Science
press releases.

Science26 May 2023

Optimising outcomes for older adults

By Alistair Jones SMU Office of Research – The contribution of team members on a research project can get taken for granted, with storied senior leaders gaining most of the attention. A recent exception is Micah Tan, an associate researcher at the Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA) at Singapore Management University (SMU). For his collaborative work at ROSA, Tan was recognised with an inaugural 2022 Research Staff Excellence Award. “Winning the award has given me a strong sense of fulfilment and has inspired me to want to do more, both for the SMU community but also more generally in terms of ...

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Science26 May 2023

Harnessing large vision-language models

By Alistair Jones SMU Office of Research – The terminology of artificial intelligence (AI) and its many acronyms can be confusing for a lay person, particularly as AI develops in sophistication. Among the developments is deep learning – a machine learning technique that teaches computers to learn by example. “Deep learning has brought many major changes to AI, especially in natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision, two sub areas of AI,” says Jing Jiang, a Professor of Computer Science at Singapore Management University (SMU). “In my field, which is NLP, the solution ...

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Science26 May 2023

Scepticism about Microsoft results

In March 2022, Microsoft published research results about the realisation of a special type of particle that might be used to make particularly robust quantum bits. Researchers at the University of Basel are now calling these results about so-called Majorana particles into doubt: through calculations they have shown that the findings can also be explained differently. In 1938 a genius suddenly vanished without a trace: after buying a ferry ticket from Palermo to Naples, the young Italian physicist Ettore Majorana seemingly ...

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Science26 May 2023

Yeast screen uncovers genes involved in chromosomal mutation

Osaka, Japan – When creating a computer program, errors in the code can introduce bugs to the software. Similarly, errors in our body’s genetic code, DNA, which is stored in structures known as chromosomes, can bring about mutations in the body. These mutations are the cause of many deadly diseases – including cancer. Now, researchers in Japan have shed new light on a particular type of genetic mutation: gross chromosomal rearrangement (GCR). In a new study published in Communications Biology, a multi-institutional team led by researchers from Osaka University analyzed fission yeast to identify two key genes involved in the process of GCR. The researchers ...

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Science26 May 2023

Capturing non-transparent ultrafast scenes

A research team at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) led by Professor Roberto Morandotti reported the first realization of a single-shot ultrafast terahertz (THz) photography system. This important achievement published in Nature Communications will be able to provide both the spatial and temporal evolution of ultrashort dynamics with sub-picosecond resolution. In other terms, researchers will be now able to uncover the hidden laws of nature that govern the dynamics, which require imaging ...

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Science26 May 2023

How eating natto might help to distress

Health is wealth as the saying goes and new research now shows that it is possible to have a healthy, less stressed society through familiar and inexpensive foods. One such food might be the Japanese natto which is made from softened soybeans that have been boiled or steamed and fermented with a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis var. natto. Bacillus subtilis var. natto is found in soil, plants, animals, and the human stomach and intestines. Most of the natto consumed in Japan is made from the Miyagino strain. A research group led by Professor Eriko Kage-Nakadai at the Graduate School of Human Life ...

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Science26 May 2023

Study finds that eight factors put Black adults at greater risk of early death

Black adults who live in the United States have a 59% higher risk of premature death than White adults. A new study from Tulane University published in Lancet Public Health has found that this gap can be entirely explained by disparities in eight areas of life critical to health and well-being: employment, income, food security, education level, access to healthcare, quality health insurance, home ownership and marital status. These eight factors are called social determinants of health. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition ...

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Science26 May 2023

Early toilets reveal dysentery in Old Testament Jerusalem

A new analysis of ancient faeces taken from two Jerusalem latrines dating back to the biblical Kingdom of Judah has uncovered traces of a single-celled microorganism Giardia duodenalis – a common cause of debilitating diarrhoea in humans. A research team led by the University of Cambridge say it is the oldest example we have of this diarrhoea-causing parasite infecting humans anywhere on the planet. The study is published in the journal Parasitology. “The fact that these parasites were present in sediment from two Iron Age Jerusalem cesspits suggests that dysentery was endemic in the Kingdom of Judah,” ...

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Science25 May 2023

New study explores how exposure to mix of toxic metals impacts developing kidneys

Chronic kidney disease is a growing problem worldwide and in the aging U.S. population. But could the groundwork for this progressive disease have been laid while its victims were still in utero? Newly launched research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health seeks to determine if pregnant mothers’ environmental exposure to toxic metals impacts kidney development in their babies, setting the stage for a problem that doesn’t become apparent until the baby is an adult. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a three-year, $2.2 million “high risk, high reward” grant to Dr. Alison ...

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Science25 May 2023

MD Anderson Research Highlights: ASCO 2023 Special Edition

CHICAGO ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. This special edition features presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. In addition to these studies, forthcoming press releases will highlight groundbreaking clinical research, including Phase III trial results evaluating ...

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Science25 May 2023

C. difficile, emerging pathogens, genomics, and antimicrobial resistance

A new study published in the peer-reviewed OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology identified genes for virulence and antimicrobial resistance in two bacteria that co-occur with C. difficile, suggesting these pathogens as emerging potential threats in planetary health. Click here to read the article now. Thokur Sreepathy Murali, PhD, Ankit Singh Tanwar, Padival Shruptha and colleagues from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India, and co-author Angela Brand, MD, PhD, MPH from Maastricht University, The Netherlands, performed comparative genome analyses of three Clostridia species, ...

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Science25 May 2023

Groundbreaking images of root chemicals offer new insights on plant growth

On a sunny springtime stroll through a park, it’s easy to ignore the parts of plants that are hidden from view. Plant biologists see things differently. They look below the surface where plant roots are organized in elaborate systems that are critical to the organism’s development. Intricately organized tree root systems, for example, can span as far underground as the tree grows high above the soil. Applying an advanced imaging technology to plant roots, researchers at the University of California San Diego and Stanford University ...

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Science25 May 2023

Argonne hosts demo day for Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program

Twenty startups will present their technologies for a clean energy future at this year’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (LEEP) Demo Day, June 7, in Chicago. LEEP connects entrepreneurs with resources and innovation ecosystems at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labs. In addition to demos from companies currently participating in LEEP, the event at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk will also feature a panel discussion where program graduates share insights and advice about successful entrepreneurship. The technologies on display span renewable energy, materials for clean energy and water, batteries, ...

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Science25 May 2023

New framework for super-resolution ultrasound

Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology used deep learning to develop a new framework for super-resolution ultrasound. Traditional super-resolution ultrasound techniques use microbubbles: tiny spheres of gas encased in a protein or lipid shell. Microbubbles are considered to be a contrast agent, which means they can be injected into a blood vessel to increase the clarity of an ultrasound image. Conventional ultrasound has been commonplace for over 50 years. The development of super-resolution technology in the last decade has introduced new challenges. Super-resolution ultrasound provides a much clearer picture than the traditional method. ...

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Science25 May 2023

Words matter: How researchers can avoid stigmatizing language

Word choice matters—a lot— when it comes to research. That’s the main takeaway from a new article co-authored by Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation Assistant Professor Angel Algarin and published in Health Communication. “Researchers in any field should be cognizant of the language they’re using to describe the people they study so they don’t inadvertently add to the use of stigmatizing language,” said Algarin. For the article, Algarin and his co-authors performed a content ...

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Science25 May 2023

Polar fish are less likely to die early, so they prioritize growth over reproduction

Polar fish experience lower mortality than tropical fish, allowing them to delay reproduction until later in life when they are larger and can produce more eggs, according to a study by Mariana Álvarez-Noriega at Monash University in Australia and colleagues, publishing May 25th in the open access journal PLOS Biology. This may have implications for the effects of climate change on the sustainability of fish populations. Organisms face a trade-off around when is the best time to reproduce. Fish continue to grow throughout life and larger fish tend to produce disproportionately more eggs than smaller fish, so it ...

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Science25 May 2023

Combining data types refines grasp of French Canadian ancestry in Quebec, revealing how local topographies influenced relatedness, and more

Combining a comprehensive dataset – including marriage documents – compiled from more than 4 million Catholic parish records with genotype data for more than 22,000 French and French Canadian individuals, researchers have conducted a novel analysis of French Canadian ancestry in Quebec, Canada, since the 17th Century. While most other population genetic models provide only coarse representations of a region’s real-world ancestry, this new approach reveals detailed insights into historic European colonization, migration, and settlement patterns, reflecting intricate French Canadian population structures within geographic constraints. ...

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Science25 May 2023

Intravenous plus periarticular corticosteroids improve rehabilitation measures after knee replacement

May 25, 2023 – For patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA), a combination of intravenous and periarticular corticosteroids does not improve pain control – but, may improve key indicators of functional recovery in the days after surgery, reports a trial in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer. Intravenous (IV) plus periarticular (PA) steroids "yielded more significant improvements in the rehabilitation parameters," ...

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Science25 May 2023

Sage’s 10-Year Impact Awards recognize research with long-term influence

For the fourth year, Sage has awarded 10-Year Impact Awards to three research articles that have had a lasting influence over the past decade. The awards are given to the authors of three papers published in Sage Journals in 2012 that have received the most citations in the 10 years since than all other studies published in the same year. The three winning papers are: “The Nature and Organization of Individual Differences in Executive Functions: Four General Conclusions” by Akira Miyake and Naomi P. Friedman in Current Directions ...

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Science25 May 2023

CU researchers weave deeper understanding of diverse ancestry and gene expression

Exploring diverse ancestry is a critical factor in furthering medical research. A new study published in Nature Genetics from researchers in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in partnership with the University of California San Francisco and Stanford University, is the largest of its kind that focuses on ancestry correlations with biomedical traits and the first study to examine the role of genetic variants across diverse ...

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Science25 May 2023

Monkey model offers clues for potential widespread HIV cure in people

PORTLAND, Oregon -- New animal research is helping explain why at least five people have become HIV-free after receiving a stem cell transplant. The study’s insights may bring scientists closer to developing what they hope will become a widespread cure for the virus that causes AIDS, which has infected about 38 million people worldwide. Published in the journal Immunity, the Oregon Health & Science University-led study describes how two nonhuman primates were cured of the monkey form of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant. ...

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Science25 May 2023

Research team receives grant to launch ‘Just Dis Tech’ project

A group of Virginia Tech faculty who represent a variety of disciplines is bringing the principles of disability justice to Appalachia through educational workshops, cultural events, and technology research. The team received a $502,000 grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to create local and regional programming for disability-led arts, culture, reflection, and technology guidance. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that funds arts and humanities work nationwide. With the three-year project, called “Just ...

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Science25 May 2023

Weevils, long-nosed beetles, are unsung heroes of pollination

Butterflies, bees, and even bats are celebrated as pollinators: creatures that travel from flower to flower to feed, and in the process, help fertilize the plants by spreading pollen. But some of nature’s most diverse pollinators often go unnoticed, even by scientists: long-snouted beetles called weevils. A new study in the journal Peer Community in Ecology provides a deep dive into the more than 600 species of weevils, including ones whose entire life cycles are interwoven with a specific plant that they help pollinate. “Even people who work on pollination don't usually consider weevils as one of the main pollinators, and people who ...

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Science25 May 2023

An emergency department visit as part of a continuum of care

INDIANAPOLIS -- Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 100 million hospital emergency department (ED) visits took place annually in the U.S. In two studies, Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist Sharmistha Dev, M.D., MPH, and colleagues characterize an ED visit as part of a continuum of care, exploring how an ED visit is a valuable arena to support care beyond the issue that motivated the visit. “Many people view a patient’s ED visit as a moment of acute care and a moment of dealing with just one issue and then the patient is either admitted or discharged. But ...

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Science25 May 2023

Your thoughts can harm your neck and back during lifting tasks

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The mental distress of cognitive dissonance – encountering information that conflicts with how we act or what we believe – can lead to added pressure on the neck and low back during lifting and lowering tasks, new research suggests. When study participants were told they were performing poorly in a precision lowering experiment in the lab, after initially being told they were doing well, their movements were linked to increased loads on vertebrae in their neck and low back. Results showed that the higher the cognitive dissonance score, the greater the extent of loading on the upper ...

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