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Many people notice a familiar change as they get older: the waistline gradually expands, even when overall body weight does not change dramatically. This increase in abdominal fat is more than a cosmetic concern. Excess belly fat has been linked to slower metabolism, accelerated aging, type 2 diabetes, heart disease,…
Astronomers have identified two of the fluffiest giant planets ever discovered, with densities so low they are actually less dense than cotton candy. The rare pair of “super-puff” planets was found by an international team led by the University of Oxford, working with Université Côte d’Azur/Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur…
While hiking through Morocco’s Dadès Valley, Dr. Rowan Martindale spotted something so unusual that it immediately caught her attention. Martindale, a paleoecologist and geobiologist at The University of Texas at Austin, was exploring the rugged landscape with fellow researchers, including Stéphane Bodin of Aarhus University. Their goal was to investigate…
A new peer reviewed study from researchers at The University of Toledo and the University of Missouri has found that goldfish can have major impacts on freshwater ecosystems when they are released or escape into the wild. Published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, the research provides some of the…
Imagine pouring together two cups of warm water and somehow ending up with a cup of boiling water. That cannot happen in everyday life, but at the quantum level, something similar is possible. Multiple low-energy particles of light can combine their energy to create a single particle with much higher…
Fructose and glucose are two common sugars found in many foods and drinks. Although they contain the same number of calories, new research suggests the brain responds to them in very different ways. Scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center discovered that fructose and glucose communicate with the brain through…
A chance encounter with a young great white shark has prompted scientists to revisit more than a century and a half of records in an effort to better understand one of the Mediterranean Sea’s most elusive predators. On April 20, 2023, local fishermen accidentally caught a juvenile great white shark…
A newly discovered spider in the rainforests of northern Queensland has evolved an extraordinary hunting technique. Researchers say the species uses a powerful spring-loaded silk trap to capture a single type of prey, catching one ant at a time in what they describe as “the ultimate specialization.” The small nocturnal…
The theory of panspermia proposes that life, or the ingredients needed for it, can spread throughout the cosmos aboard asteroids, comets, and other rocky objects. When life develops on a planet, powerful impacts can blast material from its surface into space, potentially carrying microscopic organisms or organic compounds to other…
An extraordinary high-energy event detected deep in space is giving astronomers a rare opportunity to study some of the Universe’s most extreme phenomena. On July 2, 2025, the China-led Einstein Probe (EP) space telescope spotted an exceptionally bright X-ray source during a routine survey of the sky. The object’s brightness…
Two micrograms is an almost unimaginably small amount. It weighs less than a tiny fragment of a grain of table salt. Yet adults need only around this amount of vitamin B12 each day, depending on the guideline used, to support red blood cells, nerves and DNA production. In 2026, it…
A rare and aggressive form of liver cancer has long resisted immunotherapy, a treatment that helps the body’s own immune system attack cancer cells. Now, researchers have identified a potential way to overcome that resistance using an FDA-approved drug that is already available for another medical condition. The findings suggest…
A human brain starts as a single cell. Over time, that lone cell gives rise to an extraordinarily complex organ containing roughly 170 billion cells. One of the biggest questions in developmental neuroscience is how all of those cells end up in the right places to form a functioning brain.…
A placebo, or fake supplement, may offer real benefits for older adults, according to new research from psychologists at the Università Cattolica in Milan. After taking placebo pills for three weeks, participants showed improvements in both physical performance and cognitive function. Surprisingly, the benefits were seen even when participants knew…
Researchers exploring the deep waters of Fiordland have discovered an enormous black coral measuring 4 meters (13 feet) tall and 4.5 meters (15 feet) wide. The protected coral is estimated to be 300-400 years old and is believed to be among the largest black corals ever recorded in the waters…
For thousands of years, the ancient city of Sardis in western Turkey changed hands as Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans rose and fell. Yet while the city’s rulers changed repeatedly, one thing has remained remarkably steady. Since 1958, archaeologists have returned every year as part of the Harvard Cornell Exploration…
Even relatively small asteroids can have surprisingly eventful histories. NASA’s Lucy spacecraft recently revealed that asteroid Donaldjohanson is a wobbling, peanut-shaped object that has been shaped by collisions, sunlight, and even a brief encounter with liquid water long ago. The asteroid formed about 155 million years ago when fragments from…
Around 40% of adults worldwide are affected by osteopenia: a loss of bone mineral density. This condition is extremely common particularly in postmenopausal women and elderly adults. It’s estimated that more than 500,000 fractures occur annually in the UK due to low bone density. Osteopenia itself does not usually cause…
When a massive earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in late July, it unleashed a tsunami that raced across the Pacific Ocean. As the giant waves spread outward, an advanced NASA satellite happened to be in a perfect position to observe the event in unprecedented detail. The satellite, called Surface…
Probably not, according to Eric Schwitzgebel, a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. In a new working paper, Schwitzgebel and Jeremy Pober, a former UCR graduate student who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, argue that conscious beings may be possible even…
Scientists have identified a group of neurons located in an ancient region of the brain that plays a key role in helping animals focus. These cells appear to improve attention by filtering out distractions and directing the brain toward the most important information. The discovery, made in mice by researchers…
Researchers at La Trobe University have identified a previously unknown biological process that may help explain how viruses move through the body. The discovery could also open new opportunities for developing treatments that better support the immune system. Published in Nature Communications, the study sheds new light on what happens…
Animals of the same species don’t always look the same. From birds with different beak shapes to mammals that vary in size or color, populations living in different places can often look very different. What’s much harder to pin down is why these differences arise. Are they shaped by local…
Scientists have uncovered new evidence that early human ancestors were using fire in South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave between 1.07 and 1.79 million years ago. The discovery pushes back one of the earliest known records of fire use linked to hominins and offers fresh clues about how our ancestors first learned…
A major new tool for X-ray research has entered service at BESSY II. Developed through a collaboration between HZB, MPI-CEC (Mühlheim-an-der-Ruhr, Germany), and NIST (Boulder CO, USA), the instrument is the first and only TES spectrometer operating at a synchrotron facility in Europe. The new system delivers a dramatic improvement…
Many people in England who are considered at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency may not be getting enough of the nutrient at any time of year, according to new research. The findings challenge the widely held belief that spending time in the summer sun is enough to restore healthy…
Most pandemics begin when a virus or other pathogen crosses from animals into people. Many scientists believe this is how COVID-19 emerged. The virus responsible for the disease, SARS-CoV-2, is closely related to coronaviruses found in bats. Now, a team of researchers from the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), Icahn…
Kombucha has surged in popularity worldwide in recent years, becoming one of the most widely consumed fermented drinks. While many people choose it for its distinctive flavor, researchers are taking a closer look at what is happening inside the beverage during fermentation and how its ingredients may influence its properties.…
Scientists with the SETI Institute have completed a search for possible technological signals coming from 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to pass through our Solar System. Using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at Northern California’s Hat Creek Radio Observatory, researchers examined a broad range of radio frequencies for evidence…
When H5N1 bird flu began infecting U.S. dairy cattle in early 2024, veterinarians struggled to identify the cause. The virus was difficult to recognize because it behaved very differently in cows than it does in other mammals. Rather than primarily infecting the lungs, H5N1 caused severe infections in the udders…
