When Homo neanderthalensis first came in contact with Homo sapiens around 50,000 years ago, in what’s now the Middle East, they encountered a host of diseases for which humans had no immunity for because they had never experienced them before. But, interbreeding would change the human genome, which likely continued until Neanderthals went extinct around 40,000 years ago. And even today humans are left with some Neanderthal genes, many of which pertain to the immune system.Interbreeding and Hu ...read more

In their battle against antibiotics, bacteria are gaining an edge, becoming more and more resistant to antibiotic attacks. But a new paper published in PLOS Biology suggests that computer models could contribute to making more targeted antibiotics, with a reduced risk of increasing bacteria’s antibiotic resistance.According to the authors of the paper, these laser-like antibiotics could attack specific bacteria in specific areas of our bodies once created, reducing our overall contact with ant ...read more

After studying the genomes in dogs living close to and around the Chornobyl disaster site, researchers from North Carolina State University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health concluded that radiation-induced mutation likely did not cause genetic differences in dog populations living in Chornobyl City and the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). With these findings in the new study published in PLOS ONE, the research team hopes to better understand how a nuclear disast ...read more

If you’ve ever had a bad experience with a particular place and, in the future, physically feel anxious as you approach it again, there’s a good reason: our brains may record and physically map that experience for future reference, a new study in PLOS Biology suggests.This has implications for mental health, because it helps us understand how worry works.“The more that we understand how the mechanisms by which cognition works, the better we can help people who have problems with their cogn ...read more

In February 2025, the seven planets joining Earth in our solar system will be visible all at once in the night sky as they get arranged in an extraordinary pattern called a “great planetary alignment," or in a more celebratory expression, a "planet parade." Eager astronomers will have their telescopes ready around the evening of February 28, when Saturn, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune will all begin to show up in the sky. This event has piqued the interest of people across ...read more

In the summer of 1925, journalists, lawyers, and gawkers alike descended upon Dayton, Tennessee, population 1,800, to witness the unfolding of what was to become one of the most famous episodes in the ongoing conflict between science and religion. It was oppressively hot and muggy, but that didn’t hamper the carnival atmosphere. Street vendors hawked lemonade, iced tea, and cheap souvenirs. Christian groups held open-air prayer meetings while a circus chimpanzee strolled the streets wearing a ...read more

When your dog perks up at the sight of their leash or the rustle of their treat bag, it’s easy to wonder — what’s going on in their mind? Do they store memories of those sights and sounds, or are their reactions purely instinctive? While much of a dog’s behavior is undoubtedly shaped by instinct and training, recent research reveals that some special dogs can recall the names of specific objects for years, adding yet another layer to our understanding of canine cognition.How Dogs Remembe ...read more

During their prime, the Vikings mastered the seas and went on to make wide-spanning voyages by boat. But how exactly did they know where they were going? A recent study, focused on a set of medieval stone disks found in Ukraine, supports the belief that Viking sailors used solar compasses to navigate and may have passed on this knowledge to other populations in Europe. The appraisal of the eight stone disks was featured in a December 2024 paper published in Sprawozdania Archeologiczne, a Polish ...read more

A new study published in Nature Medicine, suggests that the risk of developing dementia in the U.S. is more than double than described in previous studies, sitting at around 42 percent for adults above age 55.If accurate, that risk will result in a rise in annual cases, which will increase from a half million new cases in 2025 to a million new cases in 2060. According to the study authors, this anticipated increase in cases is a product of the age of the population in the U.S., where around 58 m ...read more

Researchers from the University of Glasgow unveiled a 3D printer that can create material in microgravity, which could improve space flight and may also help create better resources to use back on Earth. The patent for this new technology has been awarded to Gilles Bailet from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering. This printer could help improve communication transmissions back to Earth and eventually help create purer forms of essential pharmaceuticals. “We’ve te ...read more