Scientists may have identified a way to naturally regulate blood sugar levels and sugar cravings in a similar fashion to drugs like Ozempic. In mice and humans, the key to unlocking this natural process was found to be a gut microbe and its metabolites – the compounds it produces during digestion. By increasing the abundance of this one gut microbe …
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A tiny blob of gelatinous tissue sitting in a dish represents a giant leap forward in human brain research. Known as an organoid, it’s a living 3D model of a human organ; one of the first to constitute multiple different regions of the brain. Moreover, those regions connect up with each other and light up with neuronal activity, comparable to …
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Fast radio bursts (FRBs) last around a millisecond and in doing so encode otherwise unattainable information on the plasma which permeates our Universe, providing insights into magnetic fields and gas distributions. In a paper authored by Manisha Caleb from the University of Sydney, the team report upon the discovery of FRB 20240304B which lies at a redshift of 2.148 +/- …
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Drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro (known as semaglutide and tirzepatide) have changed the way clinicians manage diabetes and obesity around the world. Collectively known as GLP-1 agonists, these drugs mimic the hormone GLP-1. This limits both hunger and interest in food, helping users lose weight, and helps control blood sugar levels. But two new studies published today show …
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With just a splash of color, the red planet’s horizons can look remarkably like our own – blue skies and all. A 360-degree panorama, taken by the Perseverance Rover on Mars, could just as easily have been snapped in a rocky desert somewhere here on Earth. The difference lies in a subtle tweak to the color contrast. Related: Sold: Largest …
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The genes of great white sharks defy scientific explanation. An animal’s genome can be deeply revealing, but ever since researchers started decoding great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) DNA more than 20 years ago, their discoveries have raised more questions than answers. In 2024, a study confirmed that, contrary to common thought, this fierce ocean predator does not belong to a …
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Air conditioning can feel heaven-sent on hot summer days. It keeps temperatures comfortable and controls humidity, making indoor environments tolerable even on the most brutally warm days. But some people avoid using air conditioning (AC) no matter how hot it gets outside, out of fear that it will make them sick. While this may sound far-fetched to some, as a …
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Don’t let the brilliant Moon deter you from enjoying the best meteor shower of the year: the 2025 Perseids. It’s that time of year once again. August sees warm nights, with late summer campers out awaiting that ‘Old Faithful’ of annual meteor showers: the August Perseids. While 2025 also sees the shower peaking right around Full Moon; with a little …
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A black hole deep in the cosmos, some 5 billion light-years away, could be the most massive ever found. The galaxy SDSS J1148+1930 harbors a behemoth, around 36.3 billion times the mass of our Sun, according to new measurements. That places the black hole’s mass very close to the practical upper limit. For context, the Milky Way’s central black hole …
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Humans may be living longer on average these days, but, even so, only a fraction of us will live to see our 100th birthday. Yet the reasons why only a select few will become centenarians still remains a mystery to scientists. But the latest work published by myself and my colleagues has just uncovered one factor that may be key …
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