Using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph.D. student Sebastian Zieba (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge,
A new experimental study has identified a novel genetic locus in a common agricultural weed, Elymus repens, that provides significant resistance to the destructive fungal disease Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and has now been successfully transferred into wheat to produce FHB
GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide—best known for treating diabetes and driving weight loss under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy—may also deliver a surprising mental health boost. In a massive study tracking nearly 100,000 people over more than a decade, researchers found that
Drugs designed to clear amyloid beta from the brain—once seen as a promising path to slowing Alzheimer’s—may not actually help patients in any meaningful way, according to a major review of over 20,000 participants. Even more concerning, they may increase the risk of brain
Evolution seems to follow a script more often than expected. Researchers found that distantly related butterflies and moths have reused the same pair of genes for over 120 million years to produce strikingly similar warning colors. Rather than altering the genes themselves,
Social media is filled with posts about fitness and healthy eating aiming to inspire and encourage better lifestyles. However, a new large review study led by an Olympic athlete reveals that this seemingly motivational content can sometimes have unexpected negative impacts on
Cranfield University has launched a new soil and environmental online database and mapping tool, opening up detailed information about land in England and Wales. In collaboration with Defra, Cranfield's Land Information System (LandISPortal)—which includes the National Soil Map
With longer days, warmer weather and a little more breathing room in the schedule, summer often feels like the perfect time to bring home a new dog.
Salmon are becoming river "ghosts" as brutal droughts and violent floods cause unprecedented losses on their treacherous journey to the Pacific Ocean, scientists say. A study led by the University of Essex; NOAA Fisheries; University of California, Davis; and Cramer Fish
Newly published research from a leading computer scientist warns that the use of generative AI to design, train, or perform steps within a machine learning system could increase serious risks. Michael Lones, professor at Heriot-Watt University's School of Mathematical and
Every year, millions suffer, and thousands lose their lives to infections that were once easily treatable with the right dose of medication. The drugs are the same; human physiology is the same; the only difference is that microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, have
When scientist J. Craig Venter and his team announced in 2010 that they had created the first cell controlled by a fully synthetic genome, it marked a turning point in how scientists think about life.
Coffee doesn’t just energize—it actively reshapes the gut and mind. Researchers found that both caffeinated and decaf coffee altered gut bacteria in ways linked to better mood and lower stress. Decaf even improved learning and memory, while caffeine boosted focus and reduced
Long before humans spread across the globe, a deadly disease may have quietly shaped where our ancestors lived—and even how we evolved. New research reveals that malaria didn’t just threaten early human survival; it actively pushed populations away from high-risk regions across
When cows burp, they send a substantial amount of methane gas into the air, which makes them a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to research published in the journal Science, a newly discovered hydrogen-producing structure within the microbes of cow
We tend to think of climate change impacts as dramatic and destructive. Storms and floods that bring down landslides and swamp streets, or raging wildfires that tear through forests and farmland.
A hidden force may be quietly shaping how you feel—and you’d never even know it. Infrasound, an ultra-low-frequency vibration below the range of human hearing, is everywhere from traffic to old buildings. In a small experiment, people exposed to it became more irritable, less
In a new study, a University of Cincinnati sociologist and his research team are shedding light on how TikTok content produced by gang members could be used to better inform law enforcement and policymakers for more appropriate action. The team led by John Leverso, an assistant
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a new imaging method, known as RF-SIRF, that quantitatively detects and maps reversed DNA replication forks with single-cell resolution. The results also demonstrated a unique epigenetic code for
Physicists are rethinking one of quantum mechanics’ biggest puzzles: how fuzzy possibilities become definite reality. New research suggests that spontaneous “collapse” processes—possibly linked to gravity—could subtly blur time itself. This wouldn’t affect clocks we use today,
This annual meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the dusty debris left behind by Halley’s Comet as it journeys around the sun
The brain’s memory center may begin life more like a crowded web than an empty canvas. Researchers discovered that early neural networks in the hippocampus are dense and seemingly random, then become more organized by shedding connections over time. This pruning process creates
Many plastic products are designed to be used only once, yet the material itself lasts for years. But a new strategy is addressing this problem by creating products that self-destruct on command, known as living plastics. These materials incorporate activatable,
Every evening, as they move from place to place through the forest, chimpanzees stop to build a nest—most often in a tree—to sleep in. Using a selection of branches, leaves and twigs, they create comfortable and safe spaces to get some shuteye.
A new analysis shows that the Trump administration has terminated more than 100 advisory committees to science agencies—and reduced the transparency and independence of those that remain.
A new analysis of the “Boltzmann brain” paradox suggests our memories and sense of reality could, in theory, be random illusions born from cosmic chaos. By uncovering circular reasoning in how physicists think about time and entropy, the study raises fresh doubts about what we
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower soon will light the sky with debris from Halley's comet. But a bright moon will spoil the fun this year, making the display harder to glimpse.
A rescue team on Saturday released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said.
