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A very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet may provide stronger metabolic benefits for people with obesity than either a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet, according to a clinical trial published August 27 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism. After four to five months on a ketogenic (or “Keto”) diet, about…
Dogs and humans may share some of the same biological patterns tied to lifespan, according to new research from the Dog Aging Project. The finding could give scientists a useful new way to investigate how aging works in both species. In a study recently published in The Journals of Gerontology,…
Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang “Greg” Liu and his research team have developed a method for transforming polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into polyalphaolefin, an important ingredient used in lubricants including engine oil. Published Aug. 5 in Nature, the work could offer a way to address two separate environmental problems…
An international team of astrophysicists says the universe is still expanding at an accelerating rate, rejecting recent claims that cosmic expansion may have begun to slow. The researchers challenged a study published last year claiming the growth of the universe is slowing. They argue that the standard interpretation remains intact:…
Long-term use of melatonin, a widely used sleep supplement, was linked to a higher risk of heart failure, hospitalization for heart failure, and death from any cause among people with chronic insomnia, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025. The findings do not prove…
Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have identified a potentially important source of low-emission energy beneath Western Australia, where vast iron-rich formations may be capable of generating naturally occurring hydrogen. The findings suggest that the region’s geology could eventually support a new domestic energy source and, if developed at scale,…
Could subtle changes during sleep reveal vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease years before memory problems become noticeable? Researchers at ULiège, supported by the Stop Alzheimer’s Foundation, are investigating whether the sleeping brain may contain early clues. Scientists from the University of Liège (GIGA Neurosciences) examined sleep patterns in more than 500…
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a molecular mechanism that appears to restrict the ability of injured neurons to regrow damaged axons. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest that blocking a protein known as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) could promote nerve…
Photoreceptor degeneration is behind several major causes of blindness, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Together, these disorders affect about 200 million people worldwide and rank among the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness. Beyond the profound effects on independence and quality of life, vision loss…
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now just two days from launch, marking the arrival of the agency’s next flagship astrophysics mission after the James Webb Space Telescope. University of Arizona faculty and students will be watching from Cape Canaveral as Roman begins its journey toward science operations, which…
Walking through the savanna-woodland landscape of Boé National Park, Guinea-Bissau, you might encounter a tree covered in gnarled scars, with an accumulation of rocks surrounding its base. The chimpanzees may have left the area, but you are lucky nonetheless, because you have stumbled upon evidence of a rare — and…
Vanillin, a flavoring chemical commonly used in e-cigarettes, may interfere with normal embryonic development in pregnant women who vape, according to research led by UC Riverside. The findings, published on August 12 in Human Reproduction, offer a possible explanation for previously observed links between vaping, difficulty becoming pregnant, and miscarriage.…
Students who attended public school pre-K went on to perform better academically through high school than children who received family-based childcare, according to new research from Florida International University. The findings come from one of the largest long-term studies of early childhood education outcomes. Led by George Mason University and…
A large survey of plant-based foods and beverages sold in the UK has found that mycotoxins, toxic compounds naturally produced by fungi, are widespread across vegetarian and vegan products. Researchers analyzed 212 plant-based meat alternatives (PMBAs) and plant-based beverages (PBBs) purchased from UK stores. Every product tested contained at least…
For millennia, people have transformed landscapes, forcing wildlife to adjust to cities, farms, roads, and other human activity. But new research suggests animals are responding not only to the environments we build, but also to the simple fact that people are physically nearby. Researchers from UC Santa Barbara, the Smithsonian’s…
Soil supports the food we eat, stores water, carbon and nutrients, and provides habitat for an enormous share of life on Earth. Scientists estimate that more than half of global biodiversity exists below the surface. But soil biodiversity is declining around the world, threatening agriculture, food security and the ability…
Rock glaciers look very different from conventional glaciers. Instead of exposed ice, they resemble sprawling fields of loose rock, while potentially concealing large quantities of ice below the surface. These formations are widespread across Utah’s Wasatch and Uinta ranges and can also be found on the Colorado Plateau in the…
Washington State University researchers have used artificial intelligence to identify a faster and less costly way to 3D print a high-performance metal alloy, avoiding the need to manually test more than 100 million possible printing configurations. The advance could eventually make the alloy, which is widely used in aerospace applications…
Astronomers now have their strongest evidence yet that Betelgeuse, one of the best-known stars in the night sky, has a stellar companion. A team led by French astronomer Miguel Montargès used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) to capture the clearest image so far of what is…
As the global population grows and climate change places increasing pressure on food systems, researchers and policymakers are looking more closely at alternative sources of nutrition. Insects are one possible option. A total of 1,611 insect species are classified as edible, and organizations including the Food and Agriculture Organization of…
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) now supply nearly 60% of the calories consumed by adults in the United States and about 70% of those consumed by children. These industrially produced foods include soft drinks, packaged cereals, snacks, and processed meats. They are typically made with refined fats, oils, sugars, starches, salts, and…
From the first hint of cold winter mornings, supermarkets and pharmacies begin heavy marketing to coax us to stock up on vitamin C to get through the cold and flu season. But where did that idea come from? As we’ll see, it’s a story including a Nobel Prize winner, a…
A faint background of extremely low frequency gravitational waves detected through networks of pulsars could contain clues to events that unfolded more than 13 billion years ago, including the emergence of some of the Universe’s earliest supermassive black holes. In a study published as a Letter in Physical Review D,…
A recently proposed form of magnetism known as altermagnetism could eventually help researchers make computer memory smaller, faster, and more efficient. Now, scientists have found evidence that ruthenium dioxide, a quantum material previously considered nonmagnetic in its bulk form, may display this unusual magnetic behavior when prepared as an ultrathin…
The rise of complex ecosystems on land was one of the major turning points in the history of life. As organisms expanded beyond the oceans, terrestrial environments became home to increasingly diverse communities. Insects, which today make up the most species-rich animal group on Earth, eventually became central to these…
Glioblastoma is considered the most aggressive type of brain cancer. One reason it is so difficult to treat is that cancer cells spread into nearby brain tissue. That makes complete surgical removal extremely challenging because surgeons must avoid damaging healthy areas of the brain. The blood-brain barrier creates another obstacle…
Deep inside the brain, a small group of nerve cells helps control how strongly pain signals are felt. Under normal conditions, this system can suppress pain traveling through the spinal cord. After nerve damage, however, the same circuitry can become overactive and help sustain chronic pain. Researchers at Washington University…
Nearly 90 years ago, Werner Heisenberg predicted a strange quantum effect known as vacuum birefringence, in which seemingly empty space can change the way light behaves. According to the idea, even a perfect vacuum is not truly empty. Instead, it should contain “virtual particles” that briefly appear and disappear. Despite…
NASA’s Starling mission has reached another milestone in autonomous spaceflight by demonstrating a system that can determine a satellite’s orbital position using other objects in space as reference points rather than depending on an external navigation network. The technology, called FALCON (Fast Autonomous Lost-in-space Catalog-based Optical Navigation), is designed to…
Reducing calorie intake has extended lifespan in animals including mice, rhesus monkeys, and fruit flies. In some studies, the animals also remained healthier for longer. But severe calorie restriction can come with serious costs. Mice placed on a diet with 40% fewer calories, for instance, become more vulnerable to infections,…