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People age differently. Some remain free of major diseases well into old age, while others develop serious health problems much earlier. Understanding why this happens is becoming increasingly important as populations grow older around the world. Although life expectancy has risen dramatically over the past 200 years, the number of…
A widely used sodium-ion battery developed by Chinese manufacturer Hina has achieved performance and manufacturing quality levels comparable to Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries, according to research published in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Physical Science. The findings suggest sodium-ion technology could become a lower-cost alternative for future electric vehicles and…
The lakes, streams and ponds you’ve visited for years are likely looking more brown than they used to. And people who are fishing those waters are likely catching different species and sizes of fish than in the past. Our research has identified a link between those two developments, which means…
Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a potential new approach for tackling Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Both conditions are associated with the buildup of harmful clumps formed by the proteins Tau and alpha synuclein in the brain. In a study published in Nature Communications, the researchers found that…
The research was supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging. oth physical and mental abilities. However, new research from Yale University paints a far more optimistic picture. The study found that many older adults actually improve over time, and their beliefs about aging may play an important role…
Leaf through a textbook, watch a wellness influencer or listen in at the gym, and it can feel as though the human body has already been mapped to exhaustion. Every muscle named, every nerve traced. Everything understood and readily available. Most people recognize at least a few anatomical terms –…
As the brain develops, newly formed neurons must travel through tightly packed tissue to reach their final destinations in the cerebral cortex, where they become part of the brain’s communication network. This journey forces the cells through narrow gaps between fibers and neighboring cells. A new study published in Nature…
A comprehensive new review led by UNSW Sydney has concluded that nicotine based e-cigarettes are likely to cause cancers of the lungs and oral cavity. Published in the journal Carcinogenesis, the study evaluated a broad range of international research and brought together experts from several institutions, including The University of…
Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney have demonstrated a new way to control tiny sources of quantum light by twisting atomically thin layers of hexagonal boron nitride. The advance provides scientists with a new method for tuning quantum emitters, which are microscopic light sources that could play an important…
Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences have identified compounds from the Cannabis sativa plant that may offer a new way to treat fibromyalgia and post-surgical pain. The findings, published in Pharmacological Reports, add to growing evidence that certain cannabis-derived molecules could help relieve chronic pain without causing the…
Cobalt is a critical ingredient in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, but new research suggests the global cobalt supply chain may be far more vulnerable than previously recognized. Rather than being limited to isolated shortages, disruptions in one country or production stage can spread through…
Most people imagine our early primate ancestors swinging through lush tropical forests. But recent research shows that they were braving the cold. As an ecologist who has studied chimpanzees and lemurs in the field in Uganda and Madagascar, I am fascinated by the environments that shaped our primate ancestors. These…
Tumor suppressor genes are often viewed as the body’s built-in defense system against cancer. They produce proteins that help maintain and repair DNA, reducing the chances that harmful mutations will accumulate. When these genes stop working properly or are present at low levels, cancer risk can rise. But new research…
The popularity of GLP-1 medications such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) has dramatically reshaped the way obesity is treated. However, specialists say these drugs are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing one of the most widespread chronic health conditions…
A study published in Nature suggests that thawing permafrost may have an unexpected effect on the carbon cycle. While melting frozen ground is widely known for releasing greenhouse gases, researchers found that it can also strengthen a natural process that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The research was…
Animals don’t just communicate with members of their own species. New research shows that communication also plays a crucial role in helping different species work together. In a review published in Animal Behaviour, an international team of researchers examined how animals use calls, body movements, visual displays, and other signals…
Adding foods like blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans, and cherries to your daily diet, especially when paired with green tea, could be a simple way to support heart health, according to new research. A large international study led by scientists from the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, the University…
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have tracked down the source of a powerful neutrino burst with the help of a remarkable cosmic phenomenon that acted like a natural telescope. What they discovered challenged expectations. Researchers initially suspected that a supermassive black hole was powering an extraordinarily bright…
Millions of people tackle Wordle every day, trying to uncover a hidden five-letter word in the New York Times’ wildly popular puzzle game. Now, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York, say they have developed a mathematical approach that can solve Wordle with a remarkable 99% success rate.…
Researchers in Spain and Switzerland have identified an experimental molecule that may help restore the brain’s natural defenses against Alzheimer’s disease. The compound, known as OLE, appears to “reprogram” microglia, the brain’s immune cells, allowing them to regain some of their protective abilities. The research was led by José Vicente…
One of the biggest unsolved problems in physics centers on a number known as the cosmological constant. This value describes the energy responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion. It also sits at the heart of a major conflict between two of science’s most successful theories. According to quantum field theory…
Researchers in Brazil have created a new biomaterial made from jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin (a statin-based medication) that could offer a more effective way to treat periodontitis, a serious form of gum disease. The team, from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical…
Many of the world’s most important crops have unusually complex genomes created through repeated rounds of whole-genome duplication and hybridization. These so-called polyploid genomes contain multiple sets of chromosomes inherited from different ancestral species. However, determining exactly how those genomes were assembled can be extremely difficult, especially when the original…
Astronomers may be getting closer to solving a long-standing mystery about the universe’s largest galaxies. Observations from the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, known as XRISM, are providing new evidence that supermassive black holes could be preventing these giant galaxies from forming as many stars as expected. According to current…
Imagine if one company could become the railroad, electric utility and cloud-computing provider of the emerging space economy. That potential fueled excitement around the long-anticipated initial public offering of SpaceX. Investors are not simply betting on rockets anymore. They are betting on an entire orbital ecosystem. Among the most ambitious…
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have proposed a new explanation for how Alzheimer’s disease may begin. Instead of being driven primarily by plaque buildup in the brain, the disease could start when one protein interferes with the normal function of another inside nerve cells. For years, Alzheimer’s research…
Earthquakes occur when stress that has accumulated in the Earth’s crust is suddenly released along fractures known as faults. These faults often form where massive tectonic plates move past one another but become stuck, allowing pressure to build for years or even centuries before a rupture occurs. In Southern California,…
Earthquakes occur when stress that has accumulated in the Earth’s crust is suddenly released along fractures known as faults. These faults often form where massive tectonic plates move past one another but become stuck, allowing pressure to build for years or even centuries before a rupture occurs. In Southern California,…
The Gila River is one of the Southwest’s most vital waterways, supplying water to communities, farms, and wildlife while connecting the snow-covered mountains of southwestern New Mexico with the desert landscapes of southwestern Arizona. In years with ample precipitation, winter snow that accumulates in the Mogollon Mountains and Black Range…
For many people, plague brings to mind rats, crowded medieval towns, and the devastating epidemics that spread across Europe during and after the Middle Ages. New research suggests the disease’s deadly history stretches back much further. A study published in Nature found that plague was already killing people 5,500 years…
