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NASA’s Curiosity rover has encountered an extraordinary landscape while climbing through a Martian valley nicknamed “Valle Grande.” Images sent back by the rover show the ground covered with honeycomb-like patterns known as polygonal fractures, each measuring about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 centimeters) across. Curiosity has seen small…
An international research team has found that primordial black holes may trigger white dwarf stars to explode as Type Ia supernovae. These unusual explosions could also help explain a chemical abundance pattern observed among stars in the Milky Way, according to a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal. Primordial…
For much of evolutionary history, many animals reproduced and then left their offspring to survive alone. A study published in Nature now offers a possible explanation for how caregiving emerged from those distant, nonparental beginnings. By studying clonal raider ants, researchers found that evolution may not have created entirely new…
Tiny aerosol particles may be able to strengthen tropical convective clouds, but scientists have debated the idea for decades. Aerosols influence the formation and growth of cloud droplets, which can affect condensation and the release of latent heat. One proposed process, called condensational aerosol convective invigoration, depends on clouds developing…
Eating one avocado each day may modestly reduce heart disease risk in adults with obesity, according to new research led by scientists in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. The researchers found that daily avocado consumption was linked to…
Millions of people take statins to lower cholesterol and reduce their chances of having a heart attack or stroke. For some patients, however, the medications can cause muscle pain, weakness, and difficulty exercising, making it harder to stay on treatment. Researchers at McMaster University have now identified a biological pathway…
Sodium ion batteries could offer a more sustainable way to store large amounts of energy, and new research suggests they may eventually serve another valuable purpose: helping remove salt from seawater. Scientists at the University of Surrey have found that a sodium-based battery material performs much better when its natural…
Scientists have identified a heat-driven process inside magma that could help explain why volcanoes with similar characteristics sometimes erupt in very different ways. An international research team led by The University of Manchester analyzed magma from the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma, Spain. The scientists found that “superheating,” which…
Long-term tracking of chronic blood cancers has revealed major genetic differences between patients whose conditions remain stable and those whose diseases eventually become more severe. The findings suggest that DNA changes may help doctors improve diagnoses, monitor patients more accurately, assess how treatments are working, and identify signs of progression…
Two previously unknown human relatives left traces of their DNA in people alive today, adding another layer to the genetic legacy already inherited from Neanderthals and Denisovans. The discovery reinforces a growing view of human evolution as a long history of encounters and interbreeding among many related hominin populations. Earlier…
A new report suggests that high blood pressure may be managed more effectively by combining two dietary changes: consuming less sodium and getting more potassium. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects more than 1.28 billion adults around the world. It is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular…
Plastic is found throughout modern life, from water bottles and shopping bags to vehicle dashboards. Once these products are thrown away, however, they become extremely difficult to recycle. Conventional recycling often requires workers or machines to separate plastics by type, adding expense and complexity to the process. These challenges help…
New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) suggests that sleep habits and genetics may interact to influence subtle brain and cognitive changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease years before noticeable symptoms develop. The study, conducted by ECU’s Centre for Precision Health (CPH), examined the aquaporin-4 (AQP4) gene. This gene helps control…
New findings challenge a 42-year-old theory about why children’s body mass index (BMI) declines after infancy and then begins climbing steadily from about age 6. The pattern has long been described as the “adiposity rebound,” based on the idea that body fat first decreases and then returns. However, the new…
An international research team has experimentally produced the first all-optical photonic time crystal (PTC), a material designed to change its optical behavior rapidly and repeatedly over time. The researchers came from École Polytechnique, Collège de France, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR). Reported in Nature, the achievement was made possible by HZDR’s…
Astronomers led by the University of Warwick have uncovered what they describe as a kind of cosmic digestive system around a black hole. Their observations show that even when a black hole appears faint, it may still be actively expelling large amounts of matter rather than simply swallowing everything nearby.…
A new machine-learning approach that examines brain activity during sleep may help identify people with an elevated risk of developing dementia. The research was led by scientists at UC San Francisco and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The system estimates a person’s “brain age” by analyzing electrical signals…
Researchers led by scientists at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, have identified the source of a puzzling abundance of low-energy gamma rays released by the zinc-70 nucleus. Their results show that magnetic transitions occurring inside the nucleus produce the unexpected signal. The findings, published in Nature in…
Does the brain create consciousness, or is consciousness a more basic feature of reality? Christof Koch, one of the world’s most prominent neuroscientists, explored this question during the 15th “Behind and Beyond the Brain” Symposium. The mystery reaches far beyond understanding how neurons process information. Scientists can observe which parts…
New research suggests that Mohenjo-daro followed a very different path from many other early cities. As the 4,000-year-old urban center became larger, more productive, and more successful, its society appears to have grown more equal rather than less. Historians have often argued that inequality increased when small farming settlements developed…
A naturally occurring compound found in rice bran may influence how strongly the intestines contract, according to new research from Toho University. The study, led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, found that ferulic acid (FA) can reduce intestinal…
The Galápagos Islands have long been one of the most important places in the study of evolution. When Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835 aboard the HMS Beagle, he collected a variety of birds and returned with them to England. At first, he believed the specimens included sparrows, woodpeckers,…
About 210 million years ago, two early relatives of modern crocodiles stood near each other among the low ferns of a humid riverbank in what is now northern New Mexico. Each animal was roughly the size of a jackal, but their bodies suggest they were adapted to hunt in different…
Astronomers looking for evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth may have overlooked promising signals simply because they have concentrated on a relatively narrow portion of the radio spectrum. Most radio SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) projects have targeted frequencies between 1.42 and 1.66 GHz. This region is often called the…
Scientists have observed how energy moves through a molecule immediately after it absorbs light, revealing that individual atoms can record very different parts of the transformation. Using rapid X-ray flashes produced at the European XFEL, the researchers followed changes at specific atoms as the molecule released and redistributed the absorbed…
University of Michigan scientists have used artificial intelligence to uncover a striking pattern in the evolution of Passeriformes, the vast bird group that includes most songbirds. Their analysis suggests these birds did not evolve at a steady pace. Instead, major changes often arrived in rapid bursts that lined up with…
Maintaining the ability to handle everyday tasks without severe or limiting symptoms is an important part of quality of life in older age. New research suggests that taking a daily multivitamin may help support that independence. After 3 years, adults who received a daily multivitamin had significantly better functional health…
Untreated cavities send thousands of young children in the United States to emergency departments each year. Because hospital doctors usually cannot repair the underlying dental problem, some children continue to suffer from pain and infection, while others eventually need surgery under general anesthesia. A low-cost liquid known as silver diamine…
The taste of a madeleine famously sent French writer Marcel Proust back into vivid memories of childhood. New research suggests that this kind of recollection may involve more than the brain alone. Signals from the digestive system may also help determine which food-related experiences become memories. The study, led by…
You may be spotting bodies of dead bumblebees lying across pavements near you in the summer months. There are several reasons for this, some to do with the weather and some very much due to humans. Bumblebees are social, living in colonies that are maintained by very active workers with…
