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A study published in Nature suggests that thawing permafrost may have an unexpected effect on the carbon cycle. While melting frozen ground is widely known for releasing greenhouse gases, researchers found that it can also strengthen a natural process that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The research was…
Animals don’t just communicate with members of their own species. New research shows that communication also plays a crucial role in helping different species work together. In a review published in Animal Behaviour, an international team of researchers examined how animals use calls, body movements, visual displays, and other signals…
Adding foods like blueberries, plums, blackberries, broad beans, and cherries to your daily diet, especially when paired with green tea, could be a simple way to support heart health, according to new research. A large international study led by scientists from the University of Reading, Harvard Medical School, the University…
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have tracked down the source of a powerful neutrino burst with the help of a remarkable cosmic phenomenon that acted like a natural telescope. What they discovered challenged expectations. Researchers initially suspected that a supermassive black hole was powering an extraordinarily bright…
Millions of people tackle Wordle every day, trying to uncover a hidden five-letter word in the New York Times’ wildly popular puzzle game. Now, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York, say they have developed a mathematical approach that can solve Wordle with a remarkable 99% success rate.…
Researchers in Spain and Switzerland have identified an experimental molecule that may help restore the brain’s natural defenses against Alzheimer’s disease. The compound, known as OLE, appears to “reprogram” microglia, the brain’s immune cells, allowing them to regain some of their protective abilities. The research was led by José Vicente…
One of the biggest unsolved problems in physics centers on a number known as the cosmological constant. This value describes the energy responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion. It also sits at the heart of a major conflict between two of science’s most successful theories. According to quantum field theory…
Researchers in Brazil have created a new biomaterial made from jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin (a statin-based medication) that could offer a more effective way to treat periodontitis, a serious form of gum disease. The team, from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical…
Many of the world’s most important crops have unusually complex genomes created through repeated rounds of whole-genome duplication and hybridization. These so-called polyploid genomes contain multiple sets of chromosomes inherited from different ancestral species. However, determining exactly how those genomes were assembled can be extremely difficult, especially when the original…
Astronomers may be getting closer to solving a long-standing mystery about the universe’s largest galaxies. Observations from the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, known as XRISM, are providing new evidence that supermassive black holes could be preventing these giant galaxies from forming as many stars as expected. According to current…
Imagine if one company could become the railroad, electric utility and cloud-computing provider of the emerging space economy. That potential fueled excitement around the long-anticipated initial public offering of SpaceX. Investors are not simply betting on rockets anymore. They are betting on an entire orbital ecosystem. Among the most ambitious…
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have proposed a new explanation for how Alzheimer’s disease may begin. Instead of being driven primarily by plaque buildup in the brain, the disease could start when one protein interferes with the normal function of another inside nerve cells. For years, Alzheimer’s research…
Earthquakes occur when stress that has accumulated in the Earth’s crust is suddenly released along fractures known as faults. These faults often form where massive tectonic plates move past one another but become stuck, allowing pressure to build for years or even centuries before a rupture occurs. In Southern California,…
Earthquakes occur when stress that has accumulated in the Earth’s crust is suddenly released along fractures known as faults. These faults often form where massive tectonic plates move past one another but become stuck, allowing pressure to build for years or even centuries before a rupture occurs. In Southern California,…
The Gila River is one of the Southwest’s most vital waterways, supplying water to communities, farms, and wildlife while connecting the snow-covered mountains of southwestern New Mexico with the desert landscapes of southwestern Arizona. In years with ample precipitation, winter snow that accumulates in the Mogollon Mountains and Black Range…
For many people, plague brings to mind rats, crowded medieval towns, and the devastating epidemics that spread across Europe during and after the Middle Ages. New research suggests the disease’s deadly history stretches back much further. A study published in Nature found that plague was already killing people 5,500 years…
For more than a century, physics has been built on two great theories. Einstein’s general relativity explains gravity as the bending of space and time. Quantum mechanics governs the world of particles and fields. Both work brilliantly in their own domains. But put them together and contradictions appear – especially…
A new study from Northern Arizona University (NAU) suggests that a major global greenhouse gas emissions database may be significantly undercounting carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles in cities. According to the researchers, the Climate TRACE database, developed by the Climate TRACE consortium co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, underestimates…
New research suggests that native bee species that build their nests inside plant stems may face the greatest immediate threat from rising temperatures linked to climate change. In contrast, bees that nest underground appear better equipped to avoid dangerous heat. The study, published in Nature Communications, examined heat tolerance in…
A massive study suggests that some common food preservatives may be putting heart health at risk. A major study of 112,395 people tracked diets in remarkable detail, including the specific food additives participants consumed. Researchers identified eight commonly used food preservatives that were linked to a higher risk of high…
For generations, scientists have viewed the inability to regrow lost body parts as one of the fundamental limitations of humans and other mammals. While creatures such as salamanders can regenerate entire limbs, humans typically heal injuries by forming scar tissue. New research from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine…
Popular GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy are best known for helping people lose weight and manage diabetes. New research from Rutgers University suggests these drugs may also be linked to changes in behaviors associated with violence. The study, published in Criminology, investigated whether GLP-1 receptor agonists influence violent…
Researchers have identified a remarkable new spider species in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest that disguises itself as a parasitic fungus. The species, named Taczanowskia waska, represents the first known example of a spider mimicking the appearance of a fungus that infects spiders. The discovery was made by an international team of…
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), a small porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, is among the most endangered marine mammals on the planet. At roughly 5 feet long, it is the smallest member of the cetacean group, which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Recognizable…
Male rats exposed to a widely used plastic chemical during early development showed higher levels of anxiety as adults, according to research presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Although the study was conducted in rodents, the findings suggest that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals…
Could improving gut health also help improve mental health? A small clinical trial suggests that probiotics, often called “good bacteria,” may provide an extra boost for older adults being treated for depression. Researchers found that seniors with depression who took a daily probiotic alongside their regular antidepressant treatment experienced modest…
Superconductors could one day help power a new generation of ultra-efficient electronics, but major technical hurdles have kept the technology largely confined to research labs. Now, scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a new approach that tackles one of the field’s biggest challenges: maintaining superconductivity at…
Researchers at Mayo Clinic have discovered a previously unknown way the kidneys help maintain the body’s water balance, a finding that could eventually lead to better treatments for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and other conditions. The study, led by Mayo Clinic nephrologist Fouad Chebib, M.D., was published in the Journal…
Silicon has powered computer chips for decades, but engineers are increasingly running into the material’s physical limits. To keep making electronics smaller and more powerful, researchers are investigating ways to combine silicon with new ultrathin materials. One promising group of materials is known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD). Among the…
A minimally invasive procedure that blocks abnormal blood vessels around the knee may offer long lasting relief for people with osteoarthritis, according to new research published on June 16 in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis and…
