Science

Obesity may boost activity in a tissue repair pathway that helps colon cancer spread, offering a potential target for drugs to prevent metastasis. Most colon cancer deaths occur when tumor cells spread beyond the primary site to invade other organs, most frequently the liver followed by the lungs, in a process called metastasis. In the [...]

A large review links cannabis use with higher rates of both committing and experiencing violence, although it cannot establish that cannabis itself is the cause. As cannabis becomes more commercialized and legalized around the world, discussion of its risks has largely focused on what happens to the person using it. Violence adds another dimension because [...]

A new paper suggests that limiting protein intake triggers a coordinated response throughout the body that may help explain how protein restriction affects healthy aging. Animals respond to protein restriction, or reduced protein in their diet, by changing how they use energy, grow, and choose food. These adjustments may also help explain why eating less [...]

Ultrafast current pulses let scientists push superconductors beyond their usual experimental limits before vortices and heat could interfere. The method revealed striking differences in how two superconducting materials break down and could expose quantum behavior that conventional measurements miss. Superconductivity is one of the most remarkable behaviors found in quantum materials. When some materials are [...]

Beneath the dusty surface of Mars’ north pole, scientists have uncovered surprisingly clean layers of ice that may preserve a hidden record of the planet’s dramatic climate history. Earth maintains a relatively steady posture in space thanks to the gravitational anchor of a massive moon. Mars lacks that stability. Tugged only by two tiny moons, [...]

A study suggests that icy moons can still harbor oceans after catastrophic collisions, a finding that could help guide the search for life beyond Earth. Many moons orbiting Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are thought to conceal liquid water beneath miles of icy shell. These buried oceans hold a basic ingredient for life as we know [...]

The drug is the first and only treatment that can change the course of this rare neurological disease. For decades, patients diagnosed with Alexander disease had no options beyond managing their symptoms. The ultra-rare, progressive, and often fatal neurological disorder affects fewer than one in a million people worldwide. It affects motor and cognitive abilities, [...]

A biodegradable honeybee silk film that does not interfere with wound healing could support future dressings that detect infection or deliver drugs. An estimated 450,000 people in Australia develop chronic wounds each year, placing more than $6 billion in costs on the health system. When those wounds become infected, healing can stall, the risk of [...]

Researchers found that blocking a key DNA repair protein destabilizes rogue DNA circles that help drive aggressive cancers, exposing a potential weakness in tumors that rely on ecDNA. Some aggressive cancers carry extra copies of cancer-driving genes on circles of DNA that float outside the cell’s normal chromosomes. These rogue DNA circles can help tumors [...]

The struggle to escape poverty can begin long before a first job, with persistent childhood hardship linked to more than triple the risk of being shut out of education and work as a young adult. Young people raised in persistent poverty were more than three times as likely to be outside education, employment, or training [...]

New evidence from deep in the Red Sea suggests that chemical reactions involving manganese and iron may have provided energy for life in Earth’s earliest oceans. Long before atmospheric oxygen filled the sky or photosynthetic organisms harvested sunlight, Earth hosted a mysterious biosphere whose energy sources remain uncertain. Clues to how those primitive organisms survived [...]

Fossils from Drimolen Cave capture a moment when two contrasting hominin species lived side by side. Two million years ago, two very different human relatives occupied the same landscape in what is now South Africa. One was Homo erectus, with a larger brain and smaller molar teeth. The other, Paranthropus robustus, had a brain only [...]

View larger. | Artist’s concept of the exoplanet called K2-155 d. China’s FAST radio telescope detected an intriguing radio signal coming from the direction of this super-Earth world. Is it an alien radio signal? Image via NASA. Did China’s FAST radio telescope detect an alien radio signal? The narrowband radio signal came from the direction of the super-Earth exoplanet K2-155 d, 238 light-years away. The signal fit several criteria for an extraterrestrial signal, but other de

This artist’s concept shows a planet orbiting 2 stars, visible at upper left and upper right. The binary star system 70 Ophiuchi is about 16 light-years from Earth. A new study said this system could support an Earthlike planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI/ Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC). Fascinating science, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Could an Earthlike planet with 2 stars be nearby? People are fascinated

Polished opals from Australia. The opal is an October birthstone. Image via Sevenopal/ Wikimedia Commons. October babies have two birthstones to choose from: opal or tourmaline. You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Opal, the primary October birthstone The best known October birthstone is the opal. Opals are amazingly diverse rocks, taking on different appearances depending on how they formed. Pre

The findings could help researchers make local anesthetics last longer in people. Patients recovering from surgery may need pain relief beyond the eight to 12 hours, or about a day at most, that most local anesthetics provide. Seeking a longer-lasting option, researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have redesigned liposomes, microscopic carriers made from fatty molecules, [...]

The strongest link to dementia risk may be hidden in declining muscle, rather than rising weight. A review of more than 80 studies by researchers at Curtin University examined how body weight, body fat, and muscle health relate to dementia risk. People with sarcopenia had a 42 percent higher risk of dementia, the strongest association [...]

A study found that just seven days of strength training activated processes that help break down fat in mice. People starting a new workout routine often look to the bathroom scale for immediate validation. When the numbers refuse to budge after a week of lifting weights, it is easy to assume the effort was wasted. [...]

NASA announced Wednesday a mission to explore the history and evolution of the universe, PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is advancing to the next phase of development. This space telescope is the first in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions, called Probe Explorers, within the agency’s longstanding Explorers Program.

Decorated pots made in Tampa Bay may preserve the skills and broken vessels that migrant artisans brought from their homeland. A century ago, archaeologists digging around Tampa Bay uncovered pottery fragments bearing designs that seemed out of place. The motifs closely resembled those of Mississippian culture, which emerged around A.D. 1000 in the Mississippi River [...]