Science
press releases.

Science4 Dec 2023

Q&A: How can Canada best meet its commitment to protecting 30% of its land by 2030?

At last year’s COP15 conference in Montreal, the Government of Canada set the goal of conserving 30 percent of the country’s land and water by 2030. In a new study in Nature Communications, a group of McGill University researchers have sought to understand how well our existing protected lands preserve Canadian species, how many species we could save if we reach our 30 by 30 targets, and what factors impact our ability to safeguard species in future conserved areas. Lead author Isaac Eckert, a McGill PhD candidate in Biology, answered some questions about his research. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. What ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

Mortality and morbidity among individuals with hypertension receiving a diuretic, ace inhibitor, or calcium channel blocker

About The Study: In this prespecified secondary analysis of outcomes of 32,000 participants in a randomized clinical trial and post-trial up to 23 years later among adults with hypertension and coronary heart disease risk factors, cardiovascular disease mortality was similar between all three antihypertensive treatment groups (thiazide-type diuretic, calcium channel blocker, or angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor). ACE inhibitors increased the risk of stroke outcomes by 11% compared with diuretics, and this effect persisted well beyond the trial period. Authors: Jose-Miguel ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

MD Anderson’s Katy Rezvani, M.D., receives 2023 Honorific Award from the American Society of Hematology

Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Stem Cell Transplantation & Cellular Therapy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been honored with the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for her groundbreaking research to develop and advance innovative cell therapies for cancer using natural killer (NK) cells. “I am fortunate to be able to engage in research that I am passionate about, to mentor incredible young scientists, and to collaborate with a remarkable team of researchers and clinicians. But most importantly, I am blessed to have the opportunity to undertake research that has the potential to ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

Awareness, accessibility, and affordability are crucial for the early detection of thalassemia

- Interviewing Dr. Androulla Eleftheriou, Executive Director at TIF, and Dr. Zhiyu Peng, Deputy GM at BGI Genomics, Head of the World Hemoglobinopathy Foundation Thalassemia, a hereditary hemoglobinopathy, occurs in 4.4 out of every 10,000 live births and is prevalent in Mediterranean coastal areas, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and southern China. Screening and antenatal diagnosis reduced the frequency of β-thalassemia in many Mediterranean countries. Focusing on other regions with high thalassemia prevalence, BGI Genomics has launched the Global 2023 State of Thalassemia Awareness Report, covering 1,847 ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

What's behind the holiday-suicide myth

PHILADELPHIA – For more than two decades, the Annenberg Public Policy Center has tracked the ways in which news organizations erroneously link the year-end holiday season with suicide, perpetuating the false holiday-suicide myth. But as years of national data show, the winter holiday months usually have low average daily suicide rates, with December the lowest of all. In our new media analysis, we find that of the newspaper stories during the 2022-23 holiday season that explicitly connected the holidays with suicide, 60% correctly debunked the myth while 40% incorrectly supported it. But it’s not just the media that ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

Unravelling the mechanism of urticaria from eruption shapes

The skin is the largest organ in the human body and plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis as well as protecting the body from the outside environment. Skin diseases can be life-threatening or heavily impair patients’ quality of life. Urticaria (also called “hives”) is common, affecting at least one in five people in their lifetime, and can persist for years or even decades. Many skin diseases are unique to humans, and their pathogenesis often remains unclear due to the lack of an appropriate experimental animal model and limited clinical data. One such human-specific disease is chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), which is characterized by the ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

Investigation of degradation mechanism for all-solid-state batteries takes another step toward commercialization

Often referred to as the ‘dream batteries’, all-solid-state batteries are the next generation of batteries that many battery manufacturers are competing to bring to market. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which use a liquid electrolyte, all components, including the electrolyte, anode, and cathode, are solid, reducing the risk of explosion, and are in high demand in markets ranging from automobiles to energy storage systems (ESS). However, devices that maintain the high pressure (tens of MPa) required for stable operation of all-solid-state batteries have problems that reduce the battery performance, such as energy density and capacity, ...

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Science4 Dec 2023

Primary care lessons for Canada from OECD countries

To improve primary care, Canada can learn from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with high rates of patients attached to primary care clinicians, write authors in an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221824. It is well known in Canada that there is a crisis in primary care, with about 17% of people reporting that they were without a regular primary care clinician before the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

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Science2 Dec 2023

Translation inhibition in CRISPR-Cas antiviral defense system

The recent publication in Science by Mogila, Tamulaitiene et al. represents a continuation of the successful scientific research conducted by Gintautas Tamulaitis’ group. In this study, the Vilnius University researchers using bioinformatic analysis, biochemical, and structural studies characterized a novel family of effector proteins, named Cami1. They showed that when a virus attacks a bacterium, CRISPR-Cas10 signaling molecules activate Cami1 - a ribosome-dependent ribonuclease. “Activated Cami1 cleaves mRNAs that are involved in protein synthesis, thereby inhibiting cell growth. This allows the bacterium to save resources and prevents production ...

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Science2 Dec 2023

Vitamin D supplements do not prevent bone fractures in children

A major clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has found that vitamin D supplements do not increase bone strength or prevent bone fractures in children with vitamin D deficiency. The findings challenge widely held perceptions relating to the effects of vitamin D on bone health. Around one-third of children have at least one fracture before the age of 18. This is a major global health issue, as childhood fractures can lead to life years of disability and/or poor quality of life. The potential for vitamin D supplements to improve bone strength has attracted growing interest in recent years, based ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Aging societies more vulnerable to collapse

Societies and political structures, like the humans they serve, appear to become more fragile as they age, according to an analysis of hundreds of pre-modern societies. A new study, which holds implications for the modern world, provides the first quantitative support for the theory that the resilience of political states decreases over time. Triggers of societal collapse have been well studied and vary from conquest and coups to earthquakes and droughts. This new study shows that pre-modern states faced a steeply increasing risk of collapse within the first two centuries after they ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

A leader in Texas water management

A University of Texas at Arlington civil engineer is leading a statewide initiative to use more accurate forecasting to guide reservoir storage and release to improve water supply reliability and reduce flood damages. Yu Zhang, a UT Arlington associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, is heading a new project—“Advancing Forecast-Informed Drought Planning for the West Gulf Region Through Integration of Climate Forecasts and Predictions of Reservoir Water Balance Predictions”—funded by the National ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Public gardens contribute to invasives problem

Botanist Denis Conover does not have to go far to study the growing problem of invasive plants. During an autumn stroll outside his office at the University of Cincinnati, the biology professor pointed out numerous examples of nonnative, invasive species in campus landscaping. “This is winged euonymus, otherwise known as burning bush. And here is Chinese silver grass. It’s a popular ornamental, but the seeds are dispersed by the wind,” he said. And there were many others: English ivy, wintercreeper, Callery pear. For his latest study published in the journal Ecological Restoration, he and his students examined the impact ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Can preeclampsia be prevented?

NEWS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL FRI, DEC. 1 -- 2:00 P.M. EASTERN Contact Colleen McDonald - Sr. Consultant, Earned Media 414.801.3146 | cmcdonald@mcw.edu Milwaukee, Wis. – Dec. 1, 2023 – Preeclampsia is a mysterious condition that occurs in about one of 10 pregnancies without any early warning signs. After 20 weeks or more of normal blood pressure during the pregnancy, patients with preeclampsia will begin to experience elevated blood pressure and may also have increased levels of protein in their urine due to hypertension reducing the filtering power of the kidneys. Prolonged hypertension due ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Meditation training can support wellbeing in older adults

Following an 18-month meditation programme can improve the wellbeing of older adults, finds a new randomised controlled trial by an international team co-led by UCL. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, show that meditation can improve people’s awareness, connection to others, and insight. While the meditation training did not confer significant benefits on two commonly used measures of psychological wellbeing and quality of life, the researchers say their findings may reveal limitations in existing methods of tracking wellbeing. Lead author Marco Schlosser (UCL Psychiatry and University of Geneva) said: “As the global population ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Scientists navigate uncharted waters in fish immunology research

Upon infection or immunization, all jawed vertebrate species generate proteins called antibodies that bind and neutralize pathogens. Strong and long-lasting antibody responses in warm-blooded species such as mammals are produced in secondary lymphoid microstructures (SLMs) among which germinal centers (GCs) are the centerpiece. Despite the apparent absence of GCs or similar SLMs in cold-blooded vertebrates (e.g., fish), these species can mount significant antibody responses that can persist for several months. Thus, for decades, the outstanding question has remained as to how and where ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

1 in 8 older adults use cannabis products, suggesting need to screen for risks

More older Americans use cannabis now than before the pandemic, with 12% saying they’ve consumed a THC-containing substance in the past year and 4% saying they do so multiple times a week, according to a new study of people aged 50 to 80. Those who drink alcohol at risky levels have a much higher rate of cannabis use. The new findings, published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research by a team from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, suggest a need for more education and screening of older adults for cannabis-related ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Study identifies peptide as key mediator in heavy alcohol drinking

(Boston)—Alcohol is the most common addictive substance in the world. Every year in the U.S. excessive alcohol use costs $249 billion and causes approximately 88,000 deaths, as well as various chronic diseases and social issues. Alcohol use disorder, a highly prevalent, chronic, relapsing disorder, affects more than 14 million people in the U.S. alone, in addition to being severely under-treated, with only three modestly effective pharmacological therapies available. Chronic exposure to alcohol has been shown to produce profound neuroadaptations in specific brain regions, including the recruitment of key stress neurotransmitters, ultimately ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Hip hop dancing promotes awareness of disability rights and performance equality, study shows

Hip hop dancing can be used to spread awareness of disability rights and help those with sight problems to participate in performance equally, a new study says. Breakin’ – which is commonly referred to as breakdancing - is good for mobility and helps promote balance and stability as well as wellbeing. It also offers an important opportunity for people to slow down and to connect with their inner selves, their feelings, their bodies, and their peers, according to researchers. It has been used to treat symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Nathan Geering, ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Adverse childhood experiences linked to muscle dysmorphia

Toronto, ON – A new study published in Clinical Social Work Journal found that adolescents and young adults who experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) before the age of 18 were significantly more likely to experience symptoms of muscle dysmorphia. With previous research showing that more than half of North American children and adolescents experience at least one adverse childhood experience in their lifetime, these new findings highlight the need for greater awareness of how adverse experiences in childhood (such as domestic violence, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse) and muscle dysmorphia (the pathological ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Trends in adult smoking prevalence

About The Study: This analysis of survey data from 353,000 U.S. adults found that smoking prevalence decreased from 2011 to 2022 in all age groups except adults 65 years or older, with faster decreases among younger than older adults. These findings suggest that the greatest gains in terms of reducing smoking-attributable morbidity and mortality could be achieved by focusing on individuals with low socioeconomic status, as this population has the highest smoking rates and the worst health prospects. Authors: Rafael ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

When scholars meet their sponsors

FRANKFURT. The principle that stands behind the Deutschlandstipendium is as simple as it is striking: every euro raised by universities each year is doubled by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Goethe University Frankfurt raised €990,000 this year, bringing the total funding available to Deutschlandstipendium scholars to €1,980,000. This means that 550 students – about one third of whom have a migrant background – can receive €300 per month for a maximum of two years. For ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

The world needs more empathy—here is how science can harness it

In a world grappling with deep-seated division and social upheaval, empathy has become more critical than ever. But science suggests when it comes to evoking empathy, our imagination is more powerful than we previously thought. A new study, led by McGill researchers, reveals how the different ways to experience empathy affect our willingness to help others. “Empathy is the ability to understand the situation of another person and is vital for prosocial behaviours. However, we know that empathy ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

Prioritizing housing goals may positively impact quality of life and independent living for people with disabilities

East Hanover, NJ – December 1, 2023 – Housing that fails to meet the needs of people with disabilities may have far-reaching consequences. Living situations that impede independence and community integration, for example, can adversely affect health and wellbeing over the long term. More than 70% of people with spinal cord injury use wheelchairs and other assistive technology, complicating their search for affordable, accessible housing. Despite the magnitude of this problem, little research has been conducted on residential mobility patterns among people with acquired disabilities, including spinal cord injury. Data from the ...

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Science1 Dec 2023

AFAR announces $16 million from Hevolution Foundation to expand New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research

New York, NY —The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), is pleased to announce a $16 million expansion of the Hevolution-AFAR New Investigator Awards in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research, a grant program to enable early-career investigators with labs in the US and Canada to research healthspan-expanding therapeutics and treatments. Hevolution Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides grants and early-stage investments to incentivize research and entrepreneurship in healthspan science, has awarded the AFAR $16 million to expand the program. AFAR and the Hevolution Foundation launched ...

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