Category: Global News

For decades, scientists believed the Japanese population largely descended from two ancient groups: the Jomon hunter-gatherers who lived in the archipelago for thousands of years, and later migrants from East Asia who brought rice farming and new technologies to Japan. But a major genetic analysis from researchers at RIKEN’s Center…

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that Earth is traveling through a cloud of ancient stellar debris left behind by a long ago exploding star. By studying Antarctic ice that formed tens of thousands of years ago, researchers detected traces of iron-60, a rare radioactive form of iron created during supernova…

Macquarie Island sits in one of the most remote parts of the world, halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica. The narrow, windswept island is packed with wildlife. Elephant seals crowd its beaches, king penguins climb its green slopes, and albatrosses glide above the open landscape. But scientists say the island is…

Researchers at UC Davis have developed a light driven technique that converts amino acids, the molecules that make up proteins, into compounds that behave similarly to psychedelics in the brain. These newly created molecules activate serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, which are associated with brain cell growth and are considered promising targets…

Scientists say your daily coffee habit may do more than give you an energy boost. New research suggests that drinking a moderate amount of caffeinated coffee or tea could help lower the risk of dementia as people age. However, the benefits appear to level off after a certain point, meaning…

Reinforced rubber is one of the most important materials in modern life. It helps car and airplane tires withstand enormous stress, keeps industrial machinery running, and appears in everything from medical devices to garden hoses. Despite being used for nearly a century and supporting a global tire industry worth about…

Researchers say the famous comet known as Halley’s Comet may have been identified as a repeating object centuries before British astronomer Edmond Halley gave it his name. According to new research involving Professor Simon Portegies Zwart, an English monk named Eilmer of Malmesbury appears to have recognized that the same…

People moved back into the British Isles around 15,200 years ago after the last major ice sheet began retreating, according to new research. That timeline is nearly 500 years earlier than earlier estimates suggested. The return of humans appears to have happened alongside a sharp increase in summer temperatures in…

Quantum entanglement is one of the strangest features of the quantum world. It describes a situation in which particles such as photons are so deeply linked that their properties cannot be fully understood one by one. Instead, the system has to be treated as a whole. That idea sharply conflicts…

Quantum computers and other advanced quantum technologies rely on specialized quantum materials that behave in unusual ways under the right conditions. In some cases, scientists can even create entirely new quantum properties by carefully changing a material’s structure. One striking example involves stacking sheets of graphene and twisting them into…

Scientists have identified surprisingly high levels of a little-known silicone pollutant in the atmosphere, raising new questions about possible risks to human health and the climate. The chemicals, known as methylsiloxanes, are commonly used in cosmetics, industrial products, transportation, and household items. Researchers found these compounds across a wide range…

Cacti are famous for growing slowly, but scientists have discovered that these desert plants are actually evolving at an impressive pace. New research shows that cacti are remarkably quick at forming entirely new species, revealing that deserts are far more dynamic than they may seem. For decades, biologists believed that…

The way people speak during ordinary conversations could offer valuable insight into brain health, according to new research from Baycrest, the University of Toronto, and York University. Scientists found that subtle speech characteristics, including pauses, filler words such as (‘uh,’ ‘um’), and difficulty retrieving words, are closely connected to executive…

Researchers at UBC Okanagan have uncovered the process plants use to create mitraphylline, a rare natural compound that has attracted attention for its possible cancer fighting properties. Mitraphylline belongs to a unique class of plant chemicals known as spirooxindole alkaloids. These molecules are recognized for their unusual twisted ring structures…

Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have uncovered a crucial step that enteroviruses use to reproduce inside human cells. The findings, published in Nature Communications, explain how viruses responsible for illnesses such as polio, encephalitis, myocarditis, and even the common cold take control of cellular machinery to…

Scientists have identified a new weakness in harmful “zombie-like” cells that could open the door to better cancer treatments and therapies for age-related diseases. These cells, known as senescent cells, survive in a fragile state by producing large amounts of a protective protein that keeps them from dying. Researchers at…

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have successfully reversed aging in blood-forming stem cells in mice by repairing defects in structures known as lysosomes. The findings, published in Cell Stem Cell, point to lysosomal dysfunction and overactivity as major causes of stem cell aging and show…

Older adults who cut back on dietary fat or reduced the amount of animal-based protein they consumed showed signs of becoming biologically younger, according to new research from the University of Sydney. The study, published in Aging Cell, found that adults between the ages of 65 and 75 experienced reductions…

Scientists have uncovered a molecular “switch” in mice that turns on a hidden energy-burning system inside brown fat, a discovery that could eventually help researchers develop new treatments for bone disease. The findings, published in Nature, provide new insight into how brown fat works. Unlike white fat, which stores energy,…

Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing a new way to remove tiny plastic pollutants from water using specially engineered algae. Susie Dai, a researcher at Mizzou, recently created a modified strain of algae designed to capture harmful microplastics from contaminated water. Her long term goal is not only…

Long necks, enormous bodies, tiny heads, and sweeping tails have made sauropods some of the most recognizable dinosaurs ever discovered. These plant eating giants included the largest land animals in Earth’s history, with some species reaching lengths of nearly 130 feet (40 meters). Famous examples include Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. Now,…

Scientists studying ancient microfossils from Brazil have discovered that structures once believed to be traces left behind by tiny animals were actually formed by communities of microscopic bacteria and algae. The findings challenge previous ideas about when small animals first appeared on Earth and suggest oxygen levels in ancient oceans…

For decades, scientists searching for life beyond Earth have focused on one central challenge: identifying the right molecules to look for on distant planets and moons. But new research published in Nature Astronomy suggests the answer may lie not in the molecules themselves, but in the hidden patterns that connect…

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured the most detailed visible light images ever taken of the largest known protoplanetary disk surrounding a young star. The enormous structure appears far more chaotic and turbulent than astronomers expected, with huge wisps of gas and dust extending high above and below the disk.…

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have created the most detailed map ever made of the cosmic web, the enormous structure that connects galaxies throughout the universe. Led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, the team traced this vast network back to a time when the…

Getting enough exercise is important for healthy aging, but new research suggests muscle strength may play an equally critical role. A large study led by researchers at the University at Buffalo found that older women with greater strength had a significantly lower risk of death, even after accounting for physical…

Seventy four thousand years ago, Earth experienced one of the most powerful volcanic disasters in the past 2.5 million years. The Toba supereruption, centered in what is now Indonesia, unleashed devastation on a staggering scale. The eruption was so enormous that scientists believe its effects reached nearly every corner of…

Physicists have demonstrated that even tiny chunks of metal can behave according to the strange rules of quantum mechanics, existing in states that spread across multiple locations at once. In a new study published in Nature, researchers from the University of Vienna and the University of Duisburg-Essen showed that metallic…

A growing body of research is pointing to fructose as more than just a source of extra calories. A new report published in Nature Metabolism highlights the sugar’s unique role in metabolic disease and suggests its effects on the body may be more harmful than previously understood. The researchers reviewed…

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is preparing for a close encounter with Mars that will help send it deeper into the solar system on its way to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. On Friday, May 15, the spacecraft will pass just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) above the Martian surface while traveling about 12,333…