Hibernating mammals rely on particular genes to adjust their metabolisms as they enter that unique, low-energy state — and humans actually carry that same hibernation-related DNA. Now, early research hints that leveraging this particular DNA could help treat medical conditions in people, scientists say. Hibernation offers “a whole bunch of different biometrically important superpowers,” senior … Read more
In 2024, Scottish futurist David Wood was part of an informal roundtable discussion at an artificial intelligence (AI) conference in Panama, when the conversation veered to how we can avoid the most disastrous AI futures. His sarcastic answer was far from reassuring. First, we would need to amass the entire body of AI research ever … Read more
DNA that humans acquired from ancient viruses plays a key role in switching parts of our genetic code on and off, a new study has found. Nearly half of the human genome consists of segments called transposable elements (TEs), also known as “jumping genes” because they can hop around the genome. Some of these TEs … Read more
The energy needed for thunderstorms could come from an avalanche of electrons seeded by extraterrestrial cosmic rays, a new study claims. Scientists already knew that lightning is an electrical discharge between thunderclouds and Earth’s surface, but exactly how storm clouds obtain an electric field powerful enough to hurl a bolt has remained a mystery for … Read more
A universal cancer vaccine in development could help rev up the immune system against tumors and supercharge the effects of existing cancer therapies, an animal study suggests. Similar to vaccines for viral infections like the flu, many cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system recognize specific proteins. However, while conventional vaccines aim to … Read more
Google has harnessed motion sensors on more than 2 billion smartphones to create an earthquake early-warning system that’s as effective as standard seismometers, a new study reveals. Between 2021 and 2024, the company’s Android Earthquake Alerts (AEA) system captured more than 11,000 quakes through smartphone accelerometers and issued more than 1,200 alerts to Android users … Read more
Memories of places “drift” across the brain as they are carried by different sets of neurons over time, a new study in mice suggests. Historically, neuroscientists thought that memories of locations and features of our immediate environment were encoded by specific “place cells.” These place cells, located in a key memory center called the hippocampus, … Read more
The Western Roman Empire famously ended in A.D. 476 when its last emperor abdicated the throne. But the city of Rome continued on. So what happened to the “Eternal City” after it was no longer the capital of one of the largest and most enduring empires ever seen? In the century after the empire’s fall, … Read more
The vision sounds irresistible: step onto a train in New York, and emerge 54 minutes later in London, having traveled through a tunnel beneath the Atlantic Ocean. This kind of travel is described in some recent proposals. But is a trans-Atlantic tunnel really possible or the stuff of science fiction? The short answer: It’s probably … Read more
Scientists have found that Uranus is emitting its own internal heat — even more than it receives from sunlight — and this discovery contradicts observations of the distant gas giant made by NASA’s Voyager 2 probe nearly four decades ago. Scientists led by Xinyue Yang of the University of Houston analyzed decades of readings from … Read more
