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Researchers have identified a specific part of the brain that may play a key role in high blood pressure. This area, called the lateral parafacial region, is located in the brainstem, the oldest part of the brain responsible for automatic functions like breathing, digestion, and heart rate. “The lateral parafacial…
Australian researchers have taken an important step forward in energy storage, successfully developing and testing what is believed to be the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery. Scientists say this emerging technology could reshape how energy is stored and delivered, potentially enabling devices to charge at dramatically faster speeds. First Quantum…
Superconductors are materials that allow electricity to flow without resistance, typically only at extremely low temperatures. While most follow well-understood physical rules, strontium ruthenate, Sr2RuO4, has remained difficult to explain since its superconducting behavior was first identified in 1994. It is one of the most precisely studied unconventional superconductors, yet…
Time crystals are unusual forms of matter made up of particles that “tick,” meaning they move back and forth in steady, repeating cycles. Scientists first predicted their existence and later confirmed them about a decade ago. Although practical uses have not yet been developed, these systems are considered promising for…
GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus), commonly prescribed for diabetes and obesity may also be linked to better mental health outcomes, according to new research. The study found that people using these drugs had fewer psychiatric hospital visits and took less time off work due to mental…
After closely tracking hundreds of mosquitoes swarming around a human subject and analyzing 20 million data points, researchers from Georgia Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a mathematical model that predicts how female mosquitoes fly toward people to feed. This research offers the first detailed visualization of mosquito…
Beavers may play an unexpected role in tackling climate change by transforming rivers into effective carbon dioxide sinks, according to a new international study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham. Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the study is the first to measure both the carbon dioxide (CO2)…
A simple hand stencil found on a cave wall in Indonesia has been identified as the oldest known example of rock art on Earth. It surpasses a previous discovery in the same region by at least 15,000 years. An international research team led by Griffith University, Indonesia’s national research and…
Researchers at the University of Konstanz have identified a completely new type of sliding friction. In this case, resistance to motion occurs without any physical contact, arising instead from the collective behavior of magnetic elements. Their findings show that friction does not always increase steadily with load, as described by…
A team of astronomers led by Carnegie has uncovered the clearest evidence yet that a rocky planet outside our Solar System has an atmosphere. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the researchers identified signs of gas surrounding an unusual target: an ancient, extremely hot super Earth that likely has…
A new interdisciplinary study published in Nature traces more than 2,000 years of population history in Argentina’s Uspallata Valley (UV), a key southern edge of ancient Andean farming. The research offers new insight into how agriculture reshaped societies and how people coped with long periods of hardship. By combining ancient…
A newly identified underground freshwater system beneath the Great Salt Lake is becoming clearer thanks to a study that used airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys to map geologic formations below Farmington Bay and Antelope Island along the lake’s southeastern edge. Researchers from the University of Utah analyzed the data and found…
Researchers from the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (CENA-USP) have identified multiple classes of antibiotics in the Piracicaba River, a major waterway in São Paulo state, Brazil. Their findings, published in Environmental Sciences Europe, show that these substances are not only present in…
A new experimental pill called enlicitide dramatically lowered levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, often referred to as “bad” cholesterol, by as much as 60%, according to a phase three clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine. If the drug receives approval from the Food and Drug…
Why do some tumors spread while others remain localized? Scientists still do not fully understand what controls a cancer cell’s ability to metastasize, but answering this question is essential for improving patient care. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) studied cells from colon cancer and identified key factors that…
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a compact device that can actively control the “handedness” of light as it passes through it, also known as optical chirality. This is achieved by slightly rotating two specially engineered photonic crystal layers. The…
Scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, working with collaborators from Huzhou University, have uncovered a surprising feature in one of the most widely used tools in quantum optics. They found that standard methods for producing entangled photons can contain previously unseen topological structures. In their experiments,…
A newly identified crocodylomorph from about 215 million years ago has been discovered in Gloucester, UK, revealing a fast-moving, land-dwelling predator: The animal resembled a reptilian greyhound, with a slender build adapted for speed It has been named Galahadosuchus jonesi in honor of schoolteacher David Rhys Jones Fast Land-Dwelling Crocodile…
Earth’s history is recorded in its tectonic plates. Over billions of years, their movement has shaped continents, opened oceans, and created the climates and environments that allowed life to emerge and evolve. Yet one fundamental question has remained unresolved. When did these plates actually begin to move? Did Earth’s outer…
In a remarkable stroke of luck, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observed a comet in the middle of breaking apart. The odds of witnessing such an event at exactly the right moment are extremely low. The findings were published in the journal Icarus. The comet K1, formally known as C/2025 K1…
Cancer affects millions of people worldwide each year, and treating it remains difficult because of how complex the disease can be. New findings published March 17th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Tianyu Jiang of Shandong University in Qingdao, China, and colleagues highlight a possible new strategy. The researchers…
New research published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society suggests that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during early life could influence how children’s bones develop during adolescence. PFAS are man-made chemicals commonly found in water, food, and a wide range of everyday products. Often referred to as…
As men grow older, some of their cells gradually lose the Y chromosome. For a long time, scientists assumed this change would have little impact. The Y chromosome contains relatively few genes beyond those involved in male development, so its absence was not expected to affect overall health. That view…
A major paper published in The Lancet reports that medicinal cannabis does not effectively treat anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The analysis is the largest to date examining both the safety and effectiveness of cannabinoids across a wide range of mental health conditions. These findings arrive at a…
People living with heart disease who received a shingles vaccine experienced nearly half the rate of serious heart-related events within a year compared with those who were not vaccinated. These findings come from research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26). The study reviewed data…
Researchers from Mass General Brigham and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report that a single dose of an oncolytic virus, a genetically engineered virus designed to infect and kill cancer cells, can draw immune cells deep into brain tumors and keep them active there. Their findings, published in Cell, explain how this…
When people try to focus on a faint sound, many instinctively shut their eyes. The common belief is that removing visual distractions allows the brain to concentrate more fully on hearing, boosting sensitivity. However, this approach does not always work, especially in environments filled with background noise. A study published…
Deep within Greenland’s vast ice sheet, scientists have uncovered an unusual chemical signal that has sparked years of debate. At the center of the mystery is a sharp rise in platinum levels found in an ice core (a cylinder of ice drilled out of ice sheets and glaciers) dating back…
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbors, a compact, gas-rich galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye from the southern hemisphere. It orbits our galaxy along with its larger companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and all three have been interacting…
Every chemical reaction must overcome an energy hurdle before it can occur. Substances need an initial input of energy to start reacting. Sometimes this barrier is small, like lighting a match. In many industrial processes, however, the required energy is much higher, which increases costs. To make reactions easier and…
