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By examining DNA preserved in decades-old air samples collected by the Swedish Armed Forces, scientists at Lund University in Sweden have uncovered clear evidence that the seasonal release of spores by northern mosses has changed dramatically over the last 35 years. The research shows that moss spores are now released…
Carefully planned vegetarian and vegan diets can support healthy growth in children when appropriate supplements are included, according to a major new meta-analysis, the most comprehensive review to date of plant-based diets in young people. Researchers from Italy, USA and Australia examined health, growth, and nutritional outcomes in more than…
In the damp shade beneath moss-covered trees, high in the mountains of Taiwan and mainland Japan or deep within the subtropical forests of Okinawa, an unusual organism quietly grows. At first glance, it resembles a mushroom. In reality, it is a plant called Balanophora, and it possesses some of the…
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has captured important new data on the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using its Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS). In July, 3I/ATLAS became the third officially confirmed interstellar object known to enter our solar system. The UVS instrument was able to observe the comet during a window…
A new examination of spacecraft data collected more than ten years ago suggests that Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, probably does not contain a massive ocean beneath its frozen surface, as scientists once believed. Instead, moving downward through Titan’s icy shell would likely reveal additional layers of ice that gradually transition…
A new study suggests that falling participation in organized religion among middle-aged white Americans with lower levels of education may have contributed to the rise in so-called “deaths of despair.” These deaths include fatalities linked to drug overdoses, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease. The researchers found a clear pattern at…
Economists use the term “income mobility” to describe how easily people or families can move up or down the income scale compared with others in their community. It reflects whether financial positions tend to stay fixed or change over time. Norway stands out for having relatively high income mobility. Many…
When people picture DNA, they often imagine a set of genes that shape our physical traits, influence behavior, and help keep our cells and organs functioning. But genes make up only a small slice of our genetic code. Just around 2% of DNA contains our 20,000-odd genes. The other 98%…
Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado) has completed its first-ever dual heart and liver transplant, marking a major milestone for the hospital. The complex procedure involved dozens of specialists working across 25 multidisciplinary care teams. Nationwide, only 38 pediatric patients have previously received both a heart and liver transplant. “Performing Children’s…
Strong social ties are often linked to better health, and new research adds a brain benefit to that list. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and University of Massachusetts Boston report that regularly helping people outside your household can noticeably slow cognitive decline in middle-age and older adults.…
Around 130 million years ago, the ocean’s most dominant hunters held far more power than any marine predator alive today. Recent research from McGill University reveals that during the Cretaceous period, some sea creatures sat at the very top of an extraordinarily complex food chain, surpassing modern standards of ecological…
People around the world are living longer than ever, and that shift is changing what many want from aging. The goal is no longer just more years, but more good years. That has put new attention on “healthspan,” the stretch of life when someone remains energetic, independent, and generally free…
About ten years ago, researchers began exploring a bold idea: using bioluminescent light to see what the brain is doing in real time. Instead of shining light onto brain tissue from the outside, they wondered whether neurons could be made to glow on their own. “We started thinking: ‘What if…
A new species of mouse opossum with an exceptionally long nose and tail, Marmosa chachapoya. Credit: © Pedro Peloso From biting fruit flies and a tiny long-nosed mouse opossum to a feathered dinosaur preserved with evidence of its final meal, scientists at the American Museum of Natural History identified more…
For decades, neuroscientists have taught that neurons do not regenerate once they are damaged or destroyed. This belief has shaped how brain injuries are understood and treated. Yet people often regain at least some lost abilities after trauma, raising an important question: if neurons do not grow back, how does…
A major new international study led by ETH Zurich has, for the first time, estimated how many of the world’s glaciers are expected to survive through the end of this century and how long each one is likely to last. The findings show a dramatic contrast between warming scenarios. If…
Touchdown airbursts are a form of cosmic impact that may happen more often than the well-known, crater-forming events linked to mass extinctions. Despite their potential for destruction, these explosive encounters remain poorly understood. UC Santa Barbara Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett and his colleagues argue that these powerful events…
Scientists at the University of Amsterdam have developed a new way to use gravitational waves from black holes to uncover the presence of dark matter and learn more about its behavior. Their approach relies on a detailed theoretical model grounded in Einstein’s theory of general relativity. This model carefully describes…
The universe has delivered a rare breakthrough for researchers chasing one of the hardest effects to catch in the night sky. In findings reported in Science Advances, scientists describe the first observations of a spiraling swirl in spacetime linked to a fast spinning black hole. First evidence of black hole…
Wildfires are not always purely destructive. In many forests, fire can clear out built up dead material, return nutrients to the soil, and help ecosystems reset. For more than 100 years, the United States has spent billions of dollars on fire suppression to protect people, homes, and sensitive environments. But…
Researchers led by Félix Viana, co-director of the Sensory Transduction and Nociception laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), have discovered that the body does not sense cold in a single, uniform way. Instead, the skin and internal organs rely on different molecular systems to detect drops in temperature. The…
A new study published on Dec. 16 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters reports that some firefighter protective gear contains brominated flame retardants, chemicals that may pose health risks to firefighters. The research is the first U.S. study to formally examine and document the use of brominated flame retardants in…
Over the past ten years, T cell immunotherapy has emerged as one of the most promising developments in cancer treatment. These therapies work by training a patient’s own immune system to detect and destroy dangerous cells. Despite their success, scientists have struggled to fully explain how these treatments function at…
After ten years of gathering and studying data, an international team of physicists that included researchers from Rutgers has overturned a long-standing idea about a mysterious type of particle. The results were published in Nature and come from the MicroBooNE experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator…
Scientists examining an ancient alabaster vase in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Babylonian Collection detected chemical traces of opiates. The Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program (YAPP) says this is the strongest evidence so far that opium use was widespread in ancient Egyptian society. Andrew J. Koh, YAPP’s principal investigator and the study’s…
New data from the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future Panel Study shows that using substances to help with sleep is common among young adults. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that 22% of Americans ages 19 to 30 said they used cannabis, alcohol,…
A new study shows that artificial intelligence systems used to diagnose cancer from pathology slides do not perform equally for all patients, with accuracy varying across different demographic groups. Researchers pinpointed three key reasons behind this bias and created a new approach that significantly reduced these differences. The results emphasize…
New research suggests that a protein the body relies on to manage appetite and energy levels cannot function on its own. Instead, it depends on a partner protein to work properly. This discovery could help scientists better understand how genetic factors contribute to obesity. In a study published in Science…
Quantum satellites are best known for sending entangled particles of light from orbit down to ground stations, a method used to create extremely secure communication links. New research now shows that the process can also work in reverse, with quantum signals sent from Earth up to a satellite, an approach…
A global research team led by Rice University physicist Pengcheng Dai has verified the presence of emergent photons and fractionalized spin excitations in an unusual quantum spin liquid. Reported in Nature Physics, the work points to the crystal cerium zirconium oxide (Ce2Zr2O7) as a clean three-dimensional example of this exotic…
