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LOS ANGELES — People may assume that if they drink lightly during the week or month, heavy drinking on the occasional Friday or Saturday may not cause their liver harm. New research suggests otherwise, according to a Keck Medicine of USC study published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Researchers discovered that people with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the most common…
Climate change is affecting the United States in very different ways depending on the region, according to a study published in PLOS Climate. Researchers María Dolores Gadea Rivas of the University of Zaragoza, Spain and Jesús Gonzalo of University Carlos III, Spain found that warming patterns vary widely across the…
Imagine a star-shaped cell in the brain, reaching out with long, thin extensions to surround nearby neurons. This cell is called an astrocyte. For years, scientists believed astrocytes mainly acted as caretakers, helping hold neurons together and keeping brain circuits running smoothly. New research is now challenging that idea. These…
Discovered in 2011, MXenes are a fast-expanding family of ultra-thin inorganic materials. They are made from stacked layers of transition metals combined with carbon or nitrogen, with atoms attached to their outer surfaces. These surface atoms are not just decorative. They play a central role in how the material behaves.…
A new study suggests that aging stars may be wiping out the giant planets that orbit closest to them. The research, led by astronomers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Warwick, provides fresh evidence that these planets can be pulled inward and destroyed as their host stars…
A group of undergraduate students at the University of Chicago has identified one of the oldest known stars in the universe using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The star did not originate in our galaxy. Instead, it formed in a nearby companion galaxy and later moved into…
A new medication has been found to significantly reduce blood pressure in people whose levels remain dangerously high even after taking multiple existing drugs. The findings come from a Phase III clinical trial led by a professor at UCL. High blood pressure (hypertension) affects about 1.3 billion people worldwide. In…
Meteor strikes may have done more than reshape Earth’s surface. New research suggests they could have created the hot, chemically rich environments needed for life to begin. “No one knows, from a scientific perspective, how life could have been formed from an early Earth that had no life,” said Shea…
Saturn’s magnetic field does not form a balanced, symmetrical bubble like Earth’s. Instead, it is noticeably uneven, according to new research involving scientists from University College London (UCL). The study suggests this distortion is caused by the planet’s rapid rotation along with the large amount of material it drags through…
After a long day of teaching, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril turned to a familiar task: preparing a Cambrian arthropod fossil for study. At first glance, the specimen looked typical for its age. But as he carefully removed surrounding material, something unusual appeared. Instead of an antenna, there was a claw. “Claws are…
“What should I eat?” is one of the most common questions people with inflammatory bowel disease ask their doctors. It is also one of the hardest to answer. Inflammatory bowel disease, which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, has not been studied extensively when it comes to diet. Large, well-controlled…
A new study shows that gene therapy can significantly improve hearing in people born with congenital deafness or severe hearing loss. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, working with hospitals and universities in China, treated ten patients and saw hearing improve in every case. The therapy was also well-tolerated. The findings were…
A giant barn owl, a type of rodent called a hutia, and a burrowing bee entered a cave. Only two of them left. Which one stayed behind? The answer is the one that cannot fly. This unusual chain of events likely unfolded thousands of years ago on the Caribbean island…
A common feature of schizophrenia is difficulty using new information to understand the world. This challenge can make decision-making harder and, over time, may contribute to a disconnect from reality. Researchers at MIT have identified a gene mutation that may play a key role in this problem. In experiments with…
In 2016, geologist Rowan Martindale was hiking across a hillside in Morocco when something unusual caught her eye. A slab of sedimentary rock was covered in a wrinkled texture that looked strikingly like elephant skin. The pattern was so unexpected that it immediately stood out. “I looked at the wrinkles…
The ice giants are among the most fascinating targets in our solar system, and Uranus has recently moved to the top of the list. The 2022 Decadal Survey from the National Academies identified it as the highest priority destination for future exploration. Yet despite that strong endorsement, there is still…
Older adults are far more likely to develop severe illness from flu or COVID, and new research from UC San Francisco offers an explanation. The study shows that aging lung cells can trigger an overly aggressive immune response, which can turn even mild infections into serious conditions. These findings provide…
New research from Italy suggests that the widely used body mass index (BMI) system may be misclassifying many people. The findings, which will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, May 12-15) and published in Nutrients, show that when body fat is measured using dual-energy…
Fast fashion offers an affordable way to keep up with kids who quickly outgrow their clothes. But new early research suggests that some of these garments may contain a dangerous substance: lead. After analyzing shirts from several retailers, undergraduate researchers found that every item tested exceeded U.S. federal safety limits…
Fried foods are widely enjoyed, but their high fat content is linked to health issues such as obesity and hypertension. Creating lower fat versions that still deliver the same taste and texture could help consumers make healthier choices without feeling like they are missing out. Researchers at the University of…
Fast, reliable wireless connections are essential in everyday life. Video calls, streaming, virtual reality, and connected devices all rely on networks that are already under heavy strain. Today, most wireless communication depends on radio-based technologies like Wi-Fi and cellular networks. While these systems have enabled global connectivity, they are running…
Older adults who carry genes linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease may not experience the expected increase in cognitive decline if they eat relatively large amounts of meat. That is the key finding from a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, published in JAMA Network Open. The…
A research team led by Botond Roska at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), together with collaborators, has uncovered genetic pathways and compounds that can help protect cone photoreceptors. These cells are damaged in diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. Cone…
Earth’s Ediacaran Period, which lasted from about 630 to 540 million years ago, has long been one of the most confusing intervals for scientists studying the planet’s magnetic past. In most other eras, Earth behaved in predictable ways. Tectonic plates moved at steady rates, climate patterns were relatively stable, and…
A new study in American Antiquity, a leading journal of North American archaeology published by Cambridge University Press for the Society for American Archaeology, presents compelling evidence that the earliest known dice were created and used by Native American hunter-gatherers more than 12,000 years ago. These discoveries come from the…
Some of the longest-living and healthiest populations in the world follow a simple idea known as hara hachi bu. This traditional Japanese practice encourages people to stop eating when they feel about 80% full, rather than continuing until they are completely satisfied. The concept comes from Confucian teachings and focuses…
A newly uncovered Greek inscription inside the Great Mosque of Homs in Syria is reviving a long-running debate about the location of the ancient Temple of the Sun. This temple was once tied to Elagabalus, a high priest who rose to become Roman emperor in the third century AD. Homs,…
Scientists have struggled for years to explain a curious pattern inside tokamaks, the doughnut-shaped machines designed to one day produce electricity by fusing atoms. Inside these devices, superheated plasma is held in place by magnetic fields. Some of those particles eventually escape from the core and travel toward the exhaust…
NASA has launched its Artemis II mission, sending four astronauts into space for the first crewed flight around the Moon in more than 50 years. The mission marks a major step forward in human space exploration and signals a return to deep space beyond Earth’s orbit. The agency’s SLS (Space…
To survive inside the human bloodstream, the African trypanosome parasite covers itself with a protective layer made of proteins called variant surface glycoproteins (VSG). A study published in Nature Microbiology has now identified a key protein that allows the parasite to precisely control this protective “cloak.” Researchers found that a…
