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If it ever becomes achievable, hypersonic flight could dramatically reshape international travel. What currently requires an entire day could become a short trip lasting no more than a feature length movie. A route such as Sydney to Los Angeles, which now takes about 15 hours, might be reduced to only…
A recently uncovered and unusually intact impact crater is offering scientists new insights into how objects from space have struck Earth throughout its history. Researchers from Shanghai and Guangzhou, China, describe their findings in the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes (AIP Publishing). They identified the feature as the Jinlin…
Astronomers working with the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory and the LOFAR radio telescope have obtained clear evidence of a violent burst of material hurled into space by a distant star. The outflow was strong enough that any nearby planet in its path would likely have its atmosphere stripped away.…
Researchers at Rice University have found that certain atom-thin semiconductors, known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), can physically shift their atomic lattice when exposed to light. This newly observed response offers a controllable way to tune the behavior and properties of these ultrathin materials. The phenomenon appears in a subtype…
Many familiar items, from plastic squeeze bottles to outdoor furniture, rely on a process that converts propane into propylene. In 2021, a study in Science showed that chemists could use tandem nanoscale catalysts to merge several steps of this conversion into a single reaction — an approach that increases yield…
Iceberg calving happens when large pieces of ice split from the front of a glacier and fall into the ocean. This natural event is a major contributor to the rapid reduction of ice on the Greenland ice sheet. For the first time, an international team led by the University of…
A glacier on the Eastern Antarctic Peninsula has undergone the quickest ice loss documented in modern times, according to a major international study co-authored by Swansea University. Published in Nature Geoscience, the research reports that Hektoria Glacier shortened by nearly half its length in only two months during 2023. The…
An international group of mathematicians led by Lehigh University statistician Taeho Kim has developed a new way to generate predictions that line up more closely with real-world results. Their method is aimed at improving forecasting across many areas of science, particularly in health research, biology and the social sciences. The…
A new study in the journal Cell from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University explains how exercise helps the body stay youthful. The researchers also highlight betaine — a metabolite produced in the kidney — as an oral compound that can imitate many of the…
When ultra-runners prepare for races that span hundreds of miles and last for days, they are not only challenging their determination and physical power. They are also exploring how far human physiology can be pushed. In a study published October 20 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, researchers reported…
A possible “super-Earth” located less than 20 light-years from Earth is giving researchers renewed optimism in the search for planets that might host life. The newly identified world, GJ 251 c, earned its “super-Earth” label because current data indicate it is almost four times the mass of Earth and is…
Researchers are exploring a new generation of computers that operate using light, or photons, instead of electrical currents. Systems that rely on light to store and process information could one day run far more efficiently and complete calculations much faster than conventional machines. Light-driven computing is still at an early…
When bumble bees come up against invasive Argentine ants at feeding sites, they may win a direct confrontation but still return to the colony with less food. These encounters can leave bees with fewer resources even when they appear to come out ahead in a fight. Bumble bees already deal…
Anxiety disorders affect roughly one in five people in the United States, making them among the most widespread mental health challenges. Although common, scientists still have many questions about how anxiety begins and is controlled within the brain. New research from the University of Utah has now pinpointed two unexpected…
New research from the University of Georgia reports that people who use e-cigarettes, traditional cigarettes or both are more likely to develop diabetes. According to the study, smokers showed a notably higher rate of prediabetes and diabetes diagnoses compared with nonsmokers. “In an era when e-cigarettes are marketed as a…
Curiosity about extending human life may be especially visible among certain tech enthusiasts today, but people have been fascinated by the idea of a lasting fountain of youth, or even immortality, for thousands of years. Some of the approaches most strongly supported by scientific evidence, such as strict dieting for…
An international team of researchers has identified a previously unknown Neanderthal site on the southern edge of the Iberian Peninsula, located along Portugal’s Algarve coast. The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports by Nature Publishing Group, describe the earliest evidence of Neanderthal hominids in Portugal. This discovery marks an…
Quantum computers can perform certain calculations at remarkable speeds, yet connecting them over long distances has been one of the major obstacles to building large, reliable quantum networks. Until recently, two quantum computers could only link through a fiber cable over a span of a few kilometers. This limitation meant…
New research from Rice University indicates that Jupiter dramatically reshaped the early solar system. According to the study, the giant planet created rings and wide gaps in the protoplanetary disk, helping to solve a long-standing mystery: why many primitive meteorites formed several million years after the very first solid materials.…
Arctic sea ice has shrunk by more than 42% since 1979, when satellites first began providing consistent measurements. As the remaining ice thins and retreats, more open ocean is left exposed to sunlight. Ice helps cool the planet by reflecting sunlight, but darker seawater absorbs heat instead, which speeds up…
A research group at The University of New Mexico has identified how an unusual prehistoric plant may provide new ways to interpret Earth’s ancient climate conditions. Led by UNM Earth and Planetary Sciences Professor Zachary Sharp, the team published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…
Researchers have designed a new class of drug molecule capable of specifically destroying TERRA, an RNA molecule that some cancer cells rely on to survive. Using a technique known as “RIBOTAC,” the compound is able to locate TERRA inside the cell and break it apart while avoiding healthy RNA. The…
The researchers also incorporated Artificial Intelligence tools, including machine learning, to analyze biomarker patterns. These methods allowed them to accurately differentiate Long COVID patients from healthy individuals and to pinpoint the most informative biomarker combinations. Such insights could support more precise diagnostics and future personalized treatments. small, unusual clusters of…
A commonly used, low-cost medication for gout may help lower the chances of heart attacks and strokes in people with cardiovascular disease, according to a new Cochrane review. Researchers evaluated the impact of taking small doses of colchicine, a standard gout treatment, and reported no rise in serious side effects.…
A newly identified carnivorous reptile may look like a dinosaur at first glance, but researchers have confirmed that it was actually an early relative of modern crocodiles. The species is named Tainrakuasuchus bellator, a title partly inspired by the Latin word for “warrior” or “fighter.” This armored animal lived 240…
Liver disease most often develops due to one of three major causes: excessive alcohol use, the buildup of fat in the liver associated with obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol, or viral infections such as hepatitis B and C. Researchers from Keck Medicine of USC have identified another potential cause of…
Weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro deliver impressive heart protection for people with type 2 diabetes. Large real-world study finds new GLP-1 drugs help protect the heart in people with cardiovascular risk. Clear evidence shows these medications support heart health beyond their weight-loss effects. Semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) offer similar…
Researchers at the University of Houston have achieved a major scientific milestone in the study of heat transfer. Their new findings overturn long-standing assumptions about thermal conductivity and reveal that boron arsenide (BAs) can conduct heat more effectively than diamond, which has long been considered the benchmark among isotropic materials.…
Recently, Halloween may have brought thoughts of skeletons, but the true “skeleton age” began long ago during the early Cambrian Period, roughly 538 to 506 million years ago. During this transformative era, many of Earth’s major animal groups independently figured out how to create mineralized skeletons or shells. They typically…
Heart disease remains the world’s top killer, claiming more lives each year than any other condition. Scientists are uncovering how gut microbes may influence coronary artery disease (CAD), one of the most common and serious forms of heart disease. A research team in Seoul has identified 15 specific bacterial species…
