Science
press releases.

Science6 Oct 2025

New intervention helps pediatricians promote early peanut introduction to prevent peanut allergy

Results from a randomized clinical trial published in Pediatrics show that pediatricians who received targeted educational and clinical decision-support tools were significantly more likely to advise parents to introduce peanut-containing foods early – an approach recommended by national prevention guidelines but often underused in practice. About 8% of U.S. children have food allergies. Peanut allergy, the most common pediatric food allergy, affects more than 2% of children nationwide. “We found ...

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Science6 Oct 2025

New tools boost pediatricians’ adherence to peanut allergy guidelines 15-fold

Doctors were nearly 15 times more likely to follow allergy-prevention guidelines with new tools Tools included a training video and health record prompts for doctors and handouts for families Randomized trial included 30 pediatric practices and 18,480 infant visits CHICAGO --- A few easy-to-implement tools — a training video, electronic health record prompts and handouts for families — greatly increased how often pediatricians recommended early peanut introduction to infants, reports a new clinical study led by Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Since 2017, national guidelines have encouraged ...

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Science5 Oct 2025

Reevaluating nonoperative management for pediatric uncomplicated acute appendicitis

About The Study: In contrast to earlier studies, this meta-analysis found significantly higher treatment failure and major complication rates within a year with nonoperative management among children and adolescents. The meta-analysis provides pediatricians and pediatric surgeons with up-to-date data to inform shared decision-making with families and encourage individualized, patient-centered treatment. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Isabella Faria, MD, email imdefrei@utmb.edu. To access the embargoed ...

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Science4 Oct 2025

Scientists glimpse how enzymes “dance” while they work, and why that’s important

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a new structure determination method using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy which shows how different parts of complex molecular machinery like enzymes move while they help catalyze reactions. Focusing on an enzyme in yeast, they demonstrated how contrasts in atomic scale motions impact their function. The method promises unprecedented access to the mechanisms by which biomolecules work, and how they relate to illnesses. Enzymes are indispensable to the function of all biological organisms, ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Mini-organs reveal how the cervix defends itself

Cervical epithelial cells are far from passive bystanders in the body’s immune system. New research shows they actually play an active and highly coordinated role in detecting and fighting infections. That’s the conclusion of an international research team led by Associate Professor Cindrilla Chumduri from Aarhus University, and now published in the journal Science Advances. Using patient-derived 3D mini-organs, so-called organoids, and single-cell mapping technologies, the team has, for the first time, shown how distinct epithelial cell types in the cervix ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

In car crashes with pedestrians, age and zip code may predict extent of traumatic injuries

Key Takeaways While both adults and children are severely injured in pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions, adults often face more serious outcomes than children, according to a national analysis. In another study, mapping the geographical location of injuries in Colorado revealed areas in Denver County most prone to accidents, which could help researchers target efforts to prevent future crashes. CHICAGO — Pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents are a common cause of injury ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Global disparities in premature mortality

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, disparities in probability of premature death, defined as probability of dying before age 70, were likely to reflect major inequality in access to health-enhancing technologies and living standards, as well as context-specific obstacles. Technological and medical advancements leading to universal health benefits need to be rapidly and fairly disseminated. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Omar Karlsson, PhD, email karlssono@outlook.com. To ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Birds’ vocal warnings provide new insight into the origins of language

ITHACA, N.Y. – Birds separated by vast geographic distances and millions of years of evolution share a remarkably similar learned vocal warning to identify parasitic enemies near their nests, an international team of researchers has found. The results represent the first known example of an animal vocalization that is learned from an innate response shared across multiple species. The findings, which will publish October 3, 2025 at 5am EST in Nature Ecology and Evolution, provide a glimpse into the role natural ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Final step in the biosynthesis of iridoids elucidated

Iridoids are a widespread and evolutionarily ancient class of plant secondary metabolites belonging to the terpenes. They occur in thousands of plant species and play an important role in defense and other interactions between plants and their environment. Iridoids are also found in foods such as olives and blueberries, and are believed to have anti-inflammatory properties. They are also essential precursors for many medically important compounds, including the cancer drug vinblastine and the ipecacuanha alkaloids found in the medicinal plants, sage-leaved alangium and ipecac root (see press release Two plant species invent the same ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Unique videos show how trawling restrictions brings back life to the sea

Trawling restrictions not only benefits fish and shellfish; anemones and corals are also becoming more common, according to a new study from the University of Gothenburg. Twenty-six years of underwater videos from the depths of the Koster Sea also show long-term changes in the ecosystem as the water becomes warmer. The marine wildlife in Kosterhavet National Park has changed rapidly in recent years. The introduction of trawling restrictions in the area for the national park during the last 25 years, brought about a change in the living conditions for the animals that live on the seabed. “Animals ...

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Science3 Oct 2025

Whooping cough can be fatal in young infants, experts warn

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is on the rise and incidence now exceeds pre-pandemic numbers. While in adults and older children the cough can be bothersome and last for months, pertussis in young infants can be life-threatening. Most children under 2 months of age with pertussis in the United States are hospitalized. In a special article published in Pediatrics, experts strongly encourage vaccination, especially during pregnancy. “Pertussis symptoms are different in infants,” said leading author Caitlin Li, MD, infectious diseases specialist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies

A team of scientists from the University of Chicago, the University of California Berkeley, Argonne National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has developed molecular qubits that bridge the gap between light and magnetism—and operate at the same frequencies as telecommunications technology. The advance, published today in Science, establishes a promising new building block for scalable quantum technologies that can integrate seamlessly with existing fiber-optic networks. Because the new molecular qubits can interact at telecom-band frequencies, the work points toward future quantum networks—sometimes called the “quantum internet.” ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Phosphine detected in the atmosphere of a low-temperature brown dwarf

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected the molecule phosphine beyond our Solar System, according to a new study, finding it in the atmosphere of the cold brown dwarf Wolf 1130C. The presence of the phosphorus-containing molecule phosphine (PH3) is well established in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, as well as in some giant stars. Although models predict that PH3 should be similarly common in gas giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs, searches for the molecule in the atmospheres of those objects have shown it to be in very low abundance, if not totally absent. Using the JWST NIRSpec instrument, Adam Burgasser ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Scientists develop rapid and scalable platform for in planta directed evolution

Directed evolution is a laboratory technique that mimics natural selection and allows scientists to evolve genes and the proteins they encode. Traditionally, this technique has been used in microbes, mammalian cells, or in test tubes. Now, researchers led by Prof. GAO Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Prof. QIU Jinlong from the Institute of Microbiology of CAS have developed a new system that enables rapid and scalable directed evolution of diverse genes directly ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Detection of phosphine in a brown dwarf atmosphere raises more questions

Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, phosphine has long been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life, as there are few natural sources of this gas in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets. On Earth, phosphine is a byproduct of decaying organic swamp matter. Now a team of researchers, led by University of California San Diego Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

MIT researchers find a simple formula could guide the design of faster-charging, longer-lasting batteries

CAMBIRDGE, MA -- At the heart of all lithium-ion batteries is a simple reaction: Lithium ions dissolved in an electrolyte solution “intercalate” or insert themselves into a solid electrode during battery discharge. When they de-intercalate and return to the electrolyte, the battery charges. This process happens thousands of times throughout the life of a battery. The amount of power that the battery can generate, and how quickly it can charge, depend on how fast this reaction happens. However, little is known about the exact mechanism of this reaction, or ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

The ‘big bad wolf’ fears the human ‘super predator’ – for good reason

The ‘big bad wolf’ fears the human ‘super predator’ – for good reason Fear of the fabled ‘big bad wolf’ has dominated the public perception of wolves for millennia and strongly influences current debates concerning human-wildlife conflict. Humans both fear wolves and, perhaps more importantly, are concerned about wolves losing their fear of humans – because if they fear us, they avoid us and that offers protection. A new Western University study shows that even where laws are in place to protect them, wolves fully fear the human ‘super predator.’ These findings ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Two abstracts using Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry data presented at European Respiratory Society Congress

Miami (October 2, 2025) – The Bronchiectasis and NTM Association announced today that two abstracts using Bronchiectasis and NTM Research Registry data were presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress, held September 27-October 1, 2025, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The abstracts are: “Exploring the overlapping burden of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and bronchiectasis: insights from the US BRR,” which examined the role of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in the development of bronchiectasis. “Assessing ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

Do elephants know when we're looking at them?

Kyoto, Japan -- With their massive flapping ears and long trunks, it isn't hard to believe that elephants tend to rely on acoustic and olfactory cues for communication. They use gestures and visual displays to communicate as well, but we don't really know how much. Visual communication research has mainly focused on species that are primarily visual, like nonhuman primates. A previous study demonstrated that African savanna elephants can recognize human visual attention based on a person's face and body orientation, but this had yet to be investigated in their Asian cousins. Asian elephants split from African elephants millions of years ago, so their behavior and cognition differ ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

ESMT Berlin study: ESG ratings show limited financial impact in the Gulf

Firms in the Gulf region are increasingly expected to align with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Yet the link between ESG performance and financial outcomes remains ambiguous. A new study examines whether publicly listed companies in GCC member states that achieve high ESG ratings also deliver superior financial performance. The study “ESG and financial performance in the Gulf Cooperation Council” was authored by Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze, professor of management science and faculty lead of the Master in Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Program at ESMT Berlin, together with Rodrigo Tavares and Catarina Sá from Nova School ...

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Science2 Oct 2025

The importance of a leader–follower relationship for performing tasks

As most of us have experienced, when multiple people work together, things sometimes turn out better than doing the same task alone. Then, there are the other times, when cooperation actually seems to hinder progress, making things much more inefficient. To understand why this ‘cooperative advantage’ manifests in some cases but not in others, a research group led by Assistant Professor Asuka Takai of the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka Metropolitan University conducted a task where participants used a robotic arm ...

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Science1 Oct 2025

Commercial sunbeds should be banned in the UK, say experts

Commercial sunbeds should be banned in the UK, argue experts in The BMJ today. Using sunbeds causes melanoma and other skin cancers, particularly among young people, yet existing sunbed legislation is ineffective and there is little evidence that stricter rules would help protect the most vulnerable, say Professor Paul Lorigan and colleagues. Indoor tanning is experiencing a boom in popularity, particularly among Gen Z (born 1997-2012), with social media promoting sunbeds as integral to wellness, they explain. For example, a 2024 survey of 2,003 people in the UK by Melanoma Focus ...

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Science1 Oct 2025

India could bear biggest impact from chikungunya, new maps suggest

The most comprehensive mapping to date of the global risk of chikungunya suggests India could experience the greatest long-term impact from the mosquito-borne virus. Based on existing evidence of chikungunya transmission, the infectious disease model predicts 14.4 million people could be at risk of infections globally each year, with 5.1 million people at risk in India. It’s likely that chikungunya cases could also spread to regions not currently recording infections or considered at-risk, the analysis found, potentially increasing the number ...

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Science1 Oct 2025

Oncotarget Editor-in-Chief Wafik S. El-Deiry chairs 2025 WIN Symposium in collaboration with APM in Philadelphia

The WIN Symposium featured as the Oncology Track at the APM Annual Conference 2025 unites global leaders in oncology, translational science, and precision medicine. BUFFALO, NY – October 1, 2025 – Oncotarget is proud to announce that its Editor-in-Chief, Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, will chair the WIN Symposium as the Oncology Track of the Advancing Precision Medicine (APM) Annual Conference held October 3–4, 2025, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The WIN Consortium annual symposium featured as the Oncology ...

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Science1 Oct 2025

Why women live longer than men

To the point Mammals vs birds: Among the 1,176 species studied, female mammals live on average 13 percent longer than males, while among birds, males live about five percent longer than females. Mating strategies play a role: In species with strong competition for mates – as is the case with most mammals – males die earlier. In monogamous species, such as many birds, males often live longer. Findings from zoos: Sex differences are more pronounced in wild populations than in zoos. This suggests that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the discrepancy in life expectancy. Around the world, women on average live longer than ...

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