For The Better

Researchers create compelling scenario for the evolution of membraneless microdroplets as the origin of life.

Could a company train an employee to become more conscientious, even if the worker isn’t invested in improving that trait? A new study suggests yes. But improving someone’s emotional stability without that person’s commitment is not likely to happen.

While the Clean Water Act successfully regulated many obvious causes of pollution, such as the dumping of wastewater, it’s done less to limit more diffuse types of pollution, such as ‘nonpoint source pollution’ that includes agricultural runoff from fi…

A new paper by archaeologists at the University of California, Davis, highlights that our extinct cousins, the Denisovans, reached the “roof of the world” about 160,000 years ago — 120,000 years earlier than previous estimates for our species — and e…

Researchers have developed the first metal-organic framework (MOFs) antibody-drug delivery system that has the potential to fast-track potent new therapies for cancer, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.

The last common ancestor of chimps, gorillas and humans developed an increased resistance toward cobra venom, according to new research.

Many people experience forgetfulness as they age, but it’s often difficult to tell if these memory issues are a normal part of aging or a sign of something more serious. A new study finds that a simple, self-administered test can identify the early, su…

As many as a half of all drinkers underestimated how drunk they were, judging themselves still safe to drive despite having exceeded the legal driving limit.

Although many people lose their nerve and panic when they see a spider, only very few of the creatures are actually dangerous. The black widow, however, is a force to be reckoned with: it catches its prey by means of nerve poison — to be precise, latr…

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a growing global health challenge and poses a substantial economic burden. A large-scale epidemiologic study has identified links between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and MAFLD. These l…

Scientists in recent years have developed ways to measure biological age by tracking chemical changes in DNA that occur naturally as people age but occur at different times in different people. These so-called ‘epigenetic clocks’ have proved to be bett…

Scientists have developed a new sodium metal anode for rechargeable batteries that resists the formation of dendrites, a common problem with standard sodium metal anodes that can lead to shorting and fires.

An engineer is changing what we know about when water freezes as he pushes the limit and gets the best look yet at tiny drops of water as they freeze.

A sodium-sulfur battery solves one of the biggest hurdles that has held back the technology as a commercially viable alternative to the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.

Managing the United States’ growing wild pig population has become a significant challenge over the past few decades, but new research may help landowners and government agencies fine-tune their strategies for limiting crop and property damage caused b…

If you can’t stop saying or doing things that you later regret, here’s a diagnostic test for you: Researchers have pioneered a way to better determine when acting on one’s worst impulses verges on pathological. Turns out, acting more recklessly when yo…

Wildfire smoke contains microparticles that cross the blood-brain barrier, triggering neurotoxic effects.

CRISPR is widely used to target specific cell types, but only one at a time. Researchers have now developed methods to edit genes in multiple organisms within a diverse community of microbes simultaneously, a first step toward editing microbiomes such …

New research has led to a promising potential therapy for neonatal jaundice that’s more safe, simple and convenient than the blood transfusions currently given to babies suffering from the most dangerous forms of the condition.

Iron is an essential nutrient that almost all life requires to grow and thrive. Iron’s importance goes all the way back to the formation of the planet Earth, where the amount of iron in the Earth’s rocky mantle was ‘set’ by the conditions under which t…