Science
press releases.

Science22 Aug 2023

Scientists create 3D models of freshwater mussels to help save them from extinction

Scientists and imaging specialists have teamed up to help save one of the world’s most endangered groups of animals: freshwater mussels. With funding provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center, imaging experts will create 3D shell models based on specimens from the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. Once complete, the models will be available online for free to educate the public about these amazing yet little-known creatures that ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

New study sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying SLC29A3 disorders

In humans, the SLC29A3 gene regulates the function of lysosomes to control waste recycling in cells such as macrophages (that engulf and destroy foreign bodies). This gene encodes for the lysosomal protein that transport nucleosides — degradation products of RNA and DNA — from lysosomes to the cytoplasm. Loss-of-function mutations in the SLC29A3 gene lead to aberrant nucleoside storage, resulting in a spectrum of conditions called SLC29A3 disorders. These disorders can manifest in the form of pigmented skin patches, enlargement of the liver/spleen, hearing loss, or type 1 diabetes. A key manifestation of this group of disorders is histiocytosis, ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

USPSTF recommendation on preexposure prophylaxis to prevent acquisition of HIV

Bottom Line: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that clinicians prescribe preexposure prophylaxis using effective antiretroviral therapy to persons at increased risk of HIV acquisition to decrease the risk of acquiring HIV. An estimated 1.2 million persons in the U.S. currently have HIV, and more than 760,000 persons have died of complications related to HIV since the first cases were reported in 1981. Although treatable, HIV is not curable and has significant health consequences. Therefore, effective strategies to prevent HIV are an important public health and ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

This fish doesn't just see with its eyes -- it also sees with its skin.

DURHAM, N.C. -- A few years ago while on a fishing trip in the Florida Keys, biologist Lori Schweikert came face to face with an unusual quick-change act. She reeled in a pointy-snouted reef fish called a hogfish and threw it onboard. But later when she went to put it in a cooler she noticed something odd: its skin had taken on the same color and pattern as the deck of the boat. A common fish in the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Brazil, the hogfish is known for its color-changing skin. ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Hard-of-hearing music fans prefer a different sound

WASHINGTON, August 22, 2023 – Millions of people around the world experience some form of hearing loss, resulting in negative impacts to their health and quality of life. Treatments exist in the form of hearing aids and cochlear implants, but these assistive devices cannot replace the full functionality of human hearing and remain inaccessible for most people. Auditory experiences, such as speech and music, are affected the most. In JASA, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Oldenburg studied the impact of hearing loss on subjects’ enjoyment of different ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Poor report card for children’s wellbeing

While COVID-19 lockdowns are no longer mandated, the stress and anxiety of the pandemic still lingers, especially among young South Australians, say health experts at the University of South Australia. In a new study released today, researchers show that children’s mental health and wellbeing have gradually worsened over the past six years, particular during and post the pandemic. Examining measures of wellbeing – life satisfaction, optimism, happiness, cognitive engagement, emotional regulation, perseverance, worry, and sadness – ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Groundbreaking Ultracompact Spoof Surface Plasmon Sensing System Revolutionizes Gas Detection with Smartphone Integration

A team of researchers from Southeast University of China has developed a cutting-edge ultracompact sensing system that leverages the power of spoof surface plasmon resonance (SSPR) technology to enable adaptive and accurate gas detection using a smartphone. The research article detailing this breakthrough, titled "An Ultracompact Spoof Surface Plasmon Sensing System for Adaptive and Accurate Detection of Gas Using a Smartphone," has been published in the prestigious journal Engineering. Traditional dielectric sensing methods often suffer from signal fluctuations, resulting in reduced sensitivity and accuracy. In response to the growing demand for precise gas detection in ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Australia experiences intense surge in Strep A cases, similar to northern hemisphere wave

Australia has experienced an intense surge in severe Strep A cases, similar to the northern hemisphere wave, despite differences in seasons and circulating respiratory viruses, according to a new study. The national research project, involving researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and published in The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, highlighted how the unseasonal increase in case load across the southern hemisphere adds to the need for a safe and effective vaccine against Strep ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

As city heat rises, bird diversity declines

Hangzhou, China & Ithaca, N.Y.—Humans aren't the only ones leaving town when city heat becomes unbearable. A study done on 336 cities in China concludes that heat-retaining buildings and paved surfaces are directly related to a loss in bird diversity. These findings from scientists at Zhejiang University and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. “The heat-retention characteristic of cities is a well-known phenomenon called the urban heat island ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Understanding river alteration via shifting flow regime

Researchers at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, President Kim Byung-suk) published their findings on the drastic short-term alterations in rivers accompanied by shifts in vegetation and geomorphology drawn from actual on-site investigation and analyses and not from model simulations. The alteration processes from a 'white river,' characterized by riverbeds with no vegetation including bare sandbars, to a densely vegetated 'green river' with grass and trees, have been ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

New test chamber created to find better ways to keep people cool

PULLMAN, Wash. — A shipping container that can test passive cooling systems could help researchers and builders find carbon-free ways to keep people cool in extreme temperatures. Washington State University researchers created the 60 square-foot chamber to test passive systems that use wind towers along with water evaporation instead of electricity to cool spaces. Finding cooling methods that don’t require putting more greenhouse gases into the air is crucial to helping a growing population adapt to climate change, said Omar Al-Hassawi lead author of the study in the journal, Energies. “Cooling is ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Origins of coronary arteries

Coronary arteries are a vital part of the human heart, providing it with oxygen-rich blood so that it can work. By comparing the hearts of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and frogs, a multi-institutional team of researchers appears to have found evidence that the structure of our hearts evolved in a stepwise process from fish, through amphibians to reptiles to mammals. When animals evolved from living in the water to living on land, a significant remodeling of the blood vessels to the heart occurred, enabling survival without gills. Understanding ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

City-living may make male song sparrows more doting ‘super’ fathers

When animals settle in new environments, or when their natural habitats are rapidly changed by human influence, their behaviors change. One such behavioral change that has been observed in several bird species that settled in cities is increased aggression, born out of the need to defend territories. City-living sparrows have, due to lower species density, fewer encounters with their kin than in the countryside. Yet, urban song sparrows have been shown to be consistently more aggressive in defending their territories. Now, a team of researchers in the US has investigated the effects of urbanization and the associated ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Which is easier to remember, symbols or words?

Everyday symbols like &?!#@$ are highly memorable, according to new research. The new study led by the University of Waterloo aimed to investigate how well symbols are remembered compared to words with the same meaning. “Our work is ground-breaking as it highlights how humans remember graphic symbols and logos,” said Myra Fernandes, co-author and professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Waterloo. “Symbols are particularly useful as they can be used as logos in advertising, as well as offer a faster ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Water harvesting in Death Valley: Conquering the arid wilderness

Korea is regarded as a “water-stressed nation.” Although the country receives an annual precipitation of approximately 1,300mm, it is characterized by concentrated periods and specific regions, thereby giving rise to challenges stemming from water scarcity. The lack of drinking water extends beyond mere inconvenience, posing life-threatening implications for certain individuals. In March 2023, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report highlighting the plight of roughly 190 million children in Africa who suffer from an absence of safe water, resulting in the tragic daily loss of 1,000 children under the age of five. Nations across the globe ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

Driverless cars are no place to relax, new study shows

Early data on activities that will be unsafe to undertake in automated vehicles has been released. From doing work to watching the world, from social media to resting – preliminary results are in. Research led by RMIT University looked at what happens if a driver is suddenly required to take control of an automated vehicle, such as in an emergency. The series of papers examines how experience and three types of distractions (work, social media and rest) impacted on the driver’s ability to respond. Study lead author in the School of Engineering, Dr Neng Zhang, said ...

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Science22 Aug 2023

New study reveals the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, affects 15% of the global population over the age of 30

**Embargoed until 23.30 [UK time] / 6.30pm [ET] Monday, August 21, 2023** Peer-reviewed / Systematic review and meta-analysis The Lancet: New study reveals the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, affects 15% of the global population over the age of 30 Aging, population growth, and obesity are key drivers ● By 2050, nearly 1 billion people are projected to have osteoarthritis. ● Obesity is a major contributor to osteoarthritis. In 2020, obesity was responsible for approximately 20% of the disability of osteoarthritis. ● Osteoarthritis increases with age. For ages 70+, the condition ranked seventh among causes ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

Want to know how light works? Try asking a mechanic

Since the 17th century, when Isaac Newton and Christiaan Huygens first debated the nature of light, scientists have been puzzling over whether light is best viewed as a wave or a particle — or perhaps, at the quantum level, even both at once. Now, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have revealed a new connection between the two perspectives, using a 350-year-old mechanical theorem — ordinarily used to describe the movement of large, physical objects like pendulums and planets — to explain some ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

Did sabertooth tigers purr or roar?

When a sabertooth tiger called out, what noise did it make – a mighty roar or a throaty purr? A new study from North Carolina State University examined the data behind the arguments for each vocalization and found that the answer was more nuanced than they thought – and that it could depend on the shape of a few small bones. Modern cats belong to one of two groups: either the pantherine “big cats,” including the roaring lions, tigers and jaguars; or Felinae “little cats,” which include purring ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

Thinning ice sheets may drive sharp rise in subglacial waters

Two Georgia Tech researchers, Alex Robel and Shi Joyce Sim, have collaborated on a new model for how water moves under glaciers. The new theory shows that up to twice the amount of subglacial water that was originally predicted might be draining into the ocean – potentially increasing glacial melt, sea level rise, and biological disturbances. The paper, published in Science Advances, “Contemporary Ice Sheet Thinning Drives Subglacial Groundwater Exfiltration with Potential Feedbacks on Glacier Flow”, is co-authored by Colin Meyer (Dartmouth), Matthew Siegfried (Colorado School of Mines), and Chloe Gustafson (USGS). While there are pre-existing methods to understand ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

New research finds way to reduce bias in children

Children’s views of inequality may be influenced by how its causes are explained to them, finds a new study by a team of psychology researchers. The work offers insights into the factors that affect how larger social issues are perceived at a young age and points to new ways to reduce bias toward lower-status economic groups. “When making sense of social inequalities, adults may consider the structural forces at play—for example, people may cite policies related to legacy admissions when thinking about how disparities first arise,” says Rachel Leshin, a New York University doctoral student and the lead ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

It all depends on the genetic diversity

Plants are not exposed to herbivores without defenses. When an insect feeds on a leaf, thereby wounding it and releasing oral secretions, a signaling cascade is elicited in the plant, usually starting with a rapid increase in the amount of the plant hormone jasmonic acid and its active isoleucine conjugate. Jasmonic acid regulates various reactions in plants, including defenses against herbivores and responses to environmental stress. Mutants with disadvantageous properties do not necessarily disappear An important thesis of evolutionary theory is natural selection and the conclusion that mutants with disadvantageous properties disappear ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

UArizona Valley fever expert Galgiani to receive lifetime achievement award

The Arizona Bioindustry Association announced that renowned Valley fever researcher John Galgiani, MD, professor and director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, is the 2023 recipient of the AZBio Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Pioneer Award is the highest honor awarded by Arizona’s bioscience community and is extended to an Arizonan whose body of work has made life better for people at home and around the world. Galgiani’s four decades of Valley fever research, ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

Do prisons hold the key to solving the opioid crisis?

With opioid overdose deaths surging in the United States, many communities are in desperate need of solutions to bring down the body count. Among the most promising is strengthening prison reentry programs for highest-risk users, a Rutgers-led study has found. “For people who use drugs and have been in prison for several years, the reentry period can be chaotic and disorienting,” said Grant Victor, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Social Work and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. “Closing ...

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Science21 Aug 2023

Bloom studying impact of exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances on weight loss

Michael Bloom, Associate Professor, Global and Community Health, received $158,900 from the National Institutes of Health for the project: "Impact of Exposure to Perfluoroalkyl Substances on Weight Loss: A Pilot Study of Hispanic Children with Overweight/Obesity Participating in a Community-based Weight Loss Intervention Program." In this pilot study, Bloom is evaluating associations between exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and weight lost during a 10-week weight loss intervention among Hispanic children with overweight and obesity. He and his collaborators will quantify the association between 12 different PFAS ...

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