Tag Archives: ScienceAlert

The rate at which our bodies age and wear down doesn’t necessarily match our actual age, and the differences can help predict lifespan and disease risk. Now, researchers have developed a new tool for assessing biological age from a single brain scan taken halfway through our lives. The tool, put together by an international team of scientists, is based on …

If you spend any time in the wellness corners of TikTok or Instagram, you’ll see claims women need one to two hours more sleep than men. But what does the research actually say? And how does this relate to what’s going on in real life? As we’ll see, who gets to sleep, and for how long, is a complex mix …

When astronauts return from the International Space Station, many have noticed an unexpected side effect of their mission, their eyesight has changed. This phenomenon, affecting about 70% of astronauts on long duration missions, has NASA scientists working to understand why weightlessness affects how we see. Dr. Sarah Johnson noticed it first during her six month stay aboard the ISS. She …

Surgeons at Duke University have resuscitated a ‘dead’ heart on the operating table after it stopped beating for more than five minutes. The organ was later transplanted into the chest of a three-month-old child, saving their life. The infant with the donor heart continued to show normal cardiac function and no signs of organ rejection at six months of age, …

Tropical lizards love to snack on butterflies, but sometimes, they have trouble telling which end is which. That’s because many butterflies in the Lycaenidae family have evolved marvelously deceptive wings. A study by two entomologists from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram reveals the complex interplay of genes required to achieve such an act of subterfuge. Butterfly …

Keep calm and try omega-3. The fatty acids, available as dietary supplements via fish oil capsules and thought to help with mental and physical well-being, could also cut down on aggression, according to a 2024 study. These findings haven’t come out of nowhere: omega-3 has previously been linked to preventing schizophrenia, while aggression and antisocial behavior are thought in part …

Nearly three in four American teenagers have used AI companions, with more than half qualifying as regular users despite growing safety concerns about these virtual relationships, according to a new survey released Wednesday. AI companions – chatbots designed for personal conversations rather than simple task completion – are available on platforms like Character.AI, Replika, and Nomi. Unlike traditional artificial intelligence …

A new analysis of decades’ worth of observations has revealed that Uranus does indeed emit more heat than it receives from the rays of the Sun. This conclusion, arrived at by two independent teams of scientists, finally resolves a puzzle that first emerged when Voyager 2 cruised past the stinky planet all the way back in 1986. Those observations suggested …

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) may play a role in mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, according to a new study. Experts have long noted links between these psychiatric disorders and certain viral infections, but direct evidence of the viruses inside human brains is lacking. In the brain’s protective lining, however, the new study found …

Recent shifts in Earth’s magnetic field have human fingerprints all over them. While it is normal for our planet’s magnetic poles to sporadically wander, new research shows we’ve now amassed enough water behind dam walls to account for at least some of the current movements. Harvard University geophysicist Natasha Valencic and colleagues calculated that the masses concentrated in just under …