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The brain has its own built in immune defenses that help detect threats and protect nerve cells. But growing evidence suggests that in Alzheimer’s disease, these immune cells become stuck in a state of chronic activation. Instead of helping, they trigger ongoing inflammation that can damage the connections between brain…
Cancer becomes more common with age and is often harder to treat in older adults. Yet most cancer studies in mice do not reflect that reality. Fewer than 10% of mouse experiments use aged animals, with researchers typically relying on mice that roughly correspond to humans in their early 20s.…
Humans often organize their relationships into layers, spending the most time with a small group of close friends and family while maintaining weaker connections with a larger number of acquaintances. A new international study suggests that this pattern is not unique to people. Researchers from Utrecht University and Universidad Carlos…
According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people still do not have access to safely managed drinking water. To help meet growing demand, many regions, from California to parts of the Middle East, rely on desalination plants that convert seawater into fresh water. Traditional desalination methods such as reverse osmosis…
Detecting light and radiation is essential across the electromagnetic spectrum, but some regions remain especially challenging. One of those is the terahertz (THz) range, which sits between microwaves and infrared light. Existing detectors for these frequencies are often slow, lack sensitivity, or depend on large, costly equipment that frequently requires…
Scientists have uncovered evidence that tiny microbes living inside fish may be helping drive important processes that affect the world’s oceans. The research, led by former University of Miami graduate student Anthony Bonacolta, suggests that gut bacteria and marine fish work together to produce calcium carbonate, a mineral that plays…
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…
