Living longer, healthier, and happier lives is a priority for many people. Oftentimes, we look to the food we eat as a way to optimize our well-being and extend our lifespans.As fad diets and supplement trends come and go, one dietary recommendation that seems to remain constant is adding more plant-based foods into your daily meals. There has long been an association between animal-based products, especially of the processed variety, and increased health risks. Specifically, sourcing the majori ...read more

Rocks on the coast of Iceland couldn’t possibly tell us anything about the Roman Empire. Or could they? According to a study in Geology, a collection of rocks on Iceland’s coast reveals the severity of the Late Antique Little Ice Age — a period of climate change that may have contributed to the Roman Empire’s collapse. “When it comes to the fall of the Roman Empire, this climate shift may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Tom Gernon, a study author and a profes ...read more

A golden opportunity in the Caribbean has led to the discovery of an extinct “dirt ant” that has been confined within a piece of amber for 16 million years. Dirt ants (Basiceros) are true experts of camouflage that can blend in with the ground, and now, a fossilized member of the group is shedding light on their complex evolutionary history. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B describes the species as Basiceros enana and its link to modern dirt ants. Although ...read more

Excavation involving the transformation of an English department store site into a Gloucestershire University facility unearthed artifacts from three eras — Roman, medieval, and post-medieval — including more than 300 skeletons that were likely buried in or near two separate churches that previously stood on the site.Roman era artifacts include cobblestones — potentially from a 2nd century road — as well as pottery and the footings of a townhouse. About half the skeletons were found in w ...read more

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has reported “evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars,” according to a recent press release. These new findings could help researchers better understand if and how Mars ever supported life.As Curiosity continues to traverse the Gale Crater, researchers are working to better understand the Red Planet’s habitability and climate transitions that lead to the environment it has today. The findings have been published in the journal Science. Curiosity’s Latest ...read more

We’ve long known that the gut microbiome plays a huge role in digestion — but current research keeps revealing just how deeply these microbes are tied to our overall health. From supporting brain function to fine-tuning our immune response and even lowering the risk of chronic diseases, the list of their benefits keeps growing.Now, a new study published in Cell by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York suggests that the microbiome may go even further — by turning bile acids into ...read more

Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone. (Image Credit: A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge) ...read more

Tracking migrants is a challenging task that policymakers, researchers and humanitarian organizations have long struggled to achieve. The data they use is often outdated, incomplete and inconsistent and this hampers efforts to understand movement and respond effectively to global crises and economic changes. Now that looks set to change thanks to the work of Guanghua Chi at Facebook-owner Meta in Menlo Park, and colleagues, who have used anonymized data from three billion Facebook users to estim ...read more

Ask any geologist about the magma reservoir beneath Yellowstone, and they’ll tell you that it’s there. But where, exactly, is a lot tougher to explain.A new paper published in Nature suggests, however, that a team of researchers has finally found the exact location of the upper boundary of Yellowstone’s magma reservoir. Locating the top of the chamber and characterizing its contents, the research reveals important insights into the future activity of the volcano at Yellowstone, indicating ...read more

Although the magnetic field of Mars hasn’t been in effect for billions of years, the evidence it left behind may suggest that the planet’s core is entirely liquid. Magnetic imprints still exist on Mars, but they’re centered around its southern half, raising a mystery that has left scientists scratching their heads for years. Recent research, however, has proposed a promising answer: the molten Martian core likely generated a magnetic field that only covered the Red Planet’s southern hemi ...read more