A UCLA study found that long-term exposure to a common pesticide was linked to more than 2.5 times the risk of Parkinson's disease. Scientists also uncovered how the chemical damages brain cells ...

Ancient manuscripts, including the 1,000-year-old York Gospels, have revealed traces of a deadly sheep virus whose history stretches back more than 3,700 years. Scientists discovered that the virus ha...

Scientists have discovered all five essential nucleobases used in DNA and RNA in pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu, revealing that key ingredients for life existed in space billions of years ago. T...

Incredible footage of Saturn rising from behind the Moon

No other traveler has ever journeyed so far from home. Voyager 1 is about to become the first human-made object to reach a distance of one light-day from Earth, or about 16 billion miles. ½

After more than 35 years of research, scientists have uncovered surprising clues about what really drives Lyme disease risk. Contrary to longstanding assumptions, deer populations appear less importan...

A groundbreaking discovery is rewriting the story of human evolution, revealing that an ancient human species once thought to be an evolutionary dead end may have left genetic traces in people alive t...

The findings, reported in Scientific Reports, suggest that this experimental approach could eventually help prevent certain infections and support existing cancer treatments. Researchers believe the plant-based technology could also provide a more affordable option for patients. The research was led by Henry Daniell of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Dental Medicine. His team has been exploring ways to use specially engineered plants to produce proteins with potential medical benefits. Why Scientists Are Targeting Cancer-Linked Microbes Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common form of cancer that develops in the tissues lining the mouth and throat. It begins in squamous cells, the thin, flat cells that cover many surfaces throughout the body. These cancers can be particularly difficult to treat once they have spread, and patients diagnosed at advanced stages often face poor outcomes. According to Daniell, recently approved cancer medications have generally failed to produce major improvements in patients' quality of life or their chances of surviving five years after diagnosis. This highlights the continuing need for more effective treatments and new strategies that could help prevent the disease or reduce complications. One promising area of research involves the microorganisms living in the mouth. Although many...

The new initiative, called the Advanced Mid-Power Electric Rocket (AMPERE) Challenge, seeks to advance mid-power (3-7 kW) propulsion systems. Government agencies and aerospace industry experts have identified this class of thrusters as an important technology for satellite operations, national defense, and space exploration. By inviting commercial companies to design and demonstrate working prototypes, NASA hopes to accelerate progress in electric propulsion and help prepare promising technologies for practical use. How Electric Rocket Engines Work Unlike conventional rockets, which burn chemical propellants to produce powerful bursts of thrust, electric propulsion systems use electrical energy to accelerate charged particles and expel them at high speeds. The resulting force pushes a spacecraft in the opposite direction. Hall effect thrusters are a particular type of electric propulsion system that uses electric and magnetic fields to control and accelerate charged particles. They typically produce much less thrust than chemical rocket engines, but they can use propellant far more efficiently. That efficiency makes electric thrusters especially valuable for missions that require spacecraft to operate for extended periods. Rather than delivering a brief, powerful push, these engines can provide gentle acceleration over long stretches of time, gradually changing a spacecraft's speed or trajectory. Hall effect thrusters are...

In a study published in iScience, researchers at Florida International University (FIU) tested how three of the world's most dangerous mosquito species responded to 119 human volunteers. Surprisingly, not a single participant attracted all three species. Instead, each species favored a different group of people, largely based on their individual body chemistry and natural skin odors. The discovery could change how scientists approach the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases. Because different mosquito species respond to different chemical signals from human skin, researchers may eventually be able to create next-generation, species-specific repellents that offer more targeted protection. "Isolating the components of human odor that attract or repel mosquitoes could lead to novel strategies to combat vector-borne diseases," said Matthew DeGennaro, a neurogeneticist who leads the research team and directs the Biomolecular Sciences Institute at FIU, Miami's state university. Different Mosquito Species Prefer Different People The researchers investigated three species responsible for spreading serious illnesses, including yellow fever, dengue, Zika, West Nile and other diseases. These were Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) and Culex quinquefasciatus (southern house mosquito). Led by Ph.D. student Kaylee Marrero, the investigation was the first to directly compare how several mosquito species reacted to the same human...

The medications, known as nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (NBPs), are widely prescribed to prevent bone loss and fractures. The findings suggest that these established treatments could potentially serve a second purpose by helping protect the aging brain. The research, conducted by scientists in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at HKUMed's LKS Faculty of Medicine, was published in Alzheimer's & Dementia. More than 55 million people worldwide currently live with dementia, and that number is projected to climb to 139 million by 2050. The World Health Organization has identified dementia as a major global health priority. Although the first medications designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) have recently gained approval, their high costs, limited suitability for some patients, and questions about their effectiveness remain important challenges. These obstacles have increased interest in finding affordable ways to prevent or delay dementia before symptoms develop. One promising approach is to identify existing medications that might offer benefits beyond the conditions they were originally designed to treat. The Surprising Connection Between Bone Health and Dementia Osteoporosis and dementia often affect the same older adults. Osteoporosis causes bones to become weaker and more vulnerable to fractures, while dementia progressively affects...

The Shroud of Turin, one of history's most mysterious religious artifacts, is yielding surprising new clues through DNA analysis. Scientists have uncovered a complex mixture of biological traces ...

The research, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, reconstructs the universe's first 2 billion years by modeling the interactions between ordinary matter, dark matter, and radiation. By comparing Lumina's predictions with observations from JWST, Roman, and other telescopes, scientists can evaluate how well existing theories explain cosmic evolution and identify discoveries that might challenge their understanding of the universe's fundamental laws. Astronomers have spent centuries studying the sky and developing explanations for the formation of stars, galaxies, and other cosmic structures. Modern supercomputers now make it possible to turn these ideas into detailed simulations that predict how the universe should behave. When telescope observations agree with those predictions, they strengthen confidence in current theories. Unexpected differences, however, may point toward physical processes that scientists have yet to fully understand. "With JWST, the early universe has become an exciting new frontier in astrophysics," said lead author Oliver Zier, an ITC Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. "To understand what we are seeing with this telescope, we need to translate our theories into detailed predictions. After several years of work, with plenty of ups and downs, it is incredibly rewarding to see the simulation results...

Scientists in Germany have demonstrated a startling new form of surveillance: identifying people using nothing more than ordinary WiFi signals. By analyzing how radio waves bounce around a room, resea...

A provocative new cosmological model suggests the Universe could be 26.7 billion years old and might not need dark matter or dark energy to explain its behavior. University of Ottawa researchers teste...

Scientists from McGill University and the Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas (CIP) identified this unusual pattern while studying fossils from Colombia's Paja Formation. The ancient marine ecosystem preserves an exceptional mixture of surviving Jurassic lineages and emerging Cretaceous groups, offering a rare glimpse into a period of profound biological change. Drawing on these findings, McGill biology professor Hans Larsson and PhD graduate Dirley Cortés have proposed a new concept called a "Biotic Inflection." The term describes an evolutionary turning point when older groups nearing extinction coexist with newer lineages that are beginning to expand and diversify. A Perfect Storm for Ancient Ocean Biodiversity The researchers believe an unusual combination of environmental conditions helped make this remarkable coexistence possible. Warm greenhouse temperatures, elevated sea levels, and coastal waters rich in nutrients may have supported an unusually diverse range of marine life. Another important factor was the emergence of new ocean connections between the eastern Pacific and the early Atlantic through the region that is now Colombia. Together, these conditions likely created opportunities for different groups of animals to thrive within the same ecosystem. Many of these environmental influences continue to shape biodiversity around the world today. "The Paja Formation records an extraordinary...

The discovery was made by an international research team led by University College Dublin (UCD). By analyzing parchment from centuries-old documents, the researchers uncovered the first genetic evidence that this destructive disease was spreading through European sheep flocks long before modern times. Sheeppox is highly contagious and can spread through a flock with alarming speed. It can kill large numbers of infected animals, particularly young sheep, while also causing major economic losses by reducing wool, meat, and milk production. Ancient Manuscripts Preserve the DNA of Deadly Viruses Published in Science Advances, the new study reconstructs more than 3,500 years of sheeppox virus evolution. Researchers identified viral DNA in several historically important medieval manuscripts, revealing that documents preserved for their cultural significance can also contain valuable biological evidence. Among the manuscripts examined was the 1,000-year-old York Gospels, considered one of the finest surviving illuminated manuscripts from the early Anglo-Saxon period. The researchers also studied older works, including the Corpus Glossary at Corpus Christi College Cambridge, one of the earliest English dictionaries, along with other medieval manuscripts from Britain and continental Europe. The secret lies in the parchment itself. Before paper became widely available, manuscripts were often produced using carefully prepared animal...

Finding these planets is one challenge. Actually seeing them is another. Most exoplanets orbit stars that shine so brightly that the planets become nearly impossible to distinguish from the surrounding glare. Even the most advanced space telescopes struggle to separate the faint light of a distant planet from the overwhelming brightness of its host star. Now, researchers have developed a powerful new method for removing that starlight from telescope images, revealing planets that were previously hidden. The technique uses a sophisticated computer simulation of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and has already exposed an exoplanet that was concealed in existing observations. In tests involving known planets, it achieved two to 15 times greater detection sensitivity than conventional approaches. A Digital Twin of James Webb Reveals Hidden Planets The breakthrough centers on a virtual replica of Webb's Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), an instrument designed to observe the universe in infrared light. By recreating how the camera operates, researchers can identify and correct tiny imperfections that interfere with its observations. The virtual model, often called a "digital twin," allows scientists to simulate the telescope's behavior and determine how starlight spreads through its optical system. Once they understand the patterns produced by...

CERN scientists have finally found evidence of a particle decay so rare that it happens only once in roughly 10 billion decays, ending a search spanning more than 40 years. The breakthrough could help...