Science
press releases.

Science26 Nov 2025

Fame itself may be critical factor in shortening singers’ lives

Fame itself may be a critical factor in shortening singers’ lives beyond the hazards of the job—at least those in the UK/Europe and North America—suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. These stars seem to die around 4 years earlier, on average, than their peers who haven’t achieved celebrity status, and the effects of fame are on a par with certain other health risks, suggest the researchers. Previously published research indicates that famous singers tend to die earlier than the general public. But it’s far from clear ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Mountains as water towers: New research highlights warming differences between high and low elevations

BOZEMAN – In new research published this week, work by a Montana State University scientist aims to explore the gradations in elevation-dependent changes in climate, including in mountainous ecosystems like those in Montana and the Rockies. John Knowles, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences in the College of Agriculture, is one of nearly two dozen authors from around the world on the new paper, titled “Elevation-dependent climate change in mountain environments.” The work was published Nov. 25 in ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

65-year-old framework challenged by modern research

In a re-evaluation of Hockett’s foundational features that have long dominated linguistic theory—concepts like ‘arbitrariness’, ‘duality of patterning’, and ‘displacement’—an international team of linguists and cognitive scientists shows that modern science demands a radical shift in how we understand language and how it evolved. The conclusion? Language is not a spoken code. It’s a dynamic, multimodal, socially embedded system that evolves through interaction, culture, ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Collaborating minds think alike, processing information in similar ways in a shared task

Whether great minds think alike is up for debate, but the collaborating minds of two people working on a shared task process information alike, according to a study published November 25th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Denise Moerel and colleagues from Western Sydney University in Australia. Humans rely on collaboration for everything from raising food to raising children. But to cooperate successfully, people need to make sure that they are seeing the same things and working within the same rules. We must agree that the red fruits are the ones that are ripe and that we will leave green fruits alone. Behavioral collaboration requires that people think ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Routine first trimester ultrasounds lead to earlier detection of fetal anomalies

Scanning for serious structural issues in fetuses during the first trimester can result in earlier detection of these issues, reports a new study led by Aris Papageorghiou at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, published November 25th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine. In England, pregnant people typically undergo a basic ultrasound at 12 weeks to assess the gestational age. Whereas an ultrasound at around 20 weeks – during the second trimester – is used to detect serious problems called congenital anomalies, which occur in about ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Bormioli Luigi renews LionGlass deal with Penn State after successful trial run

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s LionGlass project has reached a major milestone in its partnership with Italian glassmaker Bormioli Luigi, marking one year of collaboration and the signing of a second-year agreement to continue commercialization efforts in the cosmetics packaging industry. The partnership, which began in 2024, aims to scale up LionGlass — a new family of glass developed at Penn State — as a sustainable alternative to traditional soda lime glass. LionGlass ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Metabolic roots of memory loss

For decades, scientists have known that what harms the body often harms the brain. Conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance strain the body’s vascular and metabolic systems. Over time, that stress can speed up cognitive decline and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Now, researchers at Arizona State University and their collaborators report that these effects may begin far earlier than expected. In young adults with obesity, the team identified biological markers of inflammation, liver stress ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Seal milk more refined than breast milk

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered that milk from grey seals in the Atlantic Ocean may be more potent than breast milk. An analysis of seal milk found approximately 33 per cent more sugar molecules than in breast milk. Many of these sugars are unique and may pave the way for even better infant formula for babies. During the 17 days that grey seal pups suckle, they need to get their digestive systems up and running and build up an immune system to protect them against diseases and other dangers they may encounter in the North Atlantic. It is reasonable to suspect that their mother's milk is extremely refined to accomplish this task. ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

How plants search for nutrients

What makes plants tolerant to nutrient fluctuations? An international research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and involving the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has investigated this question on the micronutrient boron. The researchers analyzed 185 gene data sets from the model plant Arabidopsis. Their goal is to then be able to transfer the findings to the important crop plant rapeseed. Boron is one of the key micronutrients for the growth and fertility of many plants. However, extreme weather events reduce the availability of this nutrient: drought reduces boron uptake, ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy may increase autism risk in children

WASHINGTON—Women with persistent thyroid hormone imbalance across pregnancy may be at an increased risk of having children with autism, according to a new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Maternal thyroid hormones are essential for fetal neurodevelopment. Gestational thyroid imbalance has been associated with atypical neurodevelopment, including increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts with others and experiences the world. “We ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Cross-national willingness to share

Global challenges necessitate cooperation beyond national borders. Prosociality—the tendency to share with and value the outcomes of others—can help achieve this objective. While it is well-established that people favor their own compatriots, people also display substantial prosociality toward individuals from other nations, though not all foreigners are treated equally. Vanessa Clemens and colleagues invited 6,182 participants from 25 nations to take part in a sharing game with individuals from each of the participating nations. Each person received 150 “Talers” — a made-up currency — and chose between different ways of sharing the ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Seeing rich people increases support for wealth redistribution

If people do not observe inequality, they are less likely to favor policies that redistribute wealth, such as taxation—but they are also more satisfied with their lot, according to online experiments involving 1,440 US-based participants. Milena Tsvetkova and colleagues developed a model simulating how network structure affects perception of inequality and tested its predictions through an online experiment where participants voted on tax rates. In the experiment, participants were randomly assigned as "rich" (with scores around ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Most older drivers aren’t thinking about the road ahead, poll suggests

Note: December 1-5 is Older Driver Safety Awareness Week When today’s older adults learned to drive, they might have heard the Beatles’ “Drive My Car” or Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” on their car radio’s Top 40 station. Now, 84% of people age 65 and older drive at least once a week, and 62% drive most days, according to a new University of Michigan national poll. But less than half of these older drivers have made a plan for a time down the road, when changes ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Autistic adults have an increased risk of suicidal behaviours, irrespective of trauma

Autistic people are more likely to report suicide-related behaviours and psychological distress irrespective of previous traumatic experiences, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Additionally, the study shows for the first time that higher levels of trauma are associated with an increased likelihood of reporting suicide-related behaviours and psychological distress in autistic people — as is the case in the general population. Given that autistic people are recognised as a priority group for suicide prevention in the UK, these findings have important implications for national suicide prevention strategies. ...

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Science25 Nov 2025

Folklore sheds light on ancient Indian savannas

In the earliest text written in Marathi, a language of millions in western and central India, a 13th-century religious figure named Cakradhara points to an acacia tree as a symbol of the cycle of death and reincarnation. It’s unlikely he imagined he would help today’s scientists understand the history of India’s vast lands. But scholars say that centuries-old literary works like this could help reveal the history of the great expanses of savannas and grasslands that cover nearly 10% of India and more than a third of the land ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Metabolism, not just weight, improved when older adults reduced ultra-processed food intake

A controlled feeding study out of South Dakota State University shows that older adults who ate fewer ultra-processed foods naturally consumed fewer calories, lost weight and abdominal fat, and showed improvements in insulin, nutrient-sensing hormones, and inflammation. “Counting nutrients is not enough,” Moul Dey, professor of health and nutritional sciences, said. “The degree of processing changes how the body handles those same nutrients. Diet quality depends not only on nutrients but also on the ingredients and the level of processing, considered together.” For decades, the Dietary ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Connections with nature in protected areas

Protected areas are often seen as refuges for plants and animals – yet they are also places where people live, work and relax. A new study led by the University of Göttingen in Germany, in collaboration with the Universities of Kassel in Germany, Jyväskylä in Finland, and Stockholm in Sweden, shows how deeply people are connected to these landscapes. The research team analyzed personal stories from residents, land managers, and visitors in protected areas of the district of Göttingen. Their findings reveal that protected areas foster local identity, support learning about nature, and provide spaces for recreation, working ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Rodriguez and Phadatare selected for SME's 30 Under 30

Brittany Rodriguez and Akash Phadatare of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Science Division (MSD) have been named to SME’s prestigious 30 Under 30 program for 2025. For the past decade, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers has recognized young visionaries in the field — talented individuals with a passion for innovation across manufacturing, research and engineering disciplines. “I am immensely proud of Brittany Rodriguez and Akash Phadatare for their innovative contributions ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

From shiloh shepherds to chihuahuas, study finds that the majority of modern dogs have detectable wolf ancestry

New research led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History reveals that the majority of dogs living today have low but detectable levels of post-domestication wolf ancestry that has likely shaped characteristics including body size, sense of smell, and personality traits. The study, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that this newly uncovered gene flow may help give unique advantages to dogs’ survival in diverse human environments. Among their findings: post-domestication wolf ancestry exists in a wide range of dog breeds, ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Ancient wolves on remote Baltic Sea island reveal link to prehistoric humans

Scientists have found wolf remains, thousands of years old, on a small, isolated island in the Baltic Sea – a place where the animals could only have been brought by humans. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, Stockholm University, the University of Aberdeen and the University of East Anglia, suggest that grey wolves may have been managed or controlled by prehistoric societies. The discovery of the 3,000–5,000-year-old wolf remains was made in the Stora Förvar cave on the Swedish island of Stora Karlsö, a site known for its intensive use by seal hunters and fishers during the ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Golden retriever and human behaviours are driven by same genes

A study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge provides a window into canine emotions, revealing why some golden retrievers are more fearful, energetic or aggressive than others. The research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that specific genes linked to canine behaviour are also associated with traits like anxiety, depression, and intelligence in people. The team analysed the genetic code of 1,300 golden retrievers and compared it with each dog’s behavioural traits – assessed through a detailed owner questionnaire. This revealed genes underlying traits including trainability, ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Probing new mechanisms of depression and anxiety

In a new JNeurosci paper, Tian-Ming Gao and colleagues, from Southern Medical University, explored how adenosine triphosphate (ATP) signaling relates to depression and anxiety using male mice. ATP is a molecule that not only provides energy but also supports communication between neurons. The researchers focused on ATP signaling in a brain region implicated in depression called the hippocampus. Male mice that were more likely to acquire depressive- and anxiety-like symptoms following long-term stress had less ATP levels and ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Gestational weight gain and pregnancy outcomes after GLP-1 receptor agonist discontinuation

About The Study: In a cohort composed primarily of women with obesity, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) use with subsequent pre-pregnancy or early pregnancy discontinuation was associated with more gestational weight gain and a higher risk of preterm delivery, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Jacqueline Maya, MD, (jmaya@mgh.harvard.edu) and Camille E. Powe, MD, (camille.powe@mgh.harvard.edu). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.20951) Editor’s Note: Please ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Increasing postpartum use of GLP-1 receptor agonists

About The Study: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are increasingly used for postpartum weight loss since the introduction of semaglutide for weight loss in late 2022. Most users were overweight prior to pregnancy and only 23% had a documented diabetes diagnosis, suggesting that the primary indication for use was weight reduction. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Mette Bliddal, PhD, email mbliddal@health.sdu.dk. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.20947) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

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Science24 Nov 2025

Untreated sleep apnea raises risk of Parkinson’s, study finds

New research reveals that people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. However, they can significantly reduce the risk by improving the quality of their sleep by using continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. The study, which published today in the journal JAMA Neurology, examined electronic health records covering more than 11 million U.S. military veterans who received care through the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1999 and 2022. The research was led by Oregon Health & Science University ...

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