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The end-Triassic mass extinction struck about 201 million years ago and has been tied to enormous volcanic eruptions associated with the break-up of Pangea. Those eruptions released vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, driving global temperatures up by an estimated 5 to 10 degrees Celsius. As the planet heated,…
Colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer related death among people younger than 50. Although routine screening generally begins at age 45 for adults at average risk, warning signs can appear earlier and should be discussed with a health care provider at any age. To help people recognize…
Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine have found new evidence that small clusters of brain tissue grown from the cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease could help researchers predict how different patients may respond to medications used to manage psychiatric symptoms linked to the condition. The research focused on laboratory-grown brain…
Electron and proton motion often work together in both living systems and engineered materials. The most familiar example is proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), a process that plays a central role in bioenergetics, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and nitrogen fixation. PCET has also influenced the design of many artificial materials used for…
Lidar technology uses pulses of infrared light to calculate distances and create detailed 3D maps of the surrounding environment. This allows autonomous vehicles to detect objects in their path and respond quickly. However, conventional lidar sensors are often large and costly, and many rely on moving components that can wear…
Antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the most serious dangers facing modern medicine. As bacteria evolve, drugs that once worked reliably can lose their effectiveness. This makes common infections harder to treat and can increase the risks associated with routine surgery, cancer care, and other medical procedures. Researchers worldwide are…
A new study suggests that doctors could improve cure rates by changing therapies before a tumor has a chance to recover. Rather than waiting for cancer to return after an initial treatment, the researchers propose switching to another therapy while the tumor is still shrinking. The strategy is designed to…
A single dose of psilocybin, the psychedelic substance in magic mushrooms, may produce physical changes in the brain that remain detectable for as long as a month, according to researchers at UC San Francisco and Imperial College London. The study, published in Nature Communications, involved healthy adults who had never…
Researchers at Seoul National University and the University of Seoul have developed a programmable photonic integrated circuit that can slow light whenever needed. The team was led by Professors Namkyoo Park and Sunkyu Yu of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University, working with Professor Xianji…
Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant and psychoactive substance in the world, and coffee is how most people consume it. According to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, most adults can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine/day (or up to five 8-ounce cups of…
“Turn off that TV, it’ll rot your brain!” has been repeated in households for generations. The word “rot” is clearly an exaggeration, but new research suggests that heavy television viewing may still have meaningful consequences for brain health. A recent study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s…
K’gari, the world’s largest sand island, is celebrated for its striking freshwater lakes. New research from the University of Adelaide, however, suggests that even the island’s largest and deepest lakes may be vulnerable to disappearing under certain climate conditions. By examining ancient layers of lake sediment, researchers uncovered evidence that…
The Moon has been exposed to the solar wind for billions of years. However, new evidence shows that its two hemispheres have not experienced that bombardment in the same way. Particles striking the near side and far side arrive at different speeds and carry different amounts of energy. An analysis…
Astronomers have reached a major turning point in the search for life beyond Earth by detecting an atmosphere around a rocky, Earth-like planet located in another star’s habitable zone. The discovery offers the strongest evidence so far that planets with broadly Earth-like temperatures and rocky compositions may exist beyond our…
Ancient DNA is revealing new details about the people who lived at Shimao, one of the most important late Neolithic settlements in China. The findings, published in Nature, clarify the population’s origins, family relationships, and social organization. They also identify genetic connections with communities farther south and provide evidence that…
Scientists have developed a forecasting technique that could reveal the strength of the Sun’s next activity cycle as many as seven years before it reaches its maximum. The method focuses on the number of sunspots present at a newly identified “switch-off” stage in the solar cycle. At this point, the…
Pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps) are some of the least understood mammals in the ocean. They spend most of their lives far from shore, usually traveling in small groups and diving deep to hunt squid and fish. Because they are quiet, secretive, and rarely seen at the surface, scientists have…
Researchers at EMBL Hamburg, working with scientists at the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), have produced an unusually detailed map of how influenza A reshapes infected human cells. Their customized workflow allowed them to observe protein interactions directly inside intact cells rather than relying only on samples that…
A naturally occurring compound called spermidine may help strengthen vaccine responses in some older adults by reducing biological signs of immune system aging, according to research published in Aging Cell. The immune system becomes less efficient as people grow older, making it harder for the body to fight infections and…
When stars similar to the Sun grow old, they expand into red giants. During this phase, their outer layers churn and gradually drift into space, while the dense cores left behind shrink into white dwarfs. Because this is the fate of most stars, white dwarfs are among the most common…
A new theoretical study offers a possible way to address one of modern physics’ most difficult puzzles: how did the Universe produce galaxies, stars, planets, and life while continuing to follow the second law of thermodynamics? The research was led by Professor Ginestra Bianconi, a mathematician at Queen Mary University…
Researchers at Umeå University and collaborating institutions have developed an experimental cancer drug that may be able to slow tumor growth and prevent aggressive prostate cancer from spreading. Their findings were published in the scientific journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. “The new drug has been developed to prevent metastasis,…
An international research team led by Hiroshima University has developed a technique that can reveal extremely early changes in human skin collagen, long before the damage becomes visible under conventional imaging. The findings, published in ACS Nano on July 16, 2026, suggest that collagen begins losing its precise molecular organization…
Some long-necked dinosaurs may have been far more capable of standing upright than their enormous bodies suggest. About 66 million years ago, two South American sauropods could rise onto their hind legs and remain there for relatively long periods, especially when they were young. This ability may have helped them…
Scientists led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography are warning that oxygen is disappearing rapidly from oceans and freshwater systems, potentially pushing the planet into an “unsafe space.” Some of the resulting changes could persist for centuries and may not be reversible within human lifetimes. The new review…
Imagine a small fire breaking out in one corner of your kitchen. With the right extinguisher, you might be able to stop it quickly. Instead, the sprinkler system activates and floods the entire house, turning a contained problem into widespread damage. Researchers say something similar may happen in the brains…
Physicists have used an ordinary computer, advanced mathematics, and specialized software to solve a difficult quantum physics problem that had been described as beyond the reach of classical machines. The work was carried out by researchers at the Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute,…
Alzheimer’s disease and several other neurodegenerative disorders are linked to a damaging change in tau, a protein that normally helps support the internal structure of nerve cells. Under healthy conditions, tau stabilizes microtubules, the filament-like structures that help maintain neuronal shape and function. In disease, however, tau can twist into…
UCLA scientists have created a mineral sunscreen formula that leaves far less of the pale, chalky residue that often discourages people from using sun protection every day. Dermatologists have long recommended daily sunscreen use to reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Too much ultraviolet radiation is the leading preventable cause of…
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are testing two technologies designed to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a vast family of industrial chemicals known for resisting natural and conventional breakdown processes. The first approach uses hydrodynamic cavitation, which creates and collapses tiny vapor bubbles in contaminated water. The second…
