For The Better

Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such g…

Subjective memory disorders in conjunction with conspicuous levels of beta-amyloid proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid are a strong indication of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is the conclusion of a new study involving about 1,000 older adults.

Water treatment and environmental decontamination experts have reviewed current and emerging water treatment technologies. Through this review, the team determined the removal efficiency of a particular type of contaminant that causes hormonal disrupti…

Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain could increase the chances of developing chronic pain. New research puts into question conventional practices used to alleviate pain. Normal recovery from a painful injury involves inflammation…

Researchers have identified a circuit in the anterior thalamus that is necessary for remembering how to navigate a maze. This region could offer a promising target for treatments that could help reverse memory loss in older people, without affecting ot…

A six-year study of nearly 100,000 women in Botswana has provided new evidence that relatively inexpensive daily diet supplementation of iron, folic acid and vitamin supplementation in pregnancy can reduce complications at birth.

A new study suggests that antidepressant use by mothers during the first trimester of pregnancy does not increase the chances of epilepsy and seizures in babies.

People who have been hospitalized for a major traumatic brain injury (TBI) may have a higher risk of developing dementia when compared to people who do not have a TBI, according to a new study. Major TBI was defined as having bleeding in the brain and …

A new study finds that two common herpesviruses may contribute to impaired glucose metabolism and an increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) among infected individuals.

When stars like our Sun use up all their fuel, they shrink to form white dwarfs. Sometimes such dead stars flare back to life in a super hot explosion and produce a fireball of X-ray radiation. A research team has now been able to observe such an explo…

A new method of detecting mega earthquakes, which picks up on the gravity waves they generate by using deep-learning models, can estimate earthquake magnitude in real time and provide earlier warning of tsunamis.

An algorithm that can speed up by years the ability to identify from among thousands of possibilities, two or more drugs that work synergistically against a problem like cancer or a viral infection has been developed by bioinformatics experts.

All of that carbon in trees and forests worldwide could be thrown back into the atmosphere if the trees burn up in a forest fire. Trees also stop scrubbing carbon dioxide from the air if they die due to drought or insect damage. The likelihood of those…

For three decades, scientists have debated the underlying cause of Gulf War illness (GWI), a collection of unexplained and chronic symptoms affecting veterans of the Persian Gulf War. Now researchers have solved the mystery, showing through a detailed …

Researchers have identified a new enzyme involved in controlling cell death, in findings that could lead to better treatment options for a range of inflammatory conditions, cancers and viruses.

When designing public spaces or other places where foot traffic is considered, planners and architects need to know how people perceive the spaces in question. It is commonly believed that a space will feel more congested if the crowd density is higher…

How does a cockroach’s aversion to sugar turn into an aversion to mating? Researchers discover the mechanism behind this behavior.

The cerebral cortex is thought to be the seat of conscious processing in the brain. Rather than being inactivated, specific cells in the cortex show higher spontaneous activity during general anesthesia than when awake, and this activity is synchronize…

Researchers have used a widespread species of blue-green algae to power a microprocessor continuously for a year — and counting — using nothing but ambient light and water. Their system has potential as a reliable and renewable way to power small dev…