Prozac’s approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1988 heralded the dawn of a new age in treating depression since it focused on serotonin, a brain chemical that, when in short supply, contributes to depression. It was more targeted and had fewer and generally less harsh side effects than the classic treatments— tricyclics and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Since then, a total of seven selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that essentially help the neurotra ...read more

Life looked different after an asteroid crashed into the planet around 66 million years ago. The dinosaurs died out, the arboreal mammals declined, and the terrestrial mammals thrived. The traditional story that’s told is that the asteroid decimated the dinosaurs and that the decimation of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to trade the treetops for the ground. But what if that traditional story is wrong? What if the mammalian transformation from arboreal to terrestrial was already underway at the ...read more

While volcanoes have brought profound changes to landscapes here on Earth, volcanic activity on other planets and moons has followed a different path. It's easy to imagine space volcanoes as even more ferocious and devastating versions of the ones scattered across Earth, but in reality, most of them have fallen into dormancy.Volcanic features have been observed on our fellow rocky planets, Venus and Mars, but they largely appear to be inactive right now. Some scientists, however, have suggested ...read more

In January 2025, researchers on the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) had to divert their plans after an iceberg roughly the size of Chicago broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, a floating glacier that had been attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet.As the iceberg broke away, it exposed an area of seabed previously unseen by humans. There, they found it teeming with a variety of sea life. An Iceberg the Size of the Windy CityThe iceberg, named A-84 by the U.S. National Ice ...read more

Archeological evidence has indicated that early humans fabricated tools during the Middle Paleolithic period in Europe and Africa. East Asia, during that same time, was considered less advanced. A new finding demonstrates that we need to adjust our conception of when and where tools were first made and used.Researchers report the discovery of the “Quina technological system” — essentially tools for making tools, with various kinds of stone chips at its core — in southwest China, dating b ...read more

While a drop in libido is often associated with aging in women, it’s not just a female issue. Around 26 percent of men over 70 report a loss of sexual desire as well. Sex isn’t just about reproduction — physical intimacy fosters emotional connection, reduces stress, boosts the immune system, and generally improves mood. Understanding what affects our libido can reveal how lifestyle changes might enhance our sex drive and relationships.Age-related libido changes are seen across mammalian sp ...read more

In 1919, a student at the University of Cambridge had an extra ticket to a lecture being given by an astronomer who had just returned from a trip off the west coast of Africa where he observed the stars and a solar eclipse.Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, then 19 years old and an undergraduate student, took the extra ticket. The lecture changed her life and inspired her to become an astronomer.  “For three nights, I think, I did not sleep,” she later wrote.In turn, Payne-Gaposchkin changed astron ...read more

"That's so random" is a common saying people use when they see or experience something unexpected. But as a concept in physics, true mathematical randomness has long proven elusive — until now. A team of computer scientists using quantum computing methods has, for the first time, generated a truly random number, they report in the journal Nature.By now you’re asking yourself, what is “true randomness,” anyway? Doesn’t choosing a number between, say, one and a trillion, count as truly r ...read more

(A) Ventral view of the mandible and associated skull elements. (B) Mandible and skull elements labeled. (C) Left lateral view of the mandible. Abbreviations: an, angular; art, articular; d, dentary; j, jugal; R. mx, right maxilla; L. mx, left maxilla; p, palatine; R. pm, right premaxilla; sp, splenial; s.r., symphyseal ridge; sur, surangular. (Image Credit: Klaus Nilkens/Urwelt-Museum Hauff/Marx et al.)After making a splash in early 2025 with the identification of its 183-million-year-old fossi ...read more

Early warning systems for natural disasters have undoubtedly saved countless lives. Detectors that monitor signs of impending earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes, among others, provide crucial hours — sometimes days — for us to take evasive action.What if we could do the same thing for heart attacks? A group of French researchers working with some U.S. colleagues, have designed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool that could help do just that, they report in the European Heart Journal.Ear ...read more