Tag Archives: ScienceAlert

Pieces of bacteria migrating from the gut to the brain may play a key role in sleep, scientists have discovered, suggesting that the oldest and most basic microorganisms in our bodies are crucial in telling us when to nod off. These fragments are made of a chemical called peptidoglycan, which comes from bacterial cell walls in the digestive system. Previous …

A study of around 500,000 medical records published in 2023 suggested that severe viral infections like encephalitis and pneumonia increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Researchers found 22 connections between viral infections and neurodegenerative conditions in the study of around 450,000 people. People treated for a type of inflammation of the brain called viral encephalitis were …

A team of researchers from Florida International University (FIU) examined a brain protein previously associated with brain inflammation in Alzheimer’s patients, in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the protein and the disease. What they discovered could translate into an early signal of neurodegeneration that could eventually lead to dementia. In mice models of Alzheimer’s, …

Removing lymph nodes during cancer surgery has saved countless lives in many tumour types. Yet recent research is challenging parts of this long-standing practice. Imagine your body’s immune defences as a city, and lymph nodes as the hubs where police and firefighters gather fresh intel to launch their attack on criminals. What happens if you remove too many of these …

Reanalyzing old data with our modern understanding seems to be in vogue lately. However, the implications of that reanalysis for some topics are more impactful than others. One of the most hotly debated topics of late in the astrobiological community has been whether or not life can exist on Venus – specifically in its cloud layers, some of which have …

Researchers have discovered a key molecular process that may contribute to chronic inflammation as we age. If this process can be accurately targeted, it could unlock ways to stay healthier in our later years. The discovery centers on the unique strands of DNA contained within our mitochondria, the power stations of our cells. By banishing their ‘mtDNA’ into the surrounding …

We may finally know what first lit up the cosmic dawn in the early Universe. According to data from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, the origins of the free-flying photons in the early cosmic dawn were small dwarf galaxies that flared to life, clearing the fog of murky hydrogen that filled intergalactic space. A paper about the research …

Our cosmos seems, at times, like one impossibly vast factory, just pumping out mysteries. The deeper we peer, the more we learn – but each new discovery stirs up a plethora of new puzzles to solve, like a swarm of fascinating science bees. Meanwhile, some burning questions have persisted across decades, resisting our best attempts to solve them. Here’s a …

Obsessive, intrusive thoughts about eating – known as food noise – can be quieted through semaglutide drugs such as Ozempic, new research has revealed, further boosting the effectiveness of these treatments for weight loss. These drugs are known as receptor agonists, triggering cell responses to mimic the body’s natural glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone, and reduce appetite and slow digestion. We …

The constant ebb and flow of hormones that guide the menstrual cycle don’t just affect reproductive organs – they also reshape the brain, and a 2023 study gives us insight into how this happens. Led by neuroscientists Elizabeth Rizor and Viktoriya Babenko of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a team of researchers tracked 30 women across their menstrual cycles, …