For The Better

These were days, months and years that many will come to remember: the drought from 2018 to 2020. An international team of researchers has succeeded in categorizing the historical dimensions of this event. Based on their findings, no drought covering s…

New research provides the first long-term study of methods to control the spread of wildfire in the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that dominates parts of the western United States.

Although some rare genetic variants can increase the risk of disease markedly for a few individuals, the genetic contribution to common diseases is mostly due to a combination of many common genetic variants with small effects, according to a new study.

Deaths involving alcohol use disorder increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to a new study. The study also found that young adults 25 to 44 years old experienced the steepest upward trend in alcohol use disorder mortality.

Ovarian cancer kills 14,000 women in the United States every year. It’s the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women, and it’s so deadly, in part, because the disease is hard to catch in its early stages. Patients often don’t experience symptoms…

Researchers have discovered and described two new species of Amazonian fish — one with striking red-orange fins and the other so small it is technically considered a miniature fish species. Both species inhabit waters located at the bleeding edge of h…

Researchers have developed a CRISPR-Cas9 approach to enable gene editing in cockroaches, according to a new study. The simple and efficient technique, named ‘direct parental’ CRISPR (DIPA-CRISPR), involves the injection of materials into female adults …

Proponents of degrowth have long argued that economic growth is detrimental to the environment. Now, scientists show that concerning the food sector, curbing growth alone would not make our food system sustainable — but changing what we eat and puttin…

A human rights activist and a group of anthropologists and human biologists are casting a critical lens on the way that microbiome research is conducted with Indigenous peoples.

Researchers have conducted a detailed study of neurulation — how the neural tube forms during embryonic development. They conclude that this happens less actively than previously thought. This also has implications for understanding defects such as sp…

Many animal species bury their eggs, for a number of different reasons. While it is firmly established that Eurasian penduline tits bury them because of sexual conflict, their Chinese counterparts seem to have an entirely different reason. Experimental…

Engineering researchers have developed a new approach for implementing ransomware detection techniques, allowing them to detect a broad range of ransomware far more quickly than previous systems.

New gene-editing techniques are shedding light on how hormones impact social behavior in animals and possibly, humans.

Researchers are trying to help electric vehicle batteries keep their cool. A group recently published a design optimization system for incorporating blood vessel-like cooling networks into the packaging of carbon-fiber-based structural batteries used i…

Crafty hackers can make a tool to eavesdrop on some 6G wireless signals in as little as five minutes using office paper, an inkjet printer, a metallic foil transfer and a laminator.

Eliminating air pollution emissions from energy-related activities in the United States would prevent more than 50,000 premature deaths each year and provide more than $600 billion in benefits each year from avoided illness and death, according to a ne…

Stimulation of subthalamic nucleus interrupts a cycle of runaway beta-frequency rhythms and restores ability of interneurons to regulate rhythms in the brain’s striatum, improving movement, study suggests.

Despite the commonly held belief aerobic exercise is essential for weight loss, a new study has found resistance training can have equally positive results — in conjunction with reducing calorie intake.

Photoreduction of CO2 into transportable fuel like formic acid (HCOOH) is a great way of dealing with CO2’s rising levels in the atmosphere. To aid in this mission, a research team chose an easily available iron-based mineral and loaded it onto an alum…

Analysis of more than 11,000 people investigated whether high blood pressure or arterial stiffness may be a better predictor of future Type 2 diabetes risk. Results found that adults with increased arterial stiffness had a higher risk of developing Typ…