Science
press releases.

Science30 May 2023

Extreme precipitation in northeast to increase 52% by the end of the century

With a warmer climate creating more humid conditions in the Northeast, extreme precipitation events — defined as about 1.5 or more inches of heavy rainfall or melted snowfall in a day — are projected to increase in the Northeast by 52% by the end of the century, according to a new Dartmouth study. The findings are published in Climatic Change. "As climate change brings warmer temperatures, you have more water vapor in the atmosphere, which creates the right conditions for extreme precipitation," says first author Christopher J. Picard '23, an earth sciences major and undergraduate researcher in the Applied Hydroclimatology Group ...

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Science30 May 2023

Light conveyed by the signal transmitting molecule sucrose controls growth of plant roots

Plant growth is driven by light and supplied with energy through photosynthesis by green leaves. It is the same for roots that grow in the dark – they receive the products of photosynthesis, in particular sucrose, i.e. sugar, via the central transportation pathways of phloem. Dr. Stefan Kircher and Prof. Dr. Peter Schopfer from the University of Freiburg’s Faculty of Biology have now shown in experiments using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) that the sucrose not only guarantees the supply of carbohydrates to the roots, it also acts as a signal transmitter for ...

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Science30 May 2023

Genetic risk information may help people avoid alcohol addiction

Today’s substance use prevention efforts ignore individual genetic risk, but Rutgers research suggests DNA test results may eventually enhance prevention and treatment and improve outcomes. Investigators recruited 325 college students, provided them with varying levels of information about alcohol use disorder and how genetics affect addiction risk and asked them how they would react to learning they had high, medium and low genetic tendencies toward alcoholism. The results provided two significant supports for eventually using real genetic risk scores in actual addiction prevention efforts. First, participants understood what those scores indicated; they recognized that higher ...

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Science30 May 2023

Newborns with higher hair cortisol levels take longer to fall asleep

DARIEN, IL – Cortisol levels in late pregnancy can predict the sleep of infants, according to a new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2023 annual meeting. Results show that newborns with higher levels of cortisol in their hair samples took longer to fall asleep at 7 months of age. Neonatal hair cortisol is a measure of fetal cortisol in the last trimester of pregnancy. “Although increases in cortisol across pregnancy are normal and important for preparing the fetus for birth, our findings ...

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Science30 May 2023

Obstructive sleep apnea disrupts gene activity throughout the day in mice

The low blood oxygen levels of obstructive sleep apnea cause widespread changes in gene activity throughout the day, according to a new study in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by David Smith of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, US, and colleagues. The finding may lead to tools for earlier diagnosis and tracking of the disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the airway becomes blocked (usually by soft tissue, associated with snoring and interrupted breathing during the night), resulting in intermittent hypoxia (low blood oxygen) and disrupted sleep. ...

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Science30 May 2023

Novel approach significantly improves access, decreases wait times for autism screening

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 30, 2023 Contact: Gina DiGravio, 617-358-7838, ginad@bu.edu Novel Approach Significantly Improves Access, Decreases Wait Times for Autism Screening Developmentally Trained-Primary Care Clinicians can reduce disparities for children referred for developmental evaluation (Boston)—Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and the presence of repetitive and restricted behaviors or interests. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends autism-specific screening at 18- and 24-month well-child visits, yet earlier diagnosis has been shown to ...

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Science30 May 2023

Illinois professor examines lasting legacy of al-Andalus for Arabs, Muslims today

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Before it was home to Spain and Portugal, much of the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by a succession of Islamic dynasties for almost 800 years during the Middle Ages. Known as al-Andalus, its influence is still reflected in art and politics today – not only in Spain and North Africa, but also in places far from the historical site of al-Andalus. Eric Calderwood, a comparative and world literature professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, wrote about that influence and how it is used to make sense of the present in his new book, “On Earth or in Poems: ...

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Science30 May 2023

Reusable packaging revolution is close - experts say

30 May 2023 - A detailed plan to transform product packaging and significantly cut plastic production and pollution has been developed by researchers. The study comes as government representatives meet in Paris to negotiate a legally binding global plastics treaty with a mandate to end plastic pollution. The research, published today by the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre, commissioned by the Break Free From Plastic movement, consolidates 320 articles and papers, plus 55 new interviews with reuse experts from around the world [1], to suggest a universal definition of reuse systems and, for the ...

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Science30 May 2023

Silent zoo tours can generate new perspectives on animals, study suggests

Visiting zoos in silence can generate a range of novel experiences, helping people to connect to animals in a more intimate way and giving visits more gravitas, according to new research. Experts ran special silent events at Paignton and Bristol zoos as part of a wider project on the auditory culture of zoos. Visitors were better able to focus, concentrate and even meditate on specific animals and their behaviour, which sometimes fostered feelings of intimacy with and attachment to particular zoo animals. The research, published in TRACE: Journal for Human-Animal Studies, was conducted by Professor Tom Rice, Dr Alexander Badman-King, Professor Sam ...

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Science30 May 2023

Ghahari studying correlated and topological phases in Graphene Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures

Fereshte Ghahari Kermani, Assistant Professor, Physics and Astronomy, received funding for the project: "Local Probe of Correlated and topological phases in graphene Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures." These heterostructures are constructed by different two-dimensional (2D) monolayers vertically stacked and weakly coupled by van der Waals interactions. Such interactions take place when adjacent atoms come close enough that their outer electron clouds barely touch. This action induces charge fluctuations that result in nonspecific, nondirectional attraction. For this project, Ghahari will ...

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Science30 May 2023

The making of a Mona Lisa hologram

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2023 – Holograms are often displayed in science fiction as colorful, life-sized projections. But what seems like the technology of the future is actually the technology of the present, and now it has been used to recreate the Mona Lisa. In Applied Physics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Tianjin University, the Beijing Institute of Technology, Rowan University, the University of Missouri, Qingdao University, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, and Beijing Jiaotong University developed an acoustic metasurface-based holography technique that uses a deep learning algorithm to generate and iteratively ...

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Science30 May 2023

How insects track odors by navigating microscale winds

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2023 -- How do flying insects like important pollinators locate odor sources in the great outdoors, despite encountering highly variable wind conditions? They use odor plumes — which travel like smoke and form when the wind blows odor molecules from their source — to track down sources such as flowers or pheromones. But wind tunnels are typically unable to replicate realistic outdoor wind conditions. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, University of Nevada at Reno researchers decided to explore microscale wind conditions in various outdoor environments to better understand what flying insects might experience while tracking odor plumes. Authors ...

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Science30 May 2023

Study finds 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones are oldest in Australia

A team of researchers have confirmed that 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones discovered more than 30 years ago are the oldest of their kind ever found in Australia, providing a rare glimpse into the life of these powerful, flying reptiles that lived among the dinosaurs. Published in the journal Historical Biology and completed in collaboration with Museums Victoria, the research analysed a partial pelvis bone and a small wing bone discovered by a team led by Museums Victoria Research Institute’s Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology Dr Tom Rich and Professor Pat Vickers-Rich at Dinosaur Cove in Victoria, Australia in the late 1980s. The team found the bones belonged ...

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Science30 May 2023

Source-shifting metastructures composed of only one resin for location camouflaging

The field of transformation optics has flourished over the past decade, allowing scientists to design metamaterial-based structures that shape and guide the flow of light. One of the most dazzling inventions potentially unlocked by transformation optics is the invisibility cloak — a theoretical fabric that bends incoming light away from the wearer, rendering them invisible. Interestingly, such illusions are not restricted to the manipulations of light alone. Many of the techniques used in transformation optics have been applied to sound waves, giving rise to the parallel field of transformation acoustics. In fact, researchers ...

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Science30 May 2023

Humans evolved to walk with an extra spring in our step

A new study has shown that humans may have evolved a spring-like arch to help us walk on two feet. Researchers studying the evolution of bipedal walking have long assumed that the raised arch of the foot helps us walk by acting as a lever which propels the body forward. But a global team of scientists have now found that the recoil of the flexible arch repositions the ankle upright for more effective walking. The effects in running are greater, which suggests that the ability to run efficiently could have been a selective pressure for a flexible arch that made walking more efficient too. This discovery could even help doctors improve ...

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Science30 May 2023

Bile acid receptor could be innovative target in protecting the vision of premature newborns

AUGUSTA, Ga. (May 30, 2023) – It sounds like bile acid in the eye would hurt, but scientists think stimulating one of its receptors can actually help protect the vision of premature newborns. It’s called the farnesoid-X-receptor, or FXR, a bile acid receptor whose expression is significantly diminished in two key cell types affected by retinopathy of prematurity. Medical College of Georgia scientists have early evidence that targeting that receptor could provide earlier, more impactful treatments for these babies, a process that could be expedited by the fact that the drugs they ...

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Science29 May 2023

Even lawyers don’t like legalese

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- It’s no secret that legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand, causing headaches for anyone who has had to apply for a mortgage or review any other kind of contract. A new MIT study reveals that the lawyers who produce these documents don’t like them very much either. The researchers found that while lawyers can interpret and recall information from legal documents better than nonlawyers, it’s still easier for them to understand the same documents when translated into “plain English.” Lawyers also rated plain ...

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Science26 May 2023

Absolute vs. relative efficiency: How efficient are blue LEDs, actually?

The absolute internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at low temperatures is often assumed to be 100%. However, a new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Electrical and Computer Engineering researchers has found that the assumption of always perfect IQE is wrong: the IQE of an LED can be as low as 27.5%. This new research, “Low temperature absolute internal quantum efficiency of InGaN-based light-emitting diodes”, was recently published in Applied Physics Letters. As ECE associate professor Can Bayram puts it, LEDs are the ultimate lighting source. ...

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Science26 May 2023

Innovative endoscopic imaging system can detect multiple fluorescent tracers

For patients with solid cancers, endoscopic surgery is one of the primary treatment options to remove tumors. However, there is a high risk of cancer recurrence if even a small number of cancerous cells are left behind after surgical resection. To prevent this from happening, researchers developed fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS). In FGS, patients are injected with a fluorescent probe that preferentially binds to tumor cells, enabling surgeons to easily identify lesions with the help of specialized endoscopes that emit the necessary excitation light. Unfortunately, tumors can be highly heterogeneous, ...

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Science26 May 2023

CHOP researchers show that IgA fine tunes the body’s interactions with microbes

Philadelphia, May 26, 2023—IgA deficiency is the most common primary immune deficiency worldwide, but its presentation has puzzled physcians and researchers. Some with the disorder present with symptoms like recurrent infections, autoimmune disease, or allergies, whereas others have no symptoms at all and only become aware of their IgA-deficient status through an incidental finding on a blood test. This variability has raised the question among researchers: Why aren’t many of those with IgA deficiency sicker? A new study by researchers at Children’s ...

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Science26 May 2023

The mechanisms behind swallowing

Sensory cells in the vagus nerve can detect and locate food in the esophagus. Their signals help transport the food onward to the stomach. Signal failure leads to swallowing disorders, say a team led by Carmen Birchmeier at the Max Delbrück Center. They have published their findings in “Neuron.” Swallowing disorders can have many causes, and they occur more frequently in older people. But neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, and certain medications, can also prevent food moving normally from mouth to stomach. Possible consequences include malnutrition, weight loss, and dehydration. Now a team led ...

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Science26 May 2023

Life through rose-coloured glasses

Over thousands of years some animals have specialised to live in environments where the sun never shines: giant squid with eyes the size of volleyballs see even in the darkest depths while others, like cave-dwelling olms, have lost the functionality of their eyes completely. But for animals that do not live in these extremes, how do species manage a world that suddenly becomes dark? Lakes that become turbid from algal blooms, agricultural run-off, or other environmental pollutants represent common examples of environmental disturbances that can impact the visual scene that ...

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Science26 May 2023

First measurements of hypernuclei flow at RHIC

UPTON, NY—Physicists studying particle collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have published the first observation of directed flow of hypernuclei. These short-lived, rare nuclei contain at least one “hyperon” in addition to ordinary protons and neutrons. Hyperons contain at least one “strange” quark in place of one of the up or down quarks that make up ordinary nucleons (the collective name for protons and neutrons). Such strange matter is thought to be abundant in the hearts of neutron stars, which are among the densest, most exotic objects in the universe. While blasting off to neutron stars to study ...

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Science26 May 2023

First death in the UK associated with Xylazine

The death of a 43-year-old male is the first in the UK to be associated with Xylazine and marks the entry of the drug into the UK drug supply. New research published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine from King’s College London details the death of the man in May 2022 from the effects of Xylazine alongside heroin, fentanyl and cocaine. Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative, painkiller and muscle relaxant used in veterinary medicine as a tranquiliser for large animals. The drug – known ...

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Science26 May 2023

Developing a blueprint for mobile data visualisation

By Jovina Ang SMU Office of Research – It is predicted that by 2025, almost three quarters of the internet users in the world will be mobile-only users. While mobile devices provide ready access to data, there are limitations to how the data can be optimally presented due to the small form factor and limited screen size. For example, it is a lot easier to show 10,000 data points on a desktop compared to a smartphone, which typically has a screen size of 2.82 inches (71.5 mm) ...

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