Reporting world updates to you
Scientists at the University of Waterloo have proposed a new way to explain how the universe began, offering a fresh perspective on the Big Bang and its earliest moments. Their findings suggest that the universe’s rapid early expansion may have emerged naturally from a deeper and more complete theory known…
Deep sleep does more than help you feel rested. It actively rebuilds your body, strengthening muscles, supporting bone growth, and helping burn fat. For teenagers, it is also essential for reaching full height potential. At the center of all this is growth hormone, which surges during sleep. But scientists have…
In a surprising discovery that could reshape fluid mechanics, researchers at Drexel University have shown that under certain conditions, a simple liquid can behave like a solid and fracture. The study, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrates that viscous liquids can abruptly snap when stretched with enough force. This finding…
Around 66 million years ago, two types of long-necked, four-legged dinosaurs stood out from other sauropods. They had the ability to rise up on their hind legs and stay upright for extended periods. This posture likely helped them reach leaves high in trees and may have made them look larger…
A new large-scale analysis has identified knee braces, water therapy, and exercise as the most effective non-drug options for managing knee osteoarthritis. The findings come from a meta-analysis published in the open-access journal PLOS One. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a widespread and often disabling condition that affects millions of older…
A Rutgers astrophysicist is helping investigate a strange cosmic event that has left astronomers searching for answers. At the center of the mystery is an unusually powerful explosion in space that lasted far longer than anything previously observed. NASA announced that researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope examined GRB…
Powerful radiation from active supermassive black holes, which are believed to sit at the center of most galaxies, can do more than shape their own surroundings. A new study led by Yongda Zhu at the University of Arizona suggests these black holes can also slow the formation of stars in…
The MOMENTUM study revealed that 27 percent of patients with resistant hypertension have hypercortisolism. This finding is important because it shows that excess cortisol is far more common in these patients than researchers and clinicians previously believed. Resistant hypertension occurs when blood pressure remains high even after taking three or…
Mass General Brigham researchers report that the cholesterol-lowering drug evolocumab can significantly reduce the risk of a first major cardiovascular event in people with diabetes who are considered high risk but do not yet have diagnosed atherosclerosis (the build-up of plaque inside artery walls). The findings were presented at the…
Just a few minutes of vigorous physical activity each day may significantly lower the chances of developing several major diseases, including arthritis, heart disease, and dementia, according to research published today (March 30) in the European Heart Journal. To explore this connection, researchers analyzed data from nearly 96,000 people. They…
A University of Michigan study suggests that the nitrile and latex gloves scientists commonly use could be causing microplastics levels to appear higher than they actually are. Researchers found that these gloves can unintentionally transfer particles onto lab tools used to analyze air, water, and other environmental samples. The contamination…
Starting a family beyond Earth could be more challenging than expected. New research from Adelaide University shows that sperm struggle to navigate in low gravity, suggesting that gravity plays a key role in helping them reach an egg. Scientists from the Robinson Research Institute, the School of Biomedicine, and the…
Scientists have discovered that the magma reservoir tied to the largest volcanic eruption of the Holocene is filling again. The finding, led by Kobe University researchers studying Japan’s Kikai caldera, offers new insight into how massive caldera systems such as Yellowstone and Toba evolve over time and may help improve…
Researchers at Stockholm University have used advanced x-ray lasers to uncover a long-suspected feature of water: a critical point that appears when water is deeply supercooled. This occurs at about -63 °C and 1000 atmosphere. Even under everyday conditions, this hidden point influences how water behaves, helping explain many of…
A team of researchers led by Sergey Frolov, a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, along with collaborators from Minnesota and Grenoble, carried out a series of replication studies focused on topological effects in nanoscale superconducting and semiconducting devices. This area of research is considered crucial because it could…
Scientists have uncovered something surprising in the Atlantic Ocean. The majority of plastic pollution may no longer be visible at all. Instead, it exists as nanoplastics, particles so small they are measured in billionths of a meter. “This estimate shows that there is more plastic in the form of nanoparticles…
A new study in The Lancet Digital Health suggests the brain can respond to stroke in a surprising way. Researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) found that people with severe physical impairments after a stroke may show signs of a “younger” brain…
For the first time since 2018, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have released updated clinical guidance on how to screen for and manage blood cholesterol. The recommendations were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation and were presented March 28…
A new study led by researchers at Swansea University suggests that the way teenagers eat could influence their mental health. The team also lays out a detailed plan for future research to better understand how diet and mental well-being are connected. Published in the journal Nutrients, the review looked at…
A comprehensive review of global research on smoking cessation suggests that e-cigarettes containing nicotine may help more people quit smoking than other commonly used methods. These include nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, etc.) as well as non-nicotine e-cigarettes and behavioral support programs. The analysis brings together findings from…
How small can a QR code get? A team of researchers has pushed the limits to an extreme, creating one so tiny it can only be detected using an electron microscope. Scientists at TU Wien, working with data storage company Cerabyte, produced a QR code measuring just 1.98 square micrometers,…
Researchers have developed a new holographic data storage method that records and retrieves information in three dimensions by combining three key properties of light — amplitude, phase and polarization. By using all three together, the approach allows much more data to be stored within the same space, offering a potential…
A new preclinical study has identified a gene therapy that directly targets pain-processing areas in the brain while avoiding the addiction risks linked to narcotic drugs. The findings could offer new hope to more than 50 million Americans living with chronic pain. Living with chronic pain is often compared to…
Solar power plays a major role in efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and address climate change. The Sun delivers an immense amount of energy to Earth every moment, yet modern solar cells capture only a small share of it. This limitation is due to a long-standing “physical ceiling”…
Stopping carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere is a critical way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. While carbon capture has been around for many years, it has not been widely adopted because most systems are costly and inefficient. A common industrial approach, aqueous amine scrubbing, requires heating large…
For more than 20 years, astronomers have been puzzled by a striking pattern of bright, evenly spaced stripes in the radio waves coming from the Crab Pulsar, the dense remnant of a supernova recorded by Chinese and Japanese astronomers in 1054. In 2024, a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of…
From low-carb ice cream and keto protein bars to “sugar-free” soda, erythritol has become a staple ingredient in many modern foods. However, new research from the University of Colorado Boulder suggests this widely used sugar substitute may have serious downsides. Scientists found it can affect brain cells in ways that…
Anyone who has had a severe stomach illness recognizes the pattern. Even after the worst symptoms fade, appetite often disappears and can take time to return. This same effect is experienced by millions of people worldwide who live with long-term parasitic worm infections. Despite how common it is, scientists have…
Researchers have discovered how a crucial protein switches on brown fat by helping it build the blood vessels and nerve connections needed for heat production. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest a new way to tackle obesity that focuses on increasing how much energy the body burns instead of…
Researchers report that a newly uncovered fossil ape from northern Egypt is changing how scientists view early hominoid evolution. The discovery suggests that the closest ancestors of modern apes may have originated in northern Africa, rather than in East Africa, which has long been the main focus of fossil research.…
