Science
press releases.

Science27 Sep 2023

Shedding pounds during midlife is difficult, but not impossible

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Sept 27, 2023)—Unwanted weight gain is a common problem associated with the menopause transition. Not only does it harm a woman’s self-esteem, but it is also associated with the development of heart disease, cancer, and declines in cognition and mental health. Tips for managing weight during midlife will be provided as part of a presentation at the 2023 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Philadelphia September 27-30. Weight gain in midlife women is the result of changes related to aging, menopause, and lifestyle. As women age, they are likely to expend less energy because of a reduction in physical activity and a decrease in lean mass. As a double whammy, ...

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Science27 Sep 2023

Can you actually have a hot flash in cold weather?

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Sept 27, 2023)—It seems counter-intuitive for women to experience hot flashes in cold temperatures but, thanks to declining estrogen levels that cause narrowing of the thermoneutral zone, changes in body core temperature can induce sweating responses in any weather. According to a new study, brown adipose tissue activity may be a key reason why. Study results will be presented during the 2023 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Philadelphia, September 27-30. “How can I be hot and cold at the same time?” It’s a common question asked by perimenopausal ...

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Science27 Sep 2023

The effects of sexual orientation on sexual function and distress

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Sept 27, 2023)—In recent years, there has been debate around the topic of who is happier, healthier, and more satisfied sexually—traditional heterosexual or sexual minority women. A new study suggests that cisgender heterosexual women have higher relationship scores and less anxiety and depression than their less traditional counterparts. Study results will be presented during the 2023 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society in Philadelphia September 27-30. Satisfaction with one’s relationship and sex life has been shown to ...

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Science27 Sep 2023

Workshop synthesis paper describes value of prescribed fire in wilderness areas

GUNNISON, Colorado, September 18, 2023 - Many of the wilderness areas that we treasure were historically shaped by fire. Yet today, many wilderness landscapes are caught in the wildfire paradox – widespread suppression and exclusion of burning over the last century have increased the likelihood of high-intensity fires, which are more damaging rather than restorative. In December of 2022, experts from land management agencies, Tribes, and organizations across the country convened at the Wilderness and Fire Workshop in Gunnison to consider solutions to this dilemma, including the use of prescribed fire. Today, ...

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Science27 Sep 2023

A novel role discovered for vagus nerve

The vagus nerve, known for its role in ‘resting and digesting’, has now been found to have an important role in exercise, helping the heart pump blood, which delivers oxygen around the body. Currently, exercise science holds that the ‘fight or flight’ (sympathetic) nervous system is active during exercise, helping the heart beat harder, and the ‘rest and digest’ (parasympathetic) nervous system is lowered or inactive. However, University of Auckland physiology Associate Professor Rohit Ramchandra says that this current understanding is based on indirect estimates and a number of assumptions their new study has ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Double trouble: Infamous “eagle killer” bacterium produces not one, but two toxins

The cyanobacterium Aetokthonos hydrillicola produces not just one, but two highly potent toxins. In the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), an international team led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Freie Universität Berlin describes the second toxin, which had remained elusive until now. Even in low concentrations, it can destroy cells and is similar to substances currently used in cancer treatment. Two years ago, the same team established that the first toxin from the cyanobacterium is the cause of a mysterious disease among bald eagles in the USA. Aetokthonos hydrillicola is ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

ACC releases guide to home-based cardiac care

The health care landscape has undergone rapid changes in recent years, requiring clinicians and stakeholders to consider innovative ways to provide care in traditional and non-traditional settings. The American College of Cardiology has released a workbook on home-based cardiac care that provides the cardiovascular care team with tools and resources to incorporate high-quality, patient-centered care in the home setting. Home-based care is defined as any form of medical care that takes place in the home of the patient; this includes the acceleration of virtual ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Research reveals why our skin feels ‘tight’

When we wash our face with a cleanser, our skin can start to feel tight. With the application of a favorite moisturizer, that feeling often goes away. This perception of our skin might seem subjective, but researchers at Stanford recently revealed the mechanism behind these feelings. Their work, published this week in PNAS Nexus, demonstrates how mechanical changes at the outer surface of our skin translate into sensations and provides a quantitative approach for determining how people will perceive their skin after using a moisturizer or cleanser. “This work provides ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Study sheds new light on strange lava worlds

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lava worlds, massive exoplanets home to sparkling skies and roiling volcanic seas called magma oceans, are distinctly unlike the planets in our solar system. To date, nearly 50% of all rocky exoplanets yet discovered have been found capable of maintaining magma on their surfaces, likely because these planets are so close to their host stars they orbit in fewer than 10 days. Being so close causes the planet to be bombarded by harsh weather and forces surface temperatures to the extreme, making it all but completely inhospitable to life as we know it today. Now, in a new study, scientists have ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Determining the meaning of a ‘model’

The term model is employed quite widely in science and technology. Researchers in disciplines such as biology, computing, engineering and mathematics each have their own understanding and meaning of what a model is meant to be. In a timely paper published in the journal Cancers, City, University of London Biomedical Imaging academic, Dr Constantino Carlos Reyes Aldasoro, reviews the use of the word model as it relates to cancer research and the specific area of the microenvironment surrounding a cancer tumour. He then groups different definitions ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Earthworms contribute to 6.5% of global grain production, according to new CSU research

Earthworms are important drivers of global food production, contributing to approximately 6.5% of grain yield and 2.3% of legumes produced worldwide each year, according to new work published by Colorado State University scientists in the journal Nature Communications. These new estimates from a trio of CSU researchers mean earthworms may account for as much as 140 million metric tons of food produced annually — roughly comparative to the amount of cereal grains (rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, maize and millet) ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Invertebrate decline reduces natural pest control and decomposition of organic matter

Leipzig. The decline in invertebrates also affects the functioning of ecosystems, including two critical ecosystem services: aboveground pest control and belowground decomposition of organic material, according to a new study published in Current Biology and led by researchers at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University. The study provides evidence that loss of invertebrates leads to a reduction in important ecosystem services and to the decoupling of ecosystem processes, making immediate protection measures necessary. Invertebrates, such as insects and also ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Inbreeding can be beneficial in the long run

"Of all the subspecies of reindeer found in the high north, the Svalbard reindeer has the most inbreeding and the lowest genetic diversity," says Nicolas Dussex, a postdoc at Norwegian University of Science and Technology´s (NTNU) Department of Natural History. It was only 7000-8000 years ago that the first reindeer migrated to Svalbard, most likely from Russia via Novaya Zemlya and the islands of Franz Josef Land. Perhaps there were no more than a few animals that established themselves on the arctic ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

National Science Foundation research award will expand the shift+OPEN initiative from the MIT Press

The MIT Press is delighted to announce that it has received a two-year, $275,000 Early-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) from the National Science Foundation to expand the shift+OPEN initiative and shift at least two more journals to diamond open access. The Press will also use the grant to assess and compare the viability of open access models for advancing and sustaining the outputs of scientific and scholarly STEM and HSS research. “We’re grateful to the National Science Foundation for their support of our growing shift+OPEN program,” says Nick Lindsay, Director for Journals and Open Access for the MIT ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Fabrication of p-type 2D single-crystalline transistor arrays with Fermi-level-tuned van der Waals semimetal electrodes

Professor Soon-Yong Kwon in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Zonghoon Lee, has embarked on a pioneering research endeavor focusing on the development of high-performance p-type semiconductor devices, utilizing molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2)—a compound renowned for its unique properties. This pioneering technology holds great promise for application in the next-generation complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) industry, where ultrafine technology is crucial. CMOS ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

The ethics of accepting tainted donations

A study digs into a topical debate: should institutions accept donations from bad people? Jeffrey Epstein donated to MIT after he was a convicted sex offender. The Sackler family donated to museums around the world, which had to decide whether to keep their names on display and whether to continue accepting funds after the family faced widespread criticism and legal consequences for pushing addictive painkillers on the public. Ethicists are often split on whether organizations should take money from morally tainted donors. The money can support good outcomes in the world, but the reputation of the organization may suffer and the public ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Understanding how choice overload in ChatGPT recommendations impacts decision-making

Over the past few years, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has witnessed numerous breakthroughs. One such remarkable milestone was the development and adoption of chatbots and conversational agents based on large language models, including ChatGPT. These systems can engage in realistic, human-like conversations with users and help them in many ways, such as by curating information, generating recommendations, or assisting in complex tasks. Interestingly, owing to their pre-training on large amounts of data, chatbots like ChatGPT are capable of generating highly personalized recommendations, considering factors like user’s interests, ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

New book spotlights sophisticated Indigenous responses to mining in the conflict-affected North Cauca region in Colombia

Indigenous communities act in sophisticated ways to deter unauthorised mining in Colombia, shows a recently published book by Postdoctoral Researcher Diana Arbeláez-Ruiz from the University of Eastern Finland. The book focuses on Indigenous people and mining in Colombia’s North Cauca region, where multiple armed groups and illicit economies operate. The research the book is based upon was carried out in 2016–2019. As the illegal armed group presence and illicit economies situation in the region has intensified since, the book remains highly topical today. Published by Routledge, the book documents what the Nasa Indigenous community do to stop unauthorised mining in their ...

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Science26 Sep 2023

Study examines benefits and obstacles of library data storytelling

The effective use of data storytelling could positively impact public library managers' approaches to data collection and their advocacy for libraries, according to Kate McDowell, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. However, cultural roadblocks to data storytelling must be addressed for the process to be successful, McDowell discovered in a recently completed study. McDowell discusses her findings in the Public Library Quarterly article, "Library Data Storytelling: Obstacles and Paths Forward." This work is the result of her research project, "Data ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

Screening for adverse childhood experience can improve trauma-informed care, though time constraints and limited referral resources present challenges

Screening for Adverse Childhood Experience Can Improve Trauma-Informed Care, Though Time Constraints and Limited Referral Resources Present Challenges Researchers conducted a qualitative evaluation in five clinics in Los Angeles County to understand physician and clinical staff perspectives on the implementation of routine Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening in pediatric primary care. The researchers employed focus group discussions with 125 clinic staff involved in ACE screening, including frontline staff who administer ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

Understanding parents’ care expectations for a child with gastroenteritis could prevent after-hours care requests

Understanding Parents’ Care Expectations for a Child With Gastroenteritis Could Prevent After-Hours Care Requests Researchers from the Netherlands conducted a qualitative study to explore parental motivations, expectations, and experiences of off-hours primary care contacts for children with acute gastroenteritis. They conducted 14 semistructured interviews with parents who contacted primary care physicians outside of normal operating hours seeking medical attention for their children. Parents were more likely to contact their primary care physician after hours when their ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

Staffing challenges and general time constraints may harm primary care teams’ ability to implement quality improvement efforts

Researchers aimed to identify factors leading primary care practice personnel to decline participation in quality improvement (QI) projects, and strategies to improve the feasibility and attractiveness of QI projects in the future. Representatives from 31 practices agreed to participate in the study. Overwhelmingly, respondents said that staff turnover, staffing shortages, and general time constraints, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, prevented participation in QI projects. Challenges with electronic health records (EHR); an expectation for greater financial compensation for participation; and confidence in the practices’ current care ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

Scientists develop method of identifying life on other worlds

Humankind is looking for life on other planets, but how will we recognise it when we see it? Now a group of US scientists have developed an artificial-intelligence-based system which gives 90% accuracy in discovering signs of life. The work was presented to scientists for the first time at the Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Lyon on Friday 14th July, where it received a positive reception from others working in the field. The details have now been published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS (see notes for details). Lead researcher Professor Robert Hazen, of the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

Caribbean parrots thought to be endemic are actually relicts of millennial-scale extinction

In a new study published in PNAS, researchers have extracted the first ancient DNA from Caribbean parrots, which they compared with genetic sequences from modern birds. Working with fossils and archaeological specimens, they showed that two species thought to be endemic to particular islands were once more widespread and diverse. The results help explain how parrots rapidly became the world’s most endangered group of birds, with 28% of all species considered to be threatened. This is especially true for parrots that inhabit islands. On ...

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Science25 Sep 2023

CSIC contributes to deciphering the enigmatic global distribution of fairy circles

One of the most impressive and mysterious natural formations that we can observe in the arid areas of our planet are the fairy circles. These are enigmatic circular patterns of bare soil surrounded by plants generating rings of vegetation, which until now had only been described in Namibia and Australia. Over the years, multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain their formation, which have given rise to numerous discussions about the mechanisms that give rise to them. However, until now, we did not know the global dimension of this type of phenomena and the environmental ...

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