Images   More than a third of Detroit residents (36%) can't get from place to place in a safe or timely manner.    This is the main finding of a new study led by Alexandra Murphy, associate director of social science research at Mcity and assistant research scientist at U-M's Poverty Solutions, and first author Lydia Wileden, a U-M alum and assistant research professor at the University of Connecticut.    They measured this with a tool created by Murphy and her team called the Transportation Security ...

Researchers led by electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a better way to perform the comparative analysis of entire genomes. This approach can be used to study relationships between different species across geological time scales.  This new approach is poised to unlock discoveries regarding how evolution has shaped present-day genomes and also how the tree of life is organized. The new method, named CASTER, is described in a paper published in Science on 23 January 2025.  CASTER ...

Researchers at the Crick have uncovered which genes on the Y chromosome regulate the development of sperm and impact fertility in male mice. This research could help us understand why some men don’t produce enough sperm and are infertile. Males typically have one copy of the Y chromosome and one copy of the X chromosome, whereas females typically have two X chromosomes. Scientists know that the Y chromosome is essential for male fertility, but which genes are the most important and how they work is less clear. In research published today in Science, a research team at the Crick resolved this question by generating thirteen different ...

Male ruff sandpipers engaging in the act of mating typically fall into one of three groups, with variations in how aggressive they are and how showy their plumage is, among other factors. Now, a new study reports a single gene – HSD17B2 – drives these dramatic differences among male ruff sandpiper morphs. The findings show how evolutionary changes in a single gene's structure, sequence, and regulation can drive significant diversity within a single species. The androgen testosterone plays a key role in male reproductive development. It influences ...

In a new study involving whole-genome data, researchers present “CASTER,” a tool that uses arrangements in DNA sequences known as site patterns to infer “species trees,” which are diagrams that depict the evolutionary relationships among species. The tool, which performs with exceptional accuracy and scalability and overcomes the limitations of traditional phylogenetic methods, offers transformative potential for evolutionary research. The growing availability of genomic data has revitalized efforts to construct precise species trees and model gene tree variations. However, the methodology for utilizing genome-wide data lags behind data availability. While traditional ...

Reforestation is a win-win for climate and wildlife, but large-scale afforestation and bioenergy cropping may do more harm than good, according to a new study of land-based climate mitigation strategies (LBMS) for over 14,000 species. The findings emphasize the need to ensure well-intentioned climate action does not exacerbate biodiversity loss. While reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical, increasing atmospheric carbon removal is equally essential to effectively combat climate change. LBMS considered among the most scalable ...

The vertical migration of Antarctic krill may play a smaller role in oceanic carbon storage than previously believed, according to a year-long study in the Southern Ocean. The findings challenge conventional assumptions about the animal’s role in deep ocean carbon sequestration and underscore the need for more nuanced biogeochemical models incorporating ecological complexity. “Antarctic krill play an important role in the biological carbon pump, but without observational data, we risk using inaccurate and misleading assumptions about behaviors that influence carbon export and ...

While child deaths in England fell temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have now risen to new heights, a new study from researchers at the University of Bristol and based on unique National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) data has found. The study, published in PLOS Medicine today [23 January], has shown that children were less likely to die during the pandemic lockdown (April 2020–March 2021) than at any time before or since, with 377 fewer deaths than expected from the previous year.  The number of deaths in the following year (2021-2022) was similar to before the pandemic, but in 2022−2023, there were 258 more deaths than expected from the pre-pandemic ...

A single gene that regulates testosterone levels in a “crazy” species of shore bird controls the development of three wildly different types of males, an international study involving researchers at Simon Fraser University has found.   Ruffs have long fascinated scientists for their three types of males, known as morphs, that differ radically from each other in appearance and mating behaviours.   A new study published on the cover of the journal Science this month has discovered that these morphs are produced by a super enzyme (HSD17B2) ...

Two-thirds of people with post-COVID-19 syndrome have persistent, objective symptoms – including reduced physical exercise capacity and reduced cognitive test performances – for a year or more, with no major changes in symptom clusters during the second year of their illness, according to a new study published January 23rd in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Winfried Kern of Freiburg University, Germany, and colleagues. Self-reported health problems following SARS-CoV-2 infection ...

Researchers from Hohai University, Northwestern University, and Politecnico di Milano have introduced a pioneering mesoscale mechanical discrete model, LDPM-MicroF, to simulate the fracture behavior of micro fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC), as reported in Engineering. Microfibers, with diameters less than 100 µm, are crucial in preventing early shrinkage cracking and reducing pore pressure during fires. However, formulating an accurate mechanical constitutive law for micro-FRC has been challenging due to difficulties in understanding ...

Rapid Intensification (RI) of a tropical cyclone (TC), defined as a maximum sustained wind increase of at least 13 m/s within 24 hours, remains one of the most challenging weather phenomena to forecast because of its unpredictable and destructive nature. Although only 5% of TCs experience RI, its sudden and severe development poses significant risks to affected regions. Traditional forecasting methods, such as numerical weather prediction and statistical approaches, often fail to consider the complex environmental and structural factors driving RI. While artificial intelligence ...

Two leading experts in the field of metamaterials from Tsinghua University co-authored a review article on this emerging scientific field in Engineering recently. Unlike traditional review articles, the authors interpret metamaterials from an artistic perspective. By drawing parallels with art, they reflect on significant achievements made over the past two decades and offer insights into the future development of the field. Their work introduces readers to the novel concept of metamaterials as “the art in materials science.” Metamaterials refer to artificially engineered materials composed of structural units designed to exhibit extraordinary ...

Researchers at University of California San Diego analyzed cannabis smoking practices in San Diego County to assess whether in-home smoking was associated with cannabis detection in children. The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2025, online edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, found that in-home cannabis smoking increased the odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke. Smoking is the most common method of cannabis use and is known to generate emissions that are harmful to those exposed. Cannabis is often smoked indoors, putting non-smokers such as children at risk for exposure. “While the long-term health consequences of cannabis smoke are not ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adam Leroy, a professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Henry Draper Medal.  The oldest medal awarded by the National Academy of Sciences, the Henry Draper Medal celebrates those who have made “a recent, original investigation in astronomical physics, of sufficient importance and benefit to science to merit such recognition.” It is awarded every four years. Leroy’s work was selected for pathbreaking efforts that have characterized, “in unprecedented detail, the physical ...

Non-white communities had significantly less access to opioid medications commonly prescribed for moderate to severe pain than white communities over the decade beginning in 2011, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The findings, published Jan. 23 in Pain, stretched across all socioeconomic groups, and suggest that communities of color may be especially vulnerable to the unintended consequences of efforts to reduce unsafe use of opioid analgesics. From 2011 to 2021, prescription opioid use dropped by about 50% ...

The prevalence of diagnosed disorders from recurrent use of sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications in adolescents and young adults has increased sharply since 2001, according to Rutgers Health researchers.   Their study, published in Addiction, examined diagnoses of these disorders in adolescents and young adults between 2001 to 2019.   Sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications are used to treat a variety of conditions, including sleep and anxiety disorders. According to Harvard Health, consistent use of these drugs can lead to a higher tolerance for their effects, meaning patients require higher doses to achieve the intended effects.   For ...

A recent study by researchers from Peking University demonstrates the potential of nuclear electric resonance to control the nuclear spins of nitrogen atoms in DNA using electric field gradients, thereby achieving artificial intervention to manipulate DNA for computation. Utilizing molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemical computations and theoretical analyses, the research reveals how electric field gradient orientation patterns vary with DNA bases and nitrogen atom sites, encoding genetic and structural information into the direction of nitrogen nuclear spins. The research was published Dec. 12 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner ...

“It has been postulated that the clinical benefit of adding POM results from enhanced immunocompetency.” BUFFALO, NY - January 23, 2025 – A new editorial was published in Oncoscience’s Volume 12 on January 14, 2025, titled “Pomalidomide improved immune profiles in myeloma." The editorial by researchers Hannah Seah, Vaishnavi Reddy Bade, Lakshmi Bhavani Potluri, Srikanth Talluri, and Rao H. Prabhala from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Harvard Medical School, discuss how the drug pomalidomide (POM) can help improve the immune system ...

The PREPSOIL project, a pivotal initiative within the EU's Mission Soil framework, will host an engaging webinar on February 13, 2025, focusing on the importance of soil literacy among young people. The event highlights the vital connection between young citizens and soil health, offering educators innovative ways to integrate soil-related topics into their curriculum. As part of the Mission Soil's eight goals, increasing soil literacy across Member States aims to foster greater awareness, involvement, and proactive behavior toward soil health. By embedding soil health education in school curriculums, the initiative seeks to empower the next generation to take informed ...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2025 – Many science fiction authors try to incorporate scientific principles into their work, but Ian Tregillis, who is a contributing author of the Wild Cards book series when he’s not working as a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, took it one step further: He derived a formula to describe the dynamics of the fictional universe’s viral system. In independent research published in the American Journal of Physics, from AIP Publishing, Tregillis and George R.R. Martin derive a formula for viral behavior in the Wild Cards universe. Wild Cards is a science fiction series written by a collection of authors and ...

The remains of the earliest dinosaurs may lie undiscovered in the Amazon and other equatorial regions of South America and Africa, suggests a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. Currently, the oldest known dinosaur fossils date back about 230 million years and were unearthed further south in places including Brazil, Argentina and Zimbabwe. But the differences between these fossils suggest dinosaurs had already been evolving for some time, pointing to an origin millions of years earlier. The new study, published in the journal Current Biology, accounted for gaps in ...

About The Study: The results of this retrospective cohort study of 44,000 individuals suggest that fasting plasma glucose level, age, body mass index (BMI), and male sex were all associated with development of diabetes, with significant interaction between these variables. These data contribute to understanding the clinical course of diabetes and highlight the substantial individual variation in diabetes risk according to commonly measured clinical variables. The findings facilitate lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions to treat those at highest risk of diabetes to reduce future morbidity and mortality. Further work is needed to validate this risk ...

About The Study: In this cohort study, food insecurity in pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of perinatal complications, and these associations were overall attenuated to the null among individuals who received food assistance in pregnancy. These findings support clinical guidelines of screening for food insecurity in pregnancy and provide evidence to expand food assistance programs that may help improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Rana F. Chehab, PhD (Rana.Chehab@kp.org) and Yeyi ...

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, in-home cannabis smoking was associated with significantly increased odds of child exposure to cannabis smoke, as assessed by urinary cannabinoid biomarkers. As young children spend most of their time at home, reducing in-home cannabis smoking could substantially reduce their exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals found in cannabis smoke.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Osika Tripathi, PhD (otripath@health.ucsd.edu) and ...