Science
press releases.

Science12 Dec 2023

In a new light – new approach overcomes long-standing limitations in optics

Osaka, Japan – When you look up at the sky and see clouds of wondrous shapes, or struggle to peer through dense, hazy fog, you’re seeing the results of ‘Mie scattering’, which is what happens with light interacts with particles of a certain size. There is a growing body of research that aims to manipulate this phenomenon and make possible an array of exciting technologies. Now, in a study recently published in Nature Communications, a multi-institutional research team including Osaka University has overcome what were thought to be fundamental limitations of how to enhance the efficiency of Mie scattering. Researchers in the field ...

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Science12 Dec 2023

A scheme for realizing nonreciprocal interlayer coupling in bilayer topological systems

The exchange of energy and environment is inevitable in any physical system, so non-Hermitian systems that can be described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are ubiquitous. There are two kinds of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, describing nonreciprocal systems with anisotropic coupling, also referred to as nonreciprocal coupling, and gain-loss systems. Three physicists won the Nobel physics prize for their discovery of topological phases and transitions in 2016. Recently, an emerging interplay of topological photonics and non-Hermitian photonics has ...

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Science12 Dec 2023

Ukraine has lost 18% of its scientists due to the war

Until the early morning of February 24th, 2022, Ukrainian scientist Olena Iarmosh did not believe there would be a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Iarmosh grew up and had settled in Kharkiv, her beloved city in Eastern Ukraine and only 40 km away from the Russian border, where she worked for more than 16 years as a lecturer in higher education before fleeing to Switzerland. At approximately 5AM, she awoke to the sounds of bombing, hoping that they were merely the loud sounds of technical maintenance at the local power plant. “My city looks worse now after the bombing than after two occupations by German troops,” ...

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Science12 Dec 2023

Extremely rare bird captured on film

A striking and extremely rare half female, half male bird has been spotted by a University of Otago zoologist. Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor Hamish Spencer was holidaying in Colombia when an amateur ornithologist John Murillo pointed out a wild Green Honeycreeper with distinct half green, or female, and half blue, male, plumage. “Many birdwatchers could go their whole lives and not see a bilateral gynandromorph in any species of bird. The phenomenon is extremely rare in birds, I know of no examples from New Zealand ever. “It is very striking, I was very privileged to see it,” Professor Spencer says. Photographs of the bird make ...

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Science12 Dec 2023

Roman ‘backwater’ bucked Empire’s decline, archaeologists reveal

UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01 AM (UK TIME) ON TUESDAY 12TH DECEMBER 2023 A rare roofed theatre, markets, warehouses, a river port and other startling discoveries made by a Cambridge-led team of archaeologists challenge major assumptions about the decline of Roman Italy. New findings from Interamna Lirenas, traditionally written off as a failed backwater in Central Italy, change our understanding of Roman history, its excavators believe. Their thirteen-year study – published today in the edited volume Roman Urbanism in Italy ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Don't say "vegan"

As presented at the Society for Risk Analysis 2023 Annual conference, Patrycja Sleboda from Baruch College – CUNY and her colleagues from the University of Southern California conducted a national food choice experiment to determine how people respond to labels such as “vegan” and “plant-based” compared to “healthy,” “sustainable,” or “healthy and sustainable.” Research has shown that limiting meat and dairy intake and eating more fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Diets with less meat and dairy are also more environmentally ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Hungarian scientists prove that senescence can accelerate evolution

The mystery of aging has fascinated people for millennia, with many willing to do anything to halt or reverse this process, because aging is typically associated with gradual deterioration of most body functions. While senescence is a natural part of life, biologists understand surprisingly little about the emergence of this process during evolution. It is not clear whether aging is inevitable, because there are organisms that seemingly do not age at all, moreover, the phenomenon known as negative aging, or rejuvenation, does exist: some turtles’ vital functions improve ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Schedule of sessions and press registration information now available for the ILSI 2024 Annual Meeting and Science Symposium

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 11, 2023 ILSI Global press contact: Katherine Broendel +1 (202) 659-0074 Ext. 175 kbroendel@ilsi.org WASHINGTON—The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) has announced that its Annual Meeting, Technologies and Climate Change: Shaking up 21st Century Food Systems – Promises and Pitfalls, will take place in Clearwater, Florida, 21-24 January 2024. ILSI's Annual Meeting will feature scientific presentations, professional development and networking opportunities for researchers, academics, industry leaders, nongovernmental organizations, as well as public sector and ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Madden studying merchants, maps & manuscripts of late medieval world

Amanda Madden, Assistant Professor, History and Art History; Director, Geospatial History, received funding for the project: "La sfera (The Globe): A Late Medieval World of Merchants, Maps, & Manuscripts." In collaboration with the project team, Co-PI Madden, Senior Developer Jason Heppler, and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (RRCHNM) propose to design and develop a digital edition of the text, including the user interface and data pipeline. The NEH grant will fund the development of a dynamic, interactive ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Raz developing advanced model-based tools for portfolio management

Raz Developing Advanced Model-Based Tools For Portfolio Management Ali Raz, Professor, Systems Engineering and Operations Research (SEOR), received funding for the project: "Advanced Model-Based Tools for Portfolio Management and Analytic: System Architecture and Multi-Attribute Decision Making for Integrating Autonomy Phase 2 (AIRC RT-1081.07.5)." Raz is supporting Purdue University and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) in the enhancement of the IAPR System-of-systems (SoS) tool suite. Raz received $20,500 from Stevens Institute of Technology on a subaward from the U.S. Department of Defense for ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

SETI Institute unveils two prestigious postdoctoral fellowships: the Baruch S. Blumberg Fellowship and the William J. Welch Fellowship

December 11, 2023, Mountain View, CA -- The SETI Institute announced today the establishment of a new postdoctoral research fellowship program funded by its transformative bequest from Qualcomm Co-founder, Franklin Antonio. The first two fellowships are being announced in conjunction with the American Geophysical Union Conference (AGU) being held this week in San Francisco. The Baruch S. Blumberg Postdoctoral Fellowship for Astrobiology and the William J. Welch Postdoctoral Fellowship for SETI and Technosignatures ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Public bodies “overwhelmed” at having to implement human rights laws, study warns

Statt at public bodies can be “overwhelmed” by having to implement human rights laws into the working of their organisation when staff are in “awe” of legislation, a new study warns. When laws are viewed as sacrosanct control over interpretation and implementation can be seen as the responsibility of a privileged few, according to the research. This leads to staff placing greater weight on implementation through processes. Laws are seen as so specialist staff feel they do not have the perceived required knowledge and expertise and cannot be trusted to implement them. Those who see equality and human rights law as malleable believe they should ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

If a piece of Turkey gets stuck in your throat this Christmas, there is no point in trying to free it with Cola

Cola. A drink forever associated with the Christmas season. And also, for many, a liquid that can help clear a blocked oesophagus. Something that may be a bit more likely at this time of year. However, research from Amsterdam UMC, published today in the BMJ Christmas Issue, shows that this is not worth wasting the sugary stuff. "Emergency physician Elise Tiebie, the driving force behind this project, saw online that this was really a rumour, from tip websites to Wikipedia as well as an anecdote in a British newspaper about paramedics saving a life by using cola. I've even heard doctors recommending it,” says Arjan Bredenoord, Professor of Gastroenterology at ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Have researchers found the missing link that explains the mysterious phenomenon known as fairy circles?

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, December 11, 2023 – Fairy circles, a nearly hexagonal pattern of bare-soil circular gaps in grasslands, initially observed in Namibia and later in other parts of the world, have fascinated and baffled scientists for years. Theories for their appearance range from spatial self-organization induced by scale-dependent water-vegetation feedback to pre-existing patterns of termite nests. Prof. Ehud Meron of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has been studying the Namibian fairy circles as a case study for understanding how ecosystems respond to water stress. He believes that all theories ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

New research identifies several warning signs that could predict intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence is widespread and can have severe physical and psychological health repercussions, but there is a shortage of research on reliable predictors of abuse before it occurs. New research, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, identifies several warning signs that preceded and predicted intimate partner violence. “Although future research is required to fully understand the associations between warning signs and abuse, these red flags could eventually be used ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Just say no to that invitation

It may feel unforgivably rude to reject an invitation – even one to an event you would much prefer not to attend – but people often overestimate the social consequences of saying no, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “I was once invited to an event that I absolutely did not want to attend, but I attended anyways because I was nervous that the person who invited me would be upset if I did not – and that appears to be a common experience,” said lead author Julian Givi, PhD, an assistant professor at West Virginia University. “Our research shows, however, ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

Science sheds light on shaking your holiday presents

As holidays near, people are sneaking shakes of their presents to try to figure out what they’re getting. But present shakers might be a little less sly than they think. New research shows it’s incredibly easy for people watching others shake boxes to tell what they’re up to. “There are few things more delightful than seeing a child’s eyes light up as they pick up a present and wonder what might be inside,” said author Chaz Firestone, a Johns Hopkins University assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences who investigates ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

New conductive, cotton-based fiber developed for smart textiles

PULLMAN, Wash. – A single strand of fiber developed at Washington State University has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline. The newly developed material showed good potential for wearable e-textiles. The WSU researchers tested the fibers with a system that powered an LED light and another that sensed ammonia gas, detailing their findings in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers. “We have one fiber in two sections: one section is the conventional cotton: flexible and strong enough for everyday use, and the other side is the conductive material,” said Hang Liu, WSU textile ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

New therapeutic target for rare type of childhood epilepsy

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, UCL and MSD have identified a potential treatment target for a genetic type of epilepsy. Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies are rare types of epilepsy which start in early childhood. One of the most common types of genetic epilepsy, CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), causes seizures and impaired development. Children are currently treated with generic antiepileptic drugs, as there aren’t yet any disease-targeting medications for this disorder. CDD involves losing the function of a gene producing the CDKL5 enzyme, which phosphorylates proteins, meaning it adds an extra phosphate ...

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Science11 Dec 2023

'Exceptional' results in phase III leukaemia trial

University of Leeds news Embargo: 19:30 ET on Sunday 10 December 2023 / 00.30 GMT on Monday 11 December 2023 New personalised therapy improves survival for patients with CLL leukaemia Personalised treatment for the most common form of adult leukaemia helps patients survive for longer and stay in remission, a phase III trial has found. The trial, by the University of Leeds, has been identified as groundbreaking research by the New England Journal of Medicine and the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, where ...

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Science9 Dec 2023

These are the world's most effective charities

Which charities will be most effective in ensuring your donation is put to good use? For the first time in the Netherlands, researchers applied scientific methods to pinpoint which charities achieve the most with the donations they receive. The University of Amsterdam and Stichting Doneer Effectief (Donate Effectively Foundation) unveiled the list on Friday, 8 December, during a sold out evening in Rotterdam. ‘We are talking about the Champions League of good causes,’ says professor of Philanthropy & Sustainable Investment Paul Smeets of the University of Amsterdam. The ranking ...

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Science8 Dec 2023

When is an aurora not an aurora?

The shimmering green, red and purple curtains of the northern and southern lights — the auroras — may be the best-known phenomena lighting up the nighttime sky, but the most mysterious are the mauve and white streaks called Steve and their frequent companion, a glowing green "picket fence." First recognized in 2018 as distinct from the common auroras, Steve — a tongue-in-cheek reference to the benign name given a scary hedge in a 2006 children's movie — and its associated picket fence were nevertheless thought to be caused by the same physical processes. But scientists were left scratching their heads about how these glowing emissions ...

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Science8 Dec 2023

Study reveals Zika’s shape-shifting machinery—and a possible vulnerability

Viruses have limited genetic material—and few proteins—so all the pieces must work extra hard. Zika is a great example; the virus only produces 10 proteins. Now, in a study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys have shown how the virus does so much with so little and may have identified a therapeutic vulnerability. In the study, the research team showed that Zika’s enzyme—NS2B-NS3—is a multipurpose tool with two essential functions: breaking up proteins (a protease) and dividing its own double-stranded RNA into single strands (a helicase). “We found that Zika’s ...

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Science8 Dec 2023

RIT leading STEM co-mentoring network

Two Rochester Institute of Technology professors are leading a National Science Foundation-funded project to support minoritized women students in STEM through a co-mentoring network called WiSEN (Women in STEM Network). Betsy Dell, professor in the College of Engineering Technology, and Makini Beck, assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Individualized Study, have teamed up with Washington State University, Gonzaga University, and the University of Montana to use nearly $600,000 awarded by the NSF to create a network model to connect women STEM students. Sarah Bark was recently hired to be the project manager. She will support the daily operations and ensure ...

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Science8 Dec 2023

Genetic mutations that promote reproduction tend to shorten human lifespan, study shows

A University of Michigan-led study based on a review of genetic and health information from more than 276,000 people finds strong support for a decades-old evolutionary theory that sought to explain aging and senescence. In 1957, evolutionary biologist George Williams proposed that genetic mutations that contribute to aging could be favored by natural selection if they are advantageous early in life in promoting earlier reproduction or the production of more offspring. Williams was an assistant professor at Michigan State University at ...

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