For The Better

Researchers have discovered that a gene linked to congenital heart disease acts like an architect for the heart cell’s DNA. Losing just one copy of TBX5 can cause the genome’s carefully folded 3D structure to unravel, disrupting the genes needed to bui…

NASA’s Perseverance rover caught a striking first from Mars: Earth disappearing behind the tiny moon Phobos. Seen from nearly 195 million miles away, our planet was reduced to a single point of light before briefly vanishing behind Phobos. The rare ali…

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a bizarre object from just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang that looks like an enormous star but shines far too brightly to actually be one. The mysterious red object, dubbe…

Orange juice may have a much bigger effect on the body than scientists once realized. Drinking it regularly appears to influence genes tied to inflammation, blood pressure, metabolism, and blood sugar control, while studies have also found improvements…

Scientists may have uncovered evidence that a mammal ancestor was giving birth to live young 236 million years ago. A fossilized cynodont showed a neonatal growth line and an unusually large birth size that closely match patterns seen in modern mammals…

A protein inside appetite-controlling brain cells may play an important role in preventing overeating and obesity, particularly when high-fat foods are readily available. Unexpected differences between males and females could also help explain why obes…

Researchers have found a striking new way to potentially eliminate HIV soon after infection using a one-time combination of three therapies. In newborn nonhuman primates treated within three days of exposure, the regimen—standard antiretroviral drugs, …

A single human brain cell may be far more powerful than scientists once realized. Researchers found that cortical neurons can perform remarkably complex computations, giving them capabilities more like tiny biological computers than simple on-off switc…

Why do we keep making the same choices even when better options are available? Researchers found that simply repeating a decision can reshape what we prefer, causing familiar choices to feel better than alternatives. Instead of weighing every option fr…