Both lung cancer diagnoses and deaths in men and women have declined over the past 20 years. That trend has helped improve the overall cancer mortality picture. Twenty years of cancer data indicate a slow, gradual, but significant change, with overall deaths declining 2.1 percent a year from 2001 to 2018 and 1.5 percent a year from 2018 to 2022.“Progress has been made in reducing overall cancer mortality, largely driven by sustained declines in lung cancer,” according to the report “The An ...read more

Tardigrades take extreme living to another level, thriving in the toughest conditions. These animals (nicknamed “water bears” for their rotund figure) live practically everywhere and can endure any ordeal thrown their way, from subzero temperatures to cosmic radiation. This unparalleled durability is what makes them the perfect candidate for microscopic tattoos, as shown in a new study published in the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters.In this study, researchers have revealed a way ...read more

Encountering rattlesnake venom is something many of us would prefer to avoid. But for a research team from the University of South Florida, this venom may hold the key to species evolution and protection.A new study, published in Evolution, has revealed that island rattlesnakes in the Gulf of California adapt their venom depending on their environment and its biodiversity. This discovery comes as a surprise and helps provide new insights into how animals evolve in changing environments.“This i ...read more

Australia’s giant kangaroos of yesteryear were likely homebodies — and that inclination ultimately did them in.The massive marsupial megaherbivores, which, at an estimated 375 pounds, weighed more than twice as much as contemporary kangaroos, really had no reason to wander. Until about 280,000 years ago, they lived in a plant-eater’s Eden — a lush rainforest that, to them, probably seemed like the ultimate salad bar.But their inability — or unwillingness — likely led to their extinct ...read more

Tales of gladiators going head-to-head with ferocious lions in ancient Rome’s coliseum are legendary. Scenes of such deadly combat have been portrayed in stories, paintings, and mosaics (a Man versus Big Cat conflict was even suggested in the movie “Gladiator,” but never actually depicted). But until now, there has never been any direct physical evidence that such contests took place.A discovery showing tooth marks on a human bone suggests that these artistic accounts are more journalistic ...read more

Humans aren’t the only species that dabble in the occasional drink. From fruit flies to elephants, creatures across the animal kingdom have been observed consuming fermented foods. But what happens when our closest relatives show a taste for alcohol?Wild chimpanzees, just about as close to humans as apes get on the genetic family tree, have been captured on film eating and sharing fermented fruit, which naturally contains alcohol. The footage, taken by a research team led by the University of ...read more

Dogs aren’t just our pets. We also see them as our friends and family members. But do we get the same things out of our interactions with our dogs that we get out of our interactions with our human friends and family? Having set out to answer this question in a study in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Hungary has revealed that our relationships with our dogs are a lot like our relationships with our children and our closest friends, albeit w ...read more

One of the world’s greatest mysteries is how life on Earth began. Scientists have long sought to decipher where and how prebiotic molecules — those that preceded life — emerged. A new study suggests that the answers lie somewhere out in space, based on a recreation of the conditions in interstellar clouds that likely gave our planet a biological jumpstart.The study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that asteroid and comet impacts possibly ...read more

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have announced the discovery of a color never before seen by the human eye. Through a new study, published in Science Advances, researchers used a pulsing laser on study participants to stimulate a part of the eye. Study participants reported that after their eyes were stimulated, they saw a new shade of blue-green. Outside researchers dispute the claim, saying that more study is needed to prove that this is indeed a new color. However, re ...read more

One small dose of a psychedelic compound could help brains better adapt to changing circumstances, potentially improving treatments for those struggling with depression, PTSD, and neurodegenerative diseases, according to experiments conducted in mice. The results of the study were reported in the journal Psychedelics. "What makes this discovery particularly significant is the sustained duration of cognitive benefits following just one psychedelic dose," Omar J. Ahmed, a psychology researcher at ...read more