Science
press releases.

Science6 Nov 2023

New research shows quasars can be buried in their host galaxies

-With pictures- A new study reveals that supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies, known as quasars, can sometimes be obscured by dense clouds of gas and dust in their host galaxies. This challenges the prevailing idea that quasars are only obscured by donut-shaped rings of dust in the close vicinity of the black hole. Quasars are extremely bright objects powered by black holes gorging on surrounding material. Their powerful radiation can be blocked if thick clouds come between us and the quasar. Astronomers have long thought this obscuring material only exists in the quasar's immediate surroundings, in a "dusty torus" (or donut) encircling it. Now, a team of ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Neighborhood stressors dangerously elevate pregnancy hormones

Pregnant women living in blighted neighborhoods with high levels of known stressors have higher levels of testosterone – the primary sex hormone in males -- which disrupt hormone regulation and may lead to life-threatening complications during and after childbirth, according to Rutgers research. “Previous research has shown that exposure to neighborhood stressors is associated with preterm birth, low birth weight and other complications such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and stillbirth,” ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Scientists create the most complete atlas of the human fetal kidney to date

Highlights By examining the gene expression patterns of single cells from human fetal kidneys, researchers created a map that demonstrates the trajectories of cell states in the developing kidney and that identifies characteristics associated with kidney diseases. Results from the study will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2023 November 1–November 5. Philadelphia, PA (November 3, 2023) — Scientists have examined the gene expression patterns of single cells from 5 human fetal kidneys to create the most complete atlas of the ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Transforming the food system to serve all

Health happens where people work, live, play and worship, says Prof. Stacey Snelling, chair of the Department of Health Studies in American University’s College of Arts and Sciences. And that’s where the Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Lab engages children, adults and older adults to tackle health inequities. Snelling received a three-year grant of $2.8 million from Novo Nordisk Inc. for health education and to grow the number of Black farmers producing locally grown fruit and vegetables. The goal is to improve local ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Large herbivores such as elephants, bison and moose contribute to tree diversity

Using global satellite data, a research team has mapped the tree cover of the world’s protected areas. The study shows that regions with abundant large herbivores in many settings have a more variable tree cover, which is expected to benefit biodiversity overall. Maintaining species-rich and resilient ecosystems is key to preserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Here, megafauna – the part of the animal population in an area that is made up of the largest animals – plays an important role. In a new study published in the scientific journal One Earth, an international research team, of which Lund University is a part, has investigated the intricate interplay ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

UC Santa Barbara researchers can now visualize osmotic pressure in living tissue

In order to survive, organisms must control the pressure inside them, from the single-cell level to tissues and organs. Measuring these pressures in living cells and tissues in physiological conditions is a challenge. In research that has its origin at UC Santa Barbara, scientists now at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) at the Technical University in Dresden (TU Dresden), Germany, report in the journal Nature Communications a new technique to ‘visualize’ these pressures as organisms develop. These measurements can help understand how cells and tissues ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

A project that could touch all corners of Texas

Texas is a huge state. And with that size comes soil diversity, supply chain delays, climate differences, material and labor costs and many other things to consider when evaluating the budget for a highway project. To account for all of these variables, a University of Texas at Arlington researcher is building a price estimation and visualization tool for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) through a $200,000 U.S. Department of Transportation grant. Mohsen Shandashti, associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, is leading a team to develop that tool, which ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Charged “molecular beasts” the basis for new compounds

Developing new ways to break and reform chemical bonds is one of the main tasks of basic chemical research. “When a bond in a charged molecule is broken, the result is often a chemically ‘aggressive’ fragment, which we call a reactive fragment. These fragments are difficult to control using established methods of chemical synthesis. You can think of them as untamed beasts that attack anything in their path. In a mass spectrometer, there are many ways to break certain bonds and generate fragments,” says Dr Warneke, describing the processes in mass spectrometers. According ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

An exotic tick that can kill cattle is spreading across Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A species of exotic tick arrived in Ohio in 2021 in such huge numbers that their feeding frenzy on a southeastern farm left three cattle dead of what researchers believe was severe blood loss. The scientists from The Ohio State University have reported in the Journal of Medical Entomology on the state’s first known established population of Asian longhorned ticks, and are now conducting research focused on monitoring and managing these pests. So far, these ticks are not deemed to be a threat to human health. They tend to favor large livestock ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

E-cigarette use among adults

About The Study: The findings of this study of 414,000 respondents to the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey suggest that e-cigarette use remained common during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young adults ages 18 to 24 (18% prevalence). Notably, 71.5% of individuals ages 18 to 20 who reported current e-cigarette use had never used combustible cigarettes. These results underscore the rationale for the implementation and enforcement of public health policies tailored to young adults. Authors: Michael J. Blaha, M.D., M.P.H., of the Johns Hopkins ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Men less likely than women to share negative information, says study

A new study from Carnegie Mellon University, Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), and Bocconi University has found that men are less eager and likely to share negative information than women, while there was little difference when it comes to positive news. Published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the authors suggest that this may be due to a greater concern among men over how other people will see them, resulting in a tendency to self-promote by sharing positive information about themselves and not revealing their negative experiences to others. Dr Erin Carbone, Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Social ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Focus on AR/VR: Near-eye display based on metasurface devices

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Science; DOI 10.29026/oes.2023.230025 discusses near-eye display based on metasurface devices. With the rise of the meta-universe, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have been developing rapidly in recent years. Near-eye displays are crucial technologies for VR and AR. Despite the rapid advances in near-eye display technologies, there are still challenges such as large field of view (FOV), high resolution, high image quality, natural free 3D effect, and compact form factor. Great efforts have been devoted to striking a balance between visual performance and device compactness. ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

A review of liquid crystal spatial light modulators devices and applications

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Science; DOI 10.29026/oes.2023.230026 overviews liquid crystal spatial light modulators devices and applications. Technology to control and harness light has existed for centuries, often as static solutions that must be custom-designed. It is only in the past couple of decades that the digital era of micro-electronics and computing has seen fast rewritable technology meant for displays find its way into the mainstream of optics. In this review, the authors showcase the recent advances in replacing the traditional static optical toolkit with a modern digital toolkit for “light on demand”. ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Press program now available for one of the world’s largest meetings in fluid dynamics

The annual meeting for the American Physical Society’s (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics will begin in two weeks with presentations on new research in aerodynamics, turbulence, wind and water power, bubbles, culinary fluid dynamics, medicine, and more. The conference will be held in person at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, Nov. 19-21. There are no press conferences planned for this year’s program. However, a tip sheet highlighting newsworthy presentations is now available in the meeting’s press kit. Registered journalists ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Human insulin less temperature-sensitive than previously thought

A new Cochrane review has found that insulin can be kept at room temperature for months without losing potency, offering hope to people living with diabetes in regions with limited access to healthcare or stable powered refrigeration. This affects millions of people living in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in rural areas, as well as people whose lives have been disrupted by conflict or natural disasters. Human insulin is a hormone produced by the body that helps turn food into energy and controls blood sugar levels. People with diabetes cannot make enough insulin and those with type 1 diabetes have to inject insulin several times a day, typically before every meal. ...

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Science3 Nov 2023

Study reveals untapped potential to increase eye donations needed for sight-restoring surgeries

EMBARGOED: Not for Release Until 00:01 AM (UK Time) on Friday 3 November 2023 New research highlights the need for routine discussions about eye donation in end-of-life care clinical settings Less than four per cent of eligible patients in end-of-life care settings were asked to consider eye donation Patients had positive views about eye donation, but most did not know it could be an option for them Staff need training and guidance to support discussing eye donation with patients A new study has found there is significant scope to increase the number of eye donations from patients cared for in hospice and palliative care settings - donations which are desperately needed for ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

FSU researchers capture high-resolution images of magnesium ions interacting with CRISPR gene-editing enzyme

The gene-editing technology known as CRISPR has led to revolutionary changes in agriculture, health research and more. In research published in Nature Catalysis, scientists at Florida State University produced the first high-resolution, time-lapsed images showing magnesium ions interacting with the CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme while it cut strands of DNA, providing clear evidence that magnesium plays a role in both chemical bond breakage and near-simultaneous DNA cutting. “If you are cutting genes, you don’t want to have only one strand of DNA broken, because the cell can repair it easily without editing. You want both strands to be broken,” said Hong ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Online grocery shopping promotes less variety, fewer impulse buys

ITHACA, N.Y. – Online grocery carts tend to include less variety and fewer fruits and vegetables than those in a trip to a brick-and-mortar supermarket – but online shoppers are less susceptible to unhealthy impulse buys, according to a new Cornell University study. In an analysis of nearly 2 million shopping trips, the researchers found that within a given household, Instacart baskets are more similar to each other from week to week than in-store carts, with more than twice as many overlapping items between successive trips to the same retailer. Nutritionally, however, ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Golden Retriever Lifetime Study data uncovers potential connection between sterilization, hemangiosarcoma

DENVER/Nov. 2 – A scientific analysis published in Veterinary and Comparative Oncology using Golden Retriever Lifetime Study data notes a potential correlation between canine sterilization and hemangiosarcoma development. This startling finding has been previously suggested by experts but still is poorly understood. The authors note that the likelihood of diagnosing hemangiosarcoma appears consistently low across all sexes and neutering statuses until about eight years of age. Beyond this point, intact and neutered male ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Herbivory limits vegetation restoration success at sites worldwide, new meta-analysis shows

Excluding herbivores – or reintroducing their predators – may aid restoration efforts in many locations, suggests a new meta-analysis of more than 600 global studies. According to the analysis, herbivores at restoration sites reduced vegetation abundance by 89%, on average, a larger effect than they had at relatively undisturbed sites. Herbivores also suppressed plant diversity at these locations. Vegetation is a primary foundation of most ecosystems. However, in many, it has been dramatically degraded, contributing to the loss of biodiversity and ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Southern hemisphere dominates decline in global water availability

Driven in part by large-scale atmospheric climate modes, the Southern Hemisphere accounts for more than 95% of the recent decline in global water availability, according to a new study. Global land water availability has varied due to climate change and increased human water use. Although this crucial resource underpins livelihoods, socioeconomic development, and ecosystems worldwide, it remains unclear how water availability has changed in recent decades and what is driving these changes at a global scale. Yongqiang Zhang and colleagues combine various data, including streamflow observations of large river basins of ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Research outlines how sex differences have evolved

­­­Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 18:00hrs GMT Thursday 2 November 2023 Peer reviewed Observational study People and animals Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and Heidelberg University in Germany have shown that sex differences in animals vary dramatically across species, organs and developmental stages, and evolve quickly at the gene level but slowly at the cell type level. Mammals have different traits depending on sex, like antlers in male deer. These are known as ‘sexually dimorphic’ traits, and include differences which aren’t visible, ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

UCLA researchers develop solid-state thermal transistor for better heat management

A team of researchers from UCLA has unveiled a first-of-its-kind stable and fully solid-state thermal transistor that uses an electric field to control a semiconductor device’s heat movement. The group’s study, which will be published in the Nov. 3 issue of Science, details how the device works and its potential applications. With top speed and performance, the transistor could open new frontiers in heat management of computer chips through an atomic-level design and molecular engineering. The advance could also further the understanding of how heat is regulated in the human body. “The precision control of how heat flows through materials has been a long-held ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Good news, bad news on dental pain care seen in new study

Americans who have a tooth pulled or another painful dental procedure in the United States today are far less likely to get opioid painkillers than they were just a few years ago, a new study shows. That’s good news, since research shows that opioids are not necessary for most dental procedures. But the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have thrown a wrench into the effort to reduce opioid use in dental care – and not just in the few months after dentists and oral surgeons started providing routine care again after a pause in spring 2020. The decline in opioid prescriptions filled by dental patients was much faster in the pre-pandemic ...

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Science2 Nov 2023

Researchers identify female sex determining gene in mice

Francis Crick Institute press release Under strict embargo: 18:00hrs GMT Thursday 2 November 2023 Peer reviewed Experimental study Animals Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the Université Cote d’Azur, together with other labs in France and Switzerland, have identified a gene which is an early determining factor of ovary development in mice. Typically, mice with XY sex chromosomes develop testes, and mice with XX chromosomes develop ovaries. Whether early gonads become ovaries or testes is due to cells either ...

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