A Slowly Aging Butterfly Could Help Scientists Understand Longevity
A University of Bristol-led study reports that a species of butterflies has evolved both longer lifespans and slower physical decline.
Austin Burgess
Discovery of Fungi Living Within Desert Moss is Challenging Past Thinking on How Organisms Thrive in Arid Environments
Moss has long been regarded as unusual among land plants for its resilience and apparent independence from fungal partnerships, which are common in other species; however, new research from UC Riverside indicates that this view may not apply in desert environments.
A 2,700-Year-Old Stone Could Shed New Light on a Religious Reform Described in the Bible
A massive stone, deliberately laid on its side and buried within the walls of an ancient Judean home, may provide physical evidence consistent with interpretations of King Hezekiah’s reported religious reforms.
Scientists Want to Know Whether Meditation Can Boost the Effects of Psilocybin Therapy
A new research initiative at the University of Southern California is investigating the effects of combining psilocybin with structured mental training.
Elephant Trunk’s Hidden Design Could Inspire a New Generation of Soft Robots
The elephant's trunk has long been studied by engineers seeking to understand how it performs both powerful and delicate tasks effectively.
James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Two Completely Different Twilights on an Alien World
For the first time, astronomers have distinguished between the morning and evening atmospheres of a single planet, revealing two remarkably different environments at its edges.
The Amaterasu Particle May Not Be a Proton at All, New Research Suggests
A recent study suggests that the Amaterasu particle, along with other extremely energetic cosmic rays, may actually be atomic nuclei heavier than iron.
This Philosopher Thinks Physics May Be Asking the Wrong Question About Space-Time
Einstein's equations have withstood every experimental test for more than a century; however, according to one philosopher, they have not withstood careful scrutiny of the language used to describe them.
Archaeologists Uncover 4,000-Year-Old Evidence of a Deadly Event in Ancient Mesopotamia
Archaeologists believe a site in present-day northern Iraq may preserve the remains of an ancient city whose fall was recorded in Mesopotamian texts.
A ‘Memory Switchboard’ in the Hippocampus May Help Explain How the Brain Learns Without Overwriting Old Memories
New research identifies a mechanism that may explain how the brain can take in new experiences without erasing stored memeories.
DMT Users Have Described Encounters with Non-Human Intelligences for Decades—A New Mathematical Framework Could Test Such Claims
Researchers have introduced a new mathematical framework to help unravel the most baffling aspects of the DMT psychedelic experience.
You Shall Not Pass: Scientists Identify New “Balrog” Cricket Species in Greek Island Tunnel
A small Greek island on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean has revealed a new species inside a man-made tunnel carved into a hillside.
People Have Reported Hearing a Mysterious Low-Frequency Hum for Decades—Scientists Now Think They’ve Found the Source
A recent study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), published in PLOS ONE, provides evidence that, for most people who experience The Hum phenomenon, the source is not external but may actually originate within the auditory system.
A Hidden Brain Rhythm May Map the Line Between Conscious and Unconscious States
Researchers at LMU have found a new type of electrical rhythm in the central thalamus that allows them to closely track certain states of consciousness.
Scientists Demonstrate What Pianists Have Argued for Over 100 Years
For more than a century, musicians have maintained that the way a pianist touches a key influences the sound that emerges. Many scientists, however, have argued that after the hammer strikes the string, the instrument itself determines the outcome, making the pianist's touch irrelevant.
Can AI Be Conscious? Researchers Say Science May Not Yet Know How to Tell
Common experimental methods in consciousness research don't separate subjective experience from general information processing, new research argues.
A Single Jawbone From Egypt Is Changing How Scientists Think About Ape Origins
For much of the past century, fossils from East Africa have shaped our understanding of ape evolution. Now, a jawbone found in the Egyptian desert adds a new dimension to that story.
Einstein-Rosen Bridges May Not Be Wormholes After All, Physicists Reveal
Recent research suggests that the original bridge theory was not a wormhole but a mathematical feature of how time is structured.
Newly Discovered “Witch Croc” Reveals Dinosaur-Like Evolution in the Triassic
A newly described fossil from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, belongs to the crocodile family tree, but unlike most crocodile-line archosaurs, it walked on two legs, had small arms, and a toothless beak.
Asteroid Impact Craters May Have Helped Create Early Habitats for Oxygen-Producing Life
Scientists studying an ancient asteroid crater on the Korean Peninsula have uncovered rock formations that may offer clues to the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth.
Experts Warn This ‘Invisible’ Surveillance System is Already Built Into WiFi
Many people believe that revoking certain microphone privileges on their phones or smart devices is enough to avoid digital surveillance; however, a new study from Germany shows that this is not the case.
Psilocybin Helped Reduce Depression Symptoms Within Just Days, Recent Clinical Trial Reveals
A recent clinical trial in Sweden found that a single oral dose of psilocybin reduced depressive symptoms within 48 hours in participants suffering from moderate to severe depression.
Could A.I. Soon Join Humans in ‘Sensing’ the World Around Us? This Professor Says It Might Be Possible
A new book suggests that artificial intelligence is moving beyond simply processing information and is starting to perceive the world through senses similar to those of humans.
A Statistical ‘Fingerprint’ Could Reveal Alien Life Detectable by Current Spacecraft
Alien life could be leaving a statistical signature detectable in the molecular data already collected by spacecraft, new research suggests.
DNA From a Decades-Old Museum Specimen Reveals the Hidden Lineage of a Tiny Underwater Predator
While most fruit flies are commonly known for their attraction to fermenting fruit, one species has evolved to hunt in the fast-moving streams of Africa, taking on the role of a predator.
Dream-Like Mental States Can Occur While Awake, Study Finds
Shifting mental experiences we usually associate with dreaming can also occur while we are awake, a new study says.
A Single Dose of Psilocybin May Produce Lasting Brain Changes, Study Finds
A new study shows that one psychedelic experience doesn't just alter how a person feels; it may also change the brain itself.
Cannabis, Not Psychedelics, Is the Most Common Microdosing Drug in the U.S.
A research team at the University of California, San Diego, found that cannabis is the most widely microdosed substance in the United States.
Return of the Boltzmann Brains: Why a Bizarre Hypothesis Suggests the Past May Be Harder to Prove Than We Think
Physicists are revisiting the bizarre paradox of "Boltzmann brains," and whether memories could be illusions created by chance from "cosmic static."
A 250-Year-Old Mechanical Volcano Finally Erupts for the First Time
250-year-old plans for a model that would mechanically recreate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius have finally been brought to life.
A Hot Pink Katydid Just Pulled Off One of Nature’s Most Surprising Camouflage Tricks
The findings, published in Ecology, center on Arota festae, a leaf-mimicking katydid found in Panama, Colombia, and Suriname.
Dreams May Reflect More Than Past Experiences, New Study Finds
A new study shows that our personal traits as well as real-life events and experiences actually shape what we dream about, creating patterns in our subconscious.
A Subtle Shift in the Nile May Explain the Rise of an Ancient African Empire
Recent research from the University of Michigan now provides a geological explanation for why this part of the Nile became the foundation for Kushite civilization.
Exercise Variety, Not Just Volume, Linked to Lower Risk of Death in New Research
A long-term study reveals that the kinds of physical activity a person engages in may be just as important as the total amount.
Scientists Propose Our Eyes Evolved From This Ancient “Cyclops” Organ
Deep in human evolutionary history, before anything recognizable as a vertebrate existed, one of our oldest relatives had a single eye sitting on top of its head.
Aggressive “Hulk” Lizards Are Disrupting a Long-Stable Evolutionary System
Recent research has found that this balance is being disrupted by the spread of a larger, more aggressive green-and-black lizard, which is driving the decline of the other color types.
Mystery Fossils Reveal the First Known Ankylosaur Hatchling
For over two decades, paleontologists have puzzled over a set of unusually small dinosaur fossils from northeastern China.
Scientists Propose New Way to Detect Alien Life Using Planetary Patterns
Searching for alien life by looking for specific signals from individual planets may overlook a larger pattern, new research suggests.
Your Dreams May Shape How You Feel the Next Day More Than You Realize
Recent research indicates that the content of your dreams, including the unsettling moments, may influence your emotional well-being more than previously understood.
U.S. Moves Marijuana to Schedule III, Reshaping Research and the Cannabis Economy
The United States federal government reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana on Thursday, ending decades of policy that placed the drug in the same category as heroin and had long restricted its use in scientific research.
A Ghostly Fish in the Amazon is Inspiring the Next Generation of Underwater Robots
Researchers studying the mechanics of the Black Ghost Knifefish say it could shape the next generation of underwater robots.
Researchers Say Genetics Plays Larger Role in Longevity Than Thought
Researchers found that genetics may account for about half of the variation in human lifespan, which is at least twice as much as previous estimates and, in some cases, much higher.
A Cave in Israel Is Rewriting What We Thought We Knew About Neanderthals and Early Humans
Archaeologists have found evidence that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens not only lived side by side during the mid-Middle Paleolithic era, but may have also influenced each other's ways of life.
Scientists Identify Appetite-Suppressing Peptide That Works Outside Known Weight-Loss Pathways
A team at Stanford Medicine has now identified a naturally occurring molecule that suppresses appetite and promotes fat loss in animal studies, without many of the side effects linked to semaglutide, the main ingredient in Ozempic.
Researchers Develop Framework to Explain Chronic Nightmares in Children
Published in Frontiers in Sleep, the research presents the DARC-NESS model, which offers a new approach to understanding why nightmares persist in children and how therapy can be designed to break this cycle.
Five Psychedelics, One Pattern: Largest Brain Imaging Study of Psychedelics To Date Reveals a Surprising Neural Signature
The largest brain imaging analysis of psychedelics to date, recently published in Nature Medicine, has identified two patterns of brain activity that appear across five different drugs.
Tibetan Buddhism and the Science of Death: New Perspectives on Consciousness and End-of-Life Care
At the 15th 'Behind and Beyond the Brain' Symposium, hosted by the Bial Foundation, experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy gathered for three days to examine the science of end-of-life experiences.
A New Solar-Powered Device Could Bring Clean Drinking Water to Millions Using Sunlight and Food Dye
Described in the journal npj Clean Water, the system combines several proven disinfection methods into one compact device.
No Drugs Required: Brain Scans Reveal the People Who Can Enter a Self-Induced Trance
Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brain of a woman who can enter a psychedelic-like trance state on her own, without drugs.
A Chaotic Chapter in Earth’s Magnetic History May Actually Follow a Hidden Pattern
Long before the first animals walked on land, Earth's magnetic field began to shift in chaotic ways that have puzzled scientists for decades.