Category: Global News

Ozempic may have revealed the brain’s hidden “craving center”

For many people, the thought of a tasty burger or a cold pint of beer conjures up a vivid mental image and drives behavior. This link between thinking and doing serves a clear function – it motivates us to get the necessities for life. But for some, this process can…

Scientists turn Starlink into a giant scanner for Earth’s upper atmosphere

The region surrounding Earth is getting more crowded as thousands of satellites and pieces of space debris move through low Earth orbit. Farther above, at altitudes of several hundred kilometers, traces of Earth’s upper atmosphere can still exert enough drag to slow satellites. Accurately measuring atmospheric density at these heights…

Scientists discover a hidden brain rhythm that could improve Parkinson’s treatment

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can reduce movement problems caused by Parkinson’s disease, and new research is providing a clearer picture of why the treatment works. Scientists have found that its benefits appear to depend on stimulating a specific brain network that communicates primarily through a relatively fast beta rhythm (20…

3,500-year-old skeletons challenge what scientists thought they knew about syphilis

A new study led by a Charles Sturt University researcher and international colleagues is challenging a long-accepted idea about how scientists identify ancient disease. Evidence from the skeletal remains of children who lived in prehistoric Vietnam suggests that treponemal diseases could have been passed from mother to child thousands of…

The adult brain can repair itself better than scientists thought

The adult brain may have a greater ability to repair itself after injury or certain autoimmune diseases than scientists previously believed. In experiments with mice, researchers at the University of Zurich found that specialized support cells can repopulate damaged parts of the brain in an unusual way. Rather than moving…

Scientists turn sheep’s wool into a material that helps regrow bone

Scientists have found that wool could provide an effective and sustainable new option for repairing damaged bone. The research focused on keratin, a natural structural protein that can be extracted from wool. When tested in a living animal, the material supported bone regeneration and produced new tissue that more closely…

James Webb captures a cosmic lion sculpted by a dying star

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of NGC 2392, a planetary nebula commonly known as the Lion Nebula, revealing the cosmic object in striking infrared detail. The Hubble Space Telescope previously observed the nebula in 2000, imaging the lion face-shaped target in visible light. Those observations highlighted…

A strange crystal made of electrons just revealed its hidden motion

Researchers at the University of Basel and the Technical University of Munich have found a new way to examine how electrons move together inside one of the most elusive forms of matter, the Wigner crystal. By using light to probe this delicate quantum state, the physicists uncovered properties that had…

Scientists find evidence for two origins of life on Earth

Where and how did life first emerge on Earth? Those questions are at the heart of research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). Now, an international team led by biologists in Düsseldorf has reported new findings in Science Advances that shed light on the…

Ordinary WiFi can now identify you with near-perfect accuracy

WiFi signals could potentially be used to identify people and map their surroundings without relying on cameras or requiring the person being observed to carry a connected device. “By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present,” says…

Dogs can tell fear from sadness — and scientists saw it in their brains

Dogs are exceptionally skilled at reading human emotions, from smiles and laughter to frowns and tears. Scientists and dog owners have recognized this ability for years, but the biological mechanisms that make it possible have remained largely unknown. A study published August 7 in the Cell Press journal iScience offers…

MIT neuroscientists discover the brain can reason without words

Talking through a difficult problem can help some people organize their thoughts. But according to cognitive neuroscientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, language itself is not required for logical reasoning. In research published recently in the journal PNAS, a team led by MIT associate professor of brain and…

“Cannot be explained” – New super steel stuns scientists

A team at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a new type of stainless steel that could overcome a major limitation of conventional stainless steel and potentially lower the cost of producing green hydrogen. Led by Professor Mingxin Huang of HKU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the researchers created…

Marine heatwaves are harming human health in surprising ways

Marine heatwaves are increasingly being recognized as more than an environmental problem. New research warns that prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures can also threaten human physical and mental health. Researchers from Adelaide University and the University of Hong Kong say marine heatwaves should be treated as an important…

King Harold may have lost England by backing the wrong pope

New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that a lost papal letter could change how historians understand the events of 1066 and the Norman Conquest. Surviving excerpts of the letter, preserved in the Vatican archives, point to a major political struggle in Rome that may have influenced the…

New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% weight loss in 36 weeks

A new oral approach to GLP-1 treatment helped adults with obesity or overweight lose as much as 12 percent of their body weight over 36 weeks, according to a randomized phase II clinical trial published in Nature Medicine. Robert Kushner, MD, ’82 GME, professor emeritus of Medicine in the Division…

1 in 5 people may carry this hidden genetic heart risk

New findings from more than 20,000 patients across three major NIH studies suggest that elevated Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] may contribute to cardiovascular risk that remains even after standard treatment. The results indicate that people with high Lp(a) may benefit from more aggressive efforts to reduce other heart disease risk factors. The…

Scientists discover a hidden switch inside silver nanocatalysts

Researchers have discovered for the first time that the same silver (Ag) nanocatalyst can operate at different reaction sites depending on whether a solid oxide cell is producing electricity or generating hydrogen. The finding points to a new way of designing these next-generation energy devices for better performance. The work…

Potatoes may have given Indigenous Andeans a digestive superpower

For thousands of years, potatoes have been central to life in the Andes. Indigenous Andean communities were the first to domesticate the starch-rich crop, turning it into a dietary staple long before potatoes spread around the world. Now, researchers have found evidence that this ancient reliance on potatoes may also…

Voyager 2 was running out of power. NASA just bought it more time

NASA engineers have found a way to free up additional power aboard Voyager 2, helping the nearly 50-year-old spacecraft continue its scientific work for longer. The effort, known as the “Big Bang,” was carried out by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The team simultaneously shut down certain powered components…

For 15,000 years, humans and dogs have been changing each other

Dogs are often called ‘man’s best friend’, and their long history with people gives that phrase real weight. Archaeologists have discovered dogs buried beside humans in graves as old as 14,000 years. Dogs also appear in ancient artwork from every continent and hold places in the mythology, religion and folklore…

Cassini reveals a surprising twist in Saturn’s magnetic shield

Scientists examining data from the Cassini-Huygens mission have identified an unexpected feature in the structure of Saturn’s protective magnetic bubble. The finding supports the idea that giant planets such as Saturn have magnetospheres that behave very differently from Earth’s. The research, published in Nature Communications, includes Dr. Licia Ray and…

A daily glass of fruit juice was linked to lower depression scores

Drinking a daily glass of 100% fruit juice or a smoothie as part of the UK’s 5-a-day guidance may help support mental well-being, according to research from Newcastle University in the UK. In a randomized controlled trial, adults who typically ate relatively little fruit and vegetables received support to increase…

For decades, we were told to choose low-fat dairy. New research says otherwise

A new Canadian study led by University of Toronto professor Harvey Anderson adds to growing evidence that full-fat dairy can be part of a healthy diet. In the 12-week study, 74 adults consumed different amounts of dairy under varying dietary conditions. The researchers found that eating three servings of full-fat…