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For decades, shrinking photonic devices has been far more difficult than miniaturizing electronic components. The challenge comes down to physics. Light cannot easily be confined into extremely small spaces because the uncertainty principle links its confinement to its wavelength. In visible and near infrared light, that wavelength can be up…
An international team of researchers, including a scientist from Aston University, has developed a new mathematical framework that explains the strange behavior of so called “breather” laser pulses. The breakthrough unites two very different types of laser dynamics under a single model for the first time. Ultrafast lasers generate incredibly…
Jupiter is famous for its enormous storms, some of which have been raging for centuries. Now, scientists have discovered that these massive tempests can also generate lightning far more powerful than anything typically seen on Earth. Using data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found…
Children often learn the order of the planets in our Solar System using quirky memory phrases like “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.” These sayings help recall Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. In our Solar System, the planets fall into two broad groups. The…
Mitochondria are often called the power plants of the cell because they generate the energy the body needs to function. These tiny structures constantly adjust their activity depending on how much energy cells require. Scientists have long known that nutrients influence this process, but exactly how cells sense and respond…
MIT researchers have discovered that a naturally occurring amino acid found in many protein-rich foods may help the intestine repair itself after damage. In a new study, scientists found that cysteine can activate an immune response that boosts intestinal stem cells and helps regenerate tissue in the small intestine. The…
The Mediterranean sea is widely perceived as having a low tsunami risk. History and recent modelling technology have demonstrated that destructive waves have already hit the French coast and could do so again. The results of a project carried out in Nice and along the French Riviera show why anticipation…
Our bones did not begin deep inside the body. They started in the skin, not long after the first complex animals took shape. Ever since, skin bones have remained a recurring motif in evolution. Yet we still know surprisingly little about them. Why do they keep reappearing in groups as…
Researchers in Finland have achieved a major advance in ultra-sensitive measurement technology by detecting an amount of energy smaller than one zeptojoule, less than a trillionth of a billionth of a joule. The breakthrough could improve quantum computing technology, support the search for dark matter, and eventually make it possible…
Women not only face higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, but new research suggests they may also be more strongly affected by several common risk factors linked to cognitive decline. Scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine analyzed data from more than…
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to treat Alzheimer’s disease by targeting an enzyme in the brain called IDOL. In laboratory studies, removing the enzyme from neurons significantly reduced amyloid plaques, one of the main biological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, and may also…
Scientists have discovered that ancient rocks deep beneath Canada are naturally releasing hydrogen gas, offering new evidence that Earth itself may contain significant untapped sources of clean energy. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa studied the Canadian Shield, a vast region of some of the…
Developing new medicines often depends on finding the right molecular building blocks. Some important drugs, including penicillin, rely on small ring-shaped molecules that store large amounts of internal tension. These strained structures can drive chemical reactions that help scientists create complex compounds more efficiently. A research team led by Prof.…
For hundreds of years, astronomers have studied the night sky in an effort to understand the forces shaping the universe. One of the most important, yet invisible, forces inside the Milky Way is its magnetic field. Now, researchers at the University of Calgary are producing one of the clearest views…
Scientists have identified the oldest known human remains in Northern Britain as a young girl who lived around 11,000 years ago. Found in a Cumbrian cave and nicknamed the “Ossick Lass,” she was likely between 2.5 and 3.5 years old when she died. Nearby jewelry and evidence of multiple burials…
Dense tropical rainforests were long considered some of the last places early humans could survive. For decades, researchers believed our ancestors mainly stuck to open grasslands and coastal regions, avoiding the thick forests of Africa until much later in history. Evidence from West Africa is now forcing scientists to rethink…
New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) may provide an important boost for efforts to save the world’s rarest marsupial. The Gilbert’s potoroo, a critically endangered species found only in Western Australia, has fewer than 150 animals left in the wild. Scientists from ECU and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation…
The famously tiny arms of Tyrannosaurus rex may have been the result of a major shift in how giant meat eating dinosaurs hunted, according to a new study led by researchers from UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge. The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society…
Women with low vitamin D levels may face a more painful recovery after breast cancer surgery and could require significantly more opioid medication afterward, according to research published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. The findings suggest that breast cancer patients with vitamin D deficiency (below 30…
Scientists have documented an extraordinary feat of whale migration for the first time, confirming that humpback whales traveled between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Brazil across more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. The discovery marks the greatest confirmed distance ever recorded between sightings of individual humpback whales anywhere…
A drug designed to eliminate worn out, aging cells may help older skin recover from injury much faster, according to research published in Aging (Aging-US). The work, titled “Topical ABT-263 treatment reduces aged skin senescence and improves subsequent wound healing,” suggests that targeting “zombie cells” in the skin could one…
Seattle is best known for the earthquake danger posed by the massive Cascadia subduction zone offshore. But researchers say another threat lies much closer to the city itself. A new study published in GSA Bulletin examines a complicated system of faults running directly beneath Seattle and nearby communities, revealing that…
For decades, a puzzling discrepancy involving a tiny subatomic particle called the muon fueled speculation that physicists might be on the verge of discovering an entirely new force of nature. Now, an international research team led by a Penn State physicist says the mystery appears to have been solved, and…
As the U.S. population continues to age, scientists are searching for ways to help people stay healthier later in life. By 2050, nearly one in four Americans will be age 65 or older, and many are expected to live well into their 90s. While modern medicine has dramatically extended lifespan,…
New research presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) suggests that greater weight loss while taking popular GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, and Mounjaro may significantly reduce the risk of several obesity-related health problems. The findings also showed that people who gained weight after starting treatment…
A major new study is shedding light on everyday life in Central Europe during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300-800 BCE), a period known as the Urnfield culture that saw major social and cultural shifts, including the widespread practice of cremation. Published in Nature Communications, the research combines archaeology, ancient…
A Mediterranean diet is already famous for its heart and metabolic benefits. But a major Spanish clinical trial suggests it may work even better against type 2 diabetes when paired with three realistic upgrades: eating fewer calories, moving more, and getting professional support for weight loss. The PREDIMED-Plus trial found…
Antarctica’s Hektoria Glacier underwent an astonishing collapse between early 2022 and spring 2023, retreating at a pace rarely seen in modern observations. In just 15 months, the glacier lost roughly 25 kilometers (15 miles) in length. During one especially dramatic two month period, the glacier’s terminus pulled back by more…
Dark matter is believed to make up most of the matter in the universe, yet scientists still cannot observe it directly. Unlike ordinary matter, dark matter does not interact with light or electromagnetic forces, making gravity the only known way to detect its presence. Now, researchers think colliding black holes…
If you kept dividing an apple into smaller and smaller pieces, you would eventually reach molecules, then atoms, and later the tiny particles inside atoms such as protons, quarks, and gluons. But according to string theory, the journey does not stop there. At scales roughly a billion billion times smaller…
