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Bright pink granite boulders scattered across the dark volcanic peaks of the Hudson Mountains in West Antarctica have led scientists to a remarkable discovery. Beneath Pine Island Glacier lies an enormous buried granite mass, nearly 100 km wide and 7 km thick, roughly half the size of Wales in the…
Dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers suggest that some of these animals had already lost the ability to fly. As the research team explains, “Feather molting seems like a small technical detail — but when examined in fossils, it can change everything we thought about the origins of flight, highlighting…
Artificial intelligence is often blamed for driving up energy use and worsening climate change, but new research suggests its overall impact on global emissions is surprisingly small. The findings even point to potential environmental and economic benefits as AI continues to expand. Researchers from the University of Waterloo and the…
Humans cannot survive without lungs. Yet one patient managed to live for 48 hours without them. In a report published in the Cell Press journal Med, surgeons detail how they removed a man’s severely infected lungs and used an “artificial lung” system to keep him alive until a double lung…
When sections of the small intestine become diseased or die, surgeons often must remove the damaged tissue. This procedure, known as a radical small bowel resection, can save lives. However, it comes with a major downside. Many patients later develop serious liver problems, including long-term damage or even liver failure…
A newly studied exoplanet, Kepler-51d, is wrapped in an unusually dense layer of haze that may be hiding both what it is made of and how it formed. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team led by Penn State researchers took a closer look at this so-called “super-puff”…
Farm labor shortages are pushing agriculture toward greater automation, especially when it comes to harvesting. But not all crops are easy for machines to handle. Tomatoes, for example, grow in clusters, which means a robot must carefully select ripe fruit while leaving unripe ones untouched. This requires precise control and…
The kind of light used to examine a material can reveal very different details. Visible light shows what’s happening on a surface, X-rays expose what lies inside, and infrared detects heat being emitted. Now, researchers at MIT have taken a major step forward by using terahertz light to uncover quantum-level…
Creating detailed computer models of quantum chips helps scientists predict how they will behave before manufacturing begins. This approach allows researchers to catch potential issues early and confirm that designs will perform as expected. At Berkeley Lab, Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA) researchers Zhi Jackie Yao and Andy Nonaka from the…
Washington State University professor Mesut Cicek and his research team repeatedly tested ChatGPT by giving it hypotheses taken from scientific papers. The goal was to see if the AI could correctly determine whether each claim was supported by research or not — in other words, whether it was true or…
A new study published in Gastroenterology suggests that stress during early life may increase the risk of digestive problems later on. Researchers found that these effects are linked to changes in both the gut and the sympathetic nervous system. “Our research shows that these stressors can have a real impact…
New research reveals that bull sharks form social relationships with specific “friends,” challenging the long-standing belief that these predators live mostly solitary lives. The study — conducted at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Fiji — found that bull sharks do not simply mix randomly. Instead, they display “active social…
A research team led by the University of Oxford has uncovered evidence for a previously unknown kind of planet beyond our Solar System — one that locks away large quantities of sulfur deep inside a long lasting ocean of molten rock. The results were published on March 16 in Nature…
Lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi, is a monoclonal antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s disease that targets and removes harmful amyloid plaques while slowing cognitive decline. Scientists from VIB and KU Leuven have now uncovered exactly how it works. Their research shows that a specific part of the antibody, known as the ‘Fc…
More than two centuries after asteroid 16 Psyche was first identified, scientists are still trying to determine how it formed. Located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Psyche ranks as the 10th-most massive asteroid and the largest known object made primarily of metal, measuring about 140 miles…
A new study published in JNeurosci explores how brief bursts of sleep like brain activity during wakefulness affect a person’s ability to stay focused. Elaine Pinggal of Monash University and her team investigated whether this type of brain activity plays a role in attention challenges, particularly in adults with ADHD.…
New images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are providing a clearer look at a mysterious and rarely studied nebula surrounding a dying star. The observations reveal new details about the structure of this unusual cloud of gas and dust and how it is changing over time. Called Nebula PMR…
The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines into the global spotlight. After completing clinical trials, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was given on December 8, 2020. Researchers later estimated through modeling that these vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths worldwide during their first year. Because of their strong…
Astronomers may be getting closer to understanding one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology: dark energy, the unknown force believed to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Dark energy is thought to account for about 68% of the universe. Despite its enormous influence, scientists still do not know…
Researchers investigating a mysterious cosmic phenomenon called cosmic birefringence have created a new approach to reduce uncertainty in how it is measured. The advance, reported in Physical Review Letters, could improve the precision of observations that probe fundamental physics. The study is the first to quantitatively examine uncertainty in the…
For more than two decades, scientists have explored a group of cancer drugs known as CD40 agonist antibodies. Early experiments suggested these treatments could strongly activate the immune system and help it destroy cancer cells. However, results in people were disappointing. Clinical trials showed only modest benefits, and the drugs…
A new study from UCLA Health reports that long-term residential exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos is linked to a substantially higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. People living in areas with ongoing exposure had more than a 2.5 times greater likelihood of developing the condition. The research, published in the journal…
A new randomized clinical trial suggests that listening to specially designed music for just 24 minutes may significantly lower anxiety. The music was paired with auditory beat stimulation (ABS), a technique that uses rhythmic sound patterns to influence brain activity. Researchers say the approach could provide an accessible, drug free…
Bread has been a dietary staple for thousands of years, and sourdough is experiencing a renewed surge in popularity. Many people value it for its natural ingredients, nutritional benefits, and distinctive flavor. Yet the biological processes behind sourdough fermentation remain surprisingly complex. What exactly occurs during this fermentation, and how…
Mummification has fascinated historians and scientists for centuries, yet many details about how ancient Egyptians preserved the dead have remained unclear. New research now shows that the distinctive musty scent of mummified remains holds valuable clues about how these elaborate burial rituals were carried out. A study led by chemists…
In the laboratory of UC Santa Barbara materials scientist Stephen Wilson, researchers are investigating the physics behind unusual states of matter while designing materials that could support properties useful for future quantum technologies. In research published in Nature Materials, Wilson’s team describes a new way to use a phenomenon known…
Photocatalysis offers a promising way to convert the vast supply of sunlight into useful chemical energy. Among the materials attracting growing attention are polyheptazine imides, which have structural and functional features that make them particularly effective for photocatalytic reactions. Until recently, scientists had only limited insight into how changes in…
The fairy tale of the princess and the pea tells of a young royal so sensitive she could detect a tiny pea hidden beneath many mattresses. In biology, something similar happens when a cell senses conditions far beyond what it directly touches. Until recently, this remarkable ability was mostly linked…
Researchers at the University of Missouri are developing a new way to determine which cancer patients are most likely to benefit from targeted therapies by illuminating tumors in medical scans. Barry Edwards, an associate professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine, recently designed a very small antibody that seeks…
The moist surfaces that line the body contain specialized molecules that help defend against microbes and prevent infections and inflammation. Among these protective molecules are lectins, a group of proteins that identify microbes and other cells by attaching to sugars on their surfaces. Researchers at MIT have now identified one…
