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Simple practices such as mindfulness, gratitude journaling, and optimism training may improve several markers of cardiovascular health within a matter of weeks. A recent study found that these positive psychology interventions were consistently associated with improvements in blood pressure, inflammation, and other heart disease risk factors. Because some of the…
An international research team led by scientists in Canada has uncovered a likely explanation for one of the more unusual features of snake development: why embryos curl into tight spirals before hatching. This coiling behavior appears to help snakes accommodate the exceptionally long bodies that distinguish them from every other…
People who reach their 90s without dementia might appear to have escaped much of the danger of cognitive decline. Until recently, however, scientists had relatively little evidence showing what happens to dementia risk at such advanced ages. That gap is becoming increasingly important as lifespans rise around the world. By…
Computer models are helping scientists explain a puzzling pattern of deformation beneath the East African Rift System. The results point to the African Superplume, a vast upwelling of hot mantle material deep inside Earth, as the source of unusual motion that runs parallel to the rift as well as a…
A series of winter storms swept across northern Chile in August 2026, bringing an unusual covering of snow to parts of the Atacama Desert. Snowfall in this famously dry region is not unprecedented. Similar events occurred in 2025 and 2011. However, one of the August 2026 storms stood out for…
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is back to studying the universe with two of its three science instruments after plans to raise the spacecraft into a higher orbit were scaled back. The observatory’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope and X-ray Telescope were switched back on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Both instruments had been shut…
NASA and SpaceX have delayed the planned launch of Crew-13 to the International Space Station after engineers discovered an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of the mission’s Dragon spacecraft. The issue was found during routine spacecraft processing ahead of launch. An oxidizer is a chemical that helps fuel burn…
A once-nightly oral medication significantly improved obstructive sleep apnea in a large phase 3 clinical trial presented at the 2026 ATS International Conference. The drug, known as AD109, is designed to treat OSA by targeting the neuromuscular problems that contribute to airway collapse during sleep. The study, “Aroxybutynin and Atomoxetine…
Microglia are the brain’s most abundant immune cells. They help protect the brain from harmful invaders, clear away damaged neurons, and support normal brain development. Researchers at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute have now found for the first time that human microglia, much like human neurons, mature far more slowly than comparable…
Cancer cells can sometimes evade the immune system by surrounding themselves with a dense layer of sugar-derived molecules. This coating can act as a form of camouflage, making it harder for immune cells to recognize and destroy them. Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and collaborating institutions across…
Choosing the diet version of a favorite soda often means consuming non-nutritive sweeteners. These additives provide sweetness without the calories found in sugar. However, some health organizations have begun raising questions about their possible long-term effects, including whether they may disrupt energy metabolism and eventually contribute to a higher risk…
Scientists at the University at Buffalo have developed an injectable hydrogel designed to keep osteoarthritis treatments inside the joint for much longer than conventional injections. After a single minimally invasive injection, the material changes from a liquid into a smooth, lubricating semisolid depot at body temperature. Once in place, it…
A simple measurement around the waist could reveal important health risks that weight alone may miss, according to new research from Rutgers Health. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that measuring waist circumference, either by itself or together with body mass index (BMI), was about as effective as…
Uncovering this hidden structure could eventually allow researchers to design superconducting materials and devices with greater control and precision. As scientists pursue quantum computers, ultra-efficient electronics, and other advanced technologies, a detailed understanding of how electrons behave inside superconductors will become increasingly important. ng-standing puzzle about their behavior and offers…
Future quantum computers may depend on the ability to connect widely separated modules through distributed entanglement. Until now, creating this kind of connection has generally required active control and repeated measurements. Physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now demonstrated a fully autonomous alternative based on…
A long-standing picture of brain evolution as newer, rational layers stacked on top of an ancient “lizard brain” may be deeply misleading. Researchers found that evolution instead appears to balance two competing styles of brain wiring, expanding one while shrinking the other depending on what an animal needs to survive.…
New research suggests that whatever scientists ultimately discover about the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, one characteristic may be difficult to dispute: it was probably capable of climbing trees. Humans and chimpanzees went their separate evolutionary ways between 6 and 7 million years ago, when they diverged from…
Excessive alcohol use can interfere with one of the liver’s most remarkable abilities: repairing and rebuilding itself after injury. New research suggests that alcohol related damage can leave liver cells trapped in an abnormal middle state, unable to function normally or complete the regeneration process, even after a person stops…
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has begun a three-month journey covering roughly one million miles as it travels toward its final orbit. The observatory lifted off at 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once…
The ingredients needed to build rocky planets may have appeared as early as 100 million years after the Big Bang, according to new research from the University of Portsmouth. That would place the beginnings of planet formation remarkably close to the dawn of the Universe, even before the first galaxies…
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have discovered that ultrathin, highly flexible diamond membranes can produce a measurable piezoelectric response, challenging a scientific assumption that has stood for more than a century. The work was led by Professor Zhiqin Chu, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and…
A remarkable set of fossil footprints from northern Kenya is offering scientists a rare glimpse of how an extinct human relative may have moved and interacted about 1.4 million years ago. The tracks, preserved near an ancient lakeshore, appear to record eight Paranthropus boisei individuals occupying the same place at…
Physics allows for black holes far smaller than the enormous objects typically found at the centers of galaxies or created when massive stars collapse. Under the right conditions, microscopic black holes could also form when spacetime enters an unusual critical state and organizes into a repeating, crystal-like pattern. Researchers from…
A combination of omega-3 and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) performed about as well as antibiotics in a yearlong study of people with severe periodontitis, raising the possibility of an alternative treatment for some patients. The research was conducted by scientists affiliated with Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, Guarulhos University (UNG), the…
Scientists used a new error correction strategy to encode 70 logical qubits and tackle a problem considered classically intractable. The quantum computation was completed in about 15 minutes, while leading classical computing methods would require an impractical amount of time to perform the same task. IBM and researchers at the…
Using an in-home HEPA purifier for one month spurs a small but significant improvement in brain function in adults age 40 and older. That’s the result of a new study we co-authored in the journal Scientific Reports. HEPA purifiers – HEPA stands for high efficiency particulate air – remove particulate…
Glacial earthquakes are a special type of earthquake generated in cold, icy regions. First discovered in the northern hemisphere more than 20 years ago, these quakes occur when huge chunks of ice fall from glaciers into the sea. Until now, only a very few have been found in the Antarctic.…
Researchers have uncovered a major temperature imbalance deep inside Mars, with the planet’s southern interior appearing significantly hotter than its northern half. Gravity measurements suggest that the interior beneath Mars’s southern hemisphere is about 200 to 400 degrees Celsius warmer than the north and may be partially molten. The finding…
Nanocrystals have become an important part of modern materials science, with quantum dots helping inspire the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Yet despite their enormous potential, researchers have only been able to produce these microscopic crystals from a relatively narrow range of materials. Now, chemists at the University of Chicago…
An international research team has identified seven previously undescribed species of Madagascar’s elusive diamond frogs (Rhombophryne), adding new evidence that this unusual amphibian group is far more diverse than scientists once realized. Accurately identifying species and understanding where they live are essential for measuring biodiversity and protecting it. To sort…