Doctors have long relied on measurements like body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratios to assess health risks. However, researchers are increasingly focusing their attention on an unexpected indicator: neck circumference. A thick neck might project strength, like that of heavyweight boxers or rugby players, but studies suggest it could signal a concerning health issue. BMI, which divides weight by …
Read More »
The powerful NSF Inouye Solar Telescope has just delivered absolutely mind-blowing observations of its first X-class solar flare. On 8 August 2024, the telescope managed to capture one of the most powerful flares our Sun is capable of producing – at a remarkable resolution of just four Earths across. This level of detail reveals some of the finest structures we’ve …
Read More »
An expedition to a deep-sea ridge, just north of the Hawaiian Islands, revealed a surprise back in 2022: an ancient dried-up lake bed paved with what appears to be a yellow brick road. The exploration vessel Nautilus discovered the eerie scene while surveying the Liliʻuokalani ridge in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). PMNM is one of the largest marine conservation …
Read More »
Inside every human brain lies a detailed map of the body, with different regions dedicated to different body parts – the hands, lips, feet and more. But what happens to this map when a body part is removed? For decades, scientists believed that when a body part is amputated, the brain’s body map dramatically reorganises itself, with neighbouring body parts …
Read More »
Scientists are making encouraging progress in developing vaccines to treat cancer, but so far the therapies have been restricted to specific types of tumor. Now new research points the way to a universal vaccine that could attack a wider range of cancers. The research led by a team at the University of Florida focuses on “waking up” the immune system …
Read More »
If you’ve ever wanted to live your life adrift amid a sea of gently glowing succulents, that dream just got a tiny step closer. A team of scientists at South China Agricultural University has managed to create succulents that glow in the dark through a process that can be recharged using sunlight. Moreover, they can glow in multiple different colors …
Read More »
A skull that was found embedded in a cave wall in Greece more than 60 years ago may finally have an identification. A new dating of the minerals that surrounded and grew over the mysterious Petralona skull places its age at 277,000 years at least – and suggesting it is a member of a primitive, extinct hominid that lived alongside …
Read More »
The ambitious mission to retrieve samples from asteroid Bennu and return them to Earth is paying off. Just as scientists had hoped, the asteroid is revealing details about the early days in our Solar System. More than just a simple space rock, Bennu contains not only material from the Solar System, but material from beyond our system. Bennu follows an …
Read More »
The skull of a small child who lived and died many millennia ago represents the oldest direct evidence to date of the prolonged mingling between anatomically modern humans and our closely related cousins, the Neanderthals. Clearly showing features of both groups, the skull has been dated to around 140,000 years ago; more than 100,000 years older than the only other …
Read More »
There are many ways to boost brain power, from exercising more often to learning new skills. But what about boosting the actual size of your brain? According to a new study, wearing the right kind of perfume or cologne can enlarge your brain’s gray matter. Researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Tsukuba in Japan asked 28 women to …
Read More »