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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…
New research suggests that disrupted brain circuits in Down syndrome may be linked to a shortage of a specific molecule that the nervous system relies on to develop and work properly. The team says that bringing this molecule back, known as pleiotrophin, might help support brain function in Down syndrome…
When the New World screwworm last spread across the United States, it caused widespread damage to livestock and took decades to eliminate. That history is now driving a new effort by researchers at the University of California Riverside, who are working to stop the parasitic fly before it can reestablish…
Sweeteners such as aspartame, found in Equal packets, sucralose (Splenda), and sugar alcohols are widely promoted as healthier options than foods made with refined sugar (glucose). Many people turn to these alternatives hoping to reduce health risks linked to sugar. New scientific evidence is now calling that belief into question.…
Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have confirmed the first known death caused by the condition commonly referred to as the meat allergy, which is transmitted by ticks. The case involved a 47 year old man from New Jersey who was previously healthy and died suddenly about…
Growing seasonal concern about overlapping respiratory illnesses such as the common cold and influenza has increased interest in ways to support immune health. New clinical research now suggests that kimchi, a traditional Korean fermented food, can help strengthen immune cell function while keeping the immune system in balance. Scientists have…
Researchers at Northern Arizona University (NAU) are testing a new approach that could make it easier for clinicians to spot Alzheimer’s disease sooner and slow its progression. The project is led by Travis Gibbons, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Supported in part by a grant from…
About 70 light-years from Earth, a star known as Kappa Tucanae A has long puzzled astronomers. It is surrounded by dust heated to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, glowing intensely while orbiting extremely close to the star. Under such conditions, the dust should not survive. It should either evaporate or…
Americans tend to believe that online spaces are far more hostile than they actually are. Many assume that nearly half of people on major platforms regularly post cruel, aggressive, or abusive comments. In reality, truly severe online toxicity is much rarer. One striking example is Reddit, where Americans estimate that…
Why do some children develop a brain that is unusually small (microcephaly)? A global team of scientists from the German Primate Center — Leibniz Institute for Primate Research (DPZ), Hannover Medical School (MHH), and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics set out to answer this question…
A study published in the Journal of World Prehistory suggests that some of the earliest known images of plants created by humans served a deeper purpose than decoration. According to the researchers, these ancient designs also reveal early mathematical thinking. By closely examining prehistoric pottery, Prof. Yosef Garfinkel and Sarah…
In the quiet glow of a museum gallery, Hallie Meredith noticed something unexpected about ancient Roman glass that had gone unnoticed for generations. In February 2023, the Washington State University art history professor and practicing glassblower was studying a private collection of Roman glass cage cups at the Metropolitan Museum…
Scientists have developed a new theoretical explanation for how living cells might generate electricity on their own. At the center of the idea is the cell membrane, the thin, flexible layer that surrounds every living cell and controls what enters and leaves it. Rather than being a static barrier, this…
Colorectal cancer has long been viewed as a condition that primarily affects older adults. That assumption is changing as more cases are now being diagnosed in younger people, a shift that is raising concern among health experts around the world. Public awareness increased sharply after the death of actor Chadwick…
Most people first encounter the irrational number π (pi) — commonly approximated as 3.14 and extending infinitely without repeating — during school lessons about circles. In recent decades, advances in computing have pushed this familiar constant far beyond the classroom, with powerful supercomputers now calculating pi to trillions of decimal…
An international research team led by Dr. Karen Baab, a paleoanthropologist at the College of Graduate Studies, Glendale Campus of Midwestern University in Arizona, created a digital reconstruction of the face of early Homo erectus. The fossil, known as DAN5, is dated to about 1.5 to 1.6 million years old…
All living organisms adapt in order to survive, and bacteria are no exception. Over many decades, some bacteria have gradually become resistant to widely used antibiotics and disinfectants, creating serious challenges for medicine and public health. At the same time, countless bacterial species play a helpful and often critical role…
Scientists at Stockholm University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali have outlined a realistic strategy to observe one of the most unusual ideas in modern physics: the Unruh effect. This effect predicts that an object that is speeding up (accelerating) would experience empty space as…
The powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, 2025, has given researchers an uncommon chance to observe how some of the planet’s most dangerous fault systems behave, including faults similar to California’s San Andreas. Earthquakes are usually chaotic and difficult to study, but this one occurred along an unusually…
Biomedical scientists are racing to identify the genes that contribute to illness, hoping that these discoveries will lead to treatments that target the right genes and help bring the body back to health. When one faulty gene is responsible, the path to understanding the problem can be fairly direct. Many…
Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have created a new artificial intelligence system that can do more than flag harmful genetic mutations. The tool can also forecast the types of diseases those mutations are most likely to cause. The approach, known as V2P (Variant to Phenotype),…
A new study led by the University of Southampton and University of East Anglia (UEA) points to a major change in South Pacific climate conditions, beginning around 1,000 years ago, that may have encouraged people to move and settle farther to the east. The research suggests that as parts of…
Mosasaurs were enormous marine reptiles that lived more than 66 million years ago, but new evidence shows they did not spend all their time in the ocean. Researchers analyzing a mosasaur tooth discovered in North Dakota have found strong signs that some of these animals lived in rivers. The tooth…
Our everyday lives are shaped by conscious experience. At times, this experience is pleasant, such as feeling sunlight on your skin, hearing birds sing, or simply enjoying a peaceful moment. At other times, it is painful, whether from a physical injury like hurting your knee on the stairs or from…
The geometry of space itself may play a far more central role in physics than previously thought. Instead of serving only as the backdrop where forces act, spacetime may be responsible for the forces and particles that make up the universe. New theoretical work suggests that the fundamental behavior of…
