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press releases.

Science23 Sep 2025

Tracking the evolution of Taylor Swift’s dialect

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2025 -- Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop singers in history, influencing millions of fans with her music. Thanks to years of recorded interviews, she is also influencing how we understand the ways that people adopt accents and regional dialects. In JASA, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, a pair of researchers from the University of Minnesota analyzed years of Swift’s recorded interviews to track how her dialect has evolved. Authors ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Running dry – a new study warns of extreme water scarcity in the coming decades

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications by researchers from the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in the Republic of Korea reveals that Global Warming is accelerating the risk of multi-year droughts that can lead to extreme water scarcity, threatening water demands in cities, agriculture, and livelihoods worldwide, already within the coming decades. The study uses the latest generation of climate model simulations to determine the time when local water demands will exceed the regional water supply from precipitation, rivers, and reservoirs. This time is commonly referred to as the Day Zero Drought ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Molecular breast imaging may benefit women with dense breasts

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Screening women with dense breasts with both molecular breast imaging (MBI) and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) increased overall invasive cancer detection while modestly increasing the recall rate compared with screening only with DBT, according to a new study published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). “To our knowledge, this is the first multicenter, prospective evaluation of MBI as a supplement to DBT in women with dense breasts,” said lead author Carrie B. Hruska, Ph.D., professor of medical physics ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Meditation to treat depression and gaming addiction

Mindfulness meditation may help people struggling with concurrent depression and Internet gaming disorder, according to a study. Guang-Heng Dong and colleagues treated 59 people with depression and Internet gaming disorder (IGD)—which is characterized by excessive and dysregulated video game playing. About a third of people struggling with IGD also suffer from depression. For some, gaming becomes the only way to feel pleasure in an otherwise painful or colorless world. Of the 59 participants, 27 engaged in progressive muscle relaxation ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Beyond the Spread: A Scientific Playbook for Forex Execution and Risk

Foreign exchange (FX) is often described as the world’s deepest and most liquid marketplace, but beneath the headline numbers lies a complex microstructure that shapes how prices form, how liquidity concentrates, and how risk truly behaves across time. At its core, forex is a decentralized, quote-driven market where tiered participants—interbank dealers, non-bank liquidity providers, prime brokers, hedge funds, corporates, and retail aggregators—interact across electronic communication networks and single-dealer platforms. Price discovery unfolds through a constant negotiation of bid–ask quotes, with top-of-book spreads reflecting not only raw competition among market makers but also inventory constraints, latency advantages, and anticipated information flow.

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Science23 Sep 2025

Study: 72% of Illinois wetlands no longer protected by federal Clean Water Act

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois once harbored more than 8 million acres of wetlands. By the 1980s, all but 1.2 million wetland acres had been lost, filled in for development or drained to make way for agriculture. Now, thanks to a 2023 Supreme Court decision, roughly 72% of the remaining 981,000 acres of Illinois wetlands are no longer protected by the federal Clean Water Act, putting communities at risk of losing the flood control, groundwater recharge, water purification and natural habitat these wetlands provide, researchers report. A patchwork of state and county-level wetland regulations offer some protection ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

More than a reflex: How the spine shapes sex

For decades, it was thought that while the brain orchestrated male sexual behaviour – arousal, courtship, and copulation – the spinal cord merely executed the final act: ejaculation. But a study from the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) challenges that tidy division. It reveals that a key spinal circuit is not only involved in ejaculation but also in arousal and shaping the choreography of sex, adding a surprising new dimension to our understanding of sexual behaviour in mammals. “The spinal cord isn’t just a passive relay station executing brain commands”, says Susana Lima, Principal Investigator of CF’s ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Famous IVF memoir had hidden ghostwriter who spun breakthrough into emotional quest, archives reveal

Previously unseen documents show how a poet performed a major ghostwriting job on the autobiography of the two British pioneers behind the world’s first “test-tube baby”, so that the book used emotional storytelling to aid public acceptance of a controversial medical technology. A Matter of Life, coauthored in 1980 by geneticist Robert Edwards – who spent much of his career at Cambridge and went on to win the Nobel Prize – and gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe, tells how their research led to in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The book is the basis ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

New study reveals critical gap: 45% of experienced professionals lack structured decision-making habits despite high confidence in their own skills

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – September 23, 2025 – A groundbreaking study by the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists (GAABS) has uncovered a troubling disconnect between professionals' confidence in their decision-making abilities and their actual preparedness. While 91% of experienced professionals believe they have above-average decision-making skills, nearly half (45%) lack structured decision habits when making important workplace decisions. The research, representing GAABS' first major empirical study, surveyed 105 professionals across multiple sectors and revealed widespread ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Montana State alumnus discovers new, extinct crocodyliform in Montana

By Diana Setterberg, MSU News Service BOZEMAN – About 95 million years ago, a juvenile crocodyliform nicknamed Elton lived in what is now southwest Montana at the edge of the Western Interior Seaway. Measuring no more than 2 feet long from nose to tip of tail, young Elton was about the size of a big lizard, according to Montana State University professor of paleontology David Varricchio. Had it lived to be full grown, Elton would have measured no longer than 3 feet, far smaller than most members of the Neosuchia clade to which it and its distant relatives belong. ...

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Science23 Sep 2025

Global farmlands face hidden risks from “forever chemicals” PFAS

A new review study has revealed that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly entering farmland soils through waste recycling and wastewater reuse. Once in the soil, PFAS can migrate into crops, raising urgent concerns for food safety and human health. PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals first developed in the 1940s. They have been extensively used in non-stick cookware, food packaging, textiles, firefighting foams, and cosmetics. Thanks to their strong carbon–fluorine bonds, PFAS are extremely resistant to degradation, persisting in the environment and in living organisms for decades. Mounting evidence has linked ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Pre-visit questionnaire with EHR integration improves family history documentation and supports prevention and referrals in primary care

Original Research Pre-Visit Questionnaire With EHR Integration Improves Family History Documentation and Supports Prevention and Referrals in Primary Care Background and Goal: This study evaluated whether a pre-visit, patient-completed family history questionnaire that automatically uploads to the electronic health record (EHR) and triggers a same-day notification for family physicians improves family history documentation and subsequent conversations. Study Approach: Researchers ran a six-month, matched hybrid effectiveness–implementation study in three primary care practices affiliated with the University of Toronto Practice-based Research ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Study identifies functions to expect from interdisciplinary care teams delivering whole person substance use disorder care for pregnant people

Original Research Study Identifies Functions to Expect From Interdisciplinary Care Teams Delivering Whole Person Substance Use Disorder Care for Pregnant People Background and Goal: This study set out to identify the professionals, roles, and core functions of interdisciplinary teams that serve pregnant people with substance use disorders and describe how those functions are organized across different settings. Study Approach: Researchers conducted a qualitative observational study in Oregon at seven organizations that implemented Project Nurture and Nurture Oregon, integrated team-based care models that bring ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

More low-income adults reported having a usual source of care after the Affordable Care Act

Research Brief More Low-Income Adults Reported Having a Usual Source of Care After the Affordable Care Act Background and Goal: Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), uninsured and low-income adults were less likely to have a usual source of care due to cost, coverage, and access barriers. This study evaluated changes in the prevalence of usual sources of care and the reasons for lacking one before and after ACA implementation. Study Approach: Researchers analyzed 2010 to 2017 data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Dried fish – the hidden superfood vital for millions of women and children in Africa

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 8PM UK TIME (3PM EASTERN TIME) ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Hidden in plain sight, dried fish are an overlooked yet vital nutrient-packed superfood helping to feed millions of people across Africa, a new study reveals. And new evidence quantifies for the first time the essential nutrients in sun-dried and smoked fish in Africa, suggesting they could play an important role in tackling malnutrition across the tropics – provided the right policies are in place, researchers argue. Dried fish are an affordable and readily available food across the tropics. Yet despite this prevalence, because they are often ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

A recipe from two eras: How conifers ward off their enemies

To the point: Conifers use resin to protect themselves against pests. This resin contains diterpenes, which are defensive substances. Some of these diterpenes originated over 300 million years ago, before conifers evolved. Other diterpenes developed independently in different conifer species much later, presumably to protect against bark beetles. This repeated evolution was only possible because enzymes that produce diterpenes had previously undergone changes that unlocked evolutionary pathways towards certain substances. This is based on a mechanism called “epistasis”, which allows new traits to evolve once preparatory ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Over 62,700 deaths associated with record-breaking heat during the summer of 2024 in Europe

-. The year 2024 broke several temperature records: it was the hottest ever recorded, and its summer was also the warmest to date. A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, has estimated that 62,775 heat-related deaths occurred in Europe between 1 June and 30 September of that year. These mortality figures are 23.6% higher than the approximately 50,800 estimated for the summer of 2023, and 8.1% lower than the nearly 67,900 estimated for the summer of 2022. These results have ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Alcohol consumption per capita and suicide

About The Study: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, an increase in alcohol consumption per capita was associated with an increase in the suicide mortality rate at the population level and that the association was similar across sexes. As such, alcohol consumption per capita may be a useful target to consider within comprehensive national suicide prevention strategies. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Shannon Lange, PhD, email shannon.lange@camh.ca. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

JMIR Publications formally launches news & perspectives section with in-depth analysis of US research oversight

(Toronto, September 22, 2025) JMIR Publications, a leading open access publisher of digital health research, today announced the publication of a scientific news article that marks the formal launch of its "News & Perspectives" section. The article, "Research Implications of Increased Political Oversight in the US," was written by Scientific News Editor, Kayleigh-Ann Clegg, PhD, who will be coordinating the development of JMIR Publications’ digital health news service. Dr. Clegg's ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

How Ukraine keeps society going despite the war

Despite being at war since February 2022, Ukraine has managed to maintain public services. A new study from Linköping University points to the collaboration between citizens and public authorities as a key factor in this. According to the researchers behind it, there are lessons to be learned for other countries should war or crisis come. “Everyone, right down to the family and the individual, makes crucial decisions in times of deep crisis. It’s important that all actors are mobilised, ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

CHEST Is honored with two 2025 Power of Associations Awards

GLENVIEW, IL— The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) has been recognized as a Power of Associations Silver Award winner by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for two of its successful initiatives. CHEST’s First 5 Minutes®: Cultural Humility modules earned the Power of Conscious Inclusion Award, and the CHEST Community Connections program received the Power of Community Support Award. The Power of Conscious Inclusion Award recognizes associations that advance equity and inclusion across workforce, governance, operations, ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Ice dissolves iron faster than liquid water

Ice can dissolve iron minerals more effectively than liquid water, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery could help explain why many Arctic rivers are now turning rusty orange as permafrost thaws in a warming climate. The study, recently published in the scientific journal PNAS, shows that ice at minus ten degrees Celsius releases more iron from common minerals than liquid water at four degrees Celsius. This challenges the long-held belief that frozen environments slow down chemical reactions. “It may sound counterintuitive, but ice is not a passive frozen block,” says ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Snapdragon secrets

Every season, scientists from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) go on field trips to the Pyrenees. Their mission: gather snapdragon flowers to understand their genetic makeup. In a recently published study in Molecular Ecology, they show how nature uses color genes to keep two varieties of snapdragons distinct, even when they share the same habitat. On the border between France and Spain lies a mountain range that spans from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea. The lush valleys and high peaks attract many tourists to the Pyrenees, ...

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Science22 Sep 2025

Urgent awareness gap: 1 in 3 Europeans unfamiliar with cystitis, half unaware women are most at risk

Arnhem, 22 September 2025 – A new international study has uncovered a concerning lack of public understanding about cystitis and urinary tract infections (UTIs) – common health issues that disproportionately affect women. The findings, which also highlight widespread misconceptions about prevention and treatment, underscore the urgent need for education to combat rising antibiotic resistance. In a survey of over 3,000 adults across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, 35% of respondents could not correctly define ...

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Science21 Sep 2025

Our actions are dictated by “autopilot”, not choice, finds new study

Habit, not conscious choice, drives most of our actions, according to new research from the University of Surrey, University of South Carolina and Central Queensland University. The research, published in Psychology & Health, found that two-thirds of our daily behaviours are initiated “on autopilot”, out of habit. Habits are actions that we are automatically prompted to do when we encounter everyday settings, due to associations that we have learned between those settings and our usual responses to them. The research also found that 46% of behaviours were both triggered by habit and aligned with ...

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