When searching for signs of life on planets outside our Solar System, sometimes nothing is almost as good as something. Even a lack of biosignatures on examined exoplanets can still tell us a lot about the probability of life on the billions of planets we haven’t checked out yet, according to a study in The Astronomical Journal. The study employed a sophisticated statistical analysis to determine the minimum number of exoplanets that would need to be observed to generate useful answers about h ...read more

In the world today, it seems that politics are always at the top of mind. But some people are more political and more politically passionate than others — partially thanks to the brain itself. According to a paper published in the journal Brain, there are circuits in our minds that contribute to our levels of political intensity, and researchers recently revealed these circuits, identifying which brain regions are involved. “We didn’t find brain networks tied to liberal or conservative ide ...read more

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the state’s measles outbreak has reached 481 cases since January 2025 and has led to the deaths of two school-aged children and possibly one adult, though officials are still looking into the individual's cause of death. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the measles outbreak is not isolated to Texas and has moved to other areas of the U.S. There are now, as of April 3, 2025, over 600 cases in the U.S. This number al ...read more

Bad news for allergy sufferers: climate change may make your seasonal allergies last even longer. Scientists developed a model accounting for how different warming scenarios could affect pollen production and emissions. What they found was, by the end of the century, warmer temperatures could kick off the spring allergy season 10 days to 40 days earlier and extend summer/fall emissions an extra 5 days to 15 days, the researchers report in the journal Nature Communications.“These simulations in ...read more

One of the best things about baseball season is the food. There is no sign of spring quite like enjoying a cold drink and a hot dog with thousands of fellow fans inside a stadium. This tradition is bound to put a hole in your wallet, but do you know what it might cost you health-wise?A new survey conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine/Morning Consult reveals that although 88 percent of Americans have eaten a hot dog in their lifetime, much less are aware of the specific ...read more

It’s no secret that women and men experience pain differently, and there are a variety of reasons to cause this variance in pain perception. Hormones are known to influence pain sensitivity, body structure affects the density of pain receptors, and psychological and social factors play a role in how pain is perceived and expressed.With all these factors in mind, it’s surprising to learn that most pain research has historically ignored sex differences. As a result, many studies missed the opp ...read more

When it comes to infant nutrition, parents are flooded with information on what's safe and what's not. However, one piece of advice that often catches new caregivers off guard is the strict guideline against giving babies water, especially during the first six months of life. After all, water is essential for survival — so why exactly is it off-limits for infants?Pediatricians warn against giving water to babies younger than six months. That’s because doing so can be dangerous. Unlike older ...read more

Humans are adept combiners. As it turns out, so, too, are bonobos. According to a new study in Science, bonobos can combine their calls a lot like humans can, indicating that a hallmark of human communication — an ability called compositionality — is just as much a hallmark of the communication of our closest relatives.“Since humans and bonobos had a common ancestor approximately 7 to 13 million years ago, they share many traits by descent,” said Martin Surbeck, a study author and an evo ...read more

Asteroid 2024 YR4 had everyone collectively holding their breath just months ago, but now, it appears that the “city-killer” asteroid has a stronger chance of striking the Moon, not Earth. The asteroid currently has a 3.8 percent chance to hit the Moon on December 22, 2032, according to the latest announcement from NASA.Ongoing infrared observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have continued to unveil more precise information about 2024 YR4 and its potential trajectory throughou ...read more

Traveling West embodied the United State’s 19th century expansionist tendencies. Traveling East might have been an appropriate tendency for early humans living in what is now Europe near the end of the Ice Age.A team of researchers describe how populations shifted in size, density, and region during the Final Paleolithic Period between 14,000 and 11,600, according to a study in PLOS ONE.The U.S. population transfer was driven by a search for wealth, particularly gold. The Ice Age movement may ...read more