Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.
Antibodies made by the immune system can sometimes target human brain cells, producing psychiatric symptoms. Researchers aim to better identify such rare cases as well as fine-tune treatments.
Scientists discovered a surprising energy paradox in the brain during REM sleep, the stage most closely associated with dreaming. Blood supply to the brain begins increasing even before REM starts, but neurons’ immediately available energy, measured as ATP, then drops. The finding suggests that dreaming may require such intense internal processing that neurons consume energy faster than it can be replenished.
One of the most famous full moons of the year will climb into the eastern sky on Saturday, Sept. 26. This year, the Harvest Moon will make its appearance with Saturn shining nearby — and you'll have another chance to see it rise on Sunday, Sept. 27, too.Officially full at 12:49 p.m. EDT on Saturday, the full moon will be best seen rising in the eastern sky later that day, at the time of moonrise where you are. It will appear in the constellation Pisces.This month's full moon earns the Harvest Moon nickname because it's the full moon closest to the September equinox, which fell on Tuesday (Sept. 22). This year, it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival — also called the Moon Festival — which ...
More than 40 million people in the northeastern United States braced Friday for heavy rain and strong winds as an unusually powerful storm for the season was forecast to crash into the region.
Bangkok authorities declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital on Saturday after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged and residents wading through deep water.
Wildfires that tore through Indonesian Borneo's vast tropical forests have increased pressure on critically endangered Bornean orangutans, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Saturday.
In a freshwater canal surrounded by mangroves in southern Guatemala, hundreds of baby tropical gars—a torpedo-shaped fish with an alligator-like snout dubbed the "fossil fish"—are released into the wild.
In modern times we tend to think of lithium as powering smartphones and cars, yet its historical fame comes from its role as a mood stabilizer.Lithium was first used as a treatment for bipolar disorder in 1949. Yet despite decades of research and drug development, this simple medication remains the gold standard for treating one of the most complex psychiatric conditions. But why?According to Becci Strawbridge, a senior lecturer in psychological medicine at King's College London, lithium's simplicity could be what helps it cut through the complexity of bipolar disorder, a lifelong disorder that affects about 36 million people worldwide.Clinically, bipolar disorder is defined as a mood disord...
An estimated 38 trillion bacteria live in the human body—and only a small fraction are harmful to our health. However, the harmful ones can cause serious illness, especially when they develop resistance to antibiotics.
Scientists think beneficial fungi could help transform nutrient-poor lunar and Martian regolith into a material capable of supporting crops. By helping plants access nutrients and withstand harsh conditions, these microbes could someday make self-sustaining space farming more realistic.
Scientists discovered rare flavoalkaloids in Cannabis leaves for the first time, along with dozens of other phenolic compounds that had never been reported in the plant. The findings suggest that Cannabis leaves, often discarded as waste, may contain a surprisingly rich source of potentially useful chemicals.
Wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events are no longer the only ways climate change affects children around the world. Increasingly, it also affects their diets. Droughts reduce agricultural production, floods cut off roads and disrupt supply chains, and rising prices limit families' access to fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods.
Before the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can invade a cell, it has to know it has reached the right place. New research from the Whitehead Institute reveals that the parasite doesn't simply recognize a ready-made doorway into the cell. Instead, it helps create the conditions for its own entry.
Researchers have figured out a missing piece of the puzzle of how human cells detect invading viruses and mount an immune response within an hour.
Slaughterhouses are places most people never want to go, and might seem like unlikely places to search for rare or endangered species. In West Africa, however, they are among the last places one can find a critically endangered species, the Hooded Vulture, which historically thrived as a human commensal species, living in close proximity to people and contributing to waste disposal.
Removing a single amino acid can determine whether new proteins assemble into stable complexes within mitochondria. An enzyme carries out this precise trimming at the start of mitochondrial proteins. Without it, numerous protein complexes lose their stability, according to a study led by Dr. Nora Vögtle of Heidelberg University and Dr. Pitter Huesgen of the University of Freiburg. In their work published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the scientists identified a previously unknown mechanism by which human cells maintain the balance of proteins in their mitochondria.
NASA is moving forward with designing a new space telescope that can see even deeper into the infrared universe than the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can. The new mission, called PRIMA (Probe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is continuing its development to Phase B — the preliminary design and tech phase — according to a NASA statement. Managers will review the mission's progress before officially beginning the telescope's journey to launch; if all goes to plan, PRIMA will embark on a five-year mission no earlier than 2033.PRIMA's objective is to use a 5.9-foot [1.8 meters] telescope to examine the cosmos in the far-infrared, in a different set of wavelengths than the more famous...
Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E protect cells by neutralizing free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, before they can damage genetic material or cell membranes. Such damage can contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Antioxidants therefore help prevent cellular damage.
MAUI, Hawaii — Engineers have built a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI) audio chip for wearable devices that they say will let users engage with AI assistants without needing to maintain a smartphone connection. Devices with the new chip will also harvest audio — and even video — data from the world around you to better serve these virtual agents.The new chip, called Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, will pave the way for new features that are currently unavailable directly in portable devices such as headphones, smart glasses and speakers. Qualcomm representatives announced the new chip at the company's annual Snapdragon Summit, hosted here Sept. 21-24. Unlike current earbuds, ...
After taking a pill, the drugs it contains are distributed throughout the body, reaching the tissues and cells affected by disease and performing their intended function. However, they also enter healthy cells, where they often cause more harm than good.