On a fairly regular basis, my chocolate-brown chihuahua mix will get territorial about some limbless, chewed-up toy that no one else wants. She’ll prowl around with the toy in her mouth, hackles raised, while growling to warn that the headless elf from last Christmas is all hers. The rest of us will ignore her, and eventually, she’ll relax. Or she’ll cool it when I inform her that she can’t come up on the couch until she stops.My little dog isn’t the only one who has territorial behav ...read more

As the year winds down, we wanted to take a look back at some of the top scientific discoveries that happened in 2024. From groundbreaking medical advances, major space exploration, and ancient genetics, here are some of the year's most exciting advancements.1. HIV Prevention Drug Lenacapavir Has Shocking Results In 2022, health organizations across the globe, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S., approved the drug lenacapavir as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. In 2024, the r ...read more

In the 1950s, an urban legend about the Atlantic Ocean surfaced. According to the lore, a mysterious area formed a triangle from Bermuda to South Florida down to Puerto Rico. Called the Bermuda Triangle, the region was supposedly where ships, planes, and people mysteriously disappeared.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service (NOAA) says there are scientific explanations for disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, and the area doesn’t have any more disappearances than other well-traveled r ...read more

When we say something is a “chip off the old block,” that generally means the new thing shares basic characteristics of the object from which it originated. In pebbles, that literally means the smaller stone’s mineral composition matches that of the larger rock from which it broke. For people, that means personality traits, DNA, resemblance to a parent.But for young planets, that appears not to be the case. Using a relatively new, highly sensitive imaging technique, astrophysicists examini ...read more

In the United States, around 22 percent of older people have cognitive impairment, while around 10 percent have dementia. A new study suggests that antibiotics aren’t associated with the two conditions. Published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the study shows that antibiotics are not connected with a raised risk of cognitive impairment or dementia in the short term.“Older adults are more frequently prescribed antibiotics and are also at higher risk for cognit ...read more

We all want healthier teeth, but what does the science say about fluoride, an additive that’s used in the U.S. and around the world to help support strong, healthy teeth? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fluoride is a safe and healthy solution. In small amounts, it helps to strengthen the teeth and to hinder the acids that harm them. Here’s how fluoride works, and why it’s important. Fluoridated Water AccessFluoride is a mineral that’s naturally found in ...read more

Right now, a giant black hole that was born in the early years of the universe is doing something shockingly relatable: taking an extended nap after overeating. In a new study, researchers observed the black hole in a dormant state, having fallen asleep after consuming matter and undergoing a whirlwind period of growth. Its slumber, although uneventful, may deliver answers on the birth and growth of black holes.An updated perspective on black holes drives the recently published Nature study, fea ...read more

In June 2024, an Asian elephant in central Thailand gave birth to a set of twins. The event was considered a miracle, since elephant twins are a fleetingly rare occurrence.Jamjuree, a 36-year-old elephant, birthed two calves — a girl and a boy. It’s the first official record of elephant twins of different genders born in Thailand. According to a statement, the shock of birthing a second calf sent the mother into a panicked frenzy. Rare Elephant TwinsElephants have the longest gestation perio ...read more

Hearing the name Tiffany in a historical film or reading it in a historical book may distract the audience from the story momentarily since, surely, people were not named Tiffany centuries ago. It's a modern name, right? But the name Tiffany indeed came from the historical name Theophania, which originated in the 12th century.The Tiffany Effect, or the Tiffany Problem, refers to terms that seem modern but, in fact, have much older roots. The name Tiffany inspired the term because most people thi ...read more

X-rays pass easily through biological materials to provide unprecedented insight into the internal structure of everything from biological structures in living cells to broken bones in damaged bodies. But biologists face something of a dilemma in making these images. The ionizing nature of X-rays can break chemical bonds, damage living cells and distort the biological structures under investigation. So biological imaging experiments must balance the need for clear images against the inevitable d ...read more