SciTechDaily

Electronic fluctuations can act as a resonant bridge between normally separate crystal vibrations, offering a new route to study and control ferroaxial quantum states. Symmetry is a basic rule of the natural world. It explains why some objects appear the same after they are rotated, reflected, or changed in other ways. In materials, symmetry helps [...]

Gut bacteria produce a common compound called imidazole propionate, and a study found that higher levels are associated with dementia related changes in the brain. A molecule made by gut bacteria could help explain why changes in the intestinal microbiome are connected to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers report that higher levels of imidazole propionate, or ImP, [...]

A virus kills a bacterium, and in the wreckage, other microbes may find one of life’s most essential nutrients: vitamin B12. New research from Virginia Tech suggests that bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, can release vitamin B12 trapped inside bacterial cells. That sudden nutrient windfall can then fuel neighboring microbes that cannot make B12 themselves, [...]

Polyvinyl chloride is one of the world’s most widely used plastics, but it is also difficult to recycle responsibly. Discarded PVC from pipes, window frames, and even credit cards could become a useful ingredient in synthetic lubricants instead of ending up in a landfill. Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang “Greg” Liu and his [...]

A simple walk together could help couples communicate better, feel closer, and handle disagreements more effectively. New research from Brigham Young University found that young married couples who were physically active together tended to report better communication, stronger conflict resolution, and less marital stress. The association was stronger for shared exercise than for working out [...]

A new screening method uses an unexpected body measurement to estimate diabetes risk without a blood test. Researchers have developed a free online screening tool that considers the length of a person’s thigh alongside six more familiar health indicators. Called MEDWACS, the tool estimates the likelihood that an adult has prediabetes or undiagnosed type 2 [...]

A steady daily routine may quietly protect the body from pain, depression, and the damaging effects of disrupted sleep. A University of Missouri study suggests that a predictable routine may support physical and emotional health by helping the body keep time. Rather than focusing only on sleep, the researchers examined the broader pattern of activities [...]

Modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared more than land and genes. They may have also shared culture. Modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared more than territory, tools, and genes. New evidence from a cave in southern Türkiye suggests the two groups may also have exchanged ideas and developed similar symbolic traditions over thousands [...]

A brain region tied to memory and reward may explain how GLP-1 drugs reduce cravings. For many people, imagining a juicy burger or a cold glass of beer is enough to spark a craving and nudge them toward action. That connection between mental images and behavior has an important purpose. It helps push people to [...]

By studying how seismic waves move through frozen soil on Earth, a geophysicist helped develop a more effective method for detecting water ice on the Moon. Beneath the Moon’s permanently shadowed polar craters, water ice may lie hidden beyond the reach of instruments in orbit. Researchers now think those buried deposits could be located by [...]

An injectable biomaterial turned stroke-damaged areas into hubs of repair, helping mouse brains grow new blood vessels and nerve fibers while restoring near-normal movement. A stroke can leave behind more than damaged brain cells. In severe cases, it creates an empty cavity where living tissue once carried signals, supplied blood, and controlled movement. Duke University [...]

When plant nutrients run low, some gut bacteria may turn on their host and begin consuming the intestines’ protective lining. The health effects of a plant-based diet may depend not only on what gut bacteria eat but also on whether they begin feeding on the gut itself. New research suggests that fiber and previously overlooked [...]

An AI-assisted counterexample disproves the Jacobian conjecture above two dimensions while leaving its original two-dimensional form open. A formula short enough to fit inside a single post on X has sent a surge of excitement through the mathematical community, just as millions of people were settling down after the FIFA World Cup Final. Levent Alpöge, [...]

Researchers found that the enzyme acid ceramidase can make aging cells more vulnerable to ferroptosis, a form of cell death, and may be a promising target for promoting healthy aging. As more people live into advanced age, the challenge is no longer simply extending life but preserving health for as many of those years as [...]

Scientists have identified an accelerator that produces the highest-energy protons in our galaxy, a finding that could clarify the nature of the fast-moving particles filling the space between stars. Across the Milky Way, charged particles race through space with energies beyond the reach of even the most powerful accelerators built on Earth. Known as cosmic [...]

Barnard’s Star hosts four hostile small planets whose unusual chemistry and orbital rhythm reveal how compact planetary systems can form and survive. Just under six light-years from Earth, Barnard’s Star hosts four small worlds unlike any planet in our own Solar System. The nearby star, second only to Alpha Centauri in proximity to the Sun, [...]

The size of a black hole formed by the merger of two orbiting black holes can be predicted using simple thermodynamics. Two black holes locked in orbit do not remain apart forever. As they spiral closer, they eventually collide in an extraordinarily energetic event that warps the surrounding universe and sends gravitational waves across billions [...]

Scandinavian museums use Viking history to negotiate the tension between popular myths, archaeological evidence, and modern national identity. Walk into a major museum in Scandinavia, and there is a good chance you will encounter an exhibition devoted to the Vikings. Visitors have no shortage of options. In Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, the National History Museum maintains [...]

Moving with the speed and agility of an insect, the tiny robot could someday assist in search-and-rescue missions. After an earthquake, survivors can become trapped beneath piles of unstable debris where conventional rescue robots are too large to enter. Tiny flying machines modeled on insects could one day move through these narrow gaps while avoiding [...]

Multiple environmental pressures are harming bees whose pollination supports crops and flowering plants worldwide. You may be spotting bodies of dead bumblebees lying across pavements near you in the summer months. There are several reasons for this, some to do with the weather and some very much due to humans. Bumblebees live in social colonies [...]