Science
press releases.

Science30 Oct 2023

Russell studying Black displacement & mobility in Arlington County

Russell Studying Black Displacement & Mobility In Arlington County Donald Russell, Director, Provisions Research Center for Art & Social Change, Director, Mason Exhibitions, University Curator, College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), received funding for the project: "Black Displacement and Mobility in Arlington County." The goal of the project is to create a database of researched information that evidences Black displacement, migration, mobility, and the legacy of the Black diaspora that remains today in Arlington County. The database will consist of maps, ...

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Science30 Oct 2023

Texas lab unlocks keys to alcohol withdrawal headache

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 30, 2023) — About 283 million people worldwide suffer from alcohol use disorder, a debilitating health challenge for which limited therapeutic options are available. The cost to society is estimated at greater than $2 trillion annually. “People try to rehabilitate, but it is very challenging,” said Yu Shin Kim, PhD, a neuroscience researcher at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. “Headache is one of the severe withdrawal symptoms that pushes the rehabilitating patient back to alcohol, because people know that, after drinking, alcohol will actually reduce the headache. It becomes a vicious ...

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Science30 Oct 2023

Want to achieve your goals? Get angry

WASHINGTON -- While often perceived as a negative emotion, anger can also be a powerful motivator for people to achieve challenging goals in their lives, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. “People often believe that a state of happiness is ideal, and the majority of people consider the pursuit of happiness a major life goal,” said lead author Heather Lench, PhD, a professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Texas A&M University. “The view that positive emotion is ideal ...

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Science30 Oct 2023

Research grants available: $50,000 to evaluate race in risk calculators

DALLAS, October 30, 2023 — Multiple 1-year grants of up to $50,000 each are available from the American Heart Association to fund research that evaluates the use of race in heart disease and stroke risk calculators. The American Heart Association,­ the single largest non-government supporter of heart and brain health research in the U.S., is offering the funding as part of the De-Biasing Clinical Care Algorithms project. The project is a two-year scientific research strategy, supported in part by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation, to study the complex issue of how race and ethnicity factor into clinical care ...

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Science30 Oct 2023

Virtual meetings tire people because we're doing them wrong

New research suggests sleepiness during virtual meetings is caused by mental underload and boredom. Earlier studies suggested that fatigue from virtual meetings stems from mental overload, but new research from Aalto University shows that sleepiness during virtual meetings might actually be a result of mental underload and boredom. ‘I expected to find that people get stressed in remote meetings. But the result was the opposite – especially those who were not engaged in their work quickly became ...

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Science30 Oct 2023

Study of 1,000 selfies helps explain how we use them to communicate

People have used self-portraits to communicate information about themselves for centuries — and digital cameras make it easier to share a self-portrait than ever before. But even though selfies are now almost ubiquitous, we don’t understand how people use them to communicate. So scientists from the University of Bamberg set out to investigate the semantics of selfies. “Although the term ‘selfies’ is now celebrating its 21st birthday, and although selfies are known in art history for nearly 200 years in photography and more than 500 years in paintings, we still lack a clear classification of the different types of selfies,” ...

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Science28 Oct 2023

How do animals know it’s lunchtime?

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used fruit flies to study how daily eating patterns are regulated. They found that the quasimodo (qsm) gene helped sync feeding to light/dark cycles, but not in constant darkness: instead, the genes clock (clk) and cycle (cyc) keep eating/fasting cycles, while other “clocks” in nerve cells help sync it to days. Deciphering the molecular mechanism behind eating cycles helps us understand animal behavior, including our own. Many members of the animal kingdom eat at roughly the same times each day. This is born out of the need to adapt to aspects of the environment, including ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Like humans, baboons are strategic cooperators

A team led by CNRS scientists1 has discovered that, just like humans, Guinea baboons develop complex strategies to select partners for cooperation, basing their decisions on past interactions. Humans naturally engage in strategic cooperation in many contexts. For example, when children help schoolmates by lending them their class notes, they may expect the same in return the next time: this is known as reciprocity. But if the favour is not returned, they are likely to seek others with whom to cooperate. The team’s findings ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Hidden way for us to feel touch uncovered by Imperial researchers

Imperial researchers have discovered a hidden mechanism within hair follicles that allow us to feel touch. Previously, touch was thought to be detected only by nerve endings present within the skin and surrounding hair follicles. This new research from Imperial College London has found that that cells within hair follicles – the structures that surround the hair fibre – are also able to detect the sensation in cell cultures. The researchers also found that these hair follicle cells release the neurotransmitters histamine and serotonin in response to touch – findings that ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Possible cause of male infertility

Bonn, 27. October - Mature spermatozoa are characterized by an head, midpiece and a long tail for locomotion. Now, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Transdisciplinary Research Unit "Life & Health" at the University of Bonn have found that a loss of the structural protein ACTL7B blocks spermatogenesis in male mice. The cells can no longer develop their characteristic shape and remain in a rather round form. The animals are infertile. The results of the study have now been published in the scientific journal "Development". Male ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Online games use dark designs to collect player data

Gaming is a $193 billion industry – nearly double the size of the film and music industries combined – and there are around three billion gamers worldwide. While online gaming can improve wellbeing and foster social relations, privacy and awareness issues could potentially offset these benefits and cause real harm to gamers. The new study, by scientists at Aalto University’s Department of Computer Science, reveals potentially questionable data collection practices in online games, along with misconceptions and concerns about privacy among players. The study also offers ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Evolutionary chance made this bat a specialist hunter

Ask a biologist why predators don't exterminate all their prey, part of the answer often is that there is an ongoing arms race between predators and prey, with both parties continuously evolving new ways to cheat each other. The hypothesis is particularly prevalent for bats and their prey; insects. 50 million years ago, the first bats evolved the ability to echolocate and thus hunt in the dark, and in response to this, some insects evolved ultrasound-sensitive ears so they could hear and evade the bats. But if there is an ongoing arms race, bats should have responded to this, says University of Southern Denmark biologist, associate professor and bat ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Electrodes with hollow nanotubes improve performance of potassium-ion batteries

Researchers who are working to find alternatives to lithium-ion batteries have turned their attention to potassium-ion batteries. Potassium is an abundant resource and the technology functions in much the same way as lithium-ion batteries, but these batteries have not been developed at a large scale because the ionic radius causes problems in energy storage and substandard electrochemical performance. To solve this problem, researchers are considering NiCo2Se4, a bimetallic selenide, to create sphere-shaped electrodes. The spheres are constructed with NiCo2Se4 nanotubes, which improve ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Team synthesizes a new polyoxometalate-based metal-organic complex

A research team has synthesized a new polyoxometalate-based metal-organic complex that they then tested as a catalyst for the oxidation reactions of various sulfides. They found that the complex possesses excellent catalytic performance, good reusability, and structural stability. The team’s work is published in the journal Polyoxometalates on October 19, 2023. Scientists in many fields have explored the selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides. Sulfoxides are organic compounds that contain sulfur and oxygen. These sulfoxides are high value-added chemicals in pharmaceuticals, agrochemistry, ...

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Science27 Oct 2023

Is it possible for random bit generator to reach a rate of Peta bits/s?

The optical frequency comb is an important tool in modern physics research and applications. In 2005, Theodor W. Hänsch and John L. Hall were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work on optical frequency comb technology. This sparked a great interest among researchers in the field, leading to a series of studies on optical frequency combs. Advanced nanophotonic technology has enabled integrated microresonators with ultrahigh Q factors and chip-scale microcombs. Among various comb dynamic states, a chaotic comb has high nonlinearity. In a chaotic comb, each comb tooth exhibits a chaotic dynamic ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Something to chew on: Researchers look for connections in how animals eat and digest food

Oct. 26, 2023 Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu UMass Lowell’s Nicolai Konow wants to bridge the gap between research on food processing and nutrient absorption. “There is a divide between biomechanists, who study chewing and food transport, and physiologists, who examine what actually happens to food in the gastrointestinal tract,” said the assistant professor ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

New tool measures food security duration, severity

ITHACA, N.Y. – Researchers from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management have developed a new method for measuring food insecurity, which for millions of people in the U.S. is more than just an abstract concept. The group’s probability of food security (PFS) measures the likelihood that a household’s food expenditures equal or exceed the minimum cost of a healthful diet. The researchers then put the PFS to the test, analyzing food security dynamics over a recent 17-year period, and found that a third of U.S. households experienced at least temporary food insecurity. Seungmin Lee, a doctoral student in the field of applied economics and management, ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Is red meat intake linked to inflammation?

Inflammation is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), and the impact of diet on inflammation is an area of growing scientific interest. In particular, recommendations to limit red meat consumption are often based, in part, on old studies suggesting that red meat negatively affects inflammation – yet more recent studies have not supported this. “The role of diet, including red meat, on inflammation and disease risk has not been adequately studied, which can lead to public health recommendations that are not based on strong evidence,” said Dr. Alexis Wood, associate professor of pediatrics – ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Mobile stroke units increase odds of averting stroke

Receiving a clot-busting drug in an ambulance-based mobile stroke unit (MSU) increases the likelihood of averting strokes and complete recovery compared with standard hospital emergency care, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, UTHealth Houston, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and five other medical centers across the United States. The study, published online in the Annals of Neurology on Oct. 6, determined that MSU care was associated with both increased odds of averting stroke compared with hospital emergency medical service (EMS) – ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Why are so many migrant families still separated? Chaos in the data

U.S. government reached a settlement with thousands of families separated under the zero-tolerance policy Experts highlight ‘mountain of a challenge’ that U.S. Family Reunification Task Force has had in accounting for separations Task force reuniting families is working within a limited scope of separated families ‘If using DNA data to reunite families could help even one child, it’s worth giving it a shot,’ says researcher CHICAGO --- Five years since the retraction of the Trump-era zero-tolerance policy on illegal border crossings, which resulted in the separation ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Uncovered in Uganda: Evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees

To date, research has suggested that only humans and some species of toothed whales live many years of active life after the loss of reproductive ability. But now, a new study shows female chimpanzees in Uganda show signs of menopause – surviving long past the end of their ability to reproduce. Signs of menopause in wild chimpanzees may provide insights into the evolution of this rare trait in humans. The vast majority of mammals stay fertile until the very ends of their lives, with humans and several species of toothed whales as the outliers; they experience menopause. In humans, menopause ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Special Issue: The hypothalamus

While small, the hypothalamus – a complex structure located deep in the brain – plays a gargantuan role in coordinating the wide array of neuronal signals that are responsible for keeping the body in a stable state. In a Special Issue of Science, authors across four Reviews unpack this key brain region’s impact on physiological and behavioral homeostasis. The hypothalamus consists of a complex collection of neural circuits. These circuits receive, process, and integrate sensory inputs to drive coordinated communication via a range of behavioral, ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

UCLA researcher finds first proof of menopause in wild chimpanzees

Key takeaways Female chimpanzees in Uganda’s Ngogo community experienced a menopausal transition similar to women. Fertility among chimpanzees studied declined after age 30, and no births were observed after age 50. The data can help researchers better understand why menopause and post-fertile survival occur in nature and how it evolved in the human species. A team of researchers studying the Ngogo community of wild chimpanzees in western Uganda’s Kibale National Park for two decades has published a report in Science showing that females in this population can ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Scientists call for a major investigation into Congo Basin

Leading researchers have launched a major scientific initiative to investigate - and help protect - the fragile Congo Basin Forest region in central Africa, one of the world’s most important but little understood ecosystems. They say the Congo Basin Science Initiative will transform the understanding of the Congo Basin, an area of 240 million hectares of contiguous tropical forests that absorb a vast quantity of carbon, which helps to moderate the impact of global climate ...

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Science26 Oct 2023

Parent-perceived benefits and harms associated with internet use by adolescent offspring

About The Study: This survey study of attitudes of 1,005 parents of children and adolescents ages 9 to 15 revealed both perceived benefits (e.g., family connectedness) and concerns (e.g., cyberbullying, addiction) of internet use. Twice as many parents reported specific concerns about internet addiction than substance addiction. Authors: Michael Peter Milham, M.D., Ph.D., of the Child Mind Institute in New York, 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.2023.39851 Editor’s ...

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