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You are what you eat, it turns out — even if your last meal was 150 million years ago. While the grub itself may be long gone, a record of dinosaurs’ favorite foods has been stowed away in their ancient tooth enamel over the last eon. When researchers at The…
The sweetpotato feeds millions worldwide, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where its natural resilience to climate extremes makes it crucial for food security. But this humble root vegetable has guarded its genetic secrets for decades. Now, scientists have finally decoded its complex genome, revealing an intricate origin story and providing powerful…
Nearly 12% of Americans have used GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, including about one-fifth of women aged 50 to 64, according to a new RAND report. Surveying a nationally representative sample of 8,793 Americans, researchers found that 11.8% have used GLP-1 agonists and 14% say they are interested in using…
Spintronics, or spin-electronics, is a revolutionary approach to information processing that utilizes the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of electrons, rather than solely relying on electric charge flow. This technology promises faster, more energy-efficient data storage and logic devices. A central challenge in fully realizing spintronics has been the development of…
In 1951, physicist Julian Schwinger theorized that by applying a uniform electrical field to a vacuum, electron-positron pairs would be spontaneously created out of nothing, through a phenomenon called quantum tunneling. The problem with turning the matter-out-of-nowhere theory into Star Trek replicators or transporters? Enormously high electric fields would be…
While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that contributed to a greenhouse warming effect. This finding comes from a study published in Science Advances, led by researchers at…
Tiny red objects spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are offering scientists new insights into the origins of galaxies in the universe — and may represent an entirely new class of celestial object: a black hole swallowing massive amounts of matter and spitting out light. Using the first…
Chronic insomnia — trouble sleeping at least three days a week for three months or more — could speed up brain aging. People with chronic insomnia were 40% more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive issues than people without insomnia. Insomnia with perceived reduced sleep was associated with lower…
Researchers have successfully used artificial intelligence (AI) to predict which patients need treatment to stabilise their corneas and preserve their eyesight, in a study presented today (Sunday) at the 43rd Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS). [1] The research focused on people with keratoconus, a…
The new class of anti-obesity drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), is proving remarkably effective at helping individuals lose weight. However, a new population-wide study being presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept) finds that half of adults…
When you think of barnacles, you likely picture shell-like creatures stuck to the sides of boats or docks, or even whales. However, did you know that some of the barnacles that attach to other animals are not just hitching a ride — they actually hijack their host? “Instead of gluing…
One of the ways that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) earn their “forever chemical” nickname and persist in the environment is their acidity. Many of these toxic chemicals are highly acidic, meaning they easily give up their protons and become negatively charged. This allows them to dissolve and spread in…
Octopuses are among the most neurologically complex invertebrates, famed for their extraordinary dexterity. Their eight arms allow them to capture hidden prey, communicate, explore, and even mate across varied habitats. Although octopus arms rank among some of the most flexible structures in nature, their full range of movement has rarely…
Researchers including those at the University of Tokyo have made a surprising discovery hiding in people’s mouths: Inocles, giant DNA elements that had previously escaped detection. These appear to play a central role in helping bacteria adapt to the constantly changing environment of the mouth. The findings provide fresh insight…
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered new materials and a new process that could advance the ever-escalating quest to make smaller, faster and affordable microchips used across modern electronics — in everything from cellphones to cars, appliances to airplanes. The team of scientists has discovered how to create circuits that are…
Science News from research organizations Intriguing behavior of such electrons in particular materials produced by chemical synthesis. Date: September 13, 2025 Source: Ehime University Summary: Quantum materials, defined by their photon-like electrons, are opening new frontiers in material science. Researchers have synthesized organic compounds that display a universal magnetic behavior…
Unlike conventional phases of matter, the so-called non-equilibrium quantum phases are defined by their dynamical and time-evolving properties — a behavior that cannot be captured by traditional equilibrium thermodynamics. One particularly rich class of non-equilibrium states arises in Floquet systems — quantum systems that are periodically driven in time. This…
For centuries, astronomers have puzzled over the origins of one of the universe’s oldest and densest stellar systems, known as globular clusters. Now, a University of Surrey-led study published in Nature has finally solved the mystery using detailed simulations – while also uncovering a new class of object that could…
NASA’s Perseverance Rover spent three years exploring the floor of Jezero Crater, located just north of the Martian equator. This close-up look at what had previously been seen only from orbit revealed evidence of chemical reactions that shaped the planet billions of years ago. SETI Institute Senior Research Scientist Janice…
A molecule made by bacteria in the gut can hitch a ride to the kidneys, where it sets off a chain reaction of inflammation, scarring and fibrosis — a serious complication of diabetes and a leading cause of kidney failure — according to a new study from researchers at the…
Approximately 30% of the global population is affected by metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD), a condition that previously lacked targeted treatments. In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have identified a genetic factor that exacerbates the disease, and remarkably, the FDA-approved drug that most effectively targets this factor is vitamin B3. A…
The concept of quantum entanglement is emblematic of the gap between classical and quantum physics. Referring to a situation in which it is impossible to describe the physics of each photon separately, this key characteristic of quantum mechanics defies the classical expectation that each particle should have a reality of…
For over a hundred years, schoolchildren around the world have learned that ice melts when pressure and friction are applied. When you step out onto an icy pavement in winter, you can slip up because of the pressure exerted by your body weight through the sole of your (still warm)…
For several decades, a central puzzle in quantum physics has remained unsolved: Could electrons behave like a perfect, frictionless fluid with electrical properties described by a universal quantum number? This unique property of electrons has been extremely difficult to detect in any material so far because of the presence of…
With the declared aim of measuring matter under extreme pressure, an international research collaboration headed by the University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) used the high-performance laser DIPOLE 100-X at the European XFEL for the first time in 2023. With spectacular results: In this initial experiment they managed…
A major study has investigated the relationship between walking and the risk of developing chronic lower back problems. The findings could save the healthcare system significant amounts of money while also alleviating many people’s back pain – if we just follow the simple advice provided. The results are clear: People…
Infamous for their environmental persistence and potential links to health conditions, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called forever chemicals, are being discovered in unexpected places, including beer. Researchers publishing in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology tested beers brewed in different areas around the U.S. for these substances. They found…
If you pull an ice core from the outer edges of the Arctic polar cap, you might spot what looks like a faint line of dirt. Those are diatoms – single-celled algae with outer walls made of glass. Their presence in ice isn’t new, but because they seemed trapped and…
On September 14, 2015, a signal arrived on Earth, carrying information about a pair of remote black holes that had spiraled together and merged. The signal had traveled about 1.3 billion years to reach us at the speed of light — but it was not made of light. It was…
This illustration shows Earth’s magnetosphere interacting with the solar wind. The magnetosphere shields the Earth from harmful solar and cosmic radiation. Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Josh Masters A new study led by Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Michael Starkey has provided observational evidence from the SwRI-led Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission of pickup ions…
