Science
press releases.

Science23 Aug 2023

Longevity gene from naked mole rats extends lifespan of mice

In a groundbreaking endeavor, researchers at the University of Rochester have successfully transferred a longevity gene from naked mole rats to mice, resulting in improved health and an extension of the mouse’s lifespan. Naked mole rats, known for their long lifespans and exceptional resistance to age-related diseases, have long captured the attention of the scientific community. By introducing a specific gene responsible for enhanced cellular repair and protection into mice, the Rochester researchers have opened exciting possibilities for unlocking the secrets of aging and extending human lifespan. “Our study provides a proof of principle ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Ice-free preservation method holds promise to protect reefs

As ocean temperatures rise, coral reefs face increasing threats as ecosystem damage has accelerated in recent decades. The ability to preserve and revive biodiverse coral samples has become an essential priority for the health and future of the world’s oceans. A Texas A&M University-led interdisciplinary team of researchers demonstrated that live coral can be preserved through a new technique called “isochoric vitrification.” This process takes selected coral fragments through the stages of cryopreservation, ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Editorial: A macrophage is a macrophage is a macrophage—in metastasis

“We hope that these results will inform future attempts at anti-macrophage therapy and lead to better outcomes for patients in the not-too-distant future.” BUFFALO, NY- August 23, 2023 – A new editorial paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on June 6, 2023, entitled, “A macrophage is a macrophage is a macrophage—in metastasis.” In this new editorial, researcher Thomas T. Tapmeier from Monash University, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and University of Oxford discusses a recent study he co-authored on how lung macrophages evolve during metastatic growth of lung colonies in a mouse model of melanoma. Macrophages have important roles ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

2024 Hertz Fellowship application now open

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering the nation’s most promising innovators in science and technology, announced today that it is accepting applications for the 2024 Hertz Fellowship awards. The Hertz Foundation has been granting fellowships to empower the nation’s most promising young minds in science and technology since 1963. Hertz Fellows receive five years of funding, which offers flexibility and freedom from the traditional constraints of graduate training and the independence needed to pursue research to advance our ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

MSU research suggests natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations

MSU research suggests natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations Highlights: New research from Michigan State University suggests that natural selection, famous for rewarding advantageous differences in organisms, can also preserve similarities. Reporting in the journals New Phytologist and Evolution, the researchers worked with a plant called wild radish and its stamens, or pollen-producing parts, two of which are short and four are long. Roughly 55 million years ago, wild radish ancestors had stamens of equal length. The team selectively bred — or artificially selected — ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

New modeling method helps to understand extreme heat waves

ITHACA, N.Y. - To prepare for extreme heat waves around the world – particularly in places known for cool summers – climate-simulation models that include a new computing concept may save tens of thousands of lives. The concept, called “ensemble boosting,” uses computationally efficient modeling to simulate a large set of extreme but plausible heat waves, all while avoiding hundreds of hours of expensive calculations on large computers. The study on the new modeling method, led by scientists at ETH Zurich, Switzerland and Cornell University, was published Aug. ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Insurance data reveal that vasectomies are becoming more common in the U.S.

In the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, researchers at the University of Chicago set out to investigate whether anticipation of restricted abortion access increased interest in vasectomies in the preceding years. In a new analysis, they found that vasectomy rates in the United States witnessed a remarkable surge from 2014 to 2021, as more men opted for the outpatient surgical procedure that offers permanent contraception by preventing ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Better or different? How brand differentiation affects pay and profits

DURHAM, N.C. -- New research finds brands that leverage a reputation for quality to pay employees less risk eroding profits. The paper, published online June 12 in the Journal of Marketing Research and authored by researchers from Duke University, London Business School and Texas A&M University, shows that vertical brand differentiation (being perceived as better) is associated with lower pay, whereas horizontal brand differentiation (being perceived as different) is associated with higher pay. High-quality brands taking advantage of brand cachet to pay employees less erodes profits due to negative effects on employee productivity ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

ORNL wins six R&D 100 research awards

Technologies developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received six 2023 R&D 100 Awards. R&D World magazine announced the winners from their selection of finalists announced last week. The winners will be recognized at the organization’s award ceremony November 16 in San Diego, California. “ORNL strives to deliver technological solutions for the nation’s toughest problems,” said interim ORNL Director Jeff Smith. “This year’s R&D 100 Awards are a reminder of how hard our scientists and engineers work to accomplish that feat.” Often referred ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Lower-middle class Americans near retirement are worse off than 20 years ago, new USC and Columbia study shows

Lower-middle class Americans nearing retirement age are worse off than their counterparts more than two decades ago, while upper-middle Americans have largely seen their life expectancy and wealth improve. Policymakers, meanwhile, overlook the lower middle group of Americans who don’t qualify for many assistance programs. That’s according to a new study by the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey and a microsimulation called the Future Elderly Model, researchers estimated future life expectancy and disability for cohorts of individuals ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Opportunistic sperm and northern bottlenose whales frequently observed swimming behind deep-sea trawler net to feed on escaping fish

Sperm and northern bottlenose whales were frequently observed following a trawler off the coast of Newfoundland to feed on fish escaping from the net as it was hauled in, according to a study published August 23, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Usua Oyarbide from Plentzia Marine Station–Univ Basque Country, Spain, and colleagues. In this study, the authors looked at how cetaceans interacted with a deep-sea trawler fishing in the western North Atlantic off the coast of Newfoundland in 2007. Oyarbide tracked whale encounters over 50 days between July 20 and September 13, 2007, while onboard the trawler as a North Atlantic Fisheries Organization observer. Sperm whales (Physeter ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Malaysian rock art found to depict elite–Indigenous conflict

A team of researchers led by the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research in collaboration with The Sarawak Museum Department have become the first to date drawings of Gua Sireh Cave in Sarawak, uncovering a sad story of conflict in the process. The limestone cave of Gua Sireh in western Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) is famous for the hundreds of charcoal drawings lining the walls of its main chambers, attracting hundreds of visitors each year. Approximately 55km southeast of Sarawak’s Capital, Kuching, the site is managed by the Bidayuh (local Indigenous peoples) in collaboration with The Sarawak Museum Department, ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Insights from fully sequencing 43 human Y chromosomes

Highly challenging to sequence and long overlooked, the human Y chromosome’s contributions to health and disease remain largely unknown. A new paper that presents, for the first time, the complete sequences of multiple human Y chromosomes from lineages from around the globe provides an essential step forward in understanding the roles of the Y chromosome in human evolution and biology. Even as the field of human genomics forged ahead at an astonishing pace, the Y chromosome— one of the ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Graphene: More magic starts when flatness ends

Researchers from The University of Manchester and the University of Warwick finally solved the long-standing puzzle of why graphene is so much more permeable to protons than expected by theory. A decade ago, scientists at The University of Manchester demonstrated that graphene is permeable to protons, nuclei of hydrogen atoms. The unexpected result started a debate in the community because theory predicted that it would take billions of years for a proton to permeate through graphene’s dense crystalline structure. This had led to suggestions that protons permeate not through the crystal lattice itself, ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Researchers fully sequence the Y chromosome for the first time

What was once the final frontier of the human genome — the Y chromosome — has just been mapped out in its entirety. Led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), a team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and many other organizations used advanced sequencing technologies to read out the full DNA sequence of the Y chromosome — a region of the genome that typically drives male reproductive development. The results of a study ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Fungus gnats as pollinators not pests

Many plants and crops rely on insects to pollinate them so they can reproduce. A new study has shown that several flowering plants from the group Euonymus are pollinated by fungus gnats, a dipteran insect. Specifically, they pollinate Euonymus plants which have red-petaled flowers with short stamens and yogurt-like scent. Although fungus gnats are known to pollinate hundreds of plant species, this study shows that the particular traits of red Euonymus flowers were likely to have been acquired via pollination syndrome, evolving over a process of natural selection to be pollinated specifically by fungus gnats. This research highlights the important role of Diptera, which are commonly regarded ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Looking out for kids: a case for better pediatric trauma interventions

In the weeks following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health directives called for masking, social distancing, social isolation, and stay-at-home orders. Apart from the severe medical consequences as a direct result of the pandemic, the ensuing social isolation had far-reaching impacts on children. The pandemic control measures affected the pediatric population by increasing mental distress, limiting physical activity, changing sleep patterns, and reducing emergency room visits. Unfortunately, the scope of pediatric trauma during the pandemic remains ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Unravelling the water dynamics and structure of water-coordinated metal complexes

Lanthanide-containing complexes are important compounds for sophisticated nuclear-fuel processing and medical imaging. Moreover, they often have interesting symmetric crystal structures and associated dynamics that render unique properties for practical applications. The seven-coordinate lanthanide complex Ho(III) aqua-tris(dibenzoylmethane) or Ho-(DBM)3·H2O was first reported in the late 1960s. It has a three-fold symmetric structure with holmium (Ho) at the center of three propeller-shaped dibenzoylmethane (DBM) ligands and a water (H2O) ...

Read the release

Science23 Aug 2023

Study connects neural gene expression differences to functional distinctions

Figuring out how hundreds of different kinds of brain cells develop from their unique expression of thousands of genes promises to not only advance understanding of how the brain works in health, but also what goes wrong in disease. A new MIT study that precisely probes this “molecular logic” in two neuron types of the Drosophila fruit fly, shows that even similar cells push and pull many levers to develop distinct functions. In the study in Neuron, a team of neurobiologists at The Picower Institute for Learning and ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

AIAA recognizes Pitt’s Peyman Givi with prestigious Dryden Lecture in Research award

For his contributions to the aerospace community, Peyman Givi, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Pittsburgh, was selected to present the 2024 Dryden Lecture in Research, by the Honors and Awards Committee and the Board of Trustees of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). According to AIAA, the Dryden Lectureship in Research, established in 1961, is one of the Institute’s most prestigious lectureships and emphasizes the importance ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

Osteoporosis: UAB-led study approved for a $13.9 million award to investigate prevention of bone fractures

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In osteoporosis, bones become brittle and fragile, putting them at high risk of fractures or breaks. These “fragility fractures” can cause pain, suffering, disability and even death, and patients have increased risks of repeat fractures. It is estimated that one in two women and up to one in four men experience a fracture in their lifetime due to osteoporosis. Can an augmented health care delivery pathway reduce the chances of those future fractures and improve outcomes that are important to patients? Two University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

Drs. Ken Kellar and Ryan Hibbs win the 38th Annual Alton Ochsner Award

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Ochsner Health has announced the recipients of the 38th Annual Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Disease. They are Ken J. Kellar, Ph.D, Professor of Pharmacology, Georgetown University Medical Center, and Ryan E. Hibbs, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology, University of California San Diego. This prestigious honor bestowed by Ochsner Health recognizes scientists who have made major contributions in understanding the relationship between smoking and disease, along with the development of innovative treatment modalities. The award is named in honor of Alton Ochsner, MD, the co-founder of the Ochsner ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

nTIDE August 2023 Deeper Dive: Employment landscape shifts to near all-time highs for people with disabilities

East Hanover, August 22, 2023 — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, gains in the labor market for people with disabilities have been at near all-time highs. Expert speakers at last Friday’s nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar provided results from an in-depth University of New Hampshire research study, which took a closer look at the unprecedented surge in employment-to-population ratio among most of the six disability subgroups identified by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Possible driving factors behind this employment transformation were also explored. nTIDE Deeper Dive Lunch & Learn Webinar is presented by Kessler Foundation ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

Steam condenser coating could save 460M tons of CO2 annually

If coal and natural gas power generation were 2% more efficient, then, every year, there could be 460 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide released and 2 trillion fewer gallons of water used. A recent innovation to the steam cycle used in fossil fuel power generation could achieve this. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a coating for steam condensers used in fossil fuel steam-cycle generation that is made with fluorinated diamond-like carbon, or F-DLC. The researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications that this coating could boost the overall process efficiency ...

Read the release

Science22 Aug 2023

Study adds to evidence that Parkinson’s starts in the gut

NEW YORK, NY--Ask any neurologist: Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder. The conspicuous symptoms of Parkinson’s disease—uncontrollable tremors, slowed down motions, and the feeling that one’s feet are stuck to the ground—all stem from the loss of neurons in a region of the brain that helps control movement. But many researchers believe that the neurodegenerative disorder may get started far away from the brain—in the gut—and years before the first neurological signs appear. New findings by Columbia researchers David Sulzer, ...

Read the release