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How pigeons can travel hundreds of miles and still find their way home has puzzled scientists for decades. New research suggests the answer may lie in an unexpected place: the liver. According to a study published in Science, pigeons may use specialized immune cells in their livers to detect Earth’s…
More than one billion people worldwide now live with obesity, a condition that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer. Yet losing weight and keeping it off can be extremely difficult. The body does not simply respond to fewer calories in a straightforward way. Signals…
Fish oil may have a surprising role in the fight against insulin resistance, especially in a form of type 2 diabetes that is often overlooked. A Brazilian study published in Nutrients found that omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil reduced glucose intolerance and weakened insulin resistance in rats that were…
For decades, the computing industry has followed a simple formula: make transistors smaller and pack more of them onto a chip. That strategy fueled the extraordinary rise in computing power predicted by Moore’s law. But as components approach atomic scales, engineers are increasingly running into the physical limits of silicon…
Melatonin supplements may help the body repair DNA damage linked to night shift work, according to a small clinical trial published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. The findings point to a possible way to counter one of the hidden biological effects of working through the night. However, the researchers stress…
When ancient DNA studies began to gain attention, little more than a decade ago, the view took hold among geneticists that everything we thought we knew about the peopling of Europe by modern humans was wrong. The story was simpler than anyone was expecting: Europe was settled in just three…
Researchers from Brown University and the University of Michigan have achieved something that scientists had only imagined until now. By carefully arranging tiny particles of silver into custom-built structures, they created and stabilized a previously elusive state of matter that had existed only in theoretical models. The work, published in…
Drinking a specially formulated tomato-soy juice rich in plant compounds linked to health benefits reduced several markers of inflammation in adults with obesity after just four weeks, according to new research. The findings suggest the beverage could serve as a functional food capable of helping control chronic inflammation, a process…
Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) have found that caffeine can help restore a specific type of memory that is impaired by sleep deprivation. The findings, published in Neuropsychopharmacology, reveal how caffeine acts on a well-defined brain pathway involved…
Quantum computers today are notoriously difficult and expensive to operate. Most require temperatures near absolute zero, about -459 degrees Fahrenheit, to maintain the fragile quantum states needed for computation and communication. Now, researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanoscale optical device that functions at room temperature while linking the…
Scientists at Stanford University have uncovered a major clue to why the brain deteriorates with age. Their research points to breakdowns in the cell’s protein production system, a process that appears to trigger widespread dysfunction linked to cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The study, published in Science,…
For years, Saturn appeared to be doing something impossible. Measurements suggested the giant planet’s rotation rate was changing over time, as if Saturn were somehow speeding up or slowing down. That puzzling result left scientists searching for answers. Now, researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) say they have…
New research from Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that combining cannabis edibles with alcohol can impair driving more than using either substance alone. The study also found that standard field sobriety tests often failed to detect impairment caused by cannabis, whether it was consumed by itself or alongside alcohol. The findings,…
During the Triassic Period, many of the major animal groups we know today were only beginning to evolve. The world was filled with unusual creatures experimenting with body shapes and lifestyles that often resemble modern animals or later dinosaurs. One newly identified species, Labrujasuchus expectatus, is a striking example. Described…
Paleontologists have identified a new species of raptor-like dinosaur that lived about 70 million years ago in what is now southern Patagonia. The animal, named Kank australis, appears to have been a fish hunter whose feeding habits may have resembled those of modern herons. The discovery is based on fossil…
For decades, many evolutionary biologists have viewed much of molecular evolution as surprisingly quiet. The idea was that many of the genetic changes that spread through populations are neither helpful nor harmful. They simply drift through nature without attracting much attention from natural selection. A University of Michigan study challenges…
Chronic kidney disease has become one of the world’s most widespread and deadly health problems, with record numbers of people now estimated to have reduced kidney function. A 2025 global analysis found that the number of people living with the condition rose from 378 million in 1990 to 788 million…
Researchers have uncovered evidence that superconductivity can be controlled by changing a material’s surrounding environment, a breakthrough that could eventually lead to more efficient electronics and powerful quantum technologies. Superconductivity allows certain materials to carry electricity with zero energy loss when cooled below a critical temperature. Even though scientists have…
Liquid water is widely considered one of the key ingredients for life. But new research suggests that worlds drifting through the darkness of interstellar space could still remain habitable, even without the warmth of a nearby star. A team of scientists from the Excellence Cluster ORIGINS at Ludwig Maximilian University…
A new study published in Nature Geoscience suggests Antarctica’s ice sheet underwent a dramatic change about one million years ago, becoming much more responsive to shifts in Earth’s climate. The research, led by scientists at the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in South Korea, offers…
Chronic fatigue has become increasingly common in modern life as people juggle heavier workloads and less downtime. While exhaustion is often blamed on stress or lack of sleep, researchers say poor nutrition may also play an important role. A research team led by Professor Hiroaki Kanouchi from Osaka Metropolitan University’s…
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have created tiny lab-grown brain and spinal cord systems that mimic how movement signals travel through the human nervous system. Using this model, the team discovered that nerve damage once believed to be permanent may actually be reversible under certain conditions. As the human…
Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is gaining attention from scientists studying Alzheimer’s disease. New research suggests the cannabis-derived compound may help reduce harmful inflammation in the brain, a process increasingly believed to play a major role in Alzheimer’s progression. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a condition…
For more than 250 years, stories from early explorers described crocodiles as a common sight along the shores of the Seychelles. But after permanent settlers arrived in 1770, the island population disappeared rapidly. Within about 50 years, the crocodiles had been completely exterminated. Now, scientists have finally uncovered the true…
Scientists say climate change is driving a major and potentially permanent transformation in the Arctic Ocean, disrupting the marine food chain from the bottom up. According to a new study, the rapid decline of Arctic sea ice has sharply reduced levels of nitrate, a nutrient essential for the growth of…
Tiny wrens living on remote Scottish islands are giving scientists a rare look at evolution in action. A new study led by researchers at the University of Birmingham found that several isolated island populations of wrens are evolving independently, with some growing dramatically larger than their mainland relatives. The findings,…
Millions of Americans live with blurry vision, nearsightedness, or more severe sight problems. While glasses and contact lenses help many people, millions have turned to corrective procedures such as LASIK to sharpen their eyesight. But scientists are now exploring a very different approach that could someday reshape the eye without…
For generations, pianists and music teachers have insisted that a performer’s touch can change the character of a piano’s sound. Skeptics argued that once a piano hammer strikes a string, the resulting tone is determined almost entirely by the instrument itself. Now, a major scientific study has provided some of…
Rachel Fordyce used to save money by parking at Ithaca’s East Hill Plaza and walking through East Lawn Cemetery on her way to work at a Cornell University entomology lab. During one walk in the spring of 2022, she noticed something unusual. Bees were everywhere. She collected some in a…
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a brain immune protein that may play a major role in the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Their findings, published in Neuron, suggest that blocking this protein with monoclonal antibodies could eventually lead to treatments that…
