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press releases.

Science4 Nov 2025

Genetic basis of spring-loaded spider webs

Different species of spiders produce different silks that serve different purposes, from floating on air to cradling eggs. The triangle weaver spider, Hyptiotes cavatus, weaves and holds a three-sided web under tension, which it releases the moment prey flies into the web, quickly tangling the prey in the spring-loaded threads. Thus, the web can move much faster than any muscle in the spider’s body, illustrating how silk can amplify a spider’s abilities. Jessica Garb and colleagues sequenced the genome of ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Allen Institute announces 2025 Next Generation Leaders

SEATTLE, WASH. — November 4, 2025 — The Allen Institute’s 2025 Next Generation Leaders (NGL) cohort features eight talented researchers exploring the frontiers of bioscience and pursuing insights into biology with the potential to advance human health. “We are so excited to welcome the newest cohort of Next Generation Leaders to the Allen Institute community. These exceptional early-career scientists are on a path to transform bioscience fields, and we look forward to being part of their journey,” said Julie Harris, Ph.D., vice president of the Allen Institute’s ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

2.75-million-year-old stone tools may mark a turning point in human evolution

WASHINGTON (Nov. 4, 2025)--Imagine early humans meticulously crafting stone tools for nearly 300,000 years, all while contending with recurring wildfires, droughts, and dramatic environmental shifts. A recent study, published in Nature Communications, brought to light remarkable evidence of enduring technological tradition from Kenya’s Turkana Basin. An international multi-center research team has uncovered at the Namorotukunan Site one of the oldest and longest intervals of early Oldowan stone tools yet discovered, dating from approximately 2.75 ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Hornets in town: How top predators coexist

In urban environments, competing hornet species coexist by specializing on different prey species. The Kobe University study was made possible by pioneering DNA analysis of hornet larvae's gut contents and shows that cities are fascinating model systems for how predatory species adapt to environmental stress. City gangs brutally illustrate a principle that is a staple in ecological theory, the “competitive exclusion principle”: Two species competing for the same limited resource cannot coexist. Nature seems to find more peaceful solutions. “The yellow-vented hornet and the Japanese yellow hornet are both considered urban adapters with nesting sites and activity ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Unexpectedly high concentrations of forever chemicals found in dead sea otters

A new paper in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, published by Oxford University Press, finds high qualities of toxic “forever” chemicals in sea otters recovered off the Pacific Ocean. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, so called “Forever Chemicals,” are used in the lining of food packaging, non-stick cookware, waterproof and stainproof textiles, cosmetics, firefighting foams, and electronics. These chemicals, which bioactively bind to proteins within an organism, can ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Adapting to change is the real key to unlocking GenAI’s potential, ECU research shows

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has had a transformative impact on business, enabling the automation of routine tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic and creative work, while also reducing costs and accelerating time to market. However, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) published in the International Journal of Information Management and funded by the SBL Business Intelligence Research group, has highlighted some of the issues that could be hindering the adoption of these emerging technologies. GenAI uses ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

How algae help corals bounce back after bleaching

With much of the world’s coral turning a ghostly white, UC Riverside scientists have launched a $1.1 million project to uncover how reefs regain life-giving algae after suffering from heat stress. Bleaching occurs when stressed corals lose the algae living in their tissues. Without them, coral turns pale and begins to starve. If algae don’t return within a few weeks, the sickly coral dies, leaving behind a white skeleton that can no longer support the marine life that once depended ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Decoding sepsis: Unraveling key signaling pathways for targeted therapies

Background Sepsis is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by dysregulated immune responses, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ dysfunction. It involves intricate interactions among multiple signaling pathways, including NF-κB, JAK/STAT, TLR, MAPK, HIF-1α, and Nrf2/Keap1, which collectively regulate immune activation, inflammation, and cellular metabolism. Mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic reprogramming further contribute to its pathogenesis by impairing energy production and immune cell function. Conventional treatments, primarily reliant on antibiotics and early goal-directed therapy, often ...

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Science4 Nov 2025

Personalised care key to easing pain for people with Parkinson’s

Every 27 minutes, someone in Australia is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Best known for its tremors, movement and balance issues, it also brings another, often overlooked burden – persistent pain. Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that many people with Parkinson’s are struggling to manage their pain, with researchers calling for more individualised, multidisciplinary and empathetic care. In two studies that assessed how people with Parkinson’s manage pain and their experiences of pain care services, researchers found notable gaps in support, ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

A faster problem-solving tool that guarantees feasibility

Cambridge, MA – Managing a power grid is like trying to solve an enormous puzzle. Grid operators must ensure the proper amount of power is flowing to the right areas at the exact time when it is needed, and they must do this in a way that minimizes costs without overloading physical infrastructure. Even more, they must solve this complicated problem repeatedly, as rapidly as possible, to meet constantly changing demand. To help crack this consistent conundrum, MIT researchers developed a problem-solving tool that finds the optimal solution ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

When speaking out feels risky

In an era when social media blurs the line between public and private speech, how do people decide whether to speak their minds or stay silent? A new study from researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Michigan, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, offers a groundbreaking look at the strategic trade-offs individuals make when facing the threat of punishment for dissent. The work, co-authored by Professor Stephanie Forrest and Assistant Professor Joshua J. Daymude in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Sex differences in gambling rats

Some people with psychiatric conditions, including addiction and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, struggle to control their urges or make decisions under uncertainty. In a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the University of British Columbia, Tristan Hynes and colleagues used rats to explore the role of a specific reward-related neuron population in shaping impulsivity and risky decision-making during a gambling task. As reported in their JNeurosci paper, the researchers manipulated the neuron population’s activity as rats chose between ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Trends in daily nicotine vaping and unsuccessful quit attempts in youths

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that the U.S. youth nicotine vaping population recently became increasingly represented by daily use and unsuccessful quit attempts, a trend of which clinicians and policy makers should be aware. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Abbey R. Masonbrink, MD, MPH, email amasonbrink@chla.usc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.41061) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Childhood adversity and all-cause mortality risk

About The Study: This study found that exposure to childhood adversity was associated with elevated all-cause mortality risk among adults with diabetes, hypertension, or mild-to-moderate emergency department visits. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ping-I Lin, MD, PhD, email daniel.lin@health.slu.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.4285) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Among youth who vape, USC study finds rise in daily use and difficulty quitting

Since 2019, overall rates of nicotine vaping have declined among U.S. youth, but those who continue to vape are showing signs of worsening addiction, according to new USC research. Between 2020 and 2024, the share of current users who vaped every day increased from 15.4% to 28.8%. Over the same period, the share of daily users who tried to quit but were unable to rose from 28.2% to 53%. The study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, was just published in JAMA Network Open. Public health advocates raised the alarm when youth vaping rates surged between 2014 and 2019. Data collected during the COVID-19 ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Halide perovskite volatile unipolar Nanomemristor

The last experimentally fundamental passive circuit element is the memristor that was originated in 2008 by Dmitri Strukov and presents a thin-film dielectric material with oxygen vacancies placed between two electrodes. This element changes its resistance based on the amount and direction of current that has flowed through it and its resistance has non-linear behavior from the current flow. Memristors are used in neuromorphic computing, data storage systems, and various devices for information processing and consume less power than basic silicon transistors. These elements are an attractive subject for modern scientific community due to their advantages ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Printing with fields: Reprogramming matter at the smallest scales

From medical microrobots to flexible sensors, the next generation of technology depends on devices that are smaller, smarter, and more capable than ever before. But building these intricate structure, often just micrometers across, requires extraordinary precision, not only in shaping materials but in programming their properties. In the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, a team of Chinese researchers reviews the fast-growing field of Field-assisted Additive Manufacturing (FAM)—a method that combines 3D printing with external fields such as magnetic, acoustic, or electric stimuli to precisely guide materials as they form. "Traditional ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Dr. Xin Jin named 2026 Peter Gruss Young Investigator

In recognition of her innovative experimental approaches and breakthrough discoveries on the genetic mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders, Dr. Xin Jin has been named the 2026 Peter Gruss Young Investigator. “The field of nominees was incredibly impressive; however, Dr. Jin stood out among the nominees for her creative and multidisciplinary integration of methodologies to make tremendous progress toward understanding principles of brain development and function. She is well on her way to becoming a leader in the neuroscience field,” ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

USF study finds smarter way to train employees to thwart phishing scams

Media Contact: John Dudley (814) 490-3290 (cell) jjdudley@usf.edu Click here for images and a PDF of the journal article Key takeaways Phishing “gotcha” tests may backfire: New USF-led research finds that on-the-spot phishing training can trigger defensiveness and limit learning — making employees less likely to absorb lessons that prevent future attacks. Broader feedback builds stronger defenses: Training everyone after a phishing simulation — not just those who clicked — helped participants stay alert and resist scams for months. Rethinking a cybersecurity ‘best practice’: The study challenges ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Antimicrobial peptides can reduce salmonella in chickens

Key Points: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat to public health, and finding alternatives to antibiotics can help combat increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). A new study found that antimicrobial peptides can combat Salmonella infections in chickens, a major cause of foodborne disease in the U.S. This discovery could help improve food safety and protect public health without relying on antibiotic use. Washington, D.C.—Antimicrobial peptides can control Salmonella infections in chickens and thus have the potential to improve food safety and public health, according to a new study. The study was published in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Women missing cardiac rehabilitation, despite key benefits

For someone who has heart surgery or experiences a major cardiovascular event, cardiac rehabilitation can significantly improve their short and long term recovery. People who participate in this comprehensive exercise, lifestyle and education program are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital and have a lower risk of future heart attack. Despite a slew of benefits linked to cardiac rehabilitation, attendance remains poor — with even fewer women utilizing the program. “Even when women do participate, the research tells us that ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Quick CPR from lay rescuers can nearly double survival for children after cardiac arrest

Research Highlights: Initiating CPR within the first five minutes after cardiac arrest can nearly double the chances of survival for children, according to preliminary research analyzing data for more than 10,000 children from a U.S. registry of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The time window to initiate successful CPR in children may be half that of the window for adults — 5 minutes vs. 10 minutes, respectively. The study’s findings highlight the importance of bystanders (lay rescuers) initiating CPR quickly after cardiac arrest, ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Scientists produce powerhouse pigment behind octopus camouflage

Scientists at UC San Diego have moved one step closer to unlocking a superpower held by some of nature’s greatest “masters of disguise.” Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish and other animals in the cephalopod family are well known for their ability to camouflage, changing the color of their skin to blend in with the environment. This remarkable display of mimicry is made possible by complex biological processes involving xanthommatin, a natural pigment. Because of its color-shifting capabilities, xanthommatin has long intrigued scientists and even the military, but has proven difficult to produce and research in the lab — until now. In a new study, ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Researchers unveil a powerful new gene-switch tool

Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a versatile and non-toxic technology for controlling the activity of any gene in a cell. Such “gene-switch” tools allow scientists to “turn on” or “turn off” a target gene to study how it works, model diseases and design new therapies. The tool potentially could be adopted throughout biomedical research, including in the development of gene therapies. The new tool, called Cyclone (acyclovir-controlled poison exon), is described in a paper published Nov. 3 in Nature Methods. The tool was inspired ...

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Science3 Nov 2025

Orcas seen killing young great white sharks by flipping them upside-down

A specialized shark-hunting pod of orcas in the Gulf of California has been caught on camera expertly targeting young great white sharks — flipping them upside-down to eat the energy-rich liver. The pod, known as Moctezuma’s pod, could be taking advantage of warming waters altering shark nursery areas to hunt juveniles, which lack the experience to flee as older sharks do. These observations suggest that orcas may hunt white sharks more often than we realized. However, a broader survey collecting more data is needed to draw strong conclusions. “I believe that orcas that eat elasmobranchs — sharks and rays — could eat a great white shark, ...

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