistribution to extend longevity in the U.S.

About The Study: The findings of this study of 35,000 adults age 50 or older suggest that wealth inequality in the U.S. is associated with significant inequities in survival. Wealth redistribution policies may substantially reduce those inequities and increase population longevity. Authors: Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, M.D., M.S.Ed., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, 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/jamainternmed.2023.7975) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

First-ever sighting of a live newborn great white

Great whites, the largest predatory sharks in the world with the most fatal attacks on humans, are tough to imagine as newborn babies. That is partially because no one has seen one in the wild, it seems, until now. Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna and UC Riverside biology doctoral student Phillip Sternes were scanning the waters for sharks on July 9, 2023, near Santa Barbara on California’s central coast. That day, something exciting appeared on the viewfinder of Gauna’s drone camera. It was a shark ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Back from the dead: Tropical tree fern repurposes its dead leaves

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant. The fern, Cyathea rojasiana, reconfigures these “zombie leaves,” reversing the flow of water to draw nutrients back into the plant. Watch a video about the findings. This weird phenomenon occurs only after the leaves die and droop to the ground, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign plant biology professor James Dalling, ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

New horizons in chemical biology: A novel approach to synthesize dibenzothiophene s-oxides

Organic compounds in the field of chemistry range from simple hydrocarbons to complex molecules, with diverse functional groups added to the main carbon backbone. These functional groups impart the compounds distinct chemical properties as well as participate in various chemical transformations, making them important precursors for the synthesis of diverse compounds. Scientists have, therefore, actively engaged in creating molecules that feature novel and highly reactive functional groups. One such class of compounds are dibenzothiophenes and their derivatives containing ...

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Science29 Jan 2024

Organ donations after MAiD made up 14% of deceased donations in Quebec

Organ donation after medical assistance in dying (MAiD) represented 14% of Quebec's total deceased donations in 2022, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230883. To understand the impact of organ donation after MAiD, Quebec researchers analyzed data on all patients referred to Transplant Québec for possible organ donation after MAiD from January 2018 to December 2022. This represented the first 5 full years when organ donation after MAiD was allowed in the province. Over the 5-year period, Transplant Québec received 245 referrals for donation after MAiD, ...

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Science28 Jan 2024

New study reveals the profound impact of forced separation between humans and their pets

Pet owners forced to be separated from their animals in crisis situations, including those who are victims of domestic violence, are suffering from a lack of support services needed to protect them. These are the findings of a new review of 27 years of international research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Anthrozoös, which unveils the increased risks to both safety and psychological well-being when people are faced with the threat of forced separation from their pets. The results provide important insights towards addressing the challenges arising from domestic violence, homelessness or natural disasters that can threaten the bond between humans and ...

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Science27 Jan 2024

STS announces late-breaker research to be presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has released late-breaking research scheduled for presentation at the 2024 Annual Meeting taking place January 27 - 29 in San Antonio. The conference, healthcare’s leading scientific and educational convening specializing in cardiothoracic surgery, has a rich history of showcasing clinical trials with a strong foundation of detailed methodology and trusted data collection governed by ethical clinical principles. The event’s late-breaking trial sessions focus on studies anticipated to significantly influence advances in cardiothoracic patient care. In this fast-paced healthcare landscape, ...

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