Science
press releases.

Science3 Dec 2025

New roadmap reveals how everyday chemicals and microbes interact to fuel antimicrobial resistance

A new perspective published in Biocontaminant outlines an urgent scientific roadmap for understanding how common chemicals interact with microbial communities to accelerate the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance. The work, led by Ji Lu from the University of Queensland, highlights why traditional single chemical experiments fail to capture the real drivers of resistance in natural and clinical environments. “Chemicals rarely occur alone in the real world. They mix, react, and interact with diverse microbiomes in ways that can either amplify or suppress antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Captive bottlenose dolphins vary vocalizations during enrichment activities

Dolphins produce a range of vocalizations used for echolocation and communication. These vocalizations vary with social context, environmental conditions, external stimuli, and communication, reflecting their cognitive and behavioral complexity. A study published in PLOS One on December 3, 2025 by Francesco Di Nardo at Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy and colleagues suggests that the frequency and duration of captive dolphin vocalizations may indicate engagement with structured activities. Captive dolphins require ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Adults who want children favor older-looking partners (but not for their money), study suggests

Participants in a study who self-reported a stronger desire to have children showed a weaker preference for younger faces compared to those with a weaker desire to have children, according to a study published December 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Jingheng Li and colleagues from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K. The preference was unrelated to the potential partners’ perceived wealth or parental prowess. Researchers have long excavated the foundations of attractiveness — the intangible “it” factor that tempts voters, procures job offers and allures romantic partners. Men tend to associate attractiveness with youthful features, presumably ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

A rose by any other name? Not necessarily—how words sound aesthetically correlates with their memorability, study finds

A rose by any other name? Not necessarily—how words sound aesthetically correlates with their memorability, study finds Article URL: https://plos.io/4a5P0f8 Article title: Phonemic composition influences words’ aesthetic appeal and memorability Author countries: Austria Funding: This work was supported by a Disruptive Innovation Grant from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Science Fund (grant number: DI_2023-108_MATZINGER_BEALP) awarded to Theresa Matzinger. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. END ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Bumblebees launch a three-stage defensive response when their nest is disturbed

Bumblebees respond to physical disturbance of their nest with a sequence of defensive behaviors that lasts up to 10 minutes, according to a study by Sajedeh Sarlak at the University of Konstanz, Germany, and colleagues, publishing December 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One. Although we often think of bumblebees as docile, friendly garden visitors, they will fiercely defend their nest if needed. Bumblebees are important pollinators for both wild plants and crops, and they are often kept in commercial greenhouses, so understanding their defensive behavior is important for both conservation and ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

KATRIN tightens the net around the elusive sterile neutrino

Neutrinos, though nearly invisible, are among the most numerous matter particles in the Universe. The Standard Model recognizes three types, but the discovery of neutrino oscillations revealed they have mass and can change identity while propagating. For decades, puzzling experimental anomalies have suggested the presence of a fourth, sterile neutrino, one that interacts even more weakly. Finding it would transform our understanding of particle physics. In a new study, published in Nature, the KATRIN collaboration presents the most precise direct search for sterile neutrinos through measurements of tritium β-decay. The ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Statewide analysis quantifies life-saving potential of stop the bleed

Key Takeaways In an analysis of more than 5,000 Maryland homicide victims who died from gunshot or stabbing wounds, more than 70 individuals could have survived if bleeding control techniques had been applied before arriving at the hospital — a small but significant and likely under-reported number, trauma experts said. Research underscores the life-saving potential of Stop the Bleed for both urban and rural communities, where access to trauma care may be delayed. CHICAGO — Quicker access to bleeding control interventions taught in the American College of ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Complex life developed earlier than previously thought, new study reveals

Complex life began to develop earlier, and over a longer span of time, than previously believed, a groundbreaking new study has revealed. The research sheds new light on the conditions needed for early organisms to evolve and challenges several long-standing scientific theories in this area. Led by the University of Bristol and published in the journal Nature today [3 December], the research indicates that complex organisms evolved long before there were substantial levels of oxygen in the atmosphere, ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

The Mohn Prize for 2026 awarded to Canadian John Smol

Professor John Smol of Queen's University is being honoured for his role in identifying stressors of environmental change in the Arctic. During the Arctic Futures Symposium in Brussels, UiT Rector Dag Rune Olsen announced today that the Mohn Prize for 2026 will be awarded to Professor John P. Smol of Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. “Professor Smol's scientific career is a testament to excellent Arctic research - collaborative, engaged, thorough and key to the preservation of the environment we depend on. I am truly impressed by his comprehensive body of work and his longevity. He is a role model for us all.” said Olsen, who also ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

When schizophrenia meets a personality disorder: why more research is urgently needed

A new study by a research team at Université de Montréal highlights a critical lack of knowledge about the cognitive profiles of people living with both schizophrenia and a personality disorder. A comprehensive review of scientific literature from the past 24 years, published in Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, reveals that despite the high prevalence of this dual diagnosis (affecting approximately 40 per cent of people diagnosed with schizophrenia) and its association with unfavourable outcomes, the available data are surprisingly limited and fragmented. “Our analysis shows a significant blind spot in current ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

SwRI may have solved a mystery surrounding Uranus’ radiation belts

SAN ANTONIO — December 3, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists believe they may have resolved a 39-year-old mystery about the radiation belts around Uranus. In 1986, when Voyager 2 made the first and only flyby of Uranus, it measured a surprisingly strong electron radiation belt at significantly higher levels than anticipated. Based on extrapolations from other planetary systems, Uranus’ electron radiation belt was off the charts. Since then, scientists have wondered ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Anna Gloyn wins 2026 Transatlantic Alliance Award in Endocrinology

The European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) and the Endocrine Society are delighted to announce Dr Anna Gloyn DPhil FMedSci, as the winner of the fifth Transatlantic Alliance Award 2026. The Transatlantic Alliance Award, launched in 2022, recognises an international leader who has made significant advancements in endocrine research on both sides of the Atlantic - in Europe and the United States. Dr Anna Gloyn has been honoured with this prestigious award for her exceptional work bridging the two continents. ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

A new study finds high-narcissism CEOs pursue more acquisitions in response to strong firm performance

Managers’ narcissistic tendencies may fundamentally affect whether a company makes risky or safe moves as a response to the firm’s above-aspiration performance, according to a new study published in Strategic Management Journal. In a study that helps to clarify prior conflicting research, the researchers find evidence that high-narcissism CEOs respond to above-aspiration performance with more acquisitions, while low-narcissism CEOs avoid acquisitions. The study authors — Korcan Kavusan of Erasmus University, Daniel Z. Mack of Singapore Management University, Matthew P. Mount of ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

During times of market volatility, investors should track insider trades

PULLMAN, Wash. — In times of economic upheaval, investors can get a clearer picture of the stock market’s future performance if they tune into how corporate insiders are trading stocks in their own companies. That’s a key finding from a new study of investor behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic from Washington State University researchers. The study, which was published in Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, examined the trading choices of insiders during the unprecedented market shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic — finding they often zigged when the market zagged. When most investors were selling stocks ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Understanding how plants distribute iron to young leaves

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for the healthy growth of plants, including many staple crops like rice. Its deficiency remains a common agricultural problem that slashes crop yields, as it leads to impaired photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen metabolism. Thus, establishing mechanisms to ensure crops can efficiently take up and utilize Fe, especially in alkaline soils, is a high-stakes challenge for global food security. Getting Fe into the roots is only the first step; the mineral must then be properly distributed throughout the plant, especially to its young leaves, developing grains, and other active growth tissues. This process ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Before the party starts: Parental attitudes linked to college binge drinking

PULLMAN, Wash. — College students who binge drink may be acting on influences they brought from home, a new Washington State University-led study suggests. A recent survey shows that students who binge drink more than other students tend to have grown up in a home with more permissive attitudes toward drinking. Those students are also more likely to join Greek-affiliated organizations like fraternities or sororities. In a study published in the journal Behavioral Sciences, researchers surveyed parents and students about drinking attitudes ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Ultrasound pinpoints vascular complications from cosmetic fillers

CHICAGO – Ultrasound can aid in treating complications from cosmetic filler injections, according to research being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Cosmetic fillers are injectable substances used to improve the appearance of facial features by adding volume, smoothing wrinkles and enhancing contours. The most common cosmetic filler is hyaluronic acid. Cosmetic filler procedures have been growing in popularity. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2024, there were more than ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Human gene maps are biased towards European ancestries

Human gene maps contain major blind spots because they were built largely from the DNA sequences of people with European ancestry, according to a study published today in Nature Communications. Researchers uncovered thousands of missing transcripts (the RNA molecules that carry a gene’s instructions) in people from populations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, possibly including products of entirely new genes that scientists have yet to discover. Some of ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Tropical Australian study sets new standard for Indigenous-led research

Tropical Australian study sets new standard for Indigenous-led research A new study highlights how Indigenous leadership, science and business can unite to protect coastal ecosystems while building long-term environmental and cultural knowledge. Published in Ocean & Coastal Management, the study found the 300 hectares of mangrove forest on the Barron River estuary around Cairns Airport – on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef – stores more than 2,000 tonnes of carbon annually, making ongoing care and monitoring of these and other coastal wetlands important for slowing climate change. The research was co-designed ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Shopping for two is stressful

For many of us, any kind of shopping is stressful enough. The anxiety, however, really kicks in when you must purchase something you’re going to share with another person. Such are the findings of a UC Riverside School of Business study published in the Journal of Marketing Research that compared consumer anxiety levels stemming from different shopping circumstances. Shopping for goods or services that you will share is significantly more stressful than shopping for yourself or for something to be given to another person, explained study co-author Margaret Campbell, an associate dean, professor, and chair of the school’s ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Long-term antidepressant use surges in Australia, sparking warnings of overprescribing

Long-term antidepressant use in Australia has risen steadily over the past decade, with the largest increase seen in young people aged 10-24, where rates have more than doubled. The finding is from a new study undertaken by University of South Australia researchers, who analysed dispensing data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) covering more than 300,000 antidepressant users between 2014 and 2023. The most comprehensive study of its kind, published in the Pharmacaoepidemiology and Drug Safety Journal, reveals that 45% of young people on antidepressants are staying on ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

To bop or to sway? The music will tell you

HONOLULU, Dec. 2, 2025 — Some music is for grooving: It evokes spontaneous dancing, like head bopping, jumping, or arm swinging. Other music is for swaying, or for crying, or for slow dancing. Music makes people move, but whether musicians intentionally induce specific movements with their compositions, such as vertical bouncing or horizontal swaying, or what musical features would contribute to these distinctions, is more complex. Shimpei Ikegami, an associate professor at Showa Women’s University, sought to understand how musicians express intended bodily movement ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

New evidence questions the benefit of calcium supplements in pregnancy for preventing pre-eclampsia

An updated Cochrane review has found that calcium supplementation has no effect on pre-eclampsia, challenging long-held assumptions about the role of calcium in preventing hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Researchers from Stellenbosch University have found strong evidence from large trials that calcium supplementation during pregnancy does not reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a life-threatening condition that can affect women in the second half of their pregnancy. It can be fatal or cause lifelong complications for both mother and baby. Pre-eclampsia is characterised by new onset high blood pressure with end-organ injury. The only ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Eating disorders in mums-to-be linked to heightened risk of asthma and wheezing in their kids

Eating disorders in mums-to-be are linked to a heightened risk of asthma and wheezing in their children, irrespective of the type of disorder, presence of co-existing depression/anxiety, or the timing of their child’s exposure, finds research published online in the journal Thorax. The findings prompt the researchers to call for the inclusion of dedicated support in the healthcare of pregnant women with eating disorders to improve the respiratory health of their children. To date, research on the effects of maternal mental health on children’s respiratory health has focused predominantly on depression, anxiety, and broadly defined stress, ...

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Science3 Dec 2025

Global study backs mandatory strength warm-ups for female athletes

Routine strength exercise warm-ups should be mandated to reduce leg injuries in female athletes across all ages and levels of competitive sport, according to a new set of global recommendations co-led by La Trobe University, the University of Calgary and supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the Female, woman, girl Athlete Injury pRevention (FAIR) Consensus ...

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