Science
press releases.

Science1 Jun 2023

Improving emergency, critical and operative care in low and middle-income countries

DALLAS and GENEVA, May 31, 2023 — Global efforts to improve emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies were announced at the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. With the support of its partners the American Heart Association and the Laerdal Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), announced an initiative based on a new acute care resolution that was approved at this year’s World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of WHO. Nearly 30 million deaths are due to emergency conditions each year, contributing to half of global deaths. The acute ...

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Science1 Jun 2023

Liver dialysis device proved safe and effective for treating severe liver failure

The first successful in-patient trial of liver dialysis* has been completed by researchers from UCL, the Royal Free Hospital, UCL spin-out Yaqrit and their collaborators. The DIALIVE device, invented by researchers at UCL’s Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, was found to be safe and was associated with substantial improvement in the severity of symptoms and organ function in a greater proportion of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), when compared with patients receiving standard of care. The next step will be a larger clinical trial, which if successful could see DIALIVE approved for clinical use within the next three years. Worldwide, it is estimated that there ...

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Science31 May 2023

UC Irvine-led interdisciplinary team delves into a heated debate about humidity

Irvine, Calif., May 31, 2023 – As climate change increases the severity, frequency and duration of heat waves around the world, researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions are sounding an alarm about what they consider to be an added threat to human health: humidity. Heat extremes increase the risk of illness and death, with the worst outcomes among people who are older, have chronic diseases, live in hot climates and are socioeconomically disadvantaged. In addition, humidity causes heat stress by making it harder for bodies to cool, but medical and public health experts still disagree about ...

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Science31 May 2023

$5M gift establishes Arts and Sciences outreach professorship

CORNELL UNIVERSITY MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE FOR RELEASE: May 31, 2023 Rebecca Valli cell: 607-793-1025 rv234@cornell.edu $5M gift establishes Arts and Sciences outreach professorship ITHACA, N.Y. – Bolstering its commitment to broader engagement, the College of Arts and Sciences has established the Winokur Professorship for the Public Understanding of Science and Mathematics. Distinguished mathematician, award-winning teacher and well-known science communicator Steven Strogatz has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the chair. ...

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Science31 May 2023

When countries cut taxes for new ideas, capital investments rise

AUSTIN, Texas — Corporate tax breaks for innovation lead to two kinds of economic growth: in capital investment and highly compensated jobs, according to a new study from a researcher at The University of Texas at Austin. Because innovation is key to growth in high-tech economies, one strategy has been to give companies a tax break for it. As of 2022, 21 countries worldwide had reduced rates for income resulting from intellectual property (IP), such as patents, copyrights and trademarks. Prior research has shown that such policies, known as “innovation boxes,” ...

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Science31 May 2023

New nerve insights could someday help heal certain types of blindness and paralysis

Injuries to the nerves can blind or paralyze because adult nerve cells don’t regenerate their connections. Now, a team of UConn School of Medicine researchers report in Development that at least a small population of nerve cells exist in everyone that could be coaxed to regrow, potentially restoring sight and movement. Glaucoma. Optic neuritis. Trauma or stroke of the optic nerve. All of these conditions can irreversibly damage the optic nerve, leading to blindness. Glaucoma alone affects more that 3 million people in the US. Nerve damage leading to paralysis is similarly common, with around 5 million people in the US living with some form of it, according to the Christopher ...

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Science31 May 2023

Crossing the ring: new method enables C-H activation across saturated carbocycles

LA JOLLA, CA— A new “molecular editing” technique from Scripps Research enables chemists to add new elements to organic molecules at locations that were previously out of reach. The researchers described their new method in a paper that appeared on May 31, 2023, in Nature. The method uses a designer molecule called a ligand that helps a palladium-atom catalyst reach from one side of a carbon-atom ring to break a carbon-hydrogen bond on the other side, allowing a new set of molecules to join at that site. This molecule-building feat was previously impossible for so-called “saturated” rings of carbon atoms, which are common ...

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Science31 May 2023

How much nitrogen does corn get from fertilizer? Less than farmers think

URBANA, Ill. — Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don’t do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer. That’s because, the studies show, corn takes up the majority of its nitrogen – about 67% on average – from sources occurring naturally in soil, not from fertilizer. The evidence for ...

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Science31 May 2023

NIRISS instrument on Webb maps an ultra-hot Jupiter’s atmosphere

There’s an intriguing exoplanet out there – 400 light-years out there – that is so tantalising that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. One orbit for WASP-18 b around its star that is slightly larger than our Sun takes just 23 hours. There is nothing like it in our Solar System. A new study led by Université de Montréal Ph.D. student Louis-Philippe Coulombe about this exoplanet, an ultra-hot gas giant 10 times more massive than Jupiter, based on new data from the Canadian NIRISS instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) holds many surprises! Mapping an exoplanet An ...

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Science31 May 2023

CV risk in psoriatic arthritis

“This evidence suggests that inflammation in PsA is not limited to skin and joints, but also involves the cardiovascular system”, says Nienke Kleinrensink, lead author on the abstract shared in a session on Comorbidities in RMD at the 2023 EULAR congress in Milan, Italy. The new finding is based on work done at UMC Utrecht in the Netherlands. Part of the study was funded by Pfizer and Health Holland. The main objective was to investigate whether vascular inflammation is elevated in PsA patients. The team used positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in 75 people with PsA with active peripheral arthritis, ...

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Science31 May 2023

A closer look into axial spondyloarthritis

There is a large diagnostic delay for people with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). In 2008, the SPACE cohort started to assess the prevalence of axSpA – and the reliability of an early diagnosis in people with chronic back pain (CBP). Everyone taking part was under the age of 45, and with recent-onset CBP (over 3 months, and up to 2 years) of unknown origin. Now, Marques and colleagues present two abstracts of the 2-year primary outcome of the study at the EULAR congress. The first abstract assesses the 2-year prevalence of an axSpA diagnosis among people with recent onset CBP who had been referred to a rheumatologist and investigates the sustainability of a baseline diagnosis ...

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Science31 May 2023

Further link identified between autoimmunity and schizophrenia

Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) identify a protein in some people with schizophrenia that causes schizophrenia-like features in mice Tokyo, Japan – Links have been reported between schizophrenia and proteins produced by the immune system that can act against one’s own body, known as autoantibodies. In a study published last month in Brain Behavior and Immunity, Japanese researchers identified autoantibodies that target a ‘synaptic adhesion protein’, neurexin 1α, in a subset of patients with schizophrenia. When injected into mice, the ...

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Science31 May 2023

New study unveils nanocrystal shines on and off indefinitely

A research team affiliated with UNIST has made a significant breakthrough in uncovering the potential of ultra-photostable avalanching nanoparticles (ANP). Their study demonstrates that such particles can perform unlimited photoswitching, leading to new advancements in fields like optical probes, 3D optical memory, and super-resolution microscopy. This breakthrough has been achieved through the efforts of Professor Yung Doug Suh and his research team in the Department of Chemistry at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with researchers from Columbia University and ...

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Science31 May 2023

A nanocrystal shines on and off indefinitely

New York, NY—May 31, 2023—In 2021, lanthanide-doped nanoparticles made waves—or rather, an avalanche—when Changwan Lee, then a PhD student in Jim Schuck’s lab at Columbia Engineering, set off an extreme light-producing chain reaction from ultrasmall crystals developed at the Molecular Foundry at Berkeley Lab. Those same crystals are back again with a blink that can now be deliberately and indefinitely controlled. “We’ve found the first fully photostable, fully photoswitchable nanoparticle—a holy grail of nanoprobe design,” said Schuck, associate ...

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Science31 May 2023

A new player unveiled for lipid oxidation

Overweight and obesity pose significant health risks, including an increased likelihood of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Researchers are seeking practical ways to promote the oxidation of lipids, which could help balance energy storage and consumption. A recent study has identified opioid growth factor receptor (Ogfr) gene as a promising new target for this process. Rodents possess thermogenic fat that includes brown and beige adipocytes, which have a high capacity to uptake and utilize glucose ...

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Science31 May 2023

The secret to in-store displays: where to place discounted products relative to regularly priced products to maximize sales

Researchers from University of Connecticut, Texas A&M University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and University of Florida published a new Journal of Marketing article that examines whether price promotions on some products differentially impact demand for other products depending on their relative locations within a display. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled “The Negative and Positive Consequences of Placing Products Next to Promoted Products” and ...

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Science31 May 2023

Metal shortage could put the brakes on electrification

As more and more electric cars are travelling on the roads of Europe, this is leading to an increase in the use of the critical metals required for components such as electric motors and electronics. With the current raw material production levels there will not be enough of these metals in future – not even if recycling increases. This is revealed by the findings of a major survey led by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, on behalf of the European Commission. Electrification and digitalisation are leading to a steady increase in the need for critical metals* in the EU’s vehicle fleet. Moreover, only a small proportion of the metals are ...

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Science31 May 2023

Biological cleanup discovered for certain “forever chemicals”

University of California, Riverside, chemical and environmental engineering scientists have identified two species of bacteria found in soil that break down a class of stubborn “forever chemicals,” giving hope for low-cost biological cleanup of industrial pollutants. These bacteria destroy a subgroup of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that have one or more chlorine atoms within their chemical structure, Yujie Men, an assistant professor in the Bourns College of Engineering, and her UCR colleagues, reported in the journal Natural Water. Unhealthful forever chemicals persist in the environment ...

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Science31 May 2023

Shedding light on the complex flow dynamics within the small intestine

Science is well aware of the important role that gut bacteria and their interactions with the gastrointestinal tract play in our overall health. Villi, tiny finger-like structures that line the inside of the small intestine (SI), are known to interact with the gut bacteria and trigger a protective immune response. Despite researching into the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions, however, not much is known about the dynamics of liquid flow around the villi. While computer simulations have aided such observations, ...

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Science31 May 2023

Predominance of young Asian men among large UK case series of laughing gas users

The largest clinical case series to date of recreational users of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, has found a predominance of young men of Asian ethnicity among those with neurological side effects who were seen at hospitals in 3 major cities in England. This may indicate genetic susceptibility to the nerve damage caused by exposure to the gas, or other, as yet unidentified, social factors, suggest the researchers by way of an explanation for the finding, published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. Nitrous oxide is widely used as an anaesthetic in people and animals, ...

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Science31 May 2023

The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction

Every so often, life on Earth steps onto a nearly empty playing field and faces a spectacular opportunity. Something major changes—in the atmosphere or in the oceans, or in the organisms themselves —and the existing species begin to branch out into a brand-new world. Scientists are fascinated by this process, because it’s a unique look into evolution at pivotal moments in the history of life. A new study led by scientists with the University of Chicago examined how bivalves—the group that includes clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters—evolved among many others in the period of rapid evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion. The team found ...

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Science31 May 2023

Unique “bawdy bard” act discovered, revealing 15th-century roots of British comedy

University of Cambridge media release UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01AM (UK TIME) ON WEDNESDAY 31ST MAY 2023 An unprecedented record of medieval live comedy performance has been identified in a 15th-century manuscript. Raucous texts – mocking kings, priests and peasants; encouraging audiences to get drunk; and shocking them with slapstick – shed new light on Britain’s famous sense of humour and the role played by minstrels in medieval society. The texts contain the earliest recorded use of ‘red herring’ in English, extremely rare forms of medieval literature, as well as a ...

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Science31 May 2023

Saved from extinction, Southern California’s Channel Island Foxes now face new threat to survival

Tiny foxes — each no bigger than a five-pound housecat — inhabiting the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California were saved from extinction in 2016. However, new research reveals that the foxes now face a different threat to their survival. Suzanne Edmands, professor of biological sciences at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Nicole Adams, who earned her PhD from USC Dornsife in 2019, found that the foxes’ genetic diversity has decreased over time, possibly jeopardizing their survival ...

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Science31 May 2023

Genetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread

(MEMPHIS, Tenn. – May 29, 2023) St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists discovered how the current epizootic H5N1 avian influenza virus (bird flu) gained new genes and greater virulence as it spread west. Researchers showed that the avian virus could severely infect the brains of mammalian research models, a notable departure from previous related strains of the virus. The researchers genetically traced the virus’ expansion across the continent and its establishment in wild waterfowl populations to understand what makes it so different. The study was recently published in Nature Communications. “We ...

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Science30 May 2023

Extracting a clean fuel from water

A plentiful supply of clean energy is lurking in plain sight. It is the hydrogen we can extract from water (H2O) using renewable energy. Scientists are seeking low-cost methods for producing clean hydrogen from water to replace fossil fuels, as part of the quest to combat climate change. Hydrogen can power vehicles while emitting nothing but water. Hydrogen is also an important chemical for many industrial processes, most notably in steel making and ammonia production. Using cleaner hydrogen is highly desirable in those industries. “By using ...

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