Scientists discover protein that could heal leaky gut and ease depression

What if an injectable protein could one day help repair both “leaky gut” and severe depression? New research from the University of Victoria (UVic), published in the journal Chronic Stress, suggests this idea may not be far-fetched. Scientists found that a glycoprotein known as Reelin could play a key role…

Scientists Warn: This “miracle cure” works only by damaging human cells

Miracle Mineral Solution, commonly called MMS, has been promoted for years as a supposed cure for serious conditions such as cancer, autism, and COVID-19. Despite these claims, MMS is simply a marketing name for sodium chlorite (NaClO2), a strong disinfectant used in applications like water treatment. When sodium chlorite is…

Hundreds of new species found in a hidden world beneath the Pacific

The global demand for critical metals is rising quickly, prompting many countries to explore the possibility of extracting these valuable resources from the ocean floor. A new international study has revealed that this push toward deep-sea mining may have less overall environmental impact than scientists once feared. At the same…

Medieval miracles: Dragon-slaying saints once healed the land

New research suggests that the Vatican’s recently opened eco-friendly farm reflects a long forgotten chapter in Catholic history. The farm was inaugurated by the first ever Augustinian pope and, according to historian Dr. Krisztina Ilko, mirrors the early values and practices of his religious order. Her work challenges long held…

One of Earth’s most abundant lifeforms has a fatal flaw

For decades, scientists believed a major group of ocean bacteria was ideally suited for life in waters with very little food. New research suggests that this assumption may be incomplete. These microbes appear to be far more sensitive to environmental change than previously thought. The bacteria, called SAR11, are the…

Scientists are hunting for a forbidden antimatter transformation

An international team led by scientists at Sun Yat-sen University and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has launched an ambitious experiment known as MACE. The project is designed to look for an extremely rare event in which muonium, a short lived system made of…

Four astronauts enter quarantine as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 launch nears

The four astronauts assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission have entered a standard two-week quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The isolation period began Wednesday and is designed to protect the crew’s health as they prepare for their upcoming trip to the International Space Station. The Crew-12 astronauts…

Robots descend into lava tubes to prepare for future Moon bases

Lava tunnels on nearby planetary bodies are increasingly seen as strong candidates for future base camps. These underground structures can naturally shield astronauts from harmful radiation and frequent meteorite impacts. Despite their promise, reaching and studying these environments is extremely challenging due to rough terrain, limited entry points, and dangerous…

A tiny light trap could unlock million qubit quantum computers

After years of slow progress, researchers may finally be seeing a clear path forward in the quest to build powerful quantum computers. These machines are expected to dramatically shorten the time required for certain calculations, turning problems that would take classical computers thousands of years into tasks that could be…

A silent brain disease can quadruple dementia risk

A large U.S. study involving nearly 2 million older adults found that cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a condition in which amyloid proteins accumulate in brain blood vessels, is linked to a much higher risk of developing dementia within five years. The increased dementia risk was seen in people with cerebral amyloid…

Baby dinosaurs were the backbone of the Jurassic food chain

A new study led by a researcher from UCL (University College London) finds that baby and very young sauropods were critical to sustaining predators during the Late Jurassic. Sauropods were long necked, long tailed plant eaters that grew into the largest animals ever to walk on land, yet their earliest…

Alzheimer’s scrambles memories while the brain rests

New research suggests that memory problems in Alzheimer’s disease may be linked to a failure in how the brain replays recent experiences while at rest. The study, conducted in mice by scientists at University College London (UCL), points to a disrupted brain process that normally helps strengthen and preserve memories.…

Middle age is becoming a breaking point in the U.S.

Americans born in the 1960s and early 1970s are reporting higher levels of loneliness and depression than people from earlier generations. They are also showing declines in memory and physical strength. These patterns are unusual when compared with other wealthy nations. In many peer countries, especially in Nordic Europe, measures…

750-year-old Indian poems reveal a landscape scientists got wrong

In the oldest known writing in Marathi, a language spoken by millions in western and central India, a 13th-century religious leader named Cakradhara points to an acacia tree as a symbol of death and rebirth. While his words were meant to convey spiritual meaning, they have taken on new significance…

“Existential risk” – Why scientists are racing to define consciousness

As artificial intelligence continues to advance and ethical concerns grow alongside it, scientists say the need to understand consciousness has reached a critical point. In a new review published in Frontiers in Science, researchers warn that progress in AI and neurotechnology is moving faster than scientific understanding of consciousness. This…

This AI app can tell which dinosaur made a footprint

A newly developed app powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is giving scientists and the public a new way to identify dinosaur footprints left behind millions of years ago, according to a recent study. The technology aims to make sense of fossil tracks that have long challenged researchers. For many years,…

Scientists discover hidden geometry that bends electrons like gravity

How can information move at incredible speeds, or electricity flow without wasting energy? Answering these questions has pushed scientists and technology companies toward quantum materials, whose behavior is governed by physics at the smallest scales. Building these advanced materials depends on understanding how atoms and electrons behave, an area where…

Scientists discover how to turn gut bacteria into anti-aging factories

Researchers have discovered a way to coax the bacteria living in animals’ digestive systems into acting like miniature factories that produce compounds linked to longer life. The findings point to a potential new approach for developing drugs that work by influencing gut microbes rather than directly targeting the body. The…

A hidden bat virus is infecting humans

Researchers studying infectious diseases have discovered Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV), a bat-borne virus, in stored throat swab samples and virus cultures from five patients in Bangladesh. These individuals were originally suspected of having Nipah virus infection but later tested negative. The finding places PRV among the growing number of animal-to-human viruses…

Scientists finally explain statin muscle pain

Statins have dramatically improved cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and cutting the risk of heart attacks and strokes for millions of people. Despite these benefits, many patients experience unwanted side effects. These can include muscle pain and weakness, and in rare situations, a dangerous breakdown of muscle tissue that can…

Jupiter’s clouds are hiding something big

Towering clouds ripple across Jupiter’s surface in dramatic patterns. Like Earth’s clouds, they contain water, but on Jupiter they are far denser and far deeper. These layers are so thick that no spacecraft has been able to directly observe what lies below them. Now, scientists have taken a major step…

Puffy baby planets reveal a missing stage of planet formation

Astronomers were surprised to learn in recent years that most Sun-like stars host at least one planet that falls between Earth and Neptune in size and orbits closer than Mercury does in our own solar system — sizes and orbits absent from our solar system. These worlds, known as super-Earths…

Weak magnetism causes big changes in a strange state of matter

Picture a glowing cloud that looks like a neon sign, but instead of water droplets it holds vast numbers of microscopic dust particles suspended in space. This unusual mixture is known as dusty plasma, a rare state of matter that exists both in outer space and inside laboratory experiments. In…

Electric fields flip the rules of water chemistry

Hydrogen is widely seen as a key energy source for the future, which makes it critical to understand how water is split during electrolysis. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge have taken a closer look…

A quiet change in everyday foods could save thousands of lives

Lowering sodium levels in packaged and prepared foods could lead to major improvements in heart health and prevent large numbers of heart attacks, strokes, and premature deaths in France and the United Kingdom. That is the conclusion of two new studies published in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart…

NASA’s Perseverance rover completes the first AI-planned drive on Mars

The team behind NASA’s six-wheeled Mars explorer tested a vision-enabled artificial intelligence system to map a safe route across the Martian surface without relying on human route planners. NASA’s Perseverance rover has now completed the first drives on another planet that were planned by artificial intelligence. The milestone demonstration took…

How gene loss and monogamy built termite mega societies

Termites are among the most dominant animals on the planet, forming enormous colonies that can contain millions of individuals. Their highly organized societies raise an obvious question: how did insects with such advanced social systems evolve from solitary ancestors that closely resembled modern cockroaches? New research from the University of…

Ancient tools in China are forcing scientists to rethink early humans

A recently uncovered archaeological site in central China is changing how scientists understand early hominin behavior in East Asia. The discoveries suggest these ancient populations were far more capable and adaptable than previously assumed. An international research team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out excavations at Xigou…

Late bedtimes are linked to higher heart disease risk

Night owls may face higher risks to their heart, especially later in life, with women appearing particularly affected. Adults in midlife and older age who tend to be most active in the evening, especially women, showed poorer overall heart health than those without a strong preference for mornings or evenings,…