Science
press releases.

Science30 Aug 2023

No worries: online course to help you stop ruminating

An online course designed to curb negative thinking has had strong results in helping people reduce the time they spend ruminating and worrying, a new study from UNSW Sydney has shown. And researchers say the online course, which will soon be hosted on the Australian Government funded online clinic This Way Up and is free with a prescription from a clinician, was found to significantly improve the mental health of the people who participated in the study. The trial was part of a collaboration between UNSW, the Black Dog Institute and The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St ...

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Science30 Aug 2023

How Norway is helping to restore humanity inside U.S. prisons

As part of an innovative prison reform program, the Oregon State Penitentiary created a healing garden on its grounds to provide some respite from the concrete and resemble the outside world. One incarcerated man who had spent most of the past two decades in solitary confinement described going to the garden as, “the first time I walked on grass in 20 years.” “Many of us have found beauty in weeds and flowers growing through the cracks in the pavement,” he told UC San Francisco researchers, who helped institute and then evaluated the reforms. “There is both beauty and inspiration in knowing that we, ...

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Science30 Aug 2023

Statistics can help us figure out how historic battles could have turned out differently, according to experts

Quantifying Counterfactual Military History probes whether historic battles and military interventions could have turned out quite differently Oxford, U.K., 30 August 2023 – Statistical methods can evaluate whether pivotal military events, like the Battle of Jutland, American involvement in the Vietnam war or the nuclear arms race, could’ve turned out otherwise, according to a new book. Military historical narratives and statistical modelling bring fresh perspectives to the fore in ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

MIND Institute director calls for new approach to equity in autism, fragile X research

UC Davis MIND Institute Director Leonard Abbeduto is calling for a major shift in the way research into autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities is conducted. He co-authored a paper titled “Toward Equity in Research on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” that was the basis for a special issue of the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The issue was published today. Abbeduto, a distinguished professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, argues that researchers ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Hemp helps to heal

A few days ago, the federal government took the controversial decision to make the acquisition and possession of small amounts of cannabis exempt from punishment. Provided the German parliament approves the draft bill, the “Cannabis Act” will come into force next year. While some consider this move to be long overdue, others continue to warn strongly against the health risks of cannabis use. The Jena researchers and their colleagues are now taking a different look at cannabis – at the traditional medicinal ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Smart fabrics’ informed touch can tell you where to go

HOUSTON – (Aug. 29, 2023) Personal devices feed our sight and hearing virtually unlimited streams of information while leaving our sense of touch mostly … untouched. A wearable, textile-based device developed by Rice University engineers could help declutter, enhance — and, in the case of impairments — compensate for deficiencies in visual and auditory inputs by tapping this underused sensory resource. “Technology has been slow to co-opt haptics or communication based on the sense of touch,” said Barclay Jumet, a mechanical engineering PhD student who is the lead author on a study published in Device. “Of the ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Study identifies geographic ‘hot spots’ for cigarette, firearm deaths in the US over two decades

Smoking and firearms are among the leading causes of avoidable premature death in the United States. In 2021, 480,000 deaths in the U.S. were attributable to tobacco and more than 40,000 to firearms – both are legal yet lethal. A new study from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine, and collaborators, now reveals geographically distinct areas of the highest death rates in the U.S. related to cigarettes as well as firearms, including both assault and suicide over two decades. Results, published online ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Preventive Medicine, show all three measures – smoking, firearm-related assault and firearm-related ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Jefferson Lab receives 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Staff and scientific users at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility need all kinds of electronics to do their jobs, including computers, smartphones, printers and more. But instead of buying just any laptop off the shelf, the lab takes care to buy devices that meet sustainability standards when possible. During a virtual ceremony on July 27, the Global Electronics Council presented Jefferson Lab with a 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award for buying sustainable electronics in fiscal year 2022. These devices meet ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Male crested macaques more likely to respond to offspring screams recruiting support

When infants are involved in agonistic conflicts, male crested macaques (Macaca nigra) are more likely to respond to screams from their own offspring. This is the conclusion of a recent study led by behavioural ecologist Professor Anja Widdig from Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig as part of the Macaca Nigra Project (MNP). The researchers studied the behaviour of crested macaques in the Tangkoko Nature Reserve on Sulawesi, Indonesia, over a 24-month period (2008 to 2010). A special issue of the “International ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Some hosts have an “evolutionary addiction” to their microbiome

We’ve long known that hosts malfunction without their microbiome—whether they are missing key microbial species or are completely microbe free. This malfunctioning is usually explained by the need for microbes to perform unique and beneficial functions, but evolutionary ecologist Tobin Hammer of the University of California, Irvine, is questioning that narrative. In a peer-reviewed opinion article publishing August 29 in the journal Trends in Microbiology, Hammer argues that, in some cases, microbes might not actually be helping their hosts; instead, microbe-free hosts might malfunction because they have evolved an addiction to their microbes. ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Cannabis use disorder and reasons for use in a state where recreational cannabis use is legal

About The Study: In this study of primary care patients in a state with legal recreational cannabis use, cannabis use disorder (CUD) was common among patients who used cannabis. Moderate to severe CUD was more prevalent among patients who reported any nonmedical use. These results underscore the importance of assessing patient cannabis use and CUD symptoms in medical settings. Authors: Gwen T. Lapham, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.W., of the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Broken by bison, aspen saplings having a tough time in northern Yellowstone

CORVALLIS, Ore. – In northern Yellowstone National Park, saplings of quaking aspen, an ecologically important tree in the American West, are being broken by a historically large bison herd, affecting the comeback of aspen from decades of over-browsing by elk. Findings of the research led by Luke Painter of Oregon State University were published today in Ecology and Evolution. The study comes five years after Painter, who teaches ecology and conservation in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences, published a paper in Ecosphere showing that wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone had been a catalyst for aspen recovery both outside and ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Partners from more than 100 countries collaborate as LOINC® issues 1,945 new concepts in semiannual release

INDIANAPOLIS -- LOINC® from Regenstrief Institute is issuing its semiannual content update with 1,945 new concepts to help health systems, laboratories and other health organizations exchange medical data. The release contains newly created content based on requests submitted by stakeholders from more than 100 countries. LOINC version 2.75 is available for download from the LOINC website and via the LOINC Terminology Service using HL7® FHIR®. The updated version includes new, edited and newly mapped concepts ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

New study sheds light on the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a common degenerative vascular disease, particularly afflicts men over the age of 60, with up to 8% affected. Characterized by the abnormal dilation of the abdominal aorta, AAA risks a potentially fatal rupture. Despite increasing research efforts, effective pharmaceutical strategies to curb aneurysm growth remain elusive. In a study published in the journal of Genes & Diseases, researchers from Sant Pau Hospital Research Institute and Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau scrutinized the Wnt signaling pathway's deregulation in human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Novel SwRI-developed antenna array wins 2023 R&D 100 Award

SAN ANTONIO — August 29, 2023 —Novel Southwest Research Institute-developed direction-finding technology has won a prestigious R&D 100 Award. R&D World Magazine has recognized SwRI’s Wideband Conformal Continuous-Slot Antenna Array as one of the 100 most significant innovations for 2023. “Southwest Research Institute strives to uncover innovative solutions to complex problems,” said SwRI President and CEO Adam L. Hamilton, P.E. “I am very proud of the work SwRI does and pleased to know this technology, which will provide significant support to naval operations, has been recognized as one of the most important innovations ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Scientists continue to push the boundaries of imaging techniques and reveal the mysterious world of molecules

Scientists from the IOCB Prague, the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Palacký University Olomouc, have once again successfully uncovered the mysteries of the world of molecules and atoms. They have experimentally confirmed the correctness of a decades-old theory that assumed a non-uniform distribution of electron density in aromatic molecules. This phenomenon significantly affects the physicochemical properties of molecules and their interactions. This research expands the possibilities for designing new nanomaterials and is the theme of a paper that has just been published in Nature Communications. The ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Researchers discover common origin behind major childhood allergies

Several major childhood allergies may all stem from the community of bacteria living in our gut, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and BC Children’s Hospital. The research, published in Nature Communications, identifies gut microbiome features and early life influences that are associated with children developing any of four common allergies — eczema, asthma, food allergy and/or hay fever. The findings could lead to methods of predicting whether a child will develop allergies, and ways to prevent them from developing at all. “We’re ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

An investment in more research to benefit children and adolescents

Launched in 2019, the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) aims to drive innovative health research that benefits children and adolescents globally – especially those living in low- or middle-income countries. Within this centre, the University of Basel and ETH Zurich work in partnership with the University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB) and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). Over the past four years, the BRCCH has supported around 80 researchers and 29 research projects worldwide. For example, researchers improved the treatment of cleft lip and palate and developed biotechnology to monitor paediatric gut ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Maintaining stable weight increases longevity among older women

Reaching the age of 90, 95 or 100, known as exceptional longevity, was more likely for women who maintained their body weight after age 60, according to a multi-institutional study led by University of California San Diego. Older women who sustained a stable weight were 1.2 to 2 times more likely to achieve longevity compared to those who experience a weigh loss of 5 percent or more. Reporting in the Aug. 29, 2023 online issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, researchers investigated the associations of weight changes later in life with exceptional longevity ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Mothers in prison embrace a parenting program to strengthen bonds with separated children

The number of women imprisoned in Australia has jumped by 64% in the past decade, leaving thousands of children separated from their mothers and causing huge stress to both parties. In a bid to ease the strain of separation and maintain the mother-child bond, a new prison parenting program has been developed in close collaboration with women in prison as well as prison staff and key members of the Aboriginal community in South Australia. The Mothers Matter program, led by University of South Australia midwife and researcher Belinda Lovell, includes direct input from Aboriginal and/or Torres ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Resistant E. coli rises despite drop in ciprofloxacin use

After a nearly threefold drop in prescriptions for the antibiotic ciprofloxacin between 2015 and 2021, the rates of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli bacteria circulating in the community did not decline. In fact, a study of Seattle-area women over age 50 who had not taken any antibiotics for at least a year discovered that the incidence of gut-colonizing ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli actually increased. About 1 in 5 women in the study were affected. Scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and Seattle Children’s Hospital ...

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Science29 Aug 2023

Researchers at UC Irvine issue a warning that GLP-1RA’s may be dangerous for children

A team of clinicians, exercise scientists, pharmaceutical scholars, ethicists and behavioral experts at the University of California, Irvine, outlined their concerns that the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) to treat childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes may have unintended and adverse consequences for children’s health. The commentary, Unintended Consequences of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Medication in Children and Adolescents – A Call to Action, was published as a perspective in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. The article was led by Dan M. Cooper, MD, distinguished professor in the Department of Pediatrics ...

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Science28 Aug 2023

Enter Sandman: Study shows dreams spill over into the workplace and can be channeled for productivity

Before heading to work each day, most people have spent the night dreaming. Studies show that on any given morning, about 40 percent of the working population recalls their dreams. New research from the University of Notre Dame shows that when dreams are first recalled, people often draw connections between their dreams and waking lives, and the connections they draw alter how they think, feel and act at work. “A Spillover Model of Dreams and Work Behavior: How Dream Meaning Ascription Promotes Awe and Employee Resilience” is forthcoming in the Academy of Management Journal from lead author Casher Belinda, assistant professor ...

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Science28 Aug 2023

New startups join Argonne’s entrepreneurship program

Four new innovators recently joined Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI), the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory, as part of the program’s seventh cohort. Each innovator will collaborate with a host scientist at Argonne while embedded full-time at the laboratory. Innovators plan to develop clean energy startups that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase U.S. competitiveness in emerging energy technologies. The ...

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Science28 Aug 2023

Curious and cryptic: new leaf insects discovered

An international research team including the University of Göttingen has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for their unusual appearance: they look confusingly similar to parts of plants such as twigs, bark or – in the case of leaf insects – leaves. This sophisticated camouflage provides excellent protection from predators as well as presenting a challenge to researchers. Genetic analysis enabled the researchers to discover “cryptic species”, which cannot be distinguished by their external appearance alone. The findings are not only ...

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