Science
press releases.

Science25 May 2023

Study shows children may consider past choices when judging others

A new study published in the journal Child Development from researchers at Boston College in Massachusetts, USA and the University of Queensland in Australia explores whether four- to nine-year-old-children consider past choices when making moral judgements of others. The findings showed that from the age of six, children considered what characters could have done when making judgement of how nice or mean they are behaving and that four and five- year-olds’ moral judgements were influenced only by ...

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Science25 May 2023

Nearly 70% of private label avocado oil rancid or mixed with other oils

Avocado oil has become a popular choice for many people in recent years because of its heart-healthy benefits and versatility in cooking. However, not all avocado oil products on store shelves are created equal. Some products are labeled as “pure” avocado oil when they contain other oils or additives. No enforceable standards defining the chemical and physical characteristics of avocado oil exist yet. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, analyzed samples of 36 private label avocado oil products and graded them based on quality and purity. Private label products are made by a third-party processor and sold under a grocery store or retailer brand label. Their ...

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Science25 May 2023

Study finds ketamine is at least as effective as ECT for treating major depression

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham has found that subanesthetic intravenous ketamine was effective and not inferior to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of non-psychotic, treatment-resistant depression. Their results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “ECT has been the gold standard for treating severe depression for over 80 years,” said Amit Anand, MD, director of Psychiatry Translational Clinical Trials at Mass General Brigham and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “But it is also a controversial treatment because it can cause memory ...

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Science25 May 2023

Most effective ways of foraging can attract predators, scientists find

Animals using the most of efficient methods of searching for resources may well pay with their lives, scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered. The findings, published today in Behavioural Ecology, reveal why animals may not always use a searching strategy that maximises results. How animals move through their habitat, particularly in search for food, is a major question in biology, and has application in how animals will respond to environmental change. Numerous studies have demonstrated that a special kind of movement, known as Lévy motion, increases the ability to find resources because it includes long-distance moves ...

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Science25 May 2023

Heavy drinkers risk muscle loss, new study finds

EMBARGO: 00.01 BST (London time) on THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 / 19.01 US EDT on WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023 Heavy drinkers risk muscle loss, new study finds Peer reviewed – observational study - humans Heavy drinkers could be putting themselves at risk of muscle loss and frailty in later life, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. A new study published today shows with statistical modelling that people with the lowest amount of muscle were drinking 10 units or more a day – about ...

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Science25 May 2023

Sudden infant death syndrome may have biologic cause

Sudden infant death syndrome is a case where the death of an apparently healthy infant before their first birthday remains unexplained even after thorough investigation. Death generally seems to occur when infants are sleeping. While rare, it is the leading post-neonatal infant death in the United States today, occurring in 103 out of 100,000 live births a year. Despite the initial success of national public health campaigns promoting safe sleep environments and healthier sleep positions in infants in the 1990s in the ...

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Science24 May 2023

Meet the 2023 ASBMB Advocacy Training Program delegates

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology announced the 12 delegates who will participate in the society’s Advocacy Training Program this summer. The ATP is a three-month summer externship that provides hands-on science policy and advocacy training and experience. After completing the educational component of the program, delegates will visit Capitol Hill to meet with policymakers in 2024. The ASBMB public affairs department runs the program. The society has trained 42 ASBMB members in four ATP cohorts, providing the foundational knowledge, skills ...

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Science24 May 2023

Epigenetic landscape modulates pioneer transcription factor binding

(Memphis, Tenn.—May 24, 2023) Like thread tightly wrapped around a spool, DNA is wrapped around histones and packaged into structures called nucleosomes. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are exploring how a type of transcription factor called a pioneer transcription factor accesses DNA even when it is tightly wound. Their work revealed how the epigenetic landscape influences transcription factor binding. Problems with transcription have been implicated in numerous cancers, so this more detailed understanding of the process may aid in developing future therapeutics. The study ...

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Science24 May 2023

U.S. teens who are food insecure are more likely to engage in emotional eating and consume sugar-sweetened beverages and junk foods

Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285446 Article Title: Psychosocial correlates in patterns of adolescent emotional eating and dietary consumption Author Countries: USA Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

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Science24 May 2023

Scientists provide first field observations of coccolithophore osmotrophy

Coccolithophores, a globally ubiquitous type of phytoplankton, play an essential role in the cycling of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere. New research from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences shows that these vital microbes can survive in low-light conditions by taking up dissolved organic forms of carbon, forcing researchers to reconsider the processes that drive carbon cycling in the ocean. The findings were published this week in Science Advances. The ability to extract carbon from the direct absorption of dissolved organic carbon is known as osmotrophy. ...

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Science24 May 2023

Georgia Tech researchers develop wireless monitoring patch system to detect sleep apnea at home

The prevalence of sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, is on the rise in the U.S., but current protocols to conduct clinically accepted assessments are expensive and inconvenient. Georgia Tech researchers have created a wearable device to accurately measure obstructive sleep apnea — when the body repeatedly stops and restarts breathing for a period — as well as the quality of sleep people get when they are at rest. Under conventional methods, people who are suspected of having some sleep issue or disorder ...

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Science24 May 2023

How tasty is the food?

To know when it’s time for a meal – and when to stop eating again – is important to survive and to stay healthy, for humans and animals alike. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence investigated how the brain regulates feeding behavior in mice. The team found that the hormone ghrelin activates specialized nerve cells in a brain region known as the amygdala. Here, the interaction between ghrelin and the specialized neurons promotes food consumption and conveys ...

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Science24 May 2023

Discovery slows down muscular dystrophy

A team of researchers at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy is reporting that by manipulating TAK1, a signaling protein that plays an important role in development of the immune system, they can slow down disease progression and improve muscle function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD, caused by mutations in dystrophin gene, is an inheritable neuromuscular disorder that occurs in one out of 3,600 male births. DMD patients undergo severe muscle wasting, inability to walk and eventually death in their early thirties due to respiratory failure. The ...

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Science24 May 2023

A novel method to quantify individual limb contributions to standing postural control

Research question Can these contributions to standing postural control be quantified from CoP trajectories in neurotypical adults? Methods Instantaneous contributions can be negative or larger than one, and integrated contributions sum to equal one. Proof-of-concept demonstrations validated these calculated contributions by restricting CoP motion under one or both feet. We evaluated these contributions in 30 neurotypical young adults who completed two (eyes opened; eyes closed) 30-s trials of bipedal standing. We evaluated the relationships between limb contributions, self-reported limb dominance, and between-limb ...

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Science24 May 2023

Designing a next generation hypersonic demonstrator

Today, large commercial jets fly around 580 mph. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird introduced in 1966 is the fastest supersonic jet vehicle in the world, reaching speeds of more than 2,200 mph, nearly four times faster than a commercial jet. The fastest rocket-powered hypersonic vehicle developed in the late 1960s carrying a human has been the North American X-15, reaching a top speed of 4,520 mph, twice that of the SR-71. Recently, the U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract to engineer Project Mayhem with the goal to reach 4,603 mph. Now, imagine a vehicle that could fly much faster, maybe even above 6,905 mph, which is beyond nine times the speed of sound. The University of Texas at Arlington’s ...

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Science24 May 2023

A better way to match 3D volumes

CAMBRIDGE, MA — In computer graphics and computer-aided design (CAD), 3D objects are often represented by the contours of their outer surfaces. Computers store these shapes as “thin shells,” which model the contours of the skin of an animated character but not the flesh underneath. This modeling decision makes it efficient to store and manipulate 3D shapes, but it can lead to unexpected artifacts. An animated character’s hand, for example, might crumple when bending its fingers — a motion that resembles how an empty rubber glove deforms rather than the motion of a hand filled with bones, tendons, ...

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Science24 May 2023

Watching molecules relax in real time

– By Rachel Berkowitz Designing the next generation of efficient energy conversion devices for powering our electronics and heating our homes requires a detailed understanding of how molecules move and vibrate while undergoing light-induced chemical reactions. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have now visualized the distortions of chemical bonds in a methane molecule after it absorbs light, loses an electron, and then relaxes. Their study provides insights into how molecules react to light, which can ultimately be useful for developing new methods ...

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Science24 May 2023

Announcing the Johnson & Johnson nursing innovation fellows

PHILADELPHIA (May 24, 2023) – The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is pleased to announce that ten teams from health systems around the country have been selected for the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship Program (JJNIF), powered by Penn Nursing and the Wharton School–a ground-breaking, one-year, team-based nursing fellowship for Chief Nursing Officers, nurse executives, and senior nurse leaders. The fellowship is unique in that two nurse leaders – one Chief Nursing Officer or nurse executive and one other senior ...

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Science24 May 2023

Tambourine announces the ALS breakthrough research fund, releases inaugural request for proposals

Washington, DC (May 24) – Tambourine, in partnership with the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, today announced the ALS Breakthrough Research Fund and released the Fund’s first Request for Proposals (RFP). The Fund seeks to change how we understand and treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by supporting innovative basic and discovery-focused research around the world. It particularly focuses on soliciting and funding creative, high-risk, high-reward ideas that might not otherwise fit existing grant programs but hold the potential to ...

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Science24 May 2023

MD Anderson Research Highlights for May 24, 2023

HOUSTON ― 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. Recent developments include a new treatment option for relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, a better understanding of protein variants that trigger tumor cell death and activate ...

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Science24 May 2023

New chemical compound demonstrates potential in nerve regeneration

Research led by UCL, in partnership with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) and AstraZeneca, has identified a new compound that can stimulate nerve regeneration after injury, as well as protect cardiac tissue from the sort of damage seen in heart attack. The study, published in Nature, identified a chemical compound, named ‘1938’, that activates the PI3K signalling pathway, and is involved in cell growth. Results from this early research showed the compound increased neuron growth in nerve cells, and in animal models, it reduced heart tissue damage after major trauma and regenerated lost motor function in a model of nerve injury. Though further research is ...

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Science24 May 2023

New research finds dramatic increase in illegal ketamine seized by authorities, sparking concern about potential dangers of rising recreational use

A new analysis led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) at the University of Florida found a 349 percent rise in seizures of illicit ketamine by drug enforcement throughout the United States from 2017 through 2022. The study findings suggest that rising use of ketamine, a short-acting dissociative anesthetic commonly prescribed off-label to treat chronic pain and depression, can increase the likelihood that people who use recreationally or who use inadvertently may encounter an adulterated and potentially harmful version of the drug. The study publishes online May 24 in JAMA Psychiatry. “This ...

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Science24 May 2023

Where do our limbs come from?

For Immediate Release Contact: Mark Couch, 303-724-5377, mark.couch@cuanschutz.edu Where Do Our Limbs Come From? AURORA, Colo. (May 24, 2023) – An international collaboration that includes scientists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine has uncovered new clues about the origin of paired appendages – a major evolutionary step that remains unresolved and highly debated. The researchers describe their study in an article published today in the journal Nature. “This has become ...

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Science24 May 2023

In resistance training, focusing on load or number of repetitions leads to same muscle growth

Which kind of resistance training promotes more muscle growth: low load with many repetitions or high load with fewer repetitions? According to a study conducted at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil, it makes no difference. The study lasted eight weeks and involved 18 volunteers in two different training protocols. One group performed high-load (HL) exercises with fewer repetitions, while the other did low-load (LL) exercises with more repetitions. Muscle mass was measured in the first and last exercise sessions. A comparison of the two groups did not show any difference in muscle growth or metabolic stress, measured in an ...

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Science24 May 2023

CHOP researchers comprehensively assess the safety of using your head in youth soccer

Philadelphia, May 24, 2023 – Repeatedly heading a soccer ball has been previously associated with negative long-term brain health for professional players. However, in a new study from researchers at the Minds Matter Concussion Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), a small number of repeated soccer headers equivalent to a throw-in did not cause immediate neurophysiological deficits for teens, suggesting that limited soccer heading exposure in youth sports may not result in irreversible harm if players are properly trained. The ...

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