Pregnancy is an incredibly special and delicate time for all parents. In those early stages of development, the environment, both inside and outside the body, can drastically impact fetal and long-term health. A recent study has identified a new area that can be influenced, diagnosed, and treated before birth: neuropsychiatric disorders. The Placenta and Psychiatric DisordersThe key to understanding the genetic risk of neuropsychiatric disorders is in the placenta. The international research t ...read more

Black holes are enigmatic yet simplistic astronomical forces at the center of science fiction and scientific discovery alike. At the center of our universe, a supermassive black hole with a mass equivalent to 4 million suns lies: Sagittarius A.Though humans – at least to our knowledge – have never come into contact with a black hole, the potential encounter has long been a source of both regimented research and casual curiosity. The outcome would depend on many factors, mainly the mass, or s ...read more

We’ve been warned repeatedly that sugary beverages are bad for us and are associated with a variety of diseases, But the hows and whys have perhaps not been communicated clearly. So, before you reach for that next can of cola, consider this study in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that shows the effects such drinks have on individual organs, as well as overall physical, molecular, and metabolic processes in the body.Taking a closer look at sugar’s impact throughout the body takes on ...read more

In the U.S., we tend to share meals less frequently than we did 20 years ago, with almost a third of people regularly eating alone. This shift is believed to stem from broader changes in social networks, affecting family and friendship dynamics, and was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual World Happiness Report, published on March 20, 2025, highlights a strong link between sharing meals and improved well-being.Researchers from London’s Global University (UCL), the Universi ...read more

We’ve all been through it. Telling a friend something they may not want to hear. Maybe a friend is dating someone who treats them poorly, or they did something that upset you. Or maybe it’s something smaller, like an outfit that just doesn’t fit. Should you be honest all the time, or are there times when brutal honesty is mean-spirited? It’s not always so easy to tell. Brutal honesty prioritizes truth over the feelings and sensitivity of the person who may be on the receiving end of it, ...read more

When it comes time to whip up your favorite meal, one of the first items you'll grab is probably some form of vegetable oil or animal fat — like a jug of canola oil or a tub of butter. But have you ever stopped to think about what option is the healthiest way to kickstart a recipe? The choices may seem overwhelming, and now, many consumers are embroiled in a hot debate over growing suspicion of seed oils. Critics of seed oils have claimed that the ingredients are toxic to the human body, infl ...read more

There’s a lot to remember from your time as a baby — your first smile, your first steps, your first words. But chances are, you’ve forgotten all of it, a phenomenon called infantile amnesia.For a long time, infantile amnesia was thought to be tied to an inability to make memories in infancy. But a new study supports the idea that babies do, indeed, encode memories in the first years of their lives, by linking measures of brain activity to measures of memory recall in infants for the first ...read more

Space, to the naked eye, appears still, tranquil. But to scientists viewing it through increasingly powerful telescopes, it looks turbulent, with violent streams of gas buffeting dusty materials that form fascinating shapes, then disperse.Now an international team of astronomers has employed the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to get a better view of this action. ALMA’s amazingly high resolution has sharpened the view of the tempestuous churn in Milky Way’s central zone. ...read more

If you’ve walked past the penguin exhibit at the zoo, then you’ve likely caught a whiff of their unpleasant-smelling poo. The smell has perhaps made you want to cover your nose and, despite a penguin’s cuteness, want to walk away. Humans aren’t the only ones repelled by penguin poo, however. To krill, tiny shrimp-like creatures, the smell of penguin poo triggers evasive maneuvers, probably because they know that penguins are on their way to eat them. After putting it to the test, a rese ...read more

Medieval alchemists sought to literally turn non-valuable substances into gold. Now some scientists have discovered a figurative equivalent method to transform sewage sludge into food for animals and fuel for automobiles, according to research published in Nature Water.Sewage sludge — the thick, organic, and, yes, smelly wastewater treatment byproduct— represents a massive and costly problem. The world’s cities produce over 100 million tons of the stinky substance. It often clogs treatment ...read more