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When people picture DNA, they often imagine a set of genes that shape our physical traits, influence behavior, and help keep our cells and organs functioning. But genes make up only a small slice of our genetic code. Just around 2% of DNA contains our 20,000-odd genes. The other 98%…
Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) has completed its first-ever dual heart and liver transplant, marking a major milestone for the hospital. The complex procedure involved dozens of specialists working across 25 multidisciplinary care teams. Nationwide, only 38 pediatric patients have previously received both a heart and liver transplant. “Performing Children’s…
Strong social ties are often linked to better health, and new research adds a brain benefit to that list. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and University of Massachusetts Boston report that regularly helping people outside your household can noticeably slow cognitive decline in middle-age and older adults.…
Around 130 million years ago, the ocean’s most dominant hunters held far more power than any marine predator alive today. Recent research from McGill University reveals that during the Cretaceous period, some sea creatures sat at the very top of an extraordinarily complex food chain, surpassing modern standards of ecological…
People around the world are living longer than ever, and that shift is changing what many want from aging. The goal is no longer just more years, but more good years. That has put new attention on “healthspan,” the stretch of life when someone remains energetic, independent, and generally free…
About ten years ago, researchers began exploring a bold idea: using bioluminescent light to see what the brain is doing in real time. Instead of shining light onto brain tissue from the outside, they wondered whether neurons could be made to glow on their own. “We started thinking: ‘What if…
A new species of mouse opossum with an exceptionally long nose and tail, Marmosa chachapoya. Credit: © Pedro Peloso From biting fruit flies and a tiny long-nosed mouse opossum to a feathered dinosaur preserved with evidence of its final meal, scientists at the American Museum of Natural History identified more…
For decades, neuroscientists have taught that neurons do not regenerate once they are damaged or destroyed. This belief has shaped how brain injuries are understood and treated. Yet people often regain at least some lost abilities after trauma, raising an important question: if neurons do not grow back, how does…
A major new international study led by ETH Zurich has, for the first time, estimated how many of the world’s glaciers are expected to survive through the end of this century and how long each one is likely to last. The findings show a dramatic contrast between warming scenarios. If…
Touchdown airbursts are a form of cosmic impact that may happen more often than the well-known, crater-forming events linked to mass extinctions. Despite their potential for destruction, these explosive encounters remain poorly understood. UC Santa Barbara Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett and his colleagues argue that these powerful events…
Scientists at the University of Amsterdam have developed a new way to use gravitational waves from black holes to uncover the presence of dark matter and learn more about its behavior. Their approach relies on a detailed theoretical model grounded in Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This model carefully describes…
The universe has delivered a rare breakthrough for researchers chasing one of the hardest effects to catch in the night sky. In findings reported in Science Advances, scientists describe the first observations of a spiraling swirl in spacetime linked to a fast spinning black hole. First evidence of black hole…
Wildfires are not always purely destructive. In many forests, fire can clear out built up dead material, return nutrients to the soil, and help ecosystems reset. For more than 100 years, the United States has spent billions of dollars on fire suppression to protect people, homes, and sensitive environments. But…
Researchers led by Félix Viana, co-director of the Sensory Transduction and Nociception laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), have discovered that the body does not sense cold in a single, uniform way. Instead, the skin and internal organs rely on different molecular systems to detect drops in temperature. The…
A new study published on Dec. 16 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters reports that some firefighter protective gear contains brominated flame retardants, chemicals that may pose health risks to firefighters. The research is the first U.S. study to formally examine and document the use of brominated flame retardants in…
Over the past ten years, T cell immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most promising developments in cancer treatment. These therapies work by training a patient’s own immune system to detect and destroy dangerous cells. Despite their success, scientists have struggled to fully explain how these treatments function at…
After ten years of gathering and studying data, an international team of physicists that included researchers from Rutgers has overturned a long-standing idea about a mysterious type of particle. The results were published in Nature and come from the MicroBooNE experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator…
Scientists examining an ancient alabaster vase in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Babylonian Collection detected chemical traces of opiates. The Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP) says this is the strongest evidence so far that opium use was widespread in ancient Egyptian society. Andrew J. Koh, YAPP’s principal investigator and the study’s…
New data from the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future Panel Study shows that using substances to help with sleep is common among young adults. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that 22% of Americans ages 19 to 30 said they used cannabis, alcohol,…
A new study shows that artificial intelligence systems used to diagnose cancer from pathology slides do not perform equally for all patients, with accuracy varying across different demographic groups. Researchers pinpointed three key reasons behind this bias and created a new approach that significantly reduced these differences. The results emphasize…
New research suggests that a protein the body relies on to manage appetite and energy levels cannot function on its own. Instead, it depends on a partner protein to work properly. This discovery could help scientists better understand how genetic factors contribute to obesity. In a study published in Science…
Quantum satellites are best known for sending entangled particles of light from orbit down to ground stations, a method used to create extremely secure communication links. New research now shows that the process can also work in reverse, with quantum signals sent from Earth up to a satellite, an approach…
A global research team led by Rice University physicist Pengcheng Dai has verified the presence of emergent photons and fractionalized spin excitations in an unusual quantum spin liquid. Reported in Nature Physics, the work points to the crystal cerium zirconium oxide (Ce2Zr2O7) as a clean three-dimensional example of this exotic…
New research suggests that disrupted brain circuits in Down syndrome may be linked to a shortage of a specific molecule that the nervous system relies on to develop and work properly. The team says that bringing this molecule back, known as pleiotrophin, might help support brain function in Down syndrome…
When the New World screwworm last spread across the United States, it caused widespread damage to livestock and took decades to eliminate. That history is now driving a new effort by researchers at the University of California Riverside, who are working to stop the parasitic fly before it can reestablish…
Sweeteners such as aspartame, found in Equal packets, sucralose (Splenda), and sugar alcohols are widely promoted as healthier options than foods made with refined sugar (glucose). Many people turn to these alternatives hoping to reduce health risks linked to sugar. New scientific evidence is now calling that belief into question.…
Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have confirmed the first known death caused by the condition commonly referred to as the meat allergy, which is transmitted by ticks. The case involved a 47 year old man from New Jersey who was previously healthy and died suddenly about…
Growing seasonal concern about overlapping respiratory illnesses such as the common cold and influenza has increased interest in ways to support immune health. New clinical research now suggests that kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, can help strengthen immune cell function while keeping the immune system in balance. Scientists have…
Researchers at Northern Arizona University (NAU) are testing a new approach that could make it easier for clinicians to spot Alzheimer’s disease sooner and slow its progression. The project is led by Travis Gibbons, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Supported in part by a grant from…
About 70 light-years from Earth, a star known as Kappa Tucanae A has long puzzled astronomers. It is surrounded by dust heated to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, glowing intensely while orbiting extremely close to the star. Under such conditions, the dust should not survive. It should either evaporate or…
