Top Science News

Jan. 9, 2025 — Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella is a serious public health concern that has increased in recent years as the bacteria have developed ways to survive drugs. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can get Salmonella from eating contaminated food products or from infected people or animals -- typically via unintentional contact with feces via touching hands or ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — A good night's sleep does more than just help you feel rested--it might literally clear your mind. A new study shows how deep sleep may wash away waste buildup in the brain during waking hours, an essential process for maintaining brain health. The findings also offer insights into how sleep aids may disrupt the 'brainwashing' system, potentially affecting cognitive function in the long ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — Unstable proteins are the main drivers of many different heritable diseases, according to a new study, including genetic disorders responsible for the formation of cataracts, and different types of rare neurological, developmental and muscle-wasting diseases. Unstable proteins are more likely to misfold and degrade, causing them to stop working or accumulate in harmful amounts inside ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A battery that needs feeding instead of charging? This is exactly what researchers have achieved with their 3D-printed, biodegradable fungal battery. The living battery could supply power to sensors for agriculture or research in remote regions. Once the work is done, it digests itself from the ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Construction materials such as concrete and plastic have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide, according to a new study by civil engineers and earth systems scientists. The study shows that combined with steps to decarbonize the economy, storing CO2 in buildings could help the world achieve goals for reducing greenhouse gas ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed IRIS, a smart ring that allows users to point and click to control smart devices. The prototype Bluetooth ring contains a small camera which sends an image of the selected device to the user's phone. The user can control the device clicking a small button or -- for devices with gradient controls, such as a speaker's ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — In a study, physicists now observed a class of quantum particles called fractional excitons, which behave in unexpected ways and could significantly expand scientists' understanding of the quantum ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — A new study based on the sampling and analysis of volcanic ash at Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast, suggests that the composition of magma could drive tremors during volcanic eruptions. The findings highlight the potential of volcanic ash analysis as a monitoring and forecasting ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — anthropologists have analyzed a skull that was found in the ruins of Ephesos (Turkey) in 1929. It was long speculated that it could be the remains of Arsino IV, the sister of the famous Cleopatra. However, the latest anthropological analyses show that the remains are those of a boy between the ages of 11 and 14 who suffered from pathological developmental disorders. His genes point to an origin ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Chimpanzees bear genetic adaptations that help them thrive in their different forest and savannah habitats, some of which may protect against malaria, according to a study by an international ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A new study provides the first comprehensive global estimates of the amount of water stored in Earth's plants and the amount of time it takes for that water to flow through them. The information is a missing piece of the puzzle in understanding the global water cycle and how that cycle is being altered by changes in land use and ...

Jan. 11, 2025 — Scientists have now discovered a chemical that plants produce when they're stressed prevents dangerous biofilm from forming. The breakthrough offers potential advances in healthcare as well as preventing equipment corrosion in industrial ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Cognitive profiles for early diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) have been outlined in a new study. Although DLB is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia following Alzheimer's Disease, it is usually misdiagnosed, preventing affected people from accessing care better tailored to their ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — A study shares new insights into how two of the most common types of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells kill cancer. Investigators examined how molecular dynamics at the immune synapse -- where CAR T cells bind to cancer cells -- affect anticancer ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — An analysis of U.S. mortality data reveals the disproportionate impact of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) on older adults, males and certain racial and ethnic ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — More than half of 23-year-olds in a European study show restrictive, emotional or uncontrolled eating behaviors, according to new research. Structural brain differences appear to play a role in the development of these eating ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — A new study offers insights into how the gene neuropilin2 contributes to the development of behavioral changes associated with autism spectrum disorder and ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — Thanks to new high-frequency electrical stimulation that blocks spasticity, two paralyzed patients suffering from muscle stiffness after spinal cord injury benefit from rehabilitation protocols for walking ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Both intuition and past research suggest that whether people deem someone trustworthy depends on that person's past behavior and reputation for betrayal. In a series of experiments, psychologists found that subjects regarded those who previously exhibited that behavior as less trustworthy. However, when the betrayal benefited them or had no effect ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Contrary to the long-held belief that the mid-career crisis plagues everyone, new research suggests that job satisfaction follows a U-shaped trajectory only for managerial and professional workers. This provocative finding challenges societal perceptions surrounding midlife and calls for a revaluation of workplace support for individuals in their ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Current state policies aren't enough to curb food waste. Study shows states are falling short of the reduction goals set by the U.S. Environmental Protection ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — Some decisions in life are so significant that they have a massive impact on the course of a person's future. Whether it's the decision to emigrate, quit a job, end a long-term relationship, or report a sexual assault, these choices are transformative. They shape personal identities and life trajectories in unpredictable and often irreversible ways. A new conceptual paper offers a framework for ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — A research team has achieved a groundbreaking quantum simulation of the non-Hermitian skin effect in two dimensions using ultracold fermions, marking a significant advance in quantum physics ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Radiation testing suggests that solar cells made from carbon-based, or organic, materials could outperform conventional silicon and gallium arsenide for generating electricity in the final frontier, a study ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Alloying, the art of blending metals with other elements, has long been a cornerstone of materials science and metallurgy, creating materials with tailored properties. In contrast, dealloying has been known primarily as a corrosive process that degrades materials over time by selectively removing elements, weakening their structure. Now, ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — An international team of scientists has called for the creation of an 18th addition to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which would aim to mitigate against the accumulation of space junk in Earth's orbit. They believe a new SDG18 could draw direct inspiration from one of the existing goals -- SDG14: Life Below Water -- with lessons learned in marine debris management being used ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have created a dataset of the whole atmosphere, enabling new research to be conducted on previously difficult-to-study regions. Using a new data-assimilation system called JAGUAR-DAS, which combines numerical modeling with observational data, the team created a nearly 20-yearlong set of data spanning multiple levels of the atmosphere from ground level up to the lower edges of space. ...

Jan. 7, 2025 — A researcher has used advanced models that indicate that the formation of Pluto and Charon may parallel that of the Earth-Moon system. Both systems include a moon that is a large fraction of the size of the main body, unlike other moons in the solar system. The scenario also could support Pluto's active geology and possible subsurface ocean, despite its location at the frozen edge of the solar ...

Jan. 6, 2025 — Taking advantage of a cosmic 'double lens,' astronomers resolved more than 40 individual stars in a galaxy so far away its light dates back to when the universe was only half its present ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A team developed a method that makes it easy to measure the wrinkles in thin membranes used on large spacecraft using just a single ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — AI tools are increasingly being used to track and monitor us both online and in-person, yet their effectiveness comes with big risks. Computer scientists have developed a new mathematical model which could help people better understand the risks posed by AI and assist regulators in protecting peoples' ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed a method for quickly detecting and identifying very low concentrations of gases, which, could form the basis for highly sensitive real-time sensors for applications such as environmental monitoring, breath analysis and chemical process ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated that the direction of the spin-polarized current can be restricted to only one direction in a single-atom layer of a thallium-lead alloys when irradiated at room temperature. The discovery defies conventions: single-atom layers have been thought to be almost completely transparent, in other words, negligibly absorbing or interacting with light. The one-directional ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Scientists have discovered how plants adapt their root systems in drought conditions to grow steeper into the soil to access deeper water ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Researchers identified a protein and a group of small ribonucleic acids (sRNAs) in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, which regulate sugar metabolism. These discoveries shed light on how this gut microbe adapts to varying nutritional conditions. The findings deepen our understanding of this bacterium's role in the human gut and may pave the way for new therapeutic strategies to promote health through ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Tracking coyote movement in metropolitan areas shows the animals spend lots of time in natural settings, but a study suggests the human element of city life has a bigger impact than the environment on urban coyote ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Scientists have created a catalyst for hydrogen generation from ammonia that becomes more active with time, and by counting atoms revealed changes that boost the catalyst's ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new process that uses microwave flow reaction and recyclable solid catalysts to efficiently hydrolyze polysaccharides into simple sugars. The developed device utilizes a continuous-flow hydrolysis process, where cellobiose is passed through a sulfonated carbon catalyst that is heated using microwaves, resulting in the efficient conversion of cellobiose to ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A series of more than 100 small earthquakes in Surrey in 2018 and 2019 might have been triggered by oil extraction from a nearby well, suggests a new ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A research team has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems. The results demonstrate that logging and conversion have significantly different and cumulative environmental ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A recent study has uncovered the surprising evolutionary origin of the mammalian outer ear, linking it to the gills of ancient fish and marine invertebrates. The research reveals that both structures are composed of elastic cartilage and shares gene control elements that hint at their connection. This finding sheds new light on the evolution of the mammalian ear, highlighting how structures can ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — Sabre-toothed predators -- best know from the infamous Smilodon -- evolved multiple times across different mammal groups. A new study reveals why: these teeth were 'functionally optimal' and highly effective at puncturing ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — Evolution has resulted in the development of both herbivores and carnivores -- but how? What type of food did extinct vertebrates eat? And how can we gain insight into the diets of these creatures? In living animals, we can simply observe what they feed on today. In the case of extinct species, however, researchers rely on morphological or chemical information supplied by fossils. A team has now ...

Jan. 8, 2025 — An academic has used drone mapping to investigate a 3000-year-old 'mega fortress' in the Caucasus mountains, revealing details that re-shape understanding of the site and contribute to a global reassessment of ancient settlement growth and ...

Jan. 9, 2025 — A study has examined whether an additional blood test called procalcitonin (PCT) could safely shorten the time children spend on intravenous (IV) antibiotics in hospitals. Despite promising previous analysis, the study, found that using the PCT biomarker to guide treatment decisions did not reduce antibiotic duration when compared to usual ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture could be significantly reduced in a socially equitable way through a climate fee on food, combined with climate dividends. A new study suggests that pricing greenhouse gas-intensive foods could help meet climate targets for agriculture while generating over 8.2 billion Euros annually. If these funds were ...

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have found that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) -- organizations that negotiate access to medicines for most patients in the United States -- steer patients to use their own pharmacies. However, these pharmacies appear less used in Medicare than in other market segments. These PBMs are part of integrated health care conglomerates that own insurance companies and pharmacies, which may ...

Jan. 6, 2025 — A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. Results showed that nearly two-thirds of schools in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago had at least one gun incident within 400 meters (about one-quarter mile) of where children were walking home during the 2021-22 ...

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 ...

Jan. 3, 2025 — Farmers are receiving less of what consumers spend on food, as modern food systems increasingly direct costs toward value-added components like processing, transport, and marketing. A study shows that this effect shapes how food prices respond to agricultural climate policies: While value-added components buffer consumer price changes in wealthier ...

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 ...