Top Society & Education News

October 5, 2025

Top Headlines

Tylenol in Pregnancy Linked to Higher Autism Risk, Harvard Scientists Report

Sep. 24, 2025 — Researchers reviewing 46 studies found evidence linking prenatal acetaminophen (Tylenol) exposure with higher risks of autism and ADHD. The FDA has since urged caution, echoing scientists’ advice ...

Can Meditation Apps Really Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia?

Sep. 22, 2025 — Meditation apps are revolutionizing mental health, providing easy access to mindfulness practices and new opportunities for scientific research. With the help of wearables and AI, these tools can now deliver personalized training tailored to ...

This Surprising Building Material Is Strong, Cheap, and Sustainable

Sep. 22, 2025 — A team at RMIT University has created a cement-free construction material using only cardboard, soil, and water. Strong enough for low-rise buildings, it reduces emissions, costs, and waste compared to concrete. The lightweight, on-site process ...

Scientists Reveal the Everyday Habits That May Shield You from Dementia

Sep. 21, 2025 — New studies reveal that lifestyle changes—such as exercise, healthy eating, and social engagement—can help slow or prevent cognitive decline. Experts say this low-cost, powerful approach could transform dementia care and reduce its crushing toll ...

America Is Throwing Away the Minerals That Could Power Its Future

Sep. 18, 2025 — America already mines all the critical minerals it needs for energy, defense, and technology, but most are being wasted as mine tailings. Researchers discovered that minerals like cobalt, germanium, and rare earths are discarded in massive amounts, ...

Doctors Warn of a Stealth Opioid 20x More Potent Than Fentanyl

Sep. 18, 2025 — Nitazenes, a powerful and largely hidden class of synthetic opioids, are quickly becoming a deadly factor in the overdose crisis. Over 20 times stronger than fentanyl, these drugs often go undetected on routine drug tests, making overdoses harder to ...

Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of Ghostly Halos on the Ocean Floor

Sep. 10, 2025 — Barrels dumped off Southern California decades ago have been found leaking alkaline waste, not just DDT, leaving behind eerie white halos and transforming parts of the seafloor into toxic vents. The findings reveal a persistent and little-known ...

The Foods That Delay Dementia and Heart Disease. Backed by a 15-year Study

Sep. 9, 2025 — What we eat as we age may determine how many chronic illnesses we face later in life. A 15-year study of more than 2,400 older adults reveals that diets rich in vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and healthy fats slow the accumulation of diseases like ...

AI Has No Idea What It’s Doing, but It’s Threatening Us All

Sep. 7, 2025 — Artificial intelligence is reshaping law, ethics, and society at a speed that threatens fundamental human dignity. Dr. Maria Randazzo of Charles Darwin University warns that current regulation fails to protect rights such as privacy, autonomy, and ...

The Midlife Crisis Is over, but Something Worse Took Its Place

Sep. 2, 2025 — Once a universal feature of human psychology, the “unhappiness hump” in midlife has disappeared, replaced by a new trend: mental health is worst in youth and improves with age. Data from the U.S., U.K., and dozens of countries suggest today’s ...

Ancient DNA Finally Solves the Mystery of the World’s First Pandemic

Aug. 30, 2025 — Scientists have finally uncovered direct genetic evidence of Yersinia pestis — the bacterium behind the Plague of Justinian — in a mass grave in Jerash, Jordan. This long-sought discovery resolves a centuries-old debate, confirming that the ...

The Surprising Reason X-rays Can Push Arthritis Patients Toward Surgery

Aug. 26, 2025 — Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and disability, but routine X-rays often do more harm than good. New research shows that being shown an X-ray can increase anxiety, make people fear exercise, and lead them to believe surgery is the only ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:55am EDT

How Gaslighting Tricks the Brain Into Questioning Reality

Oct. 2, 2025 — Gaslighting, often seen as a form of manipulation, has now been reframed by researchers at McGill University and the University of Toronto as a learning process rooted in how our brains handle ...

Viral Apple Cider Vinegar Weight Loss Study Retracted for Flawed Science

Oct. 1, 2025 — BMJ Group has pulled a widely reported apple cider vinegar weight-loss study after experts uncovered major flaws in its data and analysis. Attempts to replicate the results failed, and irregularities ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 — Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

Four Strange Secrets Scientists Just Found in Beer and Wine

Sep. 28, 2025 — Beer and wine, staples of human history for millennia, are still yielding new surprises. Recent research highlights how yeast extracts can cloud lagers, gluten can be quickly detected with a simple ...

This Forgotten King United England Long Before 1066

Sep. 24, 2025 — Æthelstan, crowned in 925, was the first true king of England but remains overshadowed by Alfred the Great and later rulers. A new biography highlights his military triumphs, legal innovations, and ...

A Tiny Mineral May Hold the Secret to Feeding Billions Sustainably

Sep. 24, 2025 — Rice, a staple for billions, is one of the most resource-hungry crops on the planet—but scientists may have found a way to change that. By applying nanoscale selenium directly to rice plants, ...

10 People Who Beat 8,000 Others to Become NASA Astronaut Candidates

Sep. 23, 2025 — NASA has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates who will train for missions to the Moon and Mars. Their selection represents a powerful blend of talent and ambition, fueling humanity’s next great leaps ...

AI Breakthrough Finds Life-Saving Insights in Everyday Bloodwork

Sep. 23, 2025 — AI-powered analysis of routine blood tests can reveal hidden patterns that predict recovery and survival after spinal cord injuries. This breakthrough could make life-saving predictions affordable ...

This Vibrant Moth Fooled Scientists for Generations

Sep. 23, 2025 — For more than a century, a dazzling pink-and-yellow moth was mistaken for a common European species, but DNA analysis revealed it as entirely new: Carcina ingridmariae. Found across the eastern ...

Shocking Study Exposes Widespread Math Research Fraud

Sep. 19, 2025 — A sweeping investigation has revealed widespread fraud in mathematics publishing, where commercial metrics and rankings have incentivized the mass production of meaningless or flawed papers. The ...

Scientists Win Ig Nobel Prize for Cracking the Code to Perfect Cacio E Pepe

Sep. 19, 2025 — What started as a frustrating kitchen challenge turned into award-winning science: Fabrizio Olmeda and his colleagues scientifically decoded the secret of creamy cacio e pepe and earned the Ig Nobel ...

Secrets Unearthed: Women and Children Buried With Stone Tools

Sep. 11, 2025 — Archaeologists studying the vast Zvejnieki cemetery in Latvia have uncovered surprising truths about Stone Age life. Stone tools, long thought to symbolize male hunters, were actually buried just as ...

Life on Mars? NASA Discovers Potential Biosignatures in Martian Mudstones

Sep. 10, 2025 — NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered mudstones in Mars’ Jezero Crater that contain organic carbon and unusual textures hinting at possible biosignatures. These findings suggest that ancient ...

Sweat and Food Stains Vanish Under Blue Light

Sep. 10, 2025 — Forget harsh bleach—scientists have discovered that powerful blue LED light can erase yellow stains from sweat, food, and oils without harming delicate fabrics like silk. By harnessing oxygen in ...

Why So Many Young Kids With ADHD Are Getting the Wrong Treatment

Sep. 16, 2025 — Preschoolers with ADHD are often given medication right after diagnosis, against medical guidelines that recommend starting with behavioral therapy. Limited access to therapy and physician pressures ...

AI Exposes 1,000+ Fake Science Journals

Aug. 30, 2025 — Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have unveiled an AI-powered system designed to expose predatory scientific journals—those that trick scientists into paying for publication without ...

Why Most Whale Sharks in Indonesia Are Scarred by Humans

Aug. 28, 2025 — Whale sharks in Indonesia are suffering widespread injuries, with a majority scarred by human activity. Researchers found bagans and boats to be the biggest threats, especially as shark tourism ...

9 in 10 Australian Teachers Are Stressed to Breaking Point

Aug. 26, 2025 — Australian teachers are in crisis, with 9 in 10 experiencing severe stress and nearly 70% saying their workload is unmanageable. A major UNSW Sydney study found teachers suffer depression, anxiety, ...

Maui’s Fires Drove a 67% Jump in Deaths. Most Went Uncounted

Aug. 25, 2025 — Researchers uncovered that the Maui wildfires caused a spike in deaths far higher than reported, with hidden fatalities linked to fire, smoke, and lack of medical access. They warn that prevention ...

The Surprising Reason Timber Plantations Explode Into Megafires

Aug. 21, 2025 — Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations ...

140,000-Year-Old Skeleton Shows Earliest Interbreeding Between Humans and Neanderthals

Aug. 21, 2025 — Scientists have uncovered the world s earliest fossil showing both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens features: a five-year-old child from Israel s Skhul Cave dating back 140,000 years. This discovery ...

Why Listening May Be the Most Powerful Medicine

Aug. 20, 2025 — In a health system where speed often replaces empathy, researchers highlight the life-changing power of listening. Beyond simple questions, values-driven listening—marked by presence, curiosity, ...

Scientists Reveal How Just Two Human Decisions Rewired the Great Salt Lake Forever

Aug. 19, 2025 — Scientists found that Great Salt Lake’s chemistry and water balance were stable for thousands of years, until human settlement. Irrigation and farming in the 1800s and a railroad causeway in 1959 ...

New Fossils Reveal a Hidden Branch in Human Evolution

Aug. 27, 2025 — Fossils unearthed in Ethiopia are reshaping our view of human evolution. Instead of a straight march from ape-like ancestors to modern humans, researchers now see a tangled, branching tree with ...

Ancient Fossil Discovery in Ethiopia Rewrites Human Origins

Aug. 21, 2025 — In the deserts of Ethiopia, scientists uncovered fossils showing that early members of our genus Homo lived side by side with a newly identified species of Australopithecus nearly three million years ...

Mexican Cave Stalagmites Reveal the Deadly Droughts Behind the Maya Collapse

Aug. 16, 2025 — Chemical evidence from a stalagmite in Mexico has revealed that the Classic Maya civilization’s decline coincided with repeated severe wet-season droughts, including one that lasted 13 years. These ...

How Cats With Dementia Could Help Crack the Alzheimer’s Puzzle

Aug. 14, 2025 — Cats can naturally develop dementia with brain changes strikingly similar to Alzheimer’s disease in humans, including toxic amyloid-beta buildup and loss of synapses. A new study shows these ...

Scientists Warn Ocean Could Soon Reach Rapa Nui’s Sacred Moai

Aug. 13, 2025 — Advanced computer modeling suggests that by 2080, waves driven by sea level rise could flood Ahu Tongariki and up to 51 cultural treasures on Rapa Nui. The findings emphasize the urgent need for ...

Global Study Reveals the Surprising Habit Behind Tough Decisions

Aug. 13, 2025 — A sweeping international study has revealed that when faced with complex decisions, people across cultures—from bustling megacities to remote Amazon communities—tend to rely on their own judgment ...

The Surprising Brain Chemistry Behind Instant Friendships

Aug. 13, 2025 — UC Berkeley scientists found oxytocin is key for quickly forming strong friendships, but less critical for mate bonds. In prairie voles, a lack of oxytocin receptors delayed bonding and reduced ...