The tea in your kombucha changes more than just the taste

Kombucha has surged in popularity worldwide in recent years, becoming one of the most widely consumed fermented drinks. While many people choose it for its distinctive flavor, researchers are taking a closer look at what is happening inside the beverage during fermentation and how its ingredients may influence its properties.…

A rare interstellar visitor triggered a SETI search for alien technology

Scientists with the SETI Institute have completed a search for possible technological signals coming from 3I/ATLAS, the third known interstellar object to pass through our Solar System. Using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at Northern California’s Hat Creek Radio Observatory, researchers examined a broad range of radio frequencies for evidence…

Scientists finally solved how H5N1 bird flu hid in dairy cows

When H5N1 bird flu began infecting U.S. dairy cattle in early 2024, veterinarians struggled to identify the cause. The virus was difficult to recognize because it behaved very differently in cows than it does in other mammals. Rather than primarily infecting the lungs, H5N1 caused severe infections in the udders…

Hidden bird species discovered in Japan after DNA reveals a stunning secret

Scientists have identified a previously unrecognized bird species in Japan after genetic research revealed that what was thought to be a single species is actually two. The discovery involves the Ijima’s Leaf Warbler, a rare migratory bird found only on two island groups in Japan. While new bird species are…

This four-winged dinosaur may have terrorized Earth's earliest birds

A remarkable fossil site in northwestern China has yielded hundreds of prehistoric bird remains, including clusters of shattered bones compressed into pellet-like masses resembling those produced by modern owls. For years, paleontologists suspected that a larger predator was responsible for hunting these birds, but no direct evidence of such an…

A tiny diamond defect could reveal a mysterious new kind of magnetism

For decades, scientists recognized only two major types of magnets. One is the familiar ferromagnet, the kind found in refrigerator magnets and countless everyday devices. The other is the antiferromagnet, whose magnetic properties are hidden at the atomic level but have attracted growing interest because of their potential use in…

New brain study reveals speech learning works differently than we thought

Learning a new language or recovering the ability to speak may rely less on the brain’s movement centers than scientists once believed. New research suggests that regions involved in processing sound and physical sensations play a much larger role in speech learning and memory. The study, conducted by researchers at…

One of the world’s most popular weedkillers may be fueling deadly superbugs

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) contributes to an estimated 1.1 million to 1.4 million deaths worldwide each year. While this growing threat is typically linked to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, new research suggests another factor may also be playing a role: certain weedkillers. Scientists have found evidence that glyphosate, one…

Scientists open a million-year-old time capsule hidden beneath New Zealand

A remarkable fossil discovery inside a cave near Waitomo on New Zealand’s North Island is giving scientists an unprecedented look at a long vanished ecosystem. Researchers from Australia and New Zealand have uncovered the remains of ancient birds and frogs that lived around 1 million years ago, including a previously…

Meteorite reveals a lost moon-sized world from the dawn of the solar system

More than 4.5 billion years ago, a huge world, potentially as large as the moon or even Mars, traveled around the young Sun before a violent collision shattered it into pieces. Scientists now say they have found the first direct evidence that this long-lost planetary embryo, known as a protoplanet,…

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab is creating one of the weirdest forms of matter in space

NASA’s upgraded Cold Atom Lab is back in operation aboard the International Space Station, giving researchers a powerful new way to investigate the fundamental nature of matter and advance the development of future quantum technologies. Taking advantage of the station’s microgravity environment, the facility enables experiments that cannot be performed…

This emerging treatment is helping people avoid knee replacement surgery

A minimally invasive procedure for chronic knee pain is helping some patients find significant relief without undergoing major surgery. For Cynthia Schraf-Fletcher, 74, the results were “remarkably” successful. Nearly a year after receiving genicular artery embolization (GAE) on her right knee, Schraf-Fletcher says the improvement is comparable to the total…

Scientists say most people need more protein than current guidelines suggest

A new paper published in Frontiers in Nutrition argues that current public health recommendations for exercise and protein intake are largely aimed at preventing deficiency, not helping people achieve the best possible long-term health, independence, and quality of life. The paper tackles several fundamental questions: How much protein do people…

More trees can mean fewer birds, new study reveals

Trees planted along farmland to shield crops from strong winds are often viewed as a simple way to support biodiversity. But new research suggests the picture is more complicated, especially in agricultural wetlands where many bird species depend on open landscapes. A team of researchers studying farmland wetlands on the…

Future astronauts could walk across rocks from deep inside the Moon

Scientists have gained new insight into the dramatic event that created the Moon’s largest and oldest known impact crater, a discovery that could help future Artemis astronauts investigate some of the Moon’s deepest secrets. The findings come from two companion studies led in part by researchers from the Center for…

A common vitamin could help fight one of the deadliest brain cancers

For months, Edward (Ed) Waldner knew something wasn’t right. At 55 years old, he felt constantly drained, no matter how much or how little he had done during the day. He wondered whether sleep apnea might be to blame. He also noticed subtle changes in the way he walked, including…

Butterfly that barely ages could help unlock longevity secrets

A group of tropical butterflies may have evolved an extraordinary way to stay healthy for longer by slowing the aging process itself, according to a University of Bristol-led study published June 16 in Nature Communications. The butterflies belong to the Heliconius tribe, a group found across the rainforests of Central…

Ebola and hantavirus can start like the flu but turn deadly fast

Ebola virus disease and hantavirus have attracted renewed attention in recent weeks because of the serious risks they pose to public health. Although they are very different diseases, both can begin with similar symptoms and require strict infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures to limit the risk of transmission. Recent…

T. rex took 40 years to reach full size, scientists find

For years, scientists believed Tyrannosaurus rex reached its adult size at around age 25. But a major new study suggests the iconic predator may have taken much longer to mature. According to the research, T. rex likely continued growing for about 40 years before reaching its maximum size of roughly…

One common fat may fuel type 2 diabetes while another helps fight it

Researchers are taking a closer look at how different types of dietary fat may influence the risk of type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects millions of people worldwide and is linked to serious health complications and premature death. A new review published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism (Cell…

Long-lived families reveal a rare genetic clue to healthy aging

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…

Chinese sodium battery surprised scientists by matching key Tesla benchmarks

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…

As lakes turn brown, trout and bass decline while pike and walleye thrive

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…

Yale study finds nearly half of older adults improved with age

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…

Think human anatomy is finished? Scientists say think again

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 –…

Scientists discover neurons must break their DNA to build the brain

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…

Major review finds vaping likely causes lung and oral cancer

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…

This simple twist could bring quantum computers closer to reality

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…

Scientists found a cannabis compound that relieves pain without the high

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…