A new birthplace for asteroid Ryugu

Asteroid Ryugu possibly did not travel as far from its place of origin to its current near-Earth orbit as previously assumed. New research suggests that Ryugu was formed near Jupiter. Earlier studies had pointed to an origin beyond the orbit of Saturn.

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Asteroid Ceres is a former ocean world that slowly formed into a giant, murky icy orb

A crater-rich dwarf planet named Ceres located in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter was long thought to be composed of a materials mixture not dominated by water ice. Researchers at Purdue used data from NASA's Dawn mission to show that Ceres' crust could be over 90 percent ice.

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Babies born after fertility treatment have higher risk of heart defects, study suggests

The risk of being born with a major heart defect is 36% higher in babies who were conceived after assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to results of a very large study.

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Shrinking AR displays into eyeglasses to expand their use

Augmented reality (AR) takes digital images and superimposes them onto real-world views. But AR is more than a new way to play video games; it could transform surgery and self-driving cars. To make the technology easier to integrate into common personal devices, researchers report how to combine two optical technologies into a single, high-resolution AR display. In an eyeglasses prototype, the researchers enhanced image quality with a computer algorithm that removed distortions.

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Researchers discover new bacterium that causes gut immunodeficiency

Researchers have discovered a new bacterium that weakens the immune system in the gut, potentially contributing to certain inflammatory and infectious gut diseases. The team identified the bacterium, Tomasiella immunophila (T. immunophila), which plays a key role in breaking down a crucial immune component of the gut's multi-faceted protective immune barrier.

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Scientists design new drug to fight malaria

A team has designed a new drug against malaria and identified its mechanism of action.

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Ice cores show pollution's impact on Arctic atmosphere

A new study on ice cores from Alaska and Greenland found that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels reaches the remote Arctic in amounts large enough to alter its fundamental atmospheric chemistry. The researchers unexpectedly found pollution's footprint in levels of an airborne byproduct of marine phytoplankton activity, which plummeted as soon as widespread fossil fuel usage began in the industrial era. The findings illustrate the long reach of fossil fuel emissions.

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Ice age clues point to more extreme weather patterns in our future

A new study combines data from ancient shells with advanced climate modeling to shed light on how El Ni o weather patterns might change in a warming world.

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How cranes navigate their complex world

Knowing how animals use their environments to survive and thrive is a key challenge for predicting how global climate change will affect wildlife. A global collaborative study of four species of crane has shed light on the way that migrations are finely tuned to unpredictable and complex environments. A team from 10 countries combined novel animal tracking technology, remote-sensed information about the environment, and a new statistical framework to gain insight into four iconic species: common cranes, white-naped cranes, black-necked cranes, and demoiselle cranes.

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Specially designed video games may benefit mental health of children and teenagers

Scientists conclude that some video games created as mental health interventions can be helpful -- if modest -- tools in improving the mental well-being of children and teens with anxiety, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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World's oldest cheese reveals origins of kefir

Scientists successfully extracted and analyzed DNA from ancient cheese samples found alongside the Tarim Basin mummies in China, dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research suggests a new origin for kefir cheese and sheds light on the evolution of probiotic bacteria.

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The heart of the question: Who can get Medicare-covered weight loss medicine?

With Medicare now covering semaglutide for people with obesity and cardiovascular disease who don't have diabetes, a study looks at who that might include, depending on what cutoffs prescription plans apply.

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Climate science: How a believer becomes a skeptic

Researchers explored the powerful effect of repetition on people's beliefs.

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Leading scientists redefine 'sustainability' to save the ocean and feed a hungry and warming planet

Top ocean experts have published a report that redefines the concept of 'sustainable fishing' and proposes 11 'golden rules' that radically challenge the flawed approach that currently prevails in fisheries management.

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Scientists turn to human skeletons to explore origins of horseback riding

A new, wide-ranging exploration of human remains casts doubt on a long-standing theory in archaeology known as the Kurgan hypothesis -- which, among other claims, suggests that humans first domesticated horses as early as the fourth millennium B.C.

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Networks of Beliefs theory integrates internal and external dynamics

The beliefs we hold develop from a complex dance between our internal and external lives. A recent study uses well-known formalisms in statistical physics to model multiple aspects of belief-network dynamics. This multidimensional approach to modeling belief dynamics could offer new tools for tackling various real-world problems such as polarization or the spread of disinformation.

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Breastfeeding is crucial to shaping infant's microbes and promoting lung health

Human breast milk regulates a baby's mix of microbes, or microbiome, during the infant's first year of life. This in turn lowers the child's risk of developing asthma, a new study shows.

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Scientists quantify energetic costs of the migratory lifestyle in a free flying songbird

Millions of birds migrate every year to escape winter, but spending time in a warmer climate does not save them energy, according to new research. Using miniaturized loggers implanted in wild blackbirds, scientists recorded detailed measurements of heart rate and body temperature from birds every 30 minutes from fall to the following spring. The data offer unprecedented insights into the true energetic costs of migrant and resident strategies and reveal a previously unknown mechanism used by migrants to save energy prior migration.

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'Scuba-diving' lizards use bubble to breathe underwater and avoid predators

A species of semi-aquatic lizard produces a special bubble over its nostrils to breathe underwater and avoid predators.

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New study reveals food waste bans ineffective in reducing landfill waste, except in Massachusetts

Of the first five U.S. states to implement food waste bans, only Massachusetts was successful at diverting waste away from landfills and incinerators, according to a new study.

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Clovis people used Great Lakes camp annually 13,000 years ago

The earliest humans to settle the Great Lakes region likely returned to a campsite in southwest Michigan for several years in a row, according to a new study.

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Genomics reveals sled dogs' Siberian lineage

New research examines thousands of years of Arctic sled dog ancestry and reveals when and how Siberian and Alaskan sled dogs' DNA mixed.

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Turning seawater into fresh water through solar power

Researchers designed an energy-efficient device that produces drinking water from seawater using an evaporation process driven largely by the sun.

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Early dark energy could resolve cosmology's two biggest puzzles

Physicists propose that a mysterious force known as early dark energy could solve two of the biggest puzzles in cosmology and fill in some major gaps in our understanding of how the early universe evolved.

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Microbe dietary preferences influence the effectiveness of carbon sequestration in the deep ocean

The movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the surface of the ocean, where it is in active contact with the atmosphere, to the deep ocean, where it can be sequestered away for decades, centuries, or longer, depends on a number of seemingly small processes. A key microscale process in the ocean is the dietary preferences of bacteria that feed on organic molecules called lipids.

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Plant-derived secondary organic aerosols can act as mediators of plant-plant interactions

A new study reveals that plant-derived secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) can act as mediators of plant-plant interactions. This research was conducted through the cooperation of chemical ecologists, plant ecophysiologists and atmospheric physicists.

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Folded or cut, this lithium-sulfur battery keeps going

Most rechargeable batteries that power portable devices, such as toys, handheld vacuums and e-bikes, use lithium-ion technology. But these batteries can have short lifetimes and may catch fire when damaged. To address stability and safety issues, researchers have designed a lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery that features an improved iron sulfide cathode. One prototype remains highly stable over 300 charge-discharge cycles, and another provides power even after being folded or cut.

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Bacteria work together to thrive in difficult conditions

In a new study, researchers have determined through both statistical analysis and in experiments that soil pH is a driver of microbial community composition -- but that the need to address toxicity released during nitrogen cycling ultimately shapes the final microbial community.

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Research reveals reality of Ice Age teen puberty

Landmark new research shows Ice Age teens from 25,000 years ago went through similar puberty stages as modern-day adolescents.

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Light pollution a new Alzheimer's risk factor

Outdoor light at night could be a significant risk factor in Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from Rush.

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Microscale robot folds into 3D shapes and crawls

Researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal 'metasheet' but, with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawl.

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Genes with strong impact on menopause timing also link to cancer risk

The team first looked at variation in data from genetic sequencing of 106,973 post-menopausal female participants in the UK Biobank study. Researchers focused on rare types of genetic changes which cause a loss of the protein, and investigated their effect on the timing of menopause. The genetic changes studied are all rare in the population, however their influence on menopause is five times greater than the impact of any previously identified common genetic variant.

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Scientists expand the genetic alphabet to create new proteins

It's a dogma taught in every introductory biology class: Proteins are composed of combinations of 20 different amino acids, arranged into diverse sequences like words. But researchers trying to engineer biologic molecules with new functions have long felt limited by those 20 basic building blocks and strived to develop ways of putting new building blocks -- called non-canonical amino acids -- into their proteins. Now, scientists have designed a new paradigm for easily adding non-canonical amino acids to proteins.

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Atypical metabolite levels at birth may increase SIDS risk

Newborns who had an atypical pattern of metabolites were more than 14 times as likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), compared to infants who had more typical metabolic patterns, according to a new study. Metabolites are molecules produced by the body's various chemical reactions. Researchers found that infants who died of SIDS had a specific pattern of metabolites compared to infants who lived to their first year. The researchers believe that checking for this pattern could provide a way to identify infants at risk for SIDS.

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Brain-wide decision-making dynamics discovered

Neuroscientists have revealed how sensory input is transformed into motor action across multiple brain regions in mice. The research shows that decision-making is a global process across the brain that is coordinated by learning. The findings could aid artificial intelligence research by providing insights into how to design more distributed neural networks.

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Methane emissions are rising faster than ever

Methane concentrations in Earth's atmosphere increased at record speed over the past five years. At least two-thirds of annual methane emissions now come from human activities, including fossil fuel use, agriculture, and landfills and other waste.

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New research sinks an old theory for the doldrums, a low-wind equatorial region that stranded sailors for centuries

During the Age of Sail, sailors riding the trade winds past the equator dreaded becoming stranded in the doldrums, a meteorologically distinct region in the deep tropics. For at least a century, scientists have thought that the doldrums' lack of wind was caused by converging and rising air masses. Now, new research suggests that the opposite may be true.

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Artificial muscles propel a robotic leg to walk and jump

Researchers have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner.

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Extreme weather to strengthen rapidly over next two decades

The study shows how global warming can combine with normal variations in the weather to produce decade-long periods of very rapid changes in both extreme temperatures and rainfall.

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Researchers create a one-dimensional gas out of light

Physicists have created a one-dimensional gas out of light. This has enabled them to test theoretical predictions about the transition into this exotic state of matter for the first time. The method used in the experiment by the researchers could be used for examining quantum effects.

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100x improvement in sight seen after gene therapy trial

The vision of people with a rare inherited condition that causes them to lose much of their sight early in childhood was 100 times better after they received gene therapy to address the genetic mutation causing it. Some patients even experienced a 10,000-fold improvement in their vision after receiving the highest dose of the therapy, according to researchers.

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Massive merger: Study reveals evidence for origin of supermassive black hole at galaxy's center

Researchers have discovered compelling evidence suggesting that the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), is likely the result of a past cosmic merger. The study builds on recent observations from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which captured the first direct image of Sgr A* in 2022.

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Miniature treadmills accelerate studies of insects walking

Fruit flies walking on minature treadmills are helping scientists learn how the nervous system enables animals to move in an unpredictable and complex world. The researchers engineered these small-scale machines from inexpensive parts. The treadmills are used in studies of how fruit flies recognize and deal with unexpected changes underfoot while they are walking.

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Major leap for nuclear clock paves way for ultraprecise timekeeping

Nuclear clocks would measure time based on changes inside an atom's nucleus, which would make them less sensitive to external disturbances and potentially more accurate than atomic clocks. These clocks could lead to improved timekeeping and navigation, faster internet speeds, and advances in fundamental physics research. Scientists have demonstrated key components of a nuclear clock, such as precise frequency measurements of an energy jump in a thorium-229 nucleus.

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Open wide: Human mouth bacteria reproduce through rare form of cell division

New research has uncovered an extraordinary mechanism of cell division in Corynebacterium matruchotii, one of the most common bacteria living in dental plaque. The filamentous bacterium doesn't just divide, it splits into multiple cells at once, a rare process called multiple fission.

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Researchers give adult zebra finches back their ability to learn new songs

We all know the adage, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.' As we age, our ability to learn new skills, like mastering a foreign language or picking up a musical instrument, seems to fade. The culprit? A decline in brain plasticity - the brain's capacity to rewire itself and adapt to new challenges. But what if we could rewind the clock on this age-related decline? A new study offers a tantalizing glimpse into this possibility.

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How bright is the universe's glow? Study offers best measurement yet

Over billions of years, the universe's stars and galaxies shined their light into space, leaving behind an imperceptibly faint night light known as the cosmic optical background. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has traveled to the edge of Earth's solar system and captured the most accurate measurement of this glow to date.

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Doughnut-shaped region found inside Earth's core deepens understanding of planet's magnetic field

A doughnut-shaped region thousands of kilometers beneath our feet within Earth's liquid core has been discovered, providing new clues about the dynamics of our planet's magnetic field.

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Land-sea 'tag-team' devastated ocean life millions of years ago reveal scientists

A 'tag-team' between the oceans and continents millions of years ago devastated marine life and altered the course of evolution on Earth, according to a new study. Scientists say a string of severe environmental crises which happened between 185 and 85 million years ago triggered mass extinctions among ocean-living species.

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