For years neuroscientists have focused on the brain’s neurons as its principal creators of memory and thought. But what if the reason for our cognitive abilities isn’t in the electrical activity of neurons, but in the quiet, star-shaped cells that connect them? A new research published in PNAS on May 20, 2025, suggests the astrocytes ...
June is the prime time to see the Milky Way’s brilliant core as it is presenting its best performance of the year. For stargazers, this is “core season” the window through which the brilliant heart of our galaxy flows across the night sky like a celestial river of stars. But catching this cosmic show calls ...
At the core of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87), a cosmic behemoth is challenging preconceptions. Renowned for being the first black hole ever directly photographed, the supermassive black hole M87 has just exposed another amazing secret: it devours matter even faster and spins at a blistering 80% of the maximum speed in the universe. Using ...
Archaeologists have found a wealth of old secrets in the sun-baked plains of central Turkey, including a royal tomb containing the remains of a close relative of the fabled King Midas. Announced by Turkey’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nudi Ersoy, the finding has rocked the archaeological community with new understanding of the mysterious ...
Under Naples, Italy’s busy streets, a sleeping titan stirs. For decades, the large, smoldering volcanic crater known as Campi Flegrei has been shaking, baffling researchers with its regular but non-eruptive movement. New studies now point to a secret offender: a brittle layer of tuff rock compromised by millennia of magma intrusions that absorbs volcanic gases ...
The night sky of June is expected to show a pair of amazing conjunctions one with the elusive Mercury and the other with a remarkably near encounter between the Moon and Mars. These events serve as a reminder of the clockwork accuracy of our solar system and an opportunity to see planetary motions that even ...
Found in seafood, pork, and energy drinks, taurine is an amino acid long praised as a possible fountain of youth. Research on animals revealed that increasing taurine levels could slow down aging, enhance metabolism, and perhaps increase lifespan. Published in Science, a radical new study challenges the theory that declining taurine is a universal driver ...
In the middle of Tanzania’s arid north sits a lake so hostile that it mummifies species unfortunate enough to come into touch. One of the most extreme environments on Earth, Lake Natron’s blood-red color and caustic chemistry allow flamingos to flourish but most animals choose “stone.” How does this dreamlike phenomena occur? The solution resides ...
An HIV diagnosis was thought of as a death sentence for decades. Millions of people living with the virus lead long, healthy lives today thanks to revolutionary medical advances. One still unresolved issue is whether HIV/AIDS can ever be totally cured. The response is more hopeful and complicated than you would think. Although ART can ...
The first time NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has observed a big magnetic burst in the sun’s corona, this event could fundamentally alter our understanding of solar storms and their impact on Earth. Against expectations, the spacecraft “touches” the sun’s atmosphere in daring close passes and finds a great surge of energy flinging high-speed plasma towards ...
