Drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily was linked to a dramatically lower risk of dementia and better cognitive functioning in a study spanning up to 43 years. The benefits appeared regardless of genetic risk, but decaffeinated coffee did not show the same
Humans collectively produce more than 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually just by turning food into energy, a 74% increase over three decades largely driven by population growth. Unlike fossil fuel emissions, however, the CO2 we exhale is part of the natural carbon
Scientists have uncovered evidence that Europe was dominated for more than 20 million years by open woodlands, colorful meadows, and large grazing animals, not the dense forests long considered its natural state. The surprising discovery challenges modern reforestation
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has already uncovered two previously unknown companions of the Milky Way using preliminary observations covering just 7% of the night sky. The discoveries include an extremely faint galaxy 355,000 light-years away and a star cluster hidden behind
It took around 480,000 trucks to haul away 4.8 million metric tons (5.3 million tons) of rubble across western Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean in 2025, United Nations satellites showed.
A surprising discovery reveals how psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, rapidly reshapes the brain by creating new neural connections and strengthening them. Researchers found that the drug behaves differently in healthy and chronically stressed mice, potentially
A figure in red trudges across a blanket of white. Snow squeaks under the scientist's feet, too dry to be slick or soft. Only a line of flags and a few large buildings—the scientist's destination—break up the landscape. The sun hovers on the horizon, never quite setting against
A compound naturally found in broccoli could help fight Friedreich ataxia, a devastating genetic disease that progressively damages the nervous system, by boosting a vital protein and protecting nerve cells. Scientists hope the discovery could lead to an affordable treatment,
Spring is the season of blooming flowers and buzzing bees.
Few insects have a more gruesome lifestyle than Darwin wasps. Rather than simply hunting other animals, these parasitic wasps lay their eggs on or inside living hosts, including caterpillars, beetles and spiders. Their larvae then feed on their hosts, gradually consuming them
Astronomers have discovered a strange double ring of planetary wreckage around a dead star, revealing a possible preview of our Solar System's distant future. The two rings are separated by a mysterious gap that researchers believe is maintained by surviving planetary bodies,
Traditional lenses and mirrors focus light using curved surfaces. Metasurfaces can achieve similar functions with a flat layer of nanoscale structures that locally control the phase of light. Extending these flat optics into the ultraviolet could support compact systems for
Another investigation into the mysterious microbiome The post Could a Fiber Supplement Help Chronic Knee Pain? appeared first on Nautilus .
Metabolites are consumed by enzymes to produce other vital molecules as well as to control metabolite levels. But how do cells avoid consuming too much? Researchers from the MPI of Biochemistry, with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the de Duve Institute in Brussels,
After more than 60 years of unsuccessful attempts, scientists have finally isolated stable examples of elusive boron-oxygen molecules once considered too unstable to capture. The surprising breakthrough, achieved using relatively simple chemical reactions, could pave the way
Microplastics have been found in our bodies and the food we eat—and even in remote environments around the world, including seawater and ice in the Arctic. Despite their prevalence, little is known about how they move through the atmosphere. New CIRES-led research, which
The extreme heat waves we have seen over the last few years may only serve as a preview of what is to come as a result of climate change. A new study led by researcher Philipp Aglas-Leitner from Freie Universität Berlin, published in Nature Communications, finds that future
We can spot the bot, but we treat it like a person anyway The post We Attribute Personalities to Chatbots, Even When We Know Better appeared first on Nautilus .
Throughout the drug development process, which can take a decade or more, tens of thousands of chemical compounds are produced that never go on to become medicines. A Florida State University researcher is part of a team that has discovered a new way to give some of these "dead
For the first time, an international team of researchers from Germany, Thailand, India, China and the United States has created a three-component Hubbard system with tunable interactions in the laboratory. In doing so, the team used a quantum gas microscope to make the
Forest areas can act both as carbon sinks and as vital habitats for thousands of species—but not necessarily at the same time. This has important implications for how Europe should manage its forests, says a University of Copenhagen researcher.
Europe's meteorological satellite agency, EUMETSAT, has released the first image from the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) on board Meteosat Third Generation Imager 2 (MTG-I2), just over two months after the satellite's launch on Aug. 27, 2026. The satellite will provide
Where oceanic crust subducts beneath continental crust, belts of volcanoes known as continental arcs can form. Located around the world, these arcs may undergo episodic magma flare-ups—dramatic surges in the flow of magma into the continental crust at rates up to 20 times
Tech billionaire Elon Musk was up in arms about the recent adaptation of Homer's "Odyssey" by director Christopher Nolan, which he heavily criticized for its diverse casting and accused of lacking historical accuracy. Claiming he wanted to show that artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is helping Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists fast-track answers to a long-standing question in human biology: What do hundreds of mystery proteins in the mitochondria actually do?
When a company suffers a cyberattack, leaks customer data or faces a major public scandal, telling the truth is essential. But new research suggests it is not enough on its own: organizations also need to communicate early, treat people with respect and show how they intend to
A new study has found that a self-reinforcing interaction between temperature, soil moisture and atmospheric pressure is being triggered at high temperatures, making extreme heat waves 10% hotter than they would otherwise be. The study was published in Science Advances and led
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have identified a specialized lipid barrier in the fruit fly pupa that protects against dehydration in dry and hot environments. Their findings also expose the lipid barrier's limit, suggesting that insects in some regions of the world
Molecular paleontology keeps getting better The post “Astonishing” Find: Fossilized Dinosaur Blood in a 115-Million-Year-Old Specimen appeared first on Nautilus .
Using data from a 1950s Russian experiment, researchers are getting “to the heart of brain programming” in foxes
A battery material can look perfect in the lab and still fail in a real battery. That is the puzzle facing researchers working on solid electrolytes, the materials seen as key to safer, longer-lasting batteries.
Food spoilage causes chemical changes that are not always easy to detect by appearance alone. To provide a clearer indication of freshness and quality, researchers at Kyushu University have developed a smart packaging film that changes color and glows under ultraviolet (UV)
We live in a noisy world. Whether it is the roar of traffic, the rumble of ships or the hum of heavy industry, there is often no escaping noise unless you are a hermit on a desert island.
This year may be seen as a turning point in the climate crisis. The U.N. has accepted that global warming is going to exceed 1.5°C, while climate scientists have concluded that the rate of warming has effectively doubled over the past decade.
Enzymes are biology's tiny chemists. They help build, break and rearrange molecules quickly and precisely. In the lab, scientists have long put enzymes to work making useful chemicals. But nature's enzymes cannot do every reaction a researcher might want. Sometimes scientists
During four days on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, I saw an Olympic marmot, a species found nowhere else on Earth; four bumblebee species working the same lavender plant; three western hermit crab species new to me; and five orcas slicing through the dark water off Ediz Hook.
Optical cavities are pairs of light-trapping mirrors and underpin the operation of lasers, atomic clocks and many types of precision sensors. If the distance between the mirrors is changed rapidly enough, some theories predict that the waves inside them should bunch together
Like many of us, I always enjoy the John Lewis Christmas ad and 2026 is no different. This year, I love the fact that the star of the show is a grandmother.
Penn State researchers have refined an atom-scale model of how silicon carbide changes from a solid into vapor during crystal growth, work that could help manufacturers produce higher-quality material for advanced electronics while reducing costly trial-and-error experiments.
Sports betting has grown explosively since 2018, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down a federal ban on it. Now, Americans wager more than $165 billion on sports annually, contributing to an industry larger than state-run lotteries even excluding prediction markets such
Matter starts to behave differently at extremely low temperatures, creating conditions ideal for studying quantum physics and new states of matter. Now, researchers from China have achieved a new low-temperature record aboard their Tiangong space station. Their research,
The genus Picea (spruce) is widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and is a dominant component of boreal and montane forests. Understanding the evolutionary processes that have shaped diversification and regional differentiation across the genus requires a
Adopting certain lifestyle habits, including physical exercise, could significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia The post A Neuropsychologist Explains the Importance of Exercise in Fighting Dementia appeared first on Nautilus .
Although genome-editing-based breeding has advanced rapidly in aquaculture, progress in marine mollusks has lagged behind. The main challenge is not genome editing itself, but rather rearing the few edited larvae through metamorphosis to establish a viable G0 founder population.
Human cells turn genetic instructions into proteins with great precision. Critical for the translation of this information are transfer RNAs, or tRNAs, small molecules that read the genetic code three letters at a time and bring the matching building blocks of proteins, the
It would greatly benefit the environment and climate if nylon—chemically known as polyamide—could be produced on a large scale from plastic waste in the future, rather than from petroleum, as has been the norm until now. At LIKAT in Rostock, chemists pursuing this approach have
A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA's Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and
An international team of researchers led by UT Southwestern Medical Center has developed a versatile light-sheet microscope that captures 3D views of biological samples, from activity inside living cells to larger tissues. Designed to make detailed imaging much simpler and
The broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides), one of Australia's most endangered snakes, has been given a lifeline, with at least four of six captive-bred juveniles surviving the critical first few months after their release into the wild.
