Science
press releases.

Science11 Sep 2025

EMBARGOED MEDIA RELEASE: Breathlessness increases long-term mortality risk, Malawi study finds

Research led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Programme shows that over half of hospital patients with breathlessness had died within a year of admission (51%), as opposed to just 26% of those without the symptom. Most of these patients had more than one condition that cause breathlessness, including pneumonia, anaemia, heart failure and TB. The findings demonstrate the importance of integrated, patient-centred care, researchers say, to tackle the burden of high mortality ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Warming rivers in Alaska threaten Chinook salmon populations and Indigenous food security

For millennia, Indigenous people living in Alaska and Canada’s Yukon territory have relied on Chinook salmon. The large, fatty fish provide essential nutrients for Arctic living and have influenced traditions and languages across generations. But over the past three decades, many communities have been unable to fish Chinook amid a sharp salmon population decline. The situation could worsen as climate change warms rivers in the Arctic, stunting salmon growth, according to a study published August 6 in Scientific Reports led by the University of Colorado Boulder. “The ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Astrocytic “brake” that blocks spinal cord repair identified

Spinal cord injuries caused by external trauma, such as traffic accidents or falls, often lead to the permanent loss of motor and sensory functions. This is because the spinal cord—the central pathway connecting the brain and the rest of the body—harbors a “brake” mechanism that halts repair. For the first time, the molecular mechanism behind this braking system has been revealed. A research team led by Director C. Justin LEE of the Center for Cognition and Sociality at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Professor HA ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Revolutionizing impedance flow cytometry with adjustable microchannel height

Ikoma, Japan—Many advances in medicine and drug development were possible owing to flow cytometry, a single-cell analysis technique that analyzes cells using the emitted fluorescence of their chemical tags while passing through a laser beam. Most flow cytometers possess a microfluidic channel, a small channel that regulates the flow of fluorescently tagged analytes. Flow cytometry enables quick single-cell counting and analysis, making it a cornerstone of modern biomedical research. A powerful variant, impedance flow cytometry, replaces ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Crowded conditions muddle frogs’ mating choices

Female treefrogs prefer a mate with an impressive call, but the crowded environments give unattractive males an edge, according to a new international study led by Assistant Professor Jessie Tanner of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. When choosing among only two males, female gray treefrogs pick the mate with faster and more regular calls. Faced with four or eight types of calls, however, their choices were inconsistent, according to the study recently published in the biological sciences journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In the wild, frogs usually are choosing mates in noisy, crowded environments called choruses, with many males calling at the same ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

A new way to guide light, undeterred

Key Takeaways Penn researchers built a light-based crystal “tunnel” that forces light to move one way, even around bumps, bends, and defects. By driving the crystal with circularly polarized light, the team created a protected topological channel that keeps light on course. The discovery points toward sturdier lasers, smarter optical chips, and future devices that could safeguard quantum information. Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overal

Indian new mums report better postpartum wellbeing when their own mum acts as their primary support - while women whose mother-in-law is the primary caregiver instead report significantly lower overall wellness Article URL: https://plos.io/45Sz6RO Article title: Investigating the role of family members in postnatal care: Evidence from mother-caregiver dyads in India Author countries: U.S., India Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. END ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Traditional and “existential” wellness vary significantly between US regions

Northeastern and Midwestern residents tend to have higher physical, social, and financial—i.e., “traditional”—wellness, while Southern residents have higher “existential” wellness, involving a sense of purpose and community identity, per an analysis of survey data from more than 325,000 U.S. residents. David Samson of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on September 10, 2025. A growing body of research explores factors that may be linked with traditional and existential wellness. Many such factors, such as healthcare ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Smartwatches detect early signs of PTSD among those watching coverage of the Oct 7 attacks in Israel

In a three-year study involving more than 5,000 residents of Israel before and after the mass traumatic events of October 7, 2023, those who watched extensive media coverage of the attacks were found to be more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Prof. Erez Shmueli and Prof. Dan Yamin of Tel Aviv University and Wizermed LTD, in collaboration with colleagues from Tel Aviv University and Stanford University present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Mental ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

The withdrawal of U.S. funding for tuberculosis could lead to up to 2.2 million additional deaths between 2025 and 2030 inclusive

The withdrawal of U.S. funding for tuberculosis could lead to up to 2.2 million additional deaths between 2025 and 2030 inclusive, per modelling study across 26 high-burden TB countries. Article URL: https://plos.io/423TG0g Article Title: A deadly equation: The global toll of US TB funding cuts Author Countries: Switzerland, United States Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Burial Site challenges stereotypes of Stone Age women and children

Study has revealed new insights into Stone Age life and death, showing that stone tools were just as likely to be buried with women and children as with men. The discovery, from Zvejnieki cemetery in northern Latvia, one of the largest Stone Age burial sites in Europe, challenges the idea that stone tools were strictly associated with men. The site was used for more than 5,000 years, and contains over 330 graves, but until now, stone artefacts found in burials had not been studied, with stone tools at Zvejnieki and ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

USF study reveals how menopause impacts women’s voices – and why it matters

Key takeaways: Hormones matter for the voice: Falling estrogen and progesterone during menopause can cause hoarseness, vocal fatigue and instability, with major impact on singers, teachers, actors and other voice professionals. An overlooked women’s health issue: Many women with vocal changes are dismissed or misdiagnosed, underscoring the need for stronger collaboration between gynecologists and voice specialists. Promising new solutions: From AI-powered voice biomarkers to hormone therapy and vocal fold injections, innovative approaches are emerging to detect and treat menopause-related ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Race, ethnicity, insurance payer, and pediatric cardiac arrest survival

About The Study: In this retrospective cohort study of pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest in a large, national, administrative dataset, children of racial and ethnic minority groups receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had higher odds of in-hospital mortality. In addition, the odds of in-hospital mortality among children receiving CPR were higher at hospitals with the highest proportion of Black patients. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amanda J. O’Halloran, MD, MSHP, email ohallorana@chop.edu. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

High-intensity exercise and hippocampal integrity in adults with cannabis use disorder

About The Study: This trial found that a 12-week high-intensity interval training intervention did not improve hippocampal integrity or associated cognitive or mental health impairments while people continued to consume cannabis. However, results indicated that people with cannabis use disorder can engage in regular physical exercise programs and highlighted exercise as a potential strategy to reduce cannabis craving. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Murat Yücel, PhD, email murat.yucel@qimrb.edu.au. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.2319) Editor’s ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

New motion-compensation approach delivers sharper single-pixel imaging for dynamic scenes

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a motion-compensation method that allows single-pixel imaging to capture sharp images of complex dynamic scenes. The new approach could expand the practical utility of this computational imaging method by enabling clearer images of moving targets and improving the quality of surveillance images. Single-pixel imaging uses a single detector, rather than the traditional array of pixels, to acquire images. Although it offers several advantages, such as high sensitivity ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

What motivates runners? Focusing on the “how” rather than the “why”

As attention turns to this year’s New York City Marathon, observers will again ask a long-standing question: What do athletes draw upon when trying to complete this 26.2-mile run, especially at those stretches when finishing seems impossible? Many might think that when fatigue sets in, the key to perseverance is reminding oneself why the effort is worth it or focusing on reasons why they set the goal—intuition that lines up with motivational posters, sports psychology clichés, and coaching advice. ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

Endocrine Society honors endocrinology field’s leaders with 2026 Laureate Awards

WASHINGTON—The Endocrine Society today announced it has chosen 12 leading endocrinologists as winners of its prestigious 2026 Laureate Awards, the top honors in the field. Endocrinologists are scientists and medical doctors who specialize in unraveling the mysteries of hormone disorders to care for patients and treat diseases. These professionals have achieved breakthroughs in scientific discoveries and clinical care benefiting people with hundreds of conditions, including diabetes, thyroid disorders, obesity, hormone-related cancers, growth problems, osteoporosis and infertility. Established in 1944, the Society’s ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

BD² announces new funding opportunities focused on biology of bipolar disorder

Washington, D.C.: Today, Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) announced the opening of a fourth round of funding opportunities for the Discovery Research program. BD² invites scientists across all disciplines to apply for up to $4.5 million per grant. Successful teams will undertake groundbreaking research into the genetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioral mechanisms of bipolar disorder, especially applications that address the following: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of mood-state switching; Biological ...

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Science10 Sep 2025

UC Irvine poll: Californians support stricter tech regulations for children

A new poll of 2,143 California adults conducted by University of California, Irvine researchers reveals overwhelming bipartisan support for stricter regulations on children's use of digital technology, including school smartphone restrictions and social media age limits. “There are very few issues with this level of bipartisan support in today’s polarized policy environment, but the message from parents and other adults in our poll was clear and crossed party lines. Adults are worried about the impacts of smartphones and social media on children’s learning and mental health,” said the survey’s authors, Kelli ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

The Age of Feasting: Late Bronze Age networks developed through massive food festivals, with animals brought from far and wide

Middens, massive prehistoric rubbish heaps which became part of the British landscape, are revealing the distances people travelled to feast together at the end of the Bronze Age. In the largest study of its kind, archaeologists from Cardiff University used cutting-edge isotope analysis on material found within six middens in Wiltshire and the Thames Valley. The results, which reveal where the animals that were feasted on were raised, shed light on the catchment of these vast feasts, arguably the largest to take place in Britain ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

Seizure spread marks loss of consciousness

Seizure spread marks loss of consciousness Loss of consciousness can pose real dangers for people with seizure disorders. And while not all seizures cause loss of consciousness, Yale researchers have now discovered how one common type of seizures do. Frontal lobe seizures are classified as “focal” seizures, a subtype in which the problematic activity generates in a single region of the brain. In the case of frontal lobe seizures, activity originates in the brain’s frontal lobes, located behind the forehead. But while some cause loss of consciousness, others don’t. The reason, researchers found, is that ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

Surviving hostile Venus conditions, finding rare earths and other critical metals

Whether helping create an alloy that can withstand the withering conditions of Venus in partnership with NASA or collaborating with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop a portable sensor that can identify rare earth elements (REE), the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering’s Paul Ohodnicki is fueling innovative research while solving problems both in space and right here on Earth. R&D World has recognized Ohodnicki and his team of collaborators with 2025 R&D 100 Awards, this year for two emerging technologies: VulcanAlloy and ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

UIC researchers awarded $8.3M federal grant to study alcohol use disorder

September 9, 2025, Chicago - The University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for Alcohol Research in Epigenetics has been awarded an $8.3 million five-year grant renewal to continue its research on alcohol use disorder. The grant renewal from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, under the National Institutes of Health, will fuel cutting-edge research into cellular interaction in areas of the brain that are key to alcohol addiction. Alcohol use disorder can lead to debilitating medical conditions such as brain diseases, cancers and heart and liver disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, alcohol misuse costs the United States $249 billion ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

How to find a cryptic animal: Recording the elusive beaked whale in the Foz do Amazonas Basin

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2025 – Whale watching is a popular pastime on coastlines around the world. Cetaceans like blue whales, humpbacks, and orcas can be seen in the wild, and their characteristics are well categorized in science and popular culture. Other cetaceans, however, are less outgoing, preferring to stay out of the limelight. Beaked whales are considered one of the least understood mammals in the world, which is due to their cryptic behavior and distribution in offshore waters. Predation pressure from their ...

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Science9 Sep 2025

Microbiome instability linked to poor growth in kids

Malnutrition is a leading cause of death in children under age 5, and nearly 150 million children globally under this age have stunted growth from lack of nutrition. Although an inadequate diet is a major contributor, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found over a decade ago that dysfunctional communities of gut microbes play an important role in triggering malnutrition. Now, in work done in collaboration with the Salk Institute and UC San Diego, WashU Medicine researchers have discovered that toddlers in Malawi — among the places hardest hit by malnutrition — who had a fluctuating gut microbiome ...

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