Category: Global News

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have revised a key piece of Oklahoma’s geologic history, with possible implications for how scientists interpret major events in the history of life on Earth. Beneath the town of Ames, Oklahoma, lies a meteor impact structure that stretches for miles underground. Layers…

It’s well established that the universe is expanding, but there’s serious disagreement among scientists over how fast it’s happening. Two of our best ways of measuring the cosmic expansion rate, the Hubble constant, give answers that are stubbornly at odds. This presents a major problem in modern cosmology known as…

What’s the best way to manage a forest? Australians have argued about this for decades. The debate is often framed as binary: do we protect forests entirely, or harvest trees to support local economies and communities? The reality is more interesting, as our new research on a long-forgotten experiment in…

A new UCLA study suggests that the pace of brain aging may be connected to bacteria in the gut and the chemical compounds they produce. The findings offer a new look at biological changes that may begin long before noticeable problems with memory or thinking appear. Scientists have used brain…

Researchers at Oregon State University have created a new class of materials that can use light to produce hydrogen from water, offering a potentially cleaner way to convert solar energy into fuel. The work was led by Kyriakos Stylianou of the OSU College of Science. His team developed a photocatalyst…

Edward (Ed) Waldner knew something was wrong, even though he could not explain exactly what was happening. At age 55, he was constantly exhausted, regardless of how demanding his day had been. At first, he wondered whether sleep apnea might be responsible. Then he began noticing changes in the way…

A small clinical trial led by researchers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute has tested a treatment strategy that began with laboratory discoveries at the Salk Institute. The idea is to activate the vitamin D receptor and, in doing so, alter the protective environment surrounding pancreatic tumors. That change could potentially…

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have completed what they describe as the longest and most comprehensive randomized controlled trial to date examining non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) soft drinks. Non-nutritive sweeteners are low-calorie or calorie-free sugar substitutes commonly used in foods and beverages. The 104-week study found that NNS beverages, including…

Researchers co-led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University have identified an enzyme that may help protect the liver from the damage that can occur as the most common form of liver disease becomes more severe. The findings, from a preclinical study published in Nature Metabolism, could eventually support new strategies for…

The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) made a close pass by Earth on September 28, skimming the outer reaches of the atmosphere and using our planet’s gravity to reshape its path toward Jupiter while consuming very little fuel. The carefully planned gravity assist changed Juice’s direction by…

The Moon no longer generates a global magnetic field, but traces of its ancient magnetism remain locked inside lunar rocks and soil. By studying the magnetic minerals preserved in these materials, scientists can reconstruct how the Moon’s magnetic environment changed over time. Researchers analyzing metallic iron inside impact glass from…

Researchers are using extraordinarily detailed computer simulations to reconstruct one of the most transformative periods in cosmic history: the era when the first stars and galaxies began to emerge. The work is part of the MEGATRON project, led by researchers at the University of Bath in the UK with collaborators…

Mitochondria are often described as the powerhouses of the cell because they produce much of the energy our bodies need to grow, move, repair tissues, and carry out everyday functions. But they do not operate at a constant pace. Instead, mitochondria continuously adjust their activity depending on how much energy…

A molecule made by bacteria in the digestive system may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia, according to new research. The finding could point scientists toward a potential treatment strategy aimed at lowering Alzheimer’s risk. Nearly a decade ago, a research team…

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that quantum fluctuations in a vacuum can strengthen superconductivity, opening a new path for controlling unusual states of matter. The study, published in Nature, was led by Profs. Changgan Zeng and Guanghui Cheng of the University of Science and Technology of China of…

Vitamin C can increase the activity of cellular proteins known as TET enzymes, which help regulate whether certain genes are switched on or off. Reduced TET enzyme activity is a common feature in some blood cancers, prompting researchers to investigate whether vitamin C supplements might benefit people at risk of…

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has completed an important series of tests showing that it can keep its gaze extremely steady during observations. From Sept. 15 to 21, engineers tested Roman’s fine-guidance system, which helps the observatory remain precisely locked onto its targets. Then, on Sept. 22, the telescope’s…

Researchers at Oxford Population Health have found that high blood pressure is going undetected or remains poorly controlled in a large share of adults in England. The team examined blood pressure readings taken in clinics as part of Our Future Health, the UK’s largest health research program. Participants joined the…

Researchers have identified what may be the earliest known evidence of an internal animal “GPS” system, offering a possible glimpse into how modern birds, fish, and other creatures evolved the ability to navigate using Earth’s magnetic field. The evidence comes from tiny magnetic fossils dating back 97 million years. They…

Only about 500 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was roughly 3% of its current age, some of the first stars and galaxies had already begun to shine. Astronomers have generally expected that much of the gas around these young galaxies would still have been nearly pristine,…

Superconductors are among the most remarkable materials in quantum physics. When certain materials are cooled below a specific transition temperature, their electrical resistance disappears. Electricity can then flow through them without losing energy as heat. This happens because electrons form correlated pairs called Cooper pairs. Instead of moving independently, these…

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Cancer Center have uncovered a previously unknown metabolic vulnerability in the stem cells responsible for high risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The finding could eventually help scientists develop treatments that more precisely target the cells driving this aggressive blood cancer. The study, published in…

Healthy aging is about staying independent, maintaining mobility and continuing to enjoy everyday activities as you get older. For many people, what matters most is being able to get out of a chair without help, carry shopping home, climb the stairs and recover quickly after illness. One of the most…

Southern California sits on one of the most active and closely watched fault networks in the United States. Earthquakes typically happen where sections of Earth’s crust move against one another, become stuck, and slowly accumulate stress. When that stored energy is finally released, the result can be an earthquake. Two…

A landmark study from QIMR Berghofer has found that even relatively brief periods outdoors during times of weaker sunlight can damage the skin and add to skin cancer risk. The results challenge the long standing assumption that spending time outside early or later in the day is largely harmless. Total…

Over the past decade, scientists have made major progress in creating two-dimensional materials with unusual quantum properties that could eventually support a new generation of technologies. Some of these materials can become superconductors, allowing electricity to flow without energy loss, while others develop charge orders, in which electrons settle into…

Researchers at the University of East Anglia and Oxford BioDynamics have identified a possible biological connection that could help explain why profound exhaustion appears across conditions as different as long Covid and PTSD. The new study, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, points to striking similarities in the biology…

One of the biggest puzzles surrounding the origin of life is a classic chicken or egg problem: How could RNA have helped create the first cells when no cells yet existed to keep RNA contained? Without cellular compartments, fragile RNA molecules would have faced major obstacles on the early Earth.…

Scientists have identified two previously unrecognized species of large stick insects in Australia, revealing that even in some of the country’s most closely studied environments, new species are still waiting to be found. A University of Sydney research team reexamined Australian members of the stick insect genus Anchiale and discovered…

A newly developed textile covering helped strawberry plants produce more than three times as much fruit in tunnel field trials, while showing no harmful effects on plant health. Researchers say the technology may also offer a way to reduce water use and reliance on pesticides in strawberry production. The fabric,…