Science
press releases.

Science27 Oct 2025

National emergency wakeup call as SEND support system crisis worsens – latest analysis shows

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, already known to be in deep trouble, now faces ‘a worsening crisis’ which, say experts, puts the UK on the brink of a national emergency. A new Child of the North (CotN) report update highlights that schools still lack skills, resources and access to support services, face delays in receiving statutory individual education, health and care plans (EHCP), and experience severe school SEND absences. ‘Addressing the SEND crisis update: Implementing what works in ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Molecular snapshots reveal how the body knows it’s too hot

The ability to sense heat protects the body from burns and injury. But how the body actually feels temperature has remained an elusive mystery. Now, Northwestern University researchers have captured a detailed look at one of the body’s major heat sensors, revealing how it turns on when temperatures rise. This sensor, called TRPM3, sits in the cell membrane, where it acts like a tiny gate. When TRPM3 detects heat, it allows charged particles, or ions, to flow into the cell. This triggers nerve signals, which the brain interprets ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Analysis finds alarming rise in severe diverticulitis among younger Americans

A comprehensive analysis of over 5.2 million hospitalizations reveals a troubling surge in severe diverticulitis cases among Americans younger than 50. The analysis, led by researchers from UCLA and Vanderbilt University and published in the journal Diseases in the Colon & Rectum, reviewed hospital admissions for adult diverticulitis patients in the U.S. from 2005 to 2020. The researchers found that the proportion of younger patients among those admitted with complicated diverticulitis, a subtype of diverticulitis, involving abscesses, perforations or other serious complications increased ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Cockroach infestation linked to home allergen, endotoxin levels

Researchers at North Carolina State University have shown a link between the size of cockroach home infestations and the levels of both allergens and endotoxins in those homes, with lowering roach infestation numbers through pest control triggering significant declines in the levels of allergens and endotoxins. The study’s findings suggest that eliminating cockroach infestations could help improve indoor environmental health by greatly reducing allergens and endotoxins. Endotoxins are bacterial cellular components that get released when bacteria die. As omnivores that will eat just about anything, cockroaches have a rich and diverse ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Study identifies viral combinations that heighten risk of severe respiratory illnesses in infants

DENVER -- A new study led by researchers at National Jewish Health has revealed that, while a wide range of viruses can cause lower respiratory tract illnesses (LRIs) in infants, certain viruses and viral combinations dramatically increase the risk of severe disease. The findings, published this month in Journal of Infection, come from the Puerto Rican Infant Metagenomic and Epidemiologic Study of Respiratory Outcomes (PRIMERO), which followed more than 2,000 children from birth to age two between 2020 and ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Aboveground rather than belowground productivity drives variability in miscanthus × giganteus net primary productivity

Quantifying the carbon (C) uptake of the perennial grass, Miscanthus × giganteus (M × g), in both aboveground and belowground structures (e.g., net primary productivity (NPP)) and differences among methodological approaches is crucial. Many estimates of M × g productivity focus on aboveground harvestable yields and do not directly address belowground biomass in this perennial crop. A study by researchers at the Center for Advanced ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

UNF partners with Korey Stringer Institute and Perry Weather to open heat exercise laboratory on campus

Jacksonville, Fla. – The University of North Florida announced that the Korey Stringer Institute at UNF (KSI at UNF) and Perry Weather will open a state-of-the-art heat exercise laboratory on campus in the spring. KSI, the nation’s leading exertional heat stroke prevention institute, and Perry Weather, a leading weather safety platform, will provide lab-and-field-based research, education, advocacy and consultation through UNF to maximize performance, optimize safety and prevent sudden death for those who are exposed to the heat during ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Study suggests two unsuspected pathogens struck Napoleon's army during the retreat from Russia in 1812

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur have genetically analyzed the remains of former soldiers who retreated from Russia in 1812. They detected two pathogens, those responsible for paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever, which correlate with the symptoms described in historical accounts. The study was published as a preprint on bioRxiv on July 16, 2025. It will be published in the journal Current Biology on October 24. The famous Russian campaign led by Napoleon in 1812, also known as the "Patriotic War of 1812," ended with the retreat of the French army. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur's ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

The 25-year incidence and progression of hearing loss in the Framingham offspring study

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that hearing loss is a common public health concern that may be at least partially preventable. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Lauren K. Dillard, PhD, email dillalau@musc.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.39371) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. # # ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Fight or flight—and grow a new limb

Fight or Flight—and Grow a New Limb Study reveals how salamanders rely on sympathetic nervous system to regenerate body parts By Kermit Pattison / Harvard Staff Writer Biologists have long been fascinated by the ability of salamanders to regrow entire limbs. Now Harvard researchers have solved part of the mystery of how they accomplish this feat—by activating stem cells throughout the body, not just at the injury site. In a paper [LINK WILL ACTIVATE WHEN EMBARGO LIFTS 11am ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Scientists develop floral-scented fungus that lures mosquitoes to their doom

In the battle against mosquito-borne diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, scientists turned to an unlikely ally: a fungus that smells like flowers. Taking advantage of the mosquito’s natural attraction to flowers, an international team of researchers engineered a new strain of Metarhizium fungus that imitates a flower’s sweet scent and lures the bloodsucking bugs to their deaths. Inspired by certain fungi that the team found emit a sweet-smelling chemical called longifolene to draw ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

Key nervous system components shown to influence gastrointestinal tumour growth

New research finds that common nervous system components are present in the gastrointestinal tract where they influence tumour growth, revealing untapped opportunities for cancer treatment. GLOBAL: Australian researchers have identified two nervous system components that drive tumour growth in gastrointestinal cancers, creating promising new avenues for treatment with existing approved therapies. Our gut contains its very own nervous system and is commonly regarded as the second brain. Key players of this system are neuropeptides, the signalling ...

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Science24 Oct 2025

A food tax shift could save lives – without a price hike in the average shopping basket

More expensive steak, cheaper tomatoes, but the same total cost for the average basket of groceries at the supermarket. A comprehensive study, led by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden has analysed the potential effects of a food tax shift – where VAT is removed from healthy foods and levies are introduced on foods that have a negative impact on the climate. The study shows that a shift in taxes could have both environmental and human health benefits, and means that 700 fewer people in Sweden would die prematurely each year. Today, diet in many high-income countries is a leading risk factor for certain diseases and premature ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Teenagers and young adults who use cannabis have a higher risk of progressing to regular tobacco use

Teens and young adults who use cannabis are more likely to become regular tobacco users – even if they haven’t previously tried tobacco – compared to similar people who do not use cannabis, suggests a US study published online in the journal Tobacco Control. Around 13% of new onset tobacco use was estimated to be attributable to cannabis, the study found. Tobacco smoking has been considered a gateway to cannabis use since the 1970s when smoking was much more prevalent and when almost all people who used cannabis had smoked tobacco first. Although tobacco use among teens and young adults has declined considerably ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Research-backed defense of DEI programs published today

A trio of biomedical scientists at the University of California and University of Massachusetts have written a research-backed defense of DEI programs that was published today in the journal Nature Cell Biology. They assert that such programs broaden participation in and democratize science—ultimately producing more effective and supportive training environments for all scientists. To support their case, they cite research that rooted the National Institutes of Health's previous stance in support of diversity—before ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Updated CPR guidelines released for pediatric and neonatal emergency care and resuscitation

DALLAS and ITASCA, IL, Oct. 23, 2025 — The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association (the Association), a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere, have published updated guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care for newborn and pediatric populations. The “2025 American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care” mark a comprehensive update to the guidelines for pediatric basic and advanced life support and neonatal resuscitation since 2020. Experts from each ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Ancient Mediterranean origin of the “London Underground Mosquito”

A new genetic study overturns the myth of the “London Underground Mosquito,” revealing that this common urban insect originated not below the cities of modern Europe, but in ancient Mediterranean civilizations more than a thousand years ago, according to a new study. Modern cities are reshaping ecosystems, driving rapid adaptation in many species. A striking example is the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens, which exists in two forms: the bird-biting C. pipiens f. pipiens (pipiens), adapted to open-air, seasonal environments, and the human-biting C. pipiens f. molestus ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Fatty winter snacks may trick the body into packing on the pounds

Fatty Winter Snacks May Trick the Body into Packing on the Pounds A new study from UC San Francisco shows that our natural eating patterns are more closely tied to seasonal rhythms than previously thought. Next time you’re tempted to raid the pantry for snacks loaded with saturated fat — especially in winter — you might want to consider that the result could be a mounting urge for high-calorie nibbles. That’s because, from our body’s perspective, saturated fat — which ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Miniscule wave machine opens big scientific doors

University of Queensland researchers have made a microscopic ‘ocean’ on a silicon chip to miniaturise the study of wave dynamics. The device, made at UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, uses a layer of superfluid helium only a few millionths of a millimetre thick on a chip smaller than a grain of rice. Dr Christopher Baker said it was the world’s smallest wave tank, with the quantum properties of superfluid helium allowing it to flow without resistance, unlike classical fluids such as water, which become immobilised by viscosity at such small scales. “The study of how fluids move has ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

It’s not the pain, it’s the mindset: How attitude outweighs pain

Pain resilience is the key factor linking chronic pain to physical activity levels Individuals’ ability to stay active despite pain depends more on their pain resilience than on how much pain they feel Efforts should centre on building resilience to pain, as well as reducing it Pain affects activity levels, but how individuals understand and act in the face of pain can make a difference, a new study from the University of Portsmouth has found. The paper, published ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Chemistry: The key to civet coffee is in the chemistry

Coffee beans harvested from the faeces of the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) may have higher levels of fats and other key flavour-enhancing compounds than traditionally harvested beans. The results, published in Scientific Reports, may help explain why this type of coffee is so prized. Civet coffee, also known as kopi luwak, is one of the most expensive types of coffee in the world, and can sell for more than US $1,000 per kilogram of beans. The beans are harvested from the faecal matter of civets — usually Asian palm civets ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and age-related macular degeneration

About The Study: In this cohort study, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) use was associated with reduced risk of developing nonexudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) but was not associated with progression to exudative AMD among individuals with nonexudative AMD. These findings may inform future randomized trials evaluating the ocular effects of GLP-1RAs in nondiabetic populations. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Benjamin K. Young, MD, MS, email youngbe@ohsu.edu. To access ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter components and autism risk in childhood

About The Study: In this large cohort study, prenatal exposure to specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5) components and postnatal ozone (O3) exposure were associated with autism spectrum disorder risk. The second and third trimesters may represent sensitive exposure windows. These findings support further research on air pollution’s role in autism spectrum disorder etiology. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Eric Lavigne, PhD, email eric.lavigne@hc-sc.gc.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.38882) Editor’s ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

PAI-1 deficiency protects aging female mice from muscle and bone loss

“These results indicate that PAI-1 is partly involved in aging-related sarcopenia and osteopenia in female mice, although the corresponding mechanisms remain unknown.” BUFFALO, NY — October 23, 2025 — A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 9 of Aging-US on September 11, 2025, titled “Roles of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in aging-related muscle and bone loss in mice.” In this study led by first author Takashi Ohira and corresponding author Hiroshi Kaji from Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, researchers found that female mice lacking the gene for plasminogen ...

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Science23 Oct 2025

Snake bites: How they do it

Few actions in nature inspire more fear and fascination than snake bites. And the venomous reptiles have to move fast to sink their fangs into their prey before their victim flinches, which may be as little as 60 ms when hunting rodents. Until recently, video technology was not sufficiently sophisticated to capture the deathly manoeuvres in high definition, but recent improvements have made this possible, so Alistair Evans and Silke Cleuren from Monash University, Australia, decided to get to the heart of how venomous viper, ...

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