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A new analysis from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Behaviors suggests that teenagers and young adults who take pre-workout dietary supplements, including products like Bang!, Jack3D, and C4, are far more likely to experience extremely short sleep durations. Researchers examined data from more than participants between the ages of 16…
Osmotic energy, often referred to as blue energy, is an emerging method for producing renewable electricity by harnessing the natural mixing of saltwater and freshwater. When these two types of water meet, ions from the saltwater move through a specialized ion-selective membrane toward the lower-salinity water. This movement generates a…
When people hear about the discovery of a new species, they often picture a scene straight out of an adventure story, according to Chan Kin Onn of Michigan State University. “Most people have this image of an intrepid explorer braving an isolated mountain or some other remote place, and stumbling…
A team of researchers at the University of Helsinki has uncovered a previously unknown interaction inside plant cells. The study shows that plant mitochondria can draw molecular oxygen away from chloroplasts. This newly identified process helps explain how plants control oxygen levels within their tissues and could improve scientists’ understanding…
New research has uncovered evidence that women and children were intentionally targeted in one of the largest known prehistoric mass killings in Europe. Archaeologists investigating burial sites at Gomolava in northern Serbia discovered a grave holding the remains of more than 77 people. Most of the victims were women and…
One of the biggest unsolved challenges in modern physics is bringing together two powerful theories that describe very different parts of reality. Quantum theory explains the behavior of extremely small particles with remarkable precision. Einstein’s general theory of relativity, on the other hand, describes gravity and the motion of planets,…
Two dimensional materials have drawn intense interest because their electronic and magnetic properties could power future technologies. Scientists have traditionally treated these two behaviors as separate. Engineers at Illinois Grainger Engineering have now shown that they are connected by the same underlying mathematics. In a study published in Physical Review…
Childhood obesity has been increasing in recent years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, about one in five children and teenagers in the United States met the clinical definition of obesity in 2024. Preventing obesity in children is not simple. For many years, the main approaches have focused…
Astronomers working with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have created the most detailed three dimensional map so far of light produced by energized hydrogen in the early universe, dating back roughly 9 billion to 11 billion years. This type of radiation, known as Lyman alpha light, is released…
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a major global health problem and one of the leading causes of disability. About 30% of people diagnosed with depression develop treatment-resistant depression (TRD), meaning their symptoms do not improve sufficiently with standard antidepressant medications. Ketamine has gained attention as a fast-acting antidepressant for people…
Dr. Rowan Martindale, a paleoecologist and geobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, was hiking through the Dadès Valley in Morocco’s Central High Atlas Mountains when something unusual caught her attention and made her stop. Martindale and her research team, including Stéphane Bodin of Aarhus University, were exploring the…
A large UK study involving more than 165,000 people with dementia has found that the drug risperidone is linked to a higher risk of stroke in all groups of patients. The findings challenge previous assumptions that certain patients might be safer candidates for the medication. Instead, researchers found no clearly…
How much fiber you eat can strongly influence your overall health. Fiber supports healthy digestion and has been linked to a lower risk of certain cancers, among many other benefits. That growing awareness may help explain why the “fibermaxxing” trend is gaining attention. Fibermaxxing refers to consuming at least the…
Scientists are using satellites to reveal which bridges around the world may be at risk of failure — and how to catch problems before disaster strikes. Adding satellite monitoring to bridge inspections reduces the number of structures labeled high risk by about one third. Among the bridges that still rank…
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in “magic mushrooms,” has drawn growing interest from scientists studying treatments for conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and some neurodegenerative diseases. Despite its therapeutic promise, the intense hallucinogenic effects associated with the compound may limit how widely it can be used in…
The accumulation of tau protein in the brain is a defining feature of Alzheimer’s disease. In a study published March 5 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue, researchers describe a newly identified biological process that may help explain how tau builds up. The research combined animal experiments, cell…
Stepping outside on a chilly winter morning or placing a mint in your mouth quickly creates a cooling sensation. That feeling begins with a microscopic sensor inside the body that signals the brain when something is cold. Scientists have now produced the first detailed images showing how this sensor works,…
For many years, nuclear physicists believed that “Islands of Inversion” were found mainly in isotopes packed with extra neutrons. These unusual regions of the nuclear chart are places where the normal structure of atomic nuclei suddenly stops following the expected rules. In these cases, the well known magic numbers vanish,…
Roughly 15% of asteroids that pass near Earth have a smaller companion orbiting them. These paired objects are known as binary asteroid systems, and they are surprisingly common in our region of the solar system. A research team led by the University of Maryland has now found that these systems…
People who reported using a smartphone while sitting on the toilet were more likely to have hemorrhoids than those who did not use their phones in the bathroom. The finding comes from a new study led by Chethan Ramprasad of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the United States and…
A new study from Northwestern University warns that coordinated scientific fraud is becoming increasingly common. From fabricated data to purchased authorships and paid citations, researchers say organized groups are manipulating the academic publishing system. To investigate the issue, scientists combined large scale analysis of scientific publications with detailed case studies.…
The brain relies on countless chemical messages to keep its networks running smoothly. One way to imagine this system is like traffic lights guiding cars through a busy city. A new study focused on nitric oxide, a common chemical messenger in the brain. Researchers found that in some forms of…
New archaeological research suggests that seabird guano, nutrient-rich bird droppings, played a major role in transforming agriculture in ancient Peru and may have helped propel the Chincha Kingdom to prominence as one of the most prosperous and influential societies before the Inca. Dr. Jacob Bongers, lead author of the study…
All-solid-state batteries (ASSB) are widely viewed as a safer and potentially more energy-dense alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries. Their performance depends strongly on how quickly ions can travel through solid electrolytes. Identifying materials that enable this rapid ion movement has traditionally required time-consuming synthesis and experimental characterization. Researchers also rely…
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have uncovered new insights into the emotional lives of dogs, helping explain why some golden retrievers are more anxious, energetic, or aggressive than others. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to demonstrate that certain genes…
Scientists at Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine have identified a rare genetic variant that can directly cause metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Researchers previously believed this condition developed mainly from a mix of genetic susceptibility and lifestyle or environmental influences. However, findings…
Bone and skeletal injuries are a major cause of long-term disability around the world. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now developed a cell-free cartilage structure designed to guide the body as it repairs damaged bone. According to the study, this engineered transplant can promote bone healing without provoking…
Researchers led by scientists at UCL have discovered a protein that appears to set off diabetic retinopathy, a common eye disease caused by high blood sugar damaging the retina’s blood vessels. The condition is one of the leading causes of vision loss among working-age adults. The study, conducted in mice…
During the Middle Ages, a devastating plague wiped out roughly one third of Europe’s population. The disease spread through fleas that carried the bacterium Yersinia pestis. These fleas passed the infection from rats to humans, fueling the catastrophe known as the Black Death. But the history of plague goes back…
Gravity often feels dependable and unchanging. It seems steady enough that we rarely question it. But the real picture is more surprising. In reality, gravity does not have exactly the same strength everywhere on Earth. Its pull varies slightly across the planet’s surface. After accounting for the effects of Earth’s…
