New research suggests that cooling in the Northern Hemisphere may have triggered far-reaching ocean changes that helped drive Earth’s past ice ages. Growing ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere may have helped push Earth into past ice ages by triggering changes in ocean circulation thousands of miles away, near Antarctica. New research from the University […]
Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” Could Raise Sea Levels Twice As Much as Scientists Feared
Even without further warming, Thwaites Glacier could contribute twice as much to sea level rise by 2100 as previously estimated, according to a revised ice sheet model. Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica has been retreating and thinning rapidly, while satellites show substantial acceleration in its ice flow. Traditional ice sheet models have depicted slower movement, […]
Mysterious Brain Signal Linked to Several Schizophrenia Symptoms
A weakened brain signal may offer new clues about schizophrenia and its earliest warning signs. Schizophrenia affects how people perceive their surroundings, organize their thoughts, and communicate with others. Although these symptoms are often studied separately, new research suggests they may be connected to a common disruption in brain activity. In a study published in […]
Scientists Discover That Ovaries May Be Doing Something Unexpected Decades After Menopause
Ovaries often dismissed as inactive after menopause may still shape how women age, with human tissue revealing inflammatory changes and molecular similarities to ovarian cancer. Ovaries continue to change for decades after menopause, long after their role in reproduction has ended. In a study of ovarian tissue from 28 women ages 50 to 75, scientists […]
Snakebites Are Far Deadlier Than We Thought, New Study Reveals
Even fatal snakebites can go uncounted, and a model estimating up to 513,000 deaths annually could help direct lifesaving antivenom to communities that health records miss. Not every snakebite injects venom. When venom enters the body, however, it can cause snake envenoming. This is a potentially fatal condition, and it mostly affects poor rural communities […]
Scientists Studied 865 Humpback Whales and Found They Grow Faster Than Expected
Despite decades of environmental change and population recovery, eastern Australian humpback whales appear to have maintained their historical adult size. Eastern Australian humpback whales grow at an extraordinary pace, reaching approximately 10.9 meters (35.8 feet) in length by age five. By six or seven years old, they have already attained about 90 percent of their […]
Physicists Use Light To Unlock a Crystal’s Hidden Electrical Powers
A crystal’s laser-induced electrical order lasts just a trillionth of a second, giving researchers a way to explore ultrafast approaches to processing and storing information. Inside a crystal, tiny electrical regions can point in different directions or line up in an organized pattern. Cooling helps bring them into alignment, but physicists at Auburn University have […]
Archaeologists May Have Just Discovered the World’s Oldest Shipwreck
Jars from what may be the world’s oldest shipwreck still hold visible residues, offering a chance to identify what Mediterranean traders carried around 4,500 years ago. A shipwreck off the coast of Turkey is the oldest shipwreck in the world, our team of archaeologists believes. There’s little left of the ship itself but based on […]
Dementia Will Cost America a Staggering $818 Billion This Year
Lost quality of life accounts for the largest share of dementia’s estimated $818 billion U.S. toll, offering a broader measure of what better care could preserve. Family members and friends caring for Americans with dementia provide billions of hours of unpaid help, often during their prime working years. Their time, lost earnings, and the physical […]
Popular Sleep Supplement Could Come With an Unexpected Catch, Scientists Warn
A cannabis compound sold to help people sleep caused withdrawal symptoms in mice after just three days of repeated use. Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that repeated doses of cannabinol, or CBN, produced tolerance and withdrawal symptoms in mice. The study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, raises questions about a substance whose […]