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For decades, scientists have generally viewed the brain’s immune system as largely separate from the immune defenses operating throughout the rest of the body. The brain has its own specialized immune cells, along with the blood-brain barrier, which restricts many substances and cells from entering brain tissue. New research from…
Even after a nuclear reactor is switched off, activity continues deep inside its core. Long-lived radioactive fission products keep decaying for months or even years, releasing a weak stream of particles called antineutrinos. (Anti)neutrinos are the lightest and most elusive known particles in the Universe, and they can pass through…
A newly developed superconducting quantum heat engine could deepen our understanding of thermodynamics while helping advance technologies needed for quantum computers with very large numbers of qubits. Scientists are getting a clearer picture of how thermodynamics behaves in the quantum world, and that progress could benefit both quantum technology and…
New research from the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital suggests that something as simple as choosing the stairs could contribute to a longer life. The large study found that people who regularly climbed stairs had a substantially lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.…
When laboratory mice experience brain damage, e.g., from an injection, Jan Deussing repeatedly notices the same response. A particular group of cells appears and becomes active around the damaged area. Although Deussing, a research group leader and experienced neurobiologist, had observed the phenomenon many times, he did not know exactly…
For many people, the thought of a tasty burger or a cold pint of beer conjures up a vivid mental image and drives behavior. This link between thinking and doing serves a clear function – it motivates us to get the necessities for life. But for some, this process can…
The region surrounding Earth is getting more crowded as thousands of satellites and pieces of space debris move through low Earth orbit. Farther above, at altitudes of several hundred kilometers, traces of Earth’s upper atmosphere can still exert enough drag to slow satellites. Accurately measuring atmospheric density at these heights…
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can reduce movement problems caused by Parkinson’s disease, and new research is providing a clearer picture of why the treatment works. Scientists have found that its benefits appear to depend on stimulating a specific brain network that communicates primarily through a relatively fast beta rhythm (20…
A new study led by a Charles Sturt University researcher and international colleagues is challenging a long-accepted idea about how scientists identify ancient disease. Evidence from the skeletal remains of children who lived in prehistoric Vietnam suggests that treponemal diseases could have been passed from mother to child thousands of…
The adult brain may have a greater ability to repair itself after injury or certain autoimmune diseases than scientists previously believed. In experiments with mice, researchers at the University of Zurich found that specialized support cells can repopulate damaged parts of the brain in an unusual way. Rather than moving…
Scientists have found that wool could provide an effective and sustainable new option for repairing damaged bone. The research focused on keratin, a natural structural protein that can be extracted from wool. When tested in a living animal, the material supported bone regeneration and produced new tissue that more closely…
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of NGC 2392, a planetary nebula commonly known as the Lion Nebula, revealing the cosmic object in striking infrared detail. The Hubble Space Telescope previously observed the nebula in 2000, imaging the lion face-shaped target in visible light. Those observations highlighted…
Researchers at the University of Basel and the Technical University of Munich have found a new way to examine how electrons move together inside one of the most elusive forms of matter, the Wigner crystal. By using light to probe this delicate quantum state, the physicists uncovered properties that had…
Where and how did life first emerge on Earth? Those questions are at the heart of research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). Now, an international team led by biologists in Düsseldorf has reported new findings in Science Advances that shed light on the…
WiFi signals could potentially be used to identify people and map their surroundings without relying on cameras or requiring the person being observed to carry a connected device. “By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present,” says…
Dogs are exceptionally skilled at reading human emotions, from smiles and laughter to frowns and tears. Scientists and dog owners have recognized this ability for years, but the biological mechanisms that make it possible have remained largely unknown. A study published August 7 in the Cell Press journal iScience offers…
Talking through a difficult problem can help some people organize their thoughts. But according to cognitive neuroscientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, language itself is not required for logical reasoning. In research published recently in the journal PNAS, a team led by MIT associate professor of brain and…
A team at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a new type of stainless steel that could overcome a major limitation of conventional stainless steel and potentially lower the cost of producing green hydrogen. Led by Professor Mingxin Huang of HKU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, the researchers created…
Marine heatwaves are increasingly being recognized as more than an environmental problem. New research warns that prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures can also threaten human physical and mental health. Researchers from Adelaide University and the University of Hong Kong say marine heatwaves should be treated as an important…
New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that a lost papal letter could change how historians understand the events of 1066 and the Norman Conquest. Surviving excerpts of the letter, preserved in the Vatican archives, point to a major political struggle in Rome that may have influenced the…
Black holes created before the Big Bang may have survived into the Universe we see today, according to new research from the University of Portsmouth. These ancient objects could act as “cosmic fossils” and may even help explain dark matter, the invisible material that plays a major role in shaping…
A rare looping trail of fossilized footprints in Colorado is giving scientists a detailed look at how a giant dinosaur moved 150 million years ago. The evidence also raises the possibility that the animal was walking with a limp. Located near Ouray, the trackway is one of the most continuous…
NASA is moving ahead with plans for its Moon Base, a durable outpost near the Moon’s South Pole that is intended to support science, technology development, and eventually human operations. A major part of that effort involves commercial partners Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Voyager Lunar Systems, which…
UCLA researchers have created a simple, relatively inexpensive blood test that showed promise in early studies for detecting several types of cancer, multiple liver diseases, and signs of organ problems at the same time. The approach works by examining fragments of DNA that circulate naturally in the bloodstream. Described in…
Scientists have developed a way to recover cellular material from historic parchment manuscripts without damaging the documents. The technique makes it possible to analyze genetic information preserved in parchment and could reveal new details about trade, farming, and other aspects of life stretching back roughly 1,300 years. Parchment is made…
Regular exercise may do more than strengthen the body. New research from Victoria University (VU) adds to evidence that physical activity could also play an important role in protecting the brain from age-related decline, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. VU researcher Dr. James Broatch led the analysis, which examined how…
A new oral approach to GLP-1 treatment helped adults with obesity or overweight lose as much as 12 percent of their body weight over 36 weeks, according to a randomized phase II clinical trial published in Nature Medicine. Robert Kushner, MD, ’82 GME, professor emeritus of Medicine in the Division…
New findings from more than 20,000 patients across three major NIH studies suggest that elevated Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] may contribute to cardiovascular risk that remains even after standard treatment. The results indicate that people with high Lp(a) may benefit from more aggressive efforts to reduce other heart disease risk factors. The…
Researchers have discovered for the first time that the same silver (Ag) nanocatalyst can operate at different reaction sites depending on whether a solid oxide cell is producing electricity or generating hydrogen. The finding points to a new way of designing these next-generation energy devices for better performance. The work…
Named Silescelida acristata, the species lived about 240 million years ago, during the Middle Triassic Period. The fossil was found in Dona Francisca, in central Rio Grande do Sul, in rocks that are part of the UNESCO Quarta Colônia Geopark. The discovery helps fill an important gap in our understanding…