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“You want to stick your finger in a dinosaur brain?” asked Simba Srivastava. Inside a paleobiology lab lined with cabinets of ancient fossils, the Virginia Tech undergraduate held up a rough, pitted skull. “This is a uniquely sucky specimen,” said Srivastava. “It’s so bad. Like, if you saw a human…
Dr. David Schwimmer, a leading authority on the massive North American crocodilian genus Deinosuchus and a geology professor at Columbus State University, has helped bring a prehistoric giant back to life. His decades of research played a key role in building the first scientifically accurate, fully mounted skeleton replica of…
A study from the University of Toronto Scarborough suggests that feeling mentally sharp can significantly boost how much you accomplish in a day. Researchers found that when people are thinking clearly and efficiently, the effect can equal roughly 40 extra minutes of productive work. Published in Science Advances, the research…
A team led by Specially Appointed Associate Professor Harrison B. Smith of the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo and Specially Appointed Associate Professor Lana Sinapayen of the National Institute for Basic Biology has introduced a new strategy for finding life beyond Earth. Instead of searching…
For decades, physicists have been trying to answer a fundamental question: can electrons move like a perfectly smooth, frictionless fluid governed by a universal quantum value? Detecting this unusual behavior has proven extremely challenging. In real materials, tiny imperfections such as atomic defects and impurities tend to disrupt these delicate…
Engaging in mentally stimulating activities across your lifetime, including reading, writing, and learning new languages, may be linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and slower cognitive decline. That is the conclusion of a study published recently in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers…
Imagine a swarm of robots rushing to complete an urgent job, such as cleaning up an oil spill or assembling complex machinery. At first, adding more robots speeds things up. But after a certain point, the space becomes crowded, robots start interfering with one another, and overall progress slows. This…
Fred Hutch Cancer Center researchers have made a significant advance in the effort to block Epstein Barr virus (EBV), a widespread infection that affects about 95% of people worldwide and is linked to several cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, and other long-term illnesses. By working with mice engineered to produce human antibodies,…
At first glance, sea sponges seem almost too simple to be mysterious. They have no brain and no gut, and scientists have long believed they originated around 700 million years ago. Yet clear fossil evidence only dates back to about 540 million years ago, leaving a puzzling 160 million-year gap…
A new large-scale study led by researchers at the University of Nottingham has found that medications commonly used to treat gout may also lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with the condition. The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggest that bringing blood urate levels down…
In the deserts of southeastern Arizona, a surprising scene unfolds outside the nests of small cone ants. Much larger harvester ants stand nearby with their serrated jaws open, appearing vulnerable. But instead of attacking, the smaller ants climb onto the bigger ones and begin licking and nibbling across their bodies.…
A new fossil discovery is bringing fresh insight into one of the most remarkable survival stories in Earth’s history while also resolving a scientific mystery that has puzzled researchers for decades. Lystrosaurus, a tough, plant-eating ancestor of mammals, became one of the dominant species after the End-Permian Mass Extinction around…
Scientists have reported a major experimental advance in understanding how some of the rarest elements in the universe are formed. These unusual atoms, known as p-nuclei, are proton-rich isotopes heavier than iron that have long puzzled researchers. The new study, led by Artemis Tsantiri, who conducted the work as a…
A new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is reshaping a decades-old belief about the disappearance of Hawaiʻi’s native waterbirds. Researchers report that there is no scientific evidence showing Indigenous People hunted these species to extinction. Published in the journal Ecosphere, the study disputes this widely accepted narrative…
Bread has long been a dietary cornerstone, sustaining societies for generations. It is deeply woven into everyday life. But with obesity rates continuing to climb, researchers are beginning to question whether this reliance on staple carbohydrates still makes sense in modern diets. Obesity increases the risk of many lifestyle-related diseases,…
Researchers have found a way to make the immune system’s T cells far more effective at attacking cancer. By blocking a protein known as Ant2, they were able to change how these cells produce and use energy, essentially rewiring their internal power supply. This transformation makes T cells more active,…
Feeling lonely may affect how well older adults remember things, but it does not appear to make memory decline happen faster over time. This conclusion comes from a large European study that followed more than 10,000 people over a seven-year period. At the start of the study, participants who reported…
An international team of scientists has taken a closer look at how memory works in quantum systems and uncovered a surprising result. Their research shows that a quantum process can seem completely memoryless when viewed one way, yet still retain memory when examined from another angle. This unexpected finding opens…
The Colorado River and its network of tributaries supply water to seven U.S. states and Mexico, supporting drinking water, farming, and hydropower. A large share of that water begins as snow in the mountains, building up during winter before melting in spring. Each year in early April, water managers analyze…
Mitochondria are often called the power plants of the cell because they produce the energy cells need to function. To support this role, they carry their own genetic material, known as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Each cell holds hundreds to thousands of copies of mtDNA. These copies are grouped into compact…
Living with other people may be subtly influencing your gut bacteria, according to new research from the University of East Anglia. A study of small island birds found that individuals share more gut microbes with those they interact with most often. Researchers say this same effect is very likely happening…
If you’re a parent or live with a condition that makes frequent bathroom trips unavoidable, you’ve likely figured out which public restrooms are usable and which ones to avoid. Still, there are moments when you have no choice but to use a facility that looks far from clean. In that…
New research has delivered a stark warning about a major change in Africa’s forests. Once a crucial part of the fight against climate change, these forests are now releasing more carbon than they absorb. The findings come from an international study published in Scientific Reports, led by scientists from the…
Periodontitis is a common condition that can affect much more than just oral health. Scientists at Fraunhofer have discovered a compound that specifically blocks the bacteria responsible for this disease while leaving the rest of the oral microbiome intact. This innovation has since been developed into a range of oral…
New findings presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Istanbul, Turkey (May 12-15) highlight clear differences in how obesity affects men and women. The research shows that risks related to heart health, metabolism, and inflammation do not develop in the same way across sexes. These insights could…
Gray whales are known for their long migration between food-rich Arctic waters and the warm lagoons of Baja Mexico. But as climate change alters ocean conditions, some whales are behaving in unexpected ways. In recent years, a number of gray whales have been spotted feeding in unfamiliar areas, including the…
Light plays a major role in how plants grow, but scientists are still uncovering exactly how it works. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have now identified a previously unknown mechanism that helps explain how light influences plant development. The research team, led by Professor Kouichi Soga of the Graduate School…
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have introduced a new theoretical design for quantum systems based on what they call “giant superatoms.” This concept offers a fresh way to protect, control, and share quantum information, potentially bringing scientists closer to building large-scale quantum computers. Quantum computers are expected…
What influences how long we live, and how much of that is written in our genes? For many years, scientists believed genetics played only a modest role. Earlier estimates suggested that inherited factors explained about 20 to 25 percent of lifespan differences, and some large studies even placed the number…
Astronomers have captured one of the clearest views yet of a “reborn” black hole in action, revealing a dramatic outburst that has been compared to a “cosmic volcano” spreading across nearly one million light-years of space. The discovery centers on the galaxy J1007+3540, where scientists observed a supermassive black hole…
