Science
press releases.

Science31 Jul 2023

Oxycodone prescriptions after delivery not linked to longer-term opioid use compared to codeine prescriptions

Postpartum prescriptions for oxycodone were not associated with increased risk of longer-term opioid use compared to codeine prescriptions, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221351. Over the last 10 years, there has been a shift to fewer codeine prescriptions and an increase in prescriptions for stronger opioids, such as hydrocodone, hydromorphone and oxycodone for patients postpartum. “This occurred in part ...

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Science29 Jul 2023

To spread or slide? Scientists uncover how foams are spread on surfaces

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have uncovered the physics behind how foams are spread on surfaces. Balls of foam placed on a flat substrate were scraped across with a plate and observed. They identified different patterns which strongly depend on the scraping speed, governed by competing physical phenomena. Their findings apply to all kinds of soft materials that need to be spread evenly on surfaces, from mayonnaise on bread to insulation on walls. Whether ...

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Science29 Jul 2023

How to save the NHS – an expert prescription

Whether it’s setting up a Bank of England-type body to run it or fining patients for missing appointments, healthcare leaders, policymakers and practitioners past and present have a wealth of ideas about how they would change the NHS for the better. Professor Dinesh Bhugra, a psychiatrist and former president of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Psychologists, asked 14 peers, physicians and patients’ representatives for their prescription for the NHS. The interviews are reproduced in Professor Bhugra’s new book, Conversations about the NHS. Thought-provoking and in some cases, controversial, ideas include: Setting ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Unlocking a mystery of fetal development

As with many toxins, exposure to the toxic metal cadmium during pregnancy can adversely impact fetal development. Now, researchers at the Rutgers School of Public Health think they’re beginning to understand how the metal inflicts its damage: by disrupting placental hormones that regulate pregnancy physiology. Unlike other toxins, relatively little cadmium crosses the placenta to directly impact the fetus. Instead, the placenta concentrates cadmium in its tissue at rates of up to six times that found in umbilical cord serum. “We already know a lot about cadmium and its detrimental impacts on fetal health, such ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

New study findings underscore the importance of timely newborn screenings in early care for cystic fibrosis

Aurora, Colo. (July 28, 2023) – The Journal of Pediatrics has published a manuscript by Stacey Martiniano, MD, pulmonary specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado. Dr. Martiniano was primary author on the study titled, Late Diagnosis in the Era of Universal Newborn Screening Negatively Effects Short- and Long-Term Growth and Health Outcomes in Infants with Cystic Fibrosis. The manuscript’s senior author was Susanna McColley, MD, professor of pediatrics in pulmonary and sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Royal Society of Chemistry honors Hong with fellow selection

The Royal Society of Chemistry has named Yi Hong, a distinguished university professor of bioengineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, as a fellow. Hong said he was honored by the selection. “Chemistry is amazing because it helps to create many new biomedical materials for human health and life saving,” Hong said. “This recognition encourages me not only to invent more creative biomaterials through chemical design for disease treatment, but also to be a role model to our next generation of scientists and engineers ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

New study finding underscore the importance of timely newborn screenings in early care for cystic fibrosis

Aurora, Colo. (July 28, 2023) – The Journal of Pediatrics has published a manuscript by Stacey Martiniano, MD, pulmonary specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado. Dr. Martiniano was primary author on the study titled, Late Diagnosis in the Era of Universal Newborn Screening Negatively Effects Short- and Long-Term Growth and Health Outcomes in Infants with Cystic Fibrosis. The manuscript’s senior author was Susanna McColley, MD, professor of pediatrics in pulmonary and sleep medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Mutation accessibility fuels influenza evolution

(Memphis, Tenn.—July 28, 2023) The influenza (flu) virus is constantly undergoing a process of evolution and adaptation through acquiring new mutations. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have added a new layer of understanding to explain why and how flu viruses change. The “survival of the accessible” model provides a complementary view to the more widely recognized “survival of the fittest” way of evolving. The work was published today in Science Advances. Viruses undergo a rapid evolutionary flux due to constant genetic mutations. This rapid flux is why people get a flu shot ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Novel Raman technique breaks through 50 years of frustration

Raman spectroscopy — a chemical analysis method that shines monochromatic light onto a sample and records the scattered light that emerges — has caused frustration among biomedical researchers for more than half a century. Due to the heat generated by the light, live proteins are nearly destroyed during the optical measurements, leading to diminishing and non-reproducible results. As of recently, however, those frustrations may now be a thing of the past. A group of researchers with the Institute for Quantum Sciences and Engineering at Texas A&M ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Circadian clock gene helps mice form memories better during the day

A gene that plays a key role in regulating how bodies change across the 24-hour day also influences memory formation, allowing mice to consolidate memories better during the day than at night. Researchers at Penn State tested the memory of mice during the day and at night, then identified genes whose activity fluctuated in a memory-related region of the brain in parallel with memory performance. Experiments showed that the gene, Period 1, which is known to be involved in the body’s circadian clock, is crucial for improved daytime memory performance. The research demonstrates a link between the circadian system and memory formation ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

China, Indonesia, and Vietnam lead global growth for coming decade in new Harvard Growth Lab projections

Cambridge, MA – China, India, Indonesia, Uganda, and Vietnam are projected to be among the fastest-growing economies for the coming decade, according to researchers at the Growth Lab at Harvard University. The new growth projections presented in The Atlas of Economic Complexity include the first detailed look at 2021 trade data, which reveal continued disruptions from the uneven economic recovery to the global pandemic. China is expected to be the fastest-growing economy per capita, although its growth rate is smaller than gains seen over the past decade. Growth over the coming decade is projected to take off in three growth poles, East Asia, Eastern ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Scientists discover secret of virgin birth, and switch on the ability in female flies

Scientists have pinpointed a genetic cause for virgin birth for the first time, and once switched on the ability is passed down through generations of females. For the first time, scientists have managed to induce virgin birth in an animal that usually reproduces sexually: the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Once induced in this fruit fly, this ability is passed on through the generations: the offspring can reproduce either sexually if there are males around, or by virgin birth if there aren’t. For most animals, reproduction is sexual - it involves a female’s egg being fertilised by a male’s sperm. ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Total recall on HIV

Kyoto, Japan -- Having control over how a dish is cooked is always a good idea. Taking a hint from the kitchen, scientists appear to have discovered a way to produce a true structure of the rare but naturally-occurring anti-HIV compound Lancilactone C from start to finish. Its non-cytotoxicity in mammals could make this triterpenoid an ideal candidate for treating AIDS if its biological activity were clear -- and if only it were abundant in nature. Now, a research group at Kyoto University has succeeded in ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Scientists suggest AgNP/MoS2 nano-pocket for surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy scattering detection

The research group of YANG Liangbao at the Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) has recently developed a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERMS) method to automatically capture target molecules in AgNP/MoS2 nano-pockets, which enables highly sensitive and long-duration dynamic detection of some chemical reaction processes. The results were published in Analytical Chemistry and selected as the front cover. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a kind of molecular spectroscopy with fast, highly sensitive, ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

A nanoprobe developed for visual quantitative detection of pesticides

Recently, Prof. JIANG Changlong and his research team at the Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), developed and synthesized two highly effective ratiometric fluorescence nanoprobes. These nanoprobes, when combined with the color recognition capabilities of smartphones, enabled the visual and quantitative detection of pesticides in food and environmental water. The research has been published in Chemical Engineering Journal and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Carbamate compounds ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Researchers reveal a powerful platform for studying high-entropy alloy electrocatalysis

Introduced in 2004, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are alloys composed of multiple principal elements in nearly equiatomic proportions. Their unique chemical composition results in a high degree of chemical disorder, i.e. entropy, and produces remarkable properties such as high strength, ductility, and strong wear-and-tear resistance even at high temperatures. Scientists have dedicated a significant amount of attention to developing novel HEAs to help improve the performance of various electrocatalyst materials. Because they are made up of differing constituent elements, HEAs' atomic-level surface designs can be complex. But unravelling this complexity is crucial, since the surface ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

San Diego family shares recent tragedy of losing daughter to necrotizing enterocolitis, as NEC Society prepares for the NEC Symposium in San Diego

San Diego, CA - The NEC Society and Cincinnati Children’s have teamed up to present the NEC Symposium, the only conference in North America dedicated to understanding and preventing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is a devastating intestinal disease that affects medically fragile infants in their first weeks and months of life. Every year in the United States, thousands of babies are diagnosed with NEC and at least one baby dies from NEC every day. The NEC Symposium will transform the NEC Research ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Citizen science inspires kids to take local action

North Carolina State University researchers recently found that a program designed to get Girl Scouts involved in citizen science – programs where members of the public can participate in real scientific research – not only taught girls about the process of science, but also motivated them to tackle scientific or environmental problems in their communities. The findings demonstrate the impacts citizen science projects can have on their participants and offer lessons for other organizations on how to structure STEM-focused learning opportunities using citizen science. “We’ve found that after participating ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

The structures of six states of a rotary sodium ion pump are revealed

Six structures exhibited by the rotating sodium ion pump were reconstructed in 3D using cryo-electron microscopy. This analysis revealed that (1) the rotor exhibits non-uniform rotation behavior due to partial structural interference with the stator component, and (2) the rotor interacts with one edge of the large ion transport ring causing it to rotate. The study showed a unique molecular mechanism of the rotary sodium ion pump. The results will be published on July 28 in Communications Biology. “In previous single-molecule imaging ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats

Resilient corals, often referred to as ‘super corals’, have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of Haifa, Israel is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef. UTS scientist Dr Emma Camp, co-lead researcher on the study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, says the findings have significant implications ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Activewear angst: Why shopping for workout clothes can be harmful to women

Though it’s just as likely to be worn while lounging on the couch as in the gym, a large driver of activewear’s popularity among women is its association with a dynamic lifestyle, positive wellbeing and overall good health. However, two new Edith Cowan University (ECU) studies suggest online shopping for activewear may in fact be harmful to women’s body image. Sales of “Athleisure” — a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear — have risen rapidly following ...

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Science28 Jul 2023

Structure of opioid receptors may reveal how to better design pain relievers, addiction therapies

Opioids remain the most potent and effective pain relievers in medicine, but they’re also among the most addictive drugs that can halt a person’s ability to breathe during an overdose — which can be deadly. Researchers have been racing to develop safer pain reliever drugs that target a specific opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor, that is only found in the central nervous system and not elsewhere in the body, like other opioid receptors. Previous research suggests that such drugs may not lead to addiction or death due to overdose, but ...

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Science27 Jul 2023

LJI and Kyowa Kirin launch immunology fellowship program

LA JOLLA, CA—Support for early career researchers is about to get a major boost, thanks to a new fellowship fund established by leaders at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Japan-based global pharmaceutical corporation, Kyowa Kirin, Inc. The fellowship fund has been named in honor of LJI Professor Michael Croft, Ph.D., who has worked closely with Kyowa Kirin scientists through the years. The new Michael Croft Fellowship in Immunology Fund recognizes Croft’s commitment to training and mentoring the next generation ...

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Science27 Jul 2023

Stephen K. Streiffer named director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory

UT-Battelle, LLC, has appointed Stephen K. Streiffer to be the next director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He currently serves as interim director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and will join ORNL in October. “Stephen is a proven leader with diverse experience and a commitment to mission-driven research and development,” said Lou Von Thaer, CEO of Battelle and chair of UT-Battelle, which operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). “Throughout his career, Stephen has leveraged existing strengths to create new opportunities and partnerships that strengthen our nation’s ability to innovate ...

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Science27 Jul 2023

Bees and wasps independently invent the same architectural tricks

At first glance, the hexagonal cells build by honey bees and social wasps may seem similar, but they are significantly different. Honey bees build using wax, whereas wasps use paper. Honey bees build their double-sided combs vertically, whereas wasps build single-sided comb horizontally (i.e., the opening of each cell faces downward). Indeed, the hexagonal cells built by these two groups have independent evolutionary origins. Just like sharks and whales have similar body plans due to their watery environment, bees and wasps build hexagonal cells because the shape maximizes strength and storage area, while minimizing building materials. But what happens when perfectly ...

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