Other Sciences News

Diet macronutrient content affects the cardiometabolic benefits of weight loss. Image credit: Petersen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2026.07.020.

Keto Diet Outperforms Others for Cardiometabolic Health during Weight Loss: Study

Aug 31, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Not all diets are created equal when it comes to reversing the metabolic damage of obesity, even when they produce the same amount of weight loss, according...

Alzheimer’s disease remains irreversible largely because the adult brain cannot replace lost neurons; Wang et al. present a Nano-ERASER-based Trim-Away system that enables adult neuroregeneration in Alzheimer’s brain. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1016/j.celbio.2026.100575.

Nanoparticle Therapy Reverses Alzheimer’s Progression in Mice

Aug 26, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers at the University of South Carolina have developed a nanoparticle-based treatment that appears to improve performance on standard memory and...

Shi et al. demonstrate that biodegradable plastics can release nanoplastics during routine use, highlighting a previously overlooked pathway of consumer exposure. Image credit: Alexas Fotos.

‘Compostable’ Coffee Cups May Shed More Plastic than the Ones They’re Meant to Replace

Aug 26, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Paper cups lined with plant-based plastic are often marketed as the eco-friendly choice at coffee shops and cafeterias. But new research by University...

Cornell et al. demonstrate all-mechanical coherence protection of a silicon-vacancy spin in diamond. Image credit: Cornell et al., doi: 10.1038/s41567-026-03369-2.

Physicists Use Sound Waves to Keep Quantum Information from Slipping Away

Aug 26, 2026 by News Staff

A team of physicists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has found that a steady stream of sound waves can shield...

Drummond-Clarke et al. show that trees were an essential component of the hominin adaptive niche, with bipedalism evolving in an arboreal context, likely driven by foraging strategy. Illustration by Arturo Asensio, via Quo.es.

Our Ancient Ancestors May Have Climbed Trees with ‘Monkey’ Feet

Aug 25, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

An enduring debate in paleoanthropology asks what kind of foot the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees had: one built like a modern ape’s...

Distribution of Earth’s wind-blown sand dunes. Image credit: Andrew Gunn, doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-75466-y.

Researcher Creates Global Map of Earth’s Sand Dunes

Aug 24, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Dr. Andrew Gunn, a scientist at Monash University, has produced a complete digital map of Earth’s wind-blown sand dunes. Distribution of Earth’s wind-blown...

Urolithin A is a metabolite compound produced when gut bacteria break down ellagitannins and ellagic acid, which are found in foods like pomegranates, berries, and walnuts. Image credit: Albrecht Fietz.

Natural Postbiotic Compound Shows Promise against Hard-to-Treat Heart Failure

Aug 21, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers at King’s College London have identified a surprising new therapeutic mechanism for a type of heart failure called heart failure with preserved...

Paranthropus boisei. Image credit: © Roman Yevseyev.

Anthropologist Proposes Folding Australopithecus and Paranthropus into Genus Homo

Aug 19, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Dr. Ian Towle, a researcher with the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University, proposes folding nearly 5 million years of hominin fossils into...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthal Pelvis May Reveal Why Modern Men and Women Walk Differently

Aug 18, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A Neanderthal pelvis — the basin-shaped ring of bones at the base of the spin — discovered decades ago may help explain an unusual feature...

An artist’s concept of a Penghu Denisovan walking under the bright Sun during the Pleistocene of Taiwan. Image credit: Cheng-Han Sun.

Denisovans Were Surprisingly Tall, New Fossils from Taiwan Suggest

Aug 17, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

Two fossilized leg bones of Denisovans — an extinct archaic Homo group whose lineage diverged from the Neanderthal lineage 550,000 years ago and...

Folic acid supplementation during pregnancy is the commonly accepted treatment to prevent neural tube defects.

Scientists Find Missing Piece in Folic Acid’s Role in Pregnancy

Aug 17, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa have identified a molecular pathway that may explain how folic...

Allcott et al. show that increasing UMF grade of Manuka honey is associated with stronger antibacterial activity and that this activity cannot be explained by sugar content or methylglyoxal alone. Image credit: Estelle Heitz.

Manuka Honey’s Antibacterial Power Goes beyond Sugar and MGO: Study

Aug 12, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Manuka honey, the New Zealand product long touted for wound care, may also hold potential against bacteria that cause respiratory infections, including...

Andersson et al. found associations between nicotine use and anxiety, depression, sleep problems and suicidal thoughts among teenagers, with girls appearing particularly vulnerable. Image credit: Roland Mey.

Nicotine Use in Teens Tied to Anxiety and Depression, New Studies Find

Aug 11, 2026 by News Staff

In three new studies, researchers at the University of Gothenburg found that adolescents who use nicotine — including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches...

An artist’s rendering of a Homo antecessor individual known as the Girl of Gran Dolina. Image credit: Tom Björklund.

Homo antecessor Had Surprisingly Modern Skull, New Fossils Suggest

Aug 10, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new analysis of three skull fragments unearthed at the Gran Dolina cave site in Spain indicates that Homo antecessor had bone thickness closer to that...

Velazquez-Arcelay et al. found that genetic material from Neanderthal ancestors may have contributed to the propensity of some people today to be early risers, the sort of people who are more comfortable getting up and going to bed earlier. Image credit: Holger Neumann / Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthal Gene Still Shapes Muscle and Jaws in Some Living Humans

Aug 7, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Neanderthals vanished roughly 42,000 years ago, but a piece of their biology appears to be quietly at work in some people today, according to a new study...

Study Points to Sugar, Not Just Meat, as Fuel for Human Brain Evolution

Aug 6, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Glasgow argues that dietary sugars, not animal foods, may have played the decisive...

The owner experiences of transitioning cats indoors suggest that, for most owners and cats, a transition to indoor cat management is manageable and worthwhile. Image credit: Natali Anderson.

Moving Cat Indoors is Easier than Owners Expect: Study

Aug 5, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Moving a free-roaming cat indoors for good is a decision many owners approach with dread: guilt over confining a former outdoor explorer, worry about litter...

Potassium-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy. Image credit: Jasmine Lin.

Scientists Propose New Strategy in Fight against High Blood Pressure

Aug 4, 2026 by Natali Anderson

In a perspective paper published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a team of researchers and health experts calls for a ‘paradigm shift’...

An archaic hominin. Image credit: Ninara / CC BY 2.0.

Scientists Find Traces of Two Unknown Archaic Hominins in Human DNA

Aug 2, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research led by the University of California, Berkeley reveals that beyond Neanderthals and Denisovans, humans interbred with two mysterious ‘ghost’...