Sleepless nights may raise dementia risk by 40%, Mayo Clinic reveals

Chronic insomnia — trouble sleeping at least three days a week for three months or more — could speed up brain aging. People with chronic insomnia were 40% more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive issues than people without insomnia. Insomnia with perceived reduced sleep was associated with lower…

AI can now predict who will go blind, years before doctors can

Researchers have successfully used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict which patients need treatment to stabilise their corneas and preserve their eyesight, in a study presented today (Sunday) at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS). [1] The research focused on people with keratoconus, a…

Most quit breakthrough weight-loss drug within a year

The new class of anti-obesity drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), is proving remarkably effective at helping individuals lose weight. However, a new population-wide study being presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept) finds that half of adults…

No one knows what these strange larvae grow into

When you think of barnacles, you likely picture shell-like creatures stuck to the sides of boats or docks, or even whales. However, did you know that some of the barnacles that attach to other animals are not just hitching a ride — they actually hijack their host? “Instead of gluing…

Scientists just found out forever chemicals are shockingly acidic

One of the ways that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) earn their “forever chemical” nickname and persist in the environment is their acidity. Many of these toxic chemicals are highly acidic, meaning they easily give up their protons and become negatively charged. This allows them to dissolve and spread in…

Scientists just discovered how octopuses really use their arms

Octopuses are among the most neurologically complex invertebrates, famed for their extraordinary dexterity. Their eight arms allow them to capture hidden prey, communicate, explore, and even mate across varied habitats. Although octopus arms rank among some of the most flexible structures in nature, their full range of movement has rarely…

Surprising giant DNA discovery may be linked to gum disease and cancer

Researchers including those at the University of Tokyo have made a surprising discovery hiding in people’s mouths: Inocles, giant DNA elements that had previously escaped detection. These appear to play a central role in helping bacteria adapt to the constantly changing environment of the mouth. The findings provide fresh insight…

Johns Hopkins breakthrough could make microchips smaller than ever

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered new materials and a new process that could advance the ever-escalating quest to make smaller, faster and affordable microchips used across modern electronics — in everything from cellphones to cars, appliances to airplanes. The team of scientists has discovered how to create circuits that are…

Electrons that act like photons reveal a quantum secret

Science News from research organizations Intriguing behavior of such electrons in particular materials produced by chemical synthesis. Date: September 13, 2025 Source: Ehime University Summary: Quantum materials, defined by their photon-like electrons, are opening new frontiers in material science. Researchers have synthesized organic compounds that display a universal magnetic behavior…

Google's quantum computer creates exotic state once thought impossible

Unlike conventional phases of matter, the so-called non-equilibrium quantum phases are defined by their dynamical and time-evolving properties — a behavior that cannot be captured by traditional equilibrium thermodynamics. One particularly rich class of non-equilibrium states arises in Floquet systems — quantum systems that are periodically driven in time. This…

Hidden star systems in the Milky Way could unlock the secrets of dark matter

For centuries, astronomers have puzzled over the origins of one of the universe’s oldest and densest stellar systems, known as globular clusters. Now, a University of Surrey-led study published in Nature has finally solved the mystery using detailed simulations – while also uncovering a new class of object that could…

NASA's Perseverance rover finds clues to ancient Mars chemistry and possible life

NASA’s Perseverance Rover spent three years exploring the floor of Jezero Crater, located just north of the Martian equator. This close-up look at what had previously been seen only from orbit revealed evidence of chemical reactions that shaped the planet billions of years ago. SETI Institute Senior Research Scientist Janice…

Hidden gut molecule found to wreck kidneys

A molecule made by bacteria in the gut can hitch a ride to the kidneys, where it sets off a chain reaction of inflammation, scarring and fibrosis — a serious complication of diabetes and a leading cause of kidney failure — according to a new study from researchers at the…

Fatty liver breakthrough: A safe, cheap vitamin shows promise

Approximately 30% of the global population is affected by metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD), a condition that previously lacked targeted treatments. In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have identified a genetic factor that exacerbates the disease, and remarkably, the FDA-approved drug that most effectively targets this factor is vitamin B3. A…

New quantum breakthrough could transform teleportation and computing

The concept of quantum entanglement is emblematic of the gap between classical and quantum physics. Referring to a situation in which it is impossible to describe the physics of each photon separately, this key characteristic of quantum mechanics defies the classical expectation that each particle should have a reality of…

The real reason ice is slippery, revealed after 200 years

For over a hundred years, schoolchildren around the world have learned that ice melts when pressure and friction are applied. When you step out onto an icy pavement in winter, you can slip up because of the pressure exerted by your body weight through the sole of your (still warm)…

Graphene just broke a fundamental law of physics

For several decades, a central puzzle in quantum physics has remained unsolved: Could electrons behave like a perfect, frictionless fluid with electrical properties described by a universal quantum number? This unique property of electrons has been extremely difficult to detect in any material so far because of the presence of…

Scientists capture elusive liquid carbon — a diamond in disguise

With the declared aim of measuring matter under extreme pressure, an international research collaboration headed by the University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) used the high-performance laser DIPOLE 100-X at the European XFEL for the first time in 2023. With spectacular results: In this initial experiment they managed…

One daily habit could save you from chronic back pain

A major study has investigated the relationship between walking and the risk of developing chronic lower back problems. The findings could save the healthcare system significant amounts of money while also alleviating many people’s back pain – if we just follow the simple advice provided. The results are clear: People…

Toxic “forever chemicals” found in 95% of beers tested in the U.S.

Infamous for their environmental persistence and potential links to health conditions, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, are being discovered in unexpected places, including beer. Researchers publishing in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology tested beers brewed in different areas around the U.S. for these substances. They found…

Tiny skaters beneath the arctic ice rewrite the limits of life

If you pull an ice core from the outer edges of the Arctic polar cap, you might spot what looks like a faint line of dirt. Those are diatoms – single-celled algae with outer walls made of glass. Their presence in ice isn’t new, but because they seemed trapped and…

NASA spacecraft detect a mysterious force shaping the solar wind

This illustration shows Earth’s magnetosphere interacting with the solar wind. The magnetosphere shields the Earth from harmful solar and cosmic radiation. Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Josh Masters A new study led by Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Michael Starkey has provided observational evidence from the SwRI-led Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission of pickup ions…

A doomed star system could soon shine as bright as the Moon

A greedy white dwarf star not far from Earth is devouring its closest celestial companion at a rate never seen before, space scientists have discovered. Their study found the double star, named V Sagittae, is burning unusually bright as the super-dense white dwarf is gorging on its larger twin in…

Black hole explosion could change everything we know about the Universe

Physicists have long believed that black holes explode at the end of their lives, and that such explosions happen — at most — only once every 100,000 years. But new research published in Physical Review Letters by physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found a more than 90%…

Secrets unearthed: Women and children buried with stone tools

Study has revealed new insights into Stone Age life and death, showing that stone tools were just as likely to be buried with women and children as with men. The discovery, from Zvejnieki cemetery in northern Latvia, one of the largest Stone Age burial sites in Europe, challenges the idea…

These dinosaur eggs survived 85 million years. What they reveal is wild

In the Cretaceous period, Earth was plagued by widespread volcanic activity, oceanic oxygen depletion events, and mass extinctions. Fossils from that era remain and continue to give scientists clues as to what the climate may have looked like in different regions. Now, researchers in China have examined some of them:…

Your morning coffee could secretly be weakening antibiotics

Ingredients of our daily diet – including caffeine – can influence the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. This has been shown in a new study by a team of researchers at the Universities of Tübingen and Würzburg led by Professor Ana Rita Brochado. They discovered bacteria such as Escherichia coli…

Hubble just captured a glittering star cluster like no other

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to 10-20% of the…

Blood test spots hidden mesothelioma that scans can’t see

People with operable diffuse pleural mesothelioma may benefit from immunotherapy before and after surgery, based on results of a clinical trial exploring the sequence of treatment and the role of surgery for this difficult to treat cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects the tissue that lines many organs…