Reporting world updates to you
Ten years after the first detection of gravitational waves from two merging black holes, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, which includes Columbia University astronomer Maximiliano Isi, has captured a remarkably similar event with far greater detail. Advances in detector sensitivity allowed the team to observe this latest collision almost four times more…
A unique opportunity to observe deep brain activity in a person with obesity and loss of control eating provided new insight into how tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, interacts with the brain. Recordings showed that the medication reduced activity in the brain’s reward center, a region linked to food…
An international group of scientists led by Professor Marc-Emmanuel Dumas at Imperial College London & CNRS, along with Prof. Patrice Cani (Imperial & University of Louvain, UCLouvain), Dr. Dominique Gauguier (Imperial & INSERM, Paris) and Prof. Peter Liu (University of Ottawa Heart Institute), has identified an unexpected natural compound that…
A Mayo Clinic study reports that current genetic screening guidelines fall short in identifying the majority of individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited condition that can lead to extremely high cholesterol and early heart disease. This disorder often moves quietly through family lines for many years. Although effective treatments exist,…
Many people assume a bowl of kale automatically counts as a nutritional powerhouse. However, without the right companion ingredient, that leafy salad may not deliver the benefits you expect. Fortunately, there is an easy fix. Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a simple (and tasty) way to help…
Inside every human cell, an extraordinary feat of molecular organization takes place. Roughly six feet of DNA has to be packed into a nucleus that is only about one-tenth the width of a human hair, yet the DNA must remain accessible enough to carry out essential functions. To make this…
A recent study reports that using reduced amounts of approved immunotherapy for malignant melanoma may lead to better control of tumors while also limiting side effects. The findings come from researchers at Karolinska Institutet and were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “The results are highly interesting…
In a major step forward for neurobiology and bioelectronics, scientists at Northwestern University have created a wireless device that uses light to transmit information directly into the brain. The technology bypasses traditional sensory routes in the body and instead delivers signals straight to neurons. The device is soft and flexible,…
A study published in the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment proposes that volcanic activity may have contributed to the rapid movement of the Black Death across medieval Europe. According to the researchers, cooling associated with this eruption triggered a period of famine. In response, Italian city states began bringing…
“Why are we here?” remains one of the most enduring questions humans have posed. One way scientists approach this idea is by tracing where the elements around us first formed. Many elements are created inside stars and in the explosive debris of supernovae, which scatter this material across space, but…
Garlic extract has been found to offer antimicrobial effects that are on par with commonly used antiseptics and disinfectants such as chlorhexidine, according to medical researchers at the University of Sharjah. The study, published in the Journal of Herbal Medicine, reports that garlic-based mouthwash may produce more discomfort than chlorhexidine…
A new analysis by evolutionary anthropologists Colin Shaw (University of Zurich) and Daniel Longman (Loughborough University) argues that the modern world has developed faster than human biology can adapt. Their work proposes that chronic stress and many widespread health concerns stem from a fundamental mismatch between our nature-shaped physiology and…
Lowering blood sugar and increasing fat burning without reducing appetite or muscle mass is emerging as a promising possibility in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. These encouraging results come from a study published in Cell by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University. The treatment, which is…
For more than 100 years, an unusually cold pool of water south of Greenland has stood out against the overall warming of the Atlantic Ocean. This persistent chill has prompted long-running scientific debate. A new study now points to a long-term weakening of a major ocean circulation system as the…
One of the most powerful volcanic events of the past 10,000 years occurred on the Greek island of Thera (Santorini) in the Aegean Sea, yet researchers have long debated whether it took place in the late 17th or 16th century BCE. Ash from the eruption spread across much of the…
A popular online skincare trend centered on rosemary and rosemary extract now has scientific evidence behind it. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in JCI Insight that a natural compound in rosemary leaves may help wounds heal more effectively and limit the formation…
In 1867, Lord Kelvin pictured atoms as tiny knots in an invisible medium called the ether. That picture turned out to be wrong, since atoms are built from subatomic particles rather than twists in space. Yet his discarded idea of knotted structures may still help explain one of the deepest…
A recent study in the Journal of Hepatology describes the first successful auxiliary liver xenotransplant from a genetically engineered pig into a living human. The recipient survived for 171 days, providing early evidence that modified porcine livers can take on essential metabolic and synthetic duties in people. The outcome also…
A recently published study reports that shaking from moonquakes, rather than impacts from meteoroids, was the main force behind the shifting terrain in the Taurus-Littrow valley, the site where Apollo 17 astronauts landed in 1972. The researchers also identified a likely explanation for the changing surface features and evaluated potential…
Hydrogen sulfide, a naturally occurring gas best known for its strong rotten egg odor, may offer a faster and gentler way to treat stubborn nail infections. Researchers at the University of Bath and King’s College London (KCL) report that this volcanic gas could form the basis of a new therapy…
Studies in mice have shown that a hormone produced in the intestine can send signals to the brain and influence how much energy the body uses. This hormone, called FGF19 (fibroblast growth factor 19), activates processes that help the body spend more energy, use stored fat as fuel, and improve…
By placing ultra-sensitive quantum spin sensors in orbit, SQUIRE gains orders-of-magnitude improvements in detecting exotic physics signals. This approach lays the groundwork for a global and interplanetary sensing system that could reveal hidden particles and forces. Understanding SQUIRE and Its Space-Based Quantum Strategy Exotic-boson-mediated interactions fall into 16 categories. Of…
New research challenges the widespread belief that artificial intelligence is driving a major spike in global greenhouse gas emissions. The study suggests that AI’s overall influence on worldwide pollution is small and could even support environmental and economic progress. Scientists from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of…
New findings suggest that complex life began forming much earlier, and over a far longer period, than researchers previously understood. The study provides fresh insight into the environmental conditions that supported early evolution and challenges several widely accepted ideas about when advanced cellular features first appeared. Led by the University…
Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have uncovered a previously unrecognized organizational pattern in one of the brain’s key regions for learning and memory. According to findings reported in Nature Communications, the CA1 section of…
Using the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have created an extraordinary set of images showing debris disks in a wide range of exoplanetary systems. These dusty structures reveal where small bodies orbit their stars and provide rare insights into the earliest stages of planetary development. Gaël Chauvin…
Scientists have unveiled a technique that uses ‘molecular antennas’ to direct electrical energy into insulating nanoparticles. This approach creates a new family of ultra-pure near-infrared LEDs that could be used in medical diagnostics, optical communication systems, and sensitive detectors. Researchers at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge have discovered how…
A research team has identified a previously unknown species of wolf snake in the remote Great Nicobar Islands of India. The find adds to the growing list of unique wildlife recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar region, an area known for its rich but still underexplored biodiversity. Researchers R. S.…
An international team of archaeologists co-led by researchers from UCL has uncovered the remains of a vast Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe. More than 3,500 years ago, this site likely served as a key regional center for large-scale bronze production, making it one of the most important industrial…
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London’s School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences have demonstrated that the experimental TOR inhibitor rapalink-1 can extend the chronological lifespan of fission yeast, a simple organism widely used to explore basic biological processes. A study published in Communications Biology by Juhi Kumar, Kristal Ng…
