From Italy and the World

Ants are social insects and the Solenopsis invicta species — known as the fire ant — is no exception. The social interactions of this invasive insect, which comes from South America, are framed within the context of the theory of Active Matter, which would explain the ants’ group behaviour as…

In the United States, turning 45 brings with it a rather unpleasant rite of passage: the beginning of regular colonoscopies, in which an endoscope equipped with a light and a camera is used to visually check the colon for signs of cancer. Relatively slow-growing, colorectal cancer can often be treated…

Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane when little or no oxygen is present in their surroundings. Their methane production — for example in the digestive tract of ruminants — is relevant for global carbon cycling, as methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, but can also be used as an…

Researchers have designed the first ‘living medicine’ to treat lung infections. The treatment targets Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a type of bacteria which is naturally resistant to many types of antibiotics and is a common source of infections in hospitals. The treatment involves using a modified version of the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae,…

Paris/London CNN  —  Strikes disrupted train services, flights, schools and businesses in France on Thursday as labor unions led huge protests against the government’s plans to raise the retirement age for most workers. Protests in major French cities, including Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes and Nice, brought transport services to a…

With rising concerns about energy and water management, microbial electrochemical technologies (METs), such as microbial fuel cells, have emerged as promising solutions. However, actual progress in these technologies have not lived up to the expectations so far. Now, in a new study, researchers from Korea, India, UAE, and Turkey have…

Even without hunting rifles, humans appear to have a strong negative influence on the movement of wildlife. A study of Glacier National Park hiking trails during and after a COVID-19 closure adds evidence to the theory that humans can create a “landscape of fear” like other apex predators, changing how…

Editor’s Note: Vanessa Hua is the author of the forthcoming novel “Forbidden City,” and of “Deceit and Other Possibilities” and “A River of Stars.” She is a former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and has written for many publications about Asia and the diaspora. The views expressed here are…

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Sign up for CNN’s Adulthood, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has tips to help you make more informed decisions around personal finance, career, wellness and personal connections. CNN  —  Are snacks before bed your vice? Or do you prefer to wait a few hours after you wake up…

CNN  —  The Dallas Cowboys signed Tristan Vizcaino to their practice squad after starting kicker Brett Maher endured a historically inaccurate playoff performance on Monday. Maher missed an NFL-record four extra point attempts in the Cowboys’ blowout 31-14 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round of…

Editor’s Note: Ximena N. Beltran Quan Kiu is a communication specialist and writer based in Chicago. The views expressed here are hers. Read more opinion on CNN. CNN  —  Last week, Shakira did to her ex, former soccer star Gerard Piqué, what every person who’s been mistreated and underappreciated by…

CNN  —  One person was killed and 60 more were injured in a stampede ahead of a soccer match in the Iraqi city of Basra on Thursday, the state news agency INA reported. The stampede took place near the Jaza’a Al Nakhla Stadium, where Iraq and Oman were expected to…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the goal of what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine is to “end the war” in the eastern Donbas region, according to state news agency RIA Novosti. Speaking at a meeting with World War II veterans and survivors of the siege of…

Hong Kong CNN  —  China may be one step closer to losing its place as the world’s most populous country to India after its population shrank for the first time since the 1960s. The country’s population fell in 2022 to 1.411 billion, down some 850,000 people from the previous year,…

(CNN) — It’s nearly Lunar New Year, and Johnny Mui is finally smiling. After staring at empty tables for the last two years because of the pandemic, the owner of New York’s Hop Lee restaurant says business is slowly recovering. Mui joined the 48-year-old Chinatown establishment in 2005 as an…

CNN  —  Two New Jersey veterans say now-Congressman George Santos promised to raise funds for lifesaving surgery for one of their dogs in 2016, then became elusive and took off with the money. Santos, the embattled freshman Republican, faces growing pressure to resign after he lied and misrepresented his educational,…

A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN  —  The US has been in debt and arguing about it for its entire existence. The only two years in US history when there was no debt…

CNN  —  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday she will stand aside for a new leader within weeks, saying she doesn’t believe she has the energy to seek re-election in the October polls. Speaking at news conference, Ardern said her term would end by February 7, when she…

A new type of polysulfate compound that can form thin, flexible films has properties that could make it a material of choice for many high-performance electrical components, according to a study from chemists and materials scientists at Scripps Research and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In the study, published…

University of California, Berkeley, chemists have created a new type of material from millions of identical, interlocking molecules that for the first time allows the synthesis of extensive 2D or 3D structures that are flexible, strong and resilient, like the chain mail that protected medieval knights. The material, called an…

Engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have designed a new, rubber-like film that can leap high into the air like a grasshopper — all on its own and without needing outside intervention. Just heat it up and watch it jump! The researchers describe their achievement Jan. 18 in the…

First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control. The hybrid “eBiobots” are the first to combine soft materials, living muscle and microelectronics, said researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and collaborating institutions. They described their centimeter-scale…

A new study suggests that athletes who recover more slowly from concussion may be able to return to play with an additional month of recovery beyond the typical recovery time, according to a new study published in the January 18, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the…

High blood pressure and diabetes are known risk factors for stroke, but now a new study shows that the amount of risk may decrease as people age. The study is published in the January 18, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “High…

Astronomers have released a gargantuan survey of the galactic plane of the Milky Way. The new dataset contains a staggering 3.32 billion celestial objects — arguably the largest such catalog so far. The data for this unprecedented survey were taken with the Dark Energy Camera, built by the US Department…