Top Science News

Dec. 19, 2024 — Antibodies can improve the rehabilitation of people with acute spinal cord injury. Researchers have investigated this with promising results. For the first time, it was possible to identify patient groups that displayed a clinically relevant treatment ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Stitching together four molecules found in the standard flu vaccine ensures an immune response to all of them, scientists have ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — A psychologist found that a baby's first sweet sounds and early attempts at forming words are directly linked to the baby's heart ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Opening new doors for the development of nanotechnologies in medicine and other fields, scientists recreate and compare two natural mechanisms to better program the timescale of molecular communication and ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Quantum teleportation could provide near-instant communication over long distances. But, inside Internet cables, photons needed for teleportation are lost within the millions of light particles required for classical communications. A new study quantified light scattering to find exact areas to place photons to keep them safe from other particles. The approach successfully worked in experiments ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — A study introduces a novel thermodynamic concept called the 'centotectic' and investigates the stability of liquids in extreme conditions -- critical information for determining the habitability of icy moons like ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Researchers developed a laser-based artificial neuron that fully emulates the functions, dynamics and information processing of a biological graded neuron, which could lead to new breakthroughs in advanced computing. With a processing speed a billion times faster than nature, chip-based laser neuron could help advance AI tasks such as pattern ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes and tomatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in extreme environments, like outer ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — At a Neolithic settlement on the Danish island Funen dating back 5,500 years, archaeologists have discovered both grinding stones and grains from early cereals. However, new research reveals that the inhabitants did not use the stones to grind the cereal grains. Instead of making bread, they likely prepared porridge or gruel from the ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A new study finds nearly 50 hidden relatives of Pterodactylus, the first pterosaur. Joined by its newly discovered relatives, Pterodactylus's 'family' now encompasses tiny flaplings, a host of teenagers, some mums and dads and even a few large old seniors. Fluorescing bones stimulated by powerful LED UV torches, revealed invisible details of the head, hands and feet of ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A new study about Earth's northernmost seafloor hydrothermal system shows even more variety in vent styles than previously thought. The study has important implications for understanding the origin of these vents and assessing their global-scale impact on the Earth-Ocean system. The study also has implications for understanding and searching for habitable environments, and potentially even life ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Scientists have uncovered new details about the mechanism behind cancer progression. Researchers explored the influence the mechanical stiffening of the tumor cell's environment may have on the structure and function of the ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Using an AI tool, researchers have analyzed brain images from 70-year-olds and estimated their brains' biological age. They found that factors detrimental to vascular health, such as inflammation and high glucose levels, are associated with an older-looking brain, while healthy lifestyles were linked to brains with a younger ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Researchers have been able to identify at least three distinct subtypes of a rare type of bone cancer for the first time, which could transform clinical trials and patient ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Researchers trained a large language model to read medical charts, looking for signs that kids with ADHD received the right follow-up care when using new ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — When you are feeling hungry, the brain takes the necessary steps toward consuming a meal. Many of these steps are not well known, but a new study reveals brain circuits and chemical messengers that contribute to the regulation of meal initiation and food intake. The findings have implications for the development of improved therapies to manage obesity, a worldwide ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Mutational signatures etched into the cells' genome by an anti-cancer drug called temozolomide (TMZ) uncover an Achilles' heel for TMZ chemotherapy resistance, according to new ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A new study reveals significant improvements in the health of older adults when compared to previous ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Impatience, studies of more than 1,200 people found, is the emotion people feel when they face a delay that seems unfair, unreasonable, or inappropriate -- like a traffic jam outside of rush hour, or a meeting that should have ended 15 minutes ago. Patience is the form of emotion regulation we use to cope with those feelings of ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A study of more than 2,400 people with atrial fibrillation, who had an average age of 73, found that drinking more than five cups of caffeinated coffee daily was associated with better performance on an array of cognitive tests than drinking less than one cup or avoiding coffee ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — California's native wildflowers are being smothered by layers of dead, invasive grasses. A new study shows that simply raking these layers can boost biodiversity and reduce fire ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A research team examined the atomic composition of enamel samples from two human ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Researchers have developed a new material for sodium-ion batteries, sodium vanadium phosphate, that delivers higher voltage and greater energy capacity than previous sodium-based materials. This breakthrough could make sodium-ion batteries a more efficient and affordable alternative to lithium-ion, using a more abundant and cost-effective ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Researchers developed a biosensing technique that eliminates the need for wires. Instead, tiny, wireless antennas use light to detect minute electrical signals in the solution around ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — A research team has revealed that to use the aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system safely over the long term it is crucial to investigate the groundwater quality before operating the system and to continuously monitor the water ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Scientists have delivered the first measurements of Greenland Ice Sheet thickness change using data from ESA and NASA ice satellite missions. With global warming causing the Greenland Ice Sheet to melt and flow more rapidly, raising sea levels and disturbing weather patterns across our planet, precise measurements of its changing shape are of ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientist have begun to reveal the particle-level processes that create the type of auroras that dance rapidly across the sky. The Kinetic-scale Energy and momentum Transport experiment -- KiNET-X -- lifted off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on May 16, 2021, in the final minutes of the final night of the nine-day launch ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Researchers have found evidence of magnetic fields associated with a disc of gas and dust a few hundred light-years across deep inside a system of two merging galaxies known as Arp220. They say these regions could be the key to making the centres of interacting galaxies just right for cooking lots of hydrogen gas into young ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientists are changing our understanding of climate and weather on Mars and providing critical insights into Earth's atmospheric processes as ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Artificial intelligence can provide critical insights into how complex mixtures of chemicals in rivers affect aquatic life -- paving the way for better environmental ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Artificial intelligence that is as intelligent as humans may become possible thanks to psychological learning models, combined with certain types of ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — The future of data security depends on the reliable application of quantum technology, but its widespread adoption requires rigorous verification. Researchers have developed a novel approach to verify quantum protocols, ensuring their reliability in safety- and security-critical applications. This advancement addresses the need for trustworthy ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — SMART, a new software package, can make studying signaling processes significantly easier. Results could accelerate research in fields across the life sciences, such as systems biology, pharmacology and biomedical ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Researchers have designed a new technology that takes inspiration from WWI fighter aircraft machine gun and propeller synchronization to manipulate cell behavior by precisely modulating the pH of the cell's environment in real-time. Their findings provide a new pathway for creating therapeutics for cancer and heart disease and expanding the field of tissue ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — New research reveals that right whales can survive for more than 130 years -- almost twice as long as previously ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Despite their reputation as buzzing nuisances, flies serve a critical role as some of the Earth's most prolific pollinators -- and new research suggests they are increasingly at risk due to rising global ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — Investigations into precipitation patterns in eastern Central Europe since the end of the last ice age have shown that dynamic processes in atmospheric circulation, such as the North Atlantic jet stream, influence regional changes in precipitation. The researchers analyzed dripstones from caves in Romania, which act as a natural climate archive that allows conclusions to be drawn about ...

Dec. 20, 2024 — We know a lot about how much fossil-derived carbon is emitted to the atmosphere but less about how much is stored in human-made products. Ecological economists estimate that each year, humans add around 400 million tons of fossil carbon to long-lasting products such as plastics, buildings, and human infrastructure. Although these products could be ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — Researchers have demonstrated the high accuracy of their newly developed typhoon observation device that can be dropped from an aircraft into the eye of a typhoon. This kind of device, called a dropsonde, measures storm's atmospheric conditions as it falls from altitude to the ocean surface. The new dropsonde is lightweight and is made mainly of a ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — A concentrated sugar solution could be just as effective as antibiotics at treating a common infection in dairy cows, according to a new ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientists have successfully identified a previously unknown species to Southern California from fossilized seeds, revealing a drought-fueled dance between two species of juniper with lessons for the region's climate ...

Dec. 19, 2024 — Fossilized skeletons and shells clearly show how evolution and extinction unfolded over the past half a billion years, but a new analysis extends the chart of life to nearly 2 billion years ago. The chart shows the relative ups and downs in species counts, telling scientists about the origin, diversification, and extinction of ancient life. With this new study, the chart of life now includes life ...

Dec. 18, 2024 — A fragment of 'lost' music found in the pages of Scotland's first full-length printed book is providing clues to what music sounded like five centuries ago. Scholars have been investigating the origins of the musical score -- which contains only 55 notes -- to cast new light on music from pre-Reformation Scotland in the early sixteenth-century. Researchers say the tantalizing discovery is a rare ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — Researchers analyzed radioisotopes in layers of fossilized volcanic ash. Decay of uranium to lead within tiny crystals enabled scientists to precisely pinpoint dates for certain events. They determined this event occurred 119.5 million years ago -- coincident with evidence for massive volcanic eruptions -- and lasted for 1.1 million years. Study results help scientists better understand links ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — Economists looked at test scores and school attendance for Chicago-area kids before and after a bug infestation wiped out the city's ash trees. Education outcomes for low-income students went down, highlighting how the impacts of ecosystem degradation are disproportionately felt by disadvantaged ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — The social cost of carbon -- an important figure global policymakers use to analyze the benefits of climate and energy policies -- is too low, finds a new ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies outside our clinics are urgently required to address this considerable public health problem facing the ...

Dec. 16, 2024 — When young children's behavior becomes challenging, many parents resort to threats -- from taking away toys to threatening that Santa will skip their house, a national poll ...

Dec. 10, 2024 — New research shows that mothers have twice the impact on language exposure, challenging traditional parenting advice. In a new study, researchers found that there wasn't a single strategy that could be singled out as 'best' to raise a child bilingually. But when they looked at parents' language use individually rather than the family's overall strategy, they had an unexpected and striking ...

Dec. 10, 2024 — Life can be tricky. We have so many decisions to make. It's a good thing we have an orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus to help us. These areas of the brain work together to help us sort through tasks that require resolving ambiguity, that is, situations in which the meaning of stimuli changes depending on ...

Dec. 8, 2024 — Bucking conventionality, boys in Norway are making early gains in reading English as a second language and even outperforming girls at age 10 and 13 -- a new a study of more than one million students ...

Dec. 17, 2024 — A new study has shown that employees are experiencing mental and physical techno-strain due to being 'hyperconnected' to digital technology making it difficult for people to switch off from ...

Dec. 13, 2024 — Tsunamis can cause immense physical damage to ports, but the economic cost does not stop there. The resultant disruptions of shipping lanes result in billions of dollars in losses every day, as was seen in the 2011 tsunami that hit the Tohoku Region. To better assess the ripple effect a tsunami could cause to shipping lanes in the South China Sea, a group of international researchers carried out ...

Dec. 11, 2024 — Artificial intelligence, AI, is rapidly transforming work also in the financial sector. A recent study explored how integrating AI into the work of sales teams affects the interpersonal communication competence required of sales managers. The study found that handing routine tasks over to AI improved efficiency and freed up sales managers' time ...

Nov. 26, 2024 — A study offers a solution to water scarcity during droughts amid the tug of economic development, population growth and climate uncertainty for water users in Western U.S. states. The proposed two-way leasing contracts would coordinate agricultural-to-urban leasing during periods of drought and urban-to-agricultural leasing during wet periods, ...