A blue aurora over Japan in May 2024. (Mitsuhiro Ozaki)Picture an aurora, and you likely imagine green swirls dancing across a frozen sky. While green is common, auroras can display a variety of colors depending on altitude, location, and the atmospheric gases involved.During a powerful geomagnetic storm in May 2024, an unusual blue aurora appeared...
Credit: PixabayAround 15% of people worldwide experience tinnitus, a condition causing phantom sounds like ringing or buzzing without any external source. Often linked to hearing loss, tinnitus can significantly affect mental health, leading to stress or depression, especially in long-term cases.With no cure available, better management or treatment could benefit millions. Sleep may offer...
Credit: PixabayYour brain can still produce new neurons in adulthood, but how do these rare additions support cognitive function?Neurons, the cells responsible for brain function, are mostly formed before birth. While early life sees the bulk of brain development, certain regions continue generating neurons into adulthood, albeit at a slower pace. Scientists debate whether...
Credit: PixabayResearchers have linked a specific type of body fat to the buildup of abnormal brain proteins—hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease—up to 20 years before the earliest symptoms of dementia appear. This finding, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), highlights the potential for lifestyle changes targeting visceral fat...
Credit: PixabayWhen you think of black hole formation, you likely picture a massive star collapsing under its own gravity. However, the early universe’s chaotic conditions might have also produced small black holes, known as primordial black holes, long before the first stars existed.These black holes, theorized for decades, could even be the elusive dark...
Credit: PixabayScientists have created a hybrid mouse by incorporating a gene that predates all animal life. In this groundbreaking study, the team replaced a single gene in the mouse stem cells with one from an ancient, single-celled ancestor and successfully grew healthy mice from it.Stem cells are known for their ability to differentiate into...
"With the Darwin MX Pro, fans of everything tiny can unlock the secrets of the micro world"BeaverLab TechCompetitions like Nikon Small World reveal how much of the microscopic world remains unseen to the naked eye. Fortunately, affordable desktop microscopes, like BeaverLab’s Darwin MX Pro, now offer a window into these hidden realms for everyday...
Credit: PixabayA naturally occurring fat molecule, lipoxin A4 (LXA4), has been shown to reduce heart inflammation and scarring caused by diabetes, significantly improving cardiac function, according to new research. These findings pave the way for potential new treatments for diabetes-related heart disease.Diabetes often leads to serious cardiovascular conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart attacks, cardiomyopathy,...
Credit: PixabayWhen donning salmon hats and harassing yachts, orcas may seem playful, but they remain the ocean's top predators. A sobering example of their prowess comes from the Gulf of California, where a pod of orcas, including a male named Moctezuma, has developed sophisticated hunting techniques to target whale sharks—the ocean’s largest fish.Orcas Showcase...
Starlink's first orbital shell of direct-to-cell satellites will enable texting in 2024, and voice and data next yearSpaceXSpaceX has successfully launched 20 Starlink satellites into orbit, completing the first phase of its direct-to-cellphone connectivity constellation.The satellites, deployed via a Falcon 9 rocket from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on December 5, aim to...
