When men drink, women and children pay the price

A sweeping global review has revealed that men’s alcohol consumption is causing widespread harm to women and children, from violence and neglect to lost educational and life opportunities. Credit: Shutterstock A new global review led by La Trobe University has revealed the often-overlooked damage caused by men’s alcohol consumption to…

Scientists create a magnetic lantern that moves like it’s alive

Researchers have developed a polymer structure shaped like a “Chinese lantern” that can quickly change into more than a dozen curved, three-dimensional forms when it is compressed or twisted. This transformation can be triggered and controlled remotely with a magnetic field, opening possibilities for a wide range of practical uses.…

Scientists create a paper-thin light that glows like the sun

Light bulbs come in all sorts of forms—globes, spirals, candle-like tips, and long tubes—but few are truly thin. Now, scientists reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have designed an LED so slender it’s nearly as thin as paper, yet it emits a cozy, sunlike glow. This new design could…

MIT’s “stealth” immune cells could change cancer treatment forever

Scientists have created a new and more advanced form of immune-based cancer therapy using engineered cells known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells. Like CAR-T cells, these modified immune cells can be programmed to recognize and attack cancer, but they rely on a different type of immune cell that naturally targets…

12,000-year-old rock art found in Arabia reveals a lost civilization

Rock art panels at Jebel Arnaan. Credit: Maria Guagnin Recent research has revealed the crucial role of early human groups who settled in northern Arabia soon after the intensely dry period known as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). These communities followed the return of seasonal water sources and left behind…

For the first time, scientists pinpoint brain cells linked to depression

Scientists at McGill University and the Douglas Institute have discovered that two distinct types of brain cells show changes in people experiencing depression. Published in Nature Genetics, the research provides new clues that could guide the creation of treatments focused on these specific cells. It also enhances scientific understanding of…

A toxic Alzheimer’s protein could be the key to fighting cancer

At first, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer might seem to have little overlap. One gradually destroys memory and cognition, while the other ravages the body through uncontrolled cell growth. Yet scientists at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have found an unexpected biological link between them. Their new study, published in Cancer…

USC engineers just made light smarter with “optical thermodynamics”

A research group from the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has achieved a major advance in photonics with the creation of the first optical device built on the emerging concept of optical thermodynamics. Their findings, published in Nature Photonics, reveal an entirely new way to control and…

MIT’s new precision gene editing tool could transform medicine

A gene-editing approach called prime editing could one day help treat many illnesses by turning faulty genes into healthy ones. However, the technique sometimes introduces small mistakes into DNA, which can occasionally be harmful. Researchers at MIT have now discovered a way to significantly reduce these errors by altering the…

They’re smaller than dust, but crucial for Earth’s climate

Smaller than a grain of dust and shaped like minute discs, coccolithophores are microscopic ocean dwellers with an outsized influence on the planet’s climate. These tiny algae remove carbon from seawater, release oxygen, and create delicate calcite plates that eventually sink to the ocean floor. Over time, these plates form…

Thousands fall ill as mosquito fever explodes across southern China

A recent editorial in Biocontaminant reveals that Guangdong Province is now facing the largest chikungunya fever outbreak ever documented in China, with more than 4,000 confirmed infections reported since late July. Shunde District in Foshan has been hit hardest, accounting for over 3,600 cases, while additional infections have appeared in…

Scientists discover brain circuit that can switch off chronic pain

Pain may be unpleasant, but in most cases it plays a vital, even lifesaving, role. Short bursts of pain act as warning signals that protect us from harm. When you touch a hot pan, stub your toe, or bump your head, your nervous system instantly delivers an “Ow!” that prompts…

A sweet fix for baldness? Stevia compound boosts hair growth

Androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness or female pattern hair loss, is one of the most widespread causes of hair thinning in both men and women. While topical minoxidil is an approved therapy, its limited ability to dissolve in water and penetrate the skin reduces its effectiveness. Researchers…

A hidden “backup heater” that helps burn fat and boost metabolism

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered a new way that brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy, can boost the body’s metabolism. This process allows cells to consume more fuel and generate heat, improving overall metabolic health. Conducted in mice, the research…

Scientists stunned by wild Martian dust devils racing at hurricane speeds

Although Mars has an extremely thin atmosphere, it still experiences powerful winds that play a major role in shaping the planet’s climate and in distributing its ever-present dust. These winds stir up dust into swirling columns called dust devils—rotating plumes of air and fine particles that sweep across the Martian…

JWST spots a hidden red supergiant just before it exploded

A team of astronomers led by Northwestern University has captured the clearest and most detailed view ever of a dying star before its dramatic explosion. Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the international group identified the source of a supernova, known as its progenitor, in mid-infrared light for the…

Tiny asteroid flew right over Antarctica, and no one saw it coming

Asteroid 2025 TF passed over Antarctica at 00:47:26 UTC ± 18 seconds on October 1, coming within 428 ± 7 km of Earth’s surface. That distance is nearly the same as the orbit of the International Space Station (approx. 370 — 460 km). Measuring about 1 to 3 meters in…

Common medications may secretly rewire your gut for years

Medications a person took years ago can still influence the community of microbes living in their gut, according to a large study conducted by the University of Tartu Institute of Genomics. By examining stool samples and prescription data from more than 2,500 participants in the Estonian Biobank’s Microbiome cohort, scientists…

Scientists grow metal instead of 3D printing it — and it’s 20x stronger

Vat photopolymerization is a type of 3D printing that involves pouring a light-reactive liquid resin into a container and then solidifying specific areas with a laser or ultraviolet light to create a shape. However, because this method only works with light-sensitive polymers, its practical uses are limited. Some researchers have…

Scientists unlock nature’s secret to a cancer-fighting molecule

Scientists at UBC Okanagan have discovered how plants create mitraphylline, a rare natural substance with potential anti-cancer properties. Mitraphylline is part of a small family of plant-derived molecules known as spirooxindole alkaloids. These compounds feature unique, “twisted” ring-like chemical structures and are recognized for their strong biological effects, including anti-tumor…

Why GPS fails in cities. And how it was brilliantly fixed

Our everyday GPS struggles in “urban canyons,” where skyscrapers bounce satellite signals, confusing even advanced navigation systems. NTNU scientists created SmartNav, combining satellite corrections, wave analysis, and Google’s 3D building data for remarkable precision. Their method achieved accuracy within 10 centimeters during testing. The breakthrough could make reliable urban navigation…

Scientists suggest the brain may work best with 7 senses, not just 5

Skoltech scientists have devised a mathematical model of memory. By analyzing its new model, the team came to surprising conclusions that could prove useful for robot design, artificial intelligence, and for better understanding of human memory. Published in Scientific Reports, the study suggests there may be an optimal number of…

Scientists just found a molecule that could stop Parkinson’s in its tracks

Researchers at the University of Bath, in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, have developed a molecule that prevents the clumping and build-up of a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease and related dementias. The team has successfully demonstrated it works in an animal model of Parkinson’s and hopes…

New pill could finally control stubborn high blood pressure

Results from the FigHTN Phase 2 clinical trial showed baxdrostat, a new medication that inhibits the production of the hormone aldosterone, lowered systolic blood pressure by about 5% when added to the existing medications taken by people with chronic kidney disease and who also have uncontrolled high blood pressure. The…

Scientists reveal green tea’s fat-burning secret

Green tea is an ancient beverage recognized for its medicinal and antioxidant properties. It has been widely studied for its beneficial effects on metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies funded by FAPESP have deepened our understanding of the mechanisms of action of this infusion and revealed…

Scientists just proved the moai could walk, solving a 500-year mystery

For years, researchers have puzzled over how the ancient people of Rapa Nui did the seemingly impossible and moved their iconic moai statues. Using a combination of physics, 3D modeling and on-the-ground experiments, a team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, has confirmed that the statues…

Record Amazon fires release more carbon than an entire country

A new study by researchers at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre reveals that the Amazon rainforest has just undergone its most devastating forest fire season in over two decades, which triggered record-breaking carbon emissions and exposed the region’s growing ecological fragility despite a slowing trend in deforestation. The 2024…

The Red Sea that vanished and the catastrophic flood that brought it back

Scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have provided conclusive evidence that the Red Sea completely dried out about 6.2 million years ago, before being suddenly refilled by a catastrophic flood from the Indian Ocean. The findings put a definitive time on a dramatic event that changed…

Scientists unlock the quantum magic hidden in diamonds

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Humboldt University in Berlin have developed a way to capture nearly all the light emitted from tiny diamond defects known as color centers. By placing nanodiamonds into specially designed hybrid nanoantennas with extreme precision, the team achieved record photon collection at…

Glowing shark and hidden crab found deep off Australia

Researchers have described a new species of deep-sea lanternshark and crab, both with the help of specimens collected from a CSIRO-led 2022 voyage of CSIRO research vessel (RV) Investigator. Called the West Australian Lanternshark and a porcelain crab, the new species were described by separate research teams in papers published…