Science
press releases.

Science27 Aug 2025

New crocodile-relative “hypercarnivore” from prehistoric Patagonia was 11.5ft long and weighed 250kg

A newly-discovered species of a large, crocodile-relative predator has been described via a remarkably well-preserved fossil from Argentina, according to a study published August 27, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Fernando Novas from Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Argentina, and colleagues. The Chorrillo Formation formed around 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian age at the very end of the Cretaceous period. At this time, southern Patagonia was a warm, seasonally humid landscape of freshwater floodplains, home to creatures like dinosaurs, turtles, frogs, and various mammals. The new fossil unearthed in this formation is ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

“Unhappiness hump” in aging may have disappeared worldwide

A new survey-based study suggests that the “unhappiness hump”—a widely documented rise in worry, stress, and depression with age that peaks in midlife and then declines—may have disappeared, perhaps due to declining mental health among younger people. David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on August 27, 2025. Since 2008, a U-shaped trend in wellbeing with age, in which wellbeing tends to decline from childhood until around age 50 before ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

A nonsurgical path to treating pelvic organ prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a disorder that primarily affects older women who have experienced multiple vaginal childbirths. Repeated vaginal deliveries can cause the muscles and connective tissue that hold the pelvic organs—the vagina, bladder, uterus, urethra, and rectum—to weaken, causing one or more of the organs to drop out of position and bulge or extrude outside the body. “There’s a breakdown and loss of the elastic matrix which contributes to tissue elasticity, similar to how a rubber band can stretch and recoil,” says Lehigh University ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Glow-in-the-dark succulents that recharge with sunlight

From mushrooms that cast a soft green glow to plankton that glimmers sparkling blue, glowing plants are nothing new for nature. Now, scientists are bringing that light to houseplants. Reporting in the Cell Press journal Matter on August 27, researchers crafted glow-in-the-dark succulents that recharge in sunlight. Injected with light-emitting compounds, the plants can shine in various colors and rival a small night light at their brightest. The simple, low-cost method may help lay the foundation for sustainable, plant-based lighting systems. “Picture the world of Avatar, where glowing plants light ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Two big steps toward the evolution of bipedality

By Kermit Pattison / Harvard Staff Writer The pelvis is often called the keystone of upright locomotion. More than any other part of our lower body, it has been radically altered over millions of years to allow us to accomplish our bizarre habit of walking on two legs. But just how evolution accomplished this extreme makeover has remained a mystery. Now a new study [LINK WILL GO LIVE WHEN EMBARGO LIFTS] led by Harvard scientists reveals two key genetic shifts that remodeled the pelvis and allowed our ancestors to become the upright bipeds who trekked all over the planet. "What ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

In a challenging labor market, Black women with disabilities are choosing self-employment

Media Contact: Karen Addis, APR,karen@addispr.com, 301-787-2394 Alexandria, Va. (Aug. 27, 2025) — While the employment landscape for Black women continues to shift in 2025, Black women with disabilities are actively pursuing self-employment as a viable career option, according to new research published in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, a publication of the American Counseling Association. The report, Breaking Barriers: The Economic Realities of Self-Employed Black Women With Disabilities,” is part of a special issue focusing on Black Americans with disabilities. The study captures a ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Local news services need to adapt or face extinction: report

Gaps are emerging in the provision of local news across Australia, but embracing community driven content could be key to improving the viability of local news. A new report from the University of Canberra (UC) and RMIT University – Engaged Journalism in the Heartland: Understanding Regional News Audiences – encompassing multiple studies, proposes recommendations to turn the situation around. Researchers surveyed audiences, analysed more than 3,000 news stories and interviewed more than 200 people from regional communities across the country. Report lead author and Director of UC’s News and Media Research Centre, ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation for gastrointestinal disorders

Imbalanced autonomic function, characterized by reduced vagal activity and sympathetic dominance, is increasingly recognized in various gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The vagus nerve, a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, plays a critical role in regulating upper GI motility, inflammation, and pain perception. Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) offers a non-invasive method to modulate vagal activity, presenting a promising therapeutic approach for GI conditions. This review synthesizes evidence from clinical trials on the efficacy of tVNS—including transcutaneous ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

SEOULTECH researchers develop smart adhesive system based on starfish for aquatic applications

Soft robotics, which uses flexible and deformable materials, is an emerging field in autonomous systems. It has recently been applied to next-generation tasks such as deep-sea sampling with soft robotic grippers—requiring strong adhesion and autonomous detachment. Bioinspired adhesion offers a promising solution. In nature, gecko feet, mussel proteins, and octopus suction cups achieve efficient, reversible adhesion for underwater tasks like object pickup, movement in tight spaces, and surface attachment. Inspired by these, researchers have developed ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

SEOULTECH researchers develop smarter, more controllable hydrogel pores

Hydrogels are soft, water-rich polymeric materials that can swell or shrink in response to environmental stimuli. This ability to change shape makes them valuable in miniaturized devices for flexible electronics, microrobotics, intelligent surfaces, and biomedical applications such as drug delivery. For example, hydrogel pores can be engineered to trap and release tiny drug particles on demand. However, most current hydrogel pores use circular designs, which limit control over shape change and lead to unpredictable, slow actuation. They often close unevenly and recover poorly, reducing their precision and reliability. To address ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Innovative backpack enhances stability for people with ataxia

An innovative backpack, incorporating aerospace technology, shows promise as a balance aid for patients with the movement disorder ataxia. Research conducted by Radboud university medical center, in collaboration with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Erasmus MC, reveals that the backpack helps individuals with ataxia stand and walk more steadily, reducing their reliance on mobility aids like walkers. Ataxia is a neurological condition in which the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for coordination, functions improperly. This leads to issues with balance and coordination, increasing the risk of falls. Dr. Jorik Nonnekes, rehabilitation ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Phone snubbing more damaging to insecure partners, study finds

Researchers from the University of Southampton have found that people with emotional insecurities are more affected than others when their partners choose their phone over them. The researchers have conducted a study into ‘phubbing’ – a mashup of ‘phone’ and ‘snubbing’ used to describe the all too familiar scenario where the person you are talking to shuns you to look at their phone. The team wanted to find out how people with different ways of thinking and feeling about their relationship would respond to being ‘phubbed’. The results have been published in the Journal of Personality. Dr Claire Hart, ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

Making the weight in four years

Kyoto, Japan -- Periodical cicadas have one of the strangest life cycles in the animal kingdom. The 17-year cicadas spend 99.5% of their lives underground in an undeveloped nymph state, which is the longest strictly regulated juvenile period among insects. Then in the spring of their 17th year, they simultaneously emerge and the males scream above ground for their four to six week-long adult life. Exactly how these insects are able to control when they mature and emerge has remained a mystery. The long life cycle of periodical cicadas makes rearing nymphs for study extremely difficult. Recently, however, a collaborative team of researchers from both Japan and the ...

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Science27 Aug 2025

How a malaria-fighting breakthrough provides lasting protection

A relatively new class of insecticide that can be disseminated on something the size of a sheet of paper offers protection for up to a year against mosquitoes that spread malaria, as well as dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, and Zika, UC San Francisco researchers have found. In a systematic review of more than 25 years of data on some 1.7 million mosquitoes, researchers concluded that this form of repellent — called a “spatial emanator” because it distributes chemicals through the air — can prevent more than ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

American Gastroenterological Association, Latica partner to assess living guidelines using real-world evidence

Palo Alto, CA and Bethesda, MD (Aug. 26, 2025) – American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is proud to announce a new collaboration with, Latica, a leader in real-world clinical data and artificial intelligence-driven research solutions, to support a real-world evidence initiative: the IBD Living Guidelines Real-World Evidence Study. The study will be powered by Latica’s proprietary data platform and robust clinical datasets, in partnership with Latica’s GI Network, starting with data from Gastro Health and Allied Digestive Health, two of the largest and most respected community gastroenterology practices ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

MSU study: What defines a life well-lived? Obituaries may have the answers.

Why this matters: Obituaries function as time capsules that reflect what people, at any given moment in history, understand to be a life well-lived. By studying how obituaries evolve across time and context, we can gain deeper insight into how societies define a worthy life, express loss and pass on values across generations. New MSU-led research takes a novel approach to the psychological study of legacy by focusing on how individuals are actually remembered by others instead of how they wish to be remembered. Legacy motivations influence a range of real-world ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Busy bees can build the right hive from tricky foundations

There’s more than one way to build a honeybee hive, depending on the needs of the bees, according to a study published August 26th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Golnar Gharooni-Fard of the University of Colorado Boulder, USA, and colleagues. Honeybees are renowned for their ability to build intricate hives where they can store their food and raise their larvae. Hive construction is the collaborative effort of thousands of hard-working bees, which also demonstrate a knack for adjusting their honeycomb structures to account for available space and resources. In this study, Gharooni-Fard and colleagues ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Deep sea worm fights ‘poison with poison’ to survive high arsenic and sulfide levels

A deep sea worm that inhabits hydrothermal vents survives the high levels of toxic arsenic and sulfide in its environment by combining them in its cells to form a less hazardous mineral. Chaolun Li of the Institute of Oceanology, CAS, China, and colleagues report these findings in a new study published August 26th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The worm, named Paralvinella hessleri, is the only animal to inhabit the hottest part of deep sea hydrothermal vents in the west Pacific, where hot, mineral-rich water spews from the seafloor. ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Estalishing power through divine portrayal and depictions of violence

Today a desert – as far as the eye can see. However, anyone looking more closely will discover hundreds of images carved into the rock. This ancient Egyptian graffiti attests to the fact that a new claim to sovereignty emerged here on the periphery over 5,000 years ago. One of these kings was known as Scorpion. He demonstrated his power with portrayals of himself as a divine ruler and with brutal depictions of violence. Together with Mohamed Abdelhay Abu Bakr, Egyptologist Prof. Dr. Ludwig Morenz from the University of Bonn has now published ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Study IDs what can help collaborative groups actually accomplish their goals

Collaborative organizations, involving government agencies, nonprofit groups and other key stakeholders, are often created to address regional challenges such as preserving watersheds – but these organizations often fail to accomplish their stated goals. A new study suggests there is a specific administrative approach that improves the ability of these collaborative groups to deliver the services they were created to provide. “These organizations tend to do a good job of planning, but then stumble when it comes to transitioning from the planning process to actually executing the projects and processes necessary to implement the plan,” says ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Expert on catfishes publishes updated volume on catfish biology and evolution

LAWRENCE — Few people on Earth know as much about catfishes as University of Kansas researcher Gloria Arratia, who serves as editor and contributor to the just-published first volume of “Catfishes: A Highly Diversified Group” (CRC Press, 2025), a two-volume reference. While the first volume focuses on the fascinating anatomy of catfishes, the second will focus on their evolution and genetic relationships. Arratia’s new work, co-written by Roberto Reis of Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, reflects the latest understanding of the family tree of Siluriformes (the scientific name for catfishes), ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Acosta to examine moisture-driven polar ice growth & its impact on global sea level

Paul Acosta, Assistant Research Professor, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES), College of Science, will receive funding for the project: “Collaborative Research: Mechanisms of moisture-driven ice growth: a warm Miocene data-model comparison.” He and his collaborators will use state-of-the-art isotope-enabled general circulation and ice sheet models to test a suite of hypothesized mechanisms for precipitation-driven Antarctic ice growth during the Middle Miocene (17-15 Ma). The proposed ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Why the foam on Belgian beers lasts so long

Summertime is beer time – even if the consumption of alcoholic beers is declining in Switzerland. And for beer lovers, there is nothing better than a head of foam topping the golden, sparkling barley juice. But with many beers, the dream is quickly shattered, and the foam collapses before you can take your first sip. There are also types of beer, however, where the head lasts a long time. ETH researchers led by Jan Vermant, Professor of Soft Materials, have now discovered just why this is the case. Their study has just been published in the journal Physics of Fluids. The ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

On tap: What makes beer foams so stable?

WASHINGTON, August 26, 2025 – Beer is one of the world’s most popular drinks, and one of the clearest signs of a good brew is a big head of foam at the top of a poured glass. Even brewers will use the quality of foam as an indicator of a beer having completed the fermentation process. However, despite its importance, what makes a large, stable foam is not entirely understood. In Physics of Fluids, from AIP Publishing, researchers from ETH Zurich and Eindhoven University of Technology investigated the stability of beer foams, examining multiple types of beer at different stages of the fermentation process. Like ...

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Science26 Aug 2025

Shared gene signatures and key mechanisms in the progression from liver cirrhosis to acute-on-chronic liver failure

Background and objectives Chronic liver cirrhosis (LC) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are interconnected hepatic disorders associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Despite their distinct clinical characteristics, both conditions share common pathogenic pathways that remain inadequately understood. This study aimed to identify shared gene signatures and elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. Methods In this study, we employed Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis to explore transcriptomic ...

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