A new study reports genetic and oxygen and strontium isotopic data for individuals buried at Alalakh, finding little evidence for the foreigners mentioned in texts.

An interdisciplinary team has determined that older adult women converse more effectively with strangers than their younger counterparts; additionally, communicating with female friends decreases stress hormone levels for women across the lifespan.

A new report raises serious questions about the benefits, risks and ethics of a new service -- which the authors call 'embryo selection based on polygenic scores,' or ESPS -- that allows in vitro fertilization patients to select embryos with the goal of choosing healthier and even smarter children.

A new study maps the evolutionary history and interrelationships of protein domains, the subunits of protein molecules, over 3.8 billion years.

Even the mundane act of swallowing requires a well-coordinated dance of more than 30 muscles of the mouth. The loss of function of even one of these, due to disease or injury, can be extremely debilitating. For these people, nerve stimulation offers a ray of hope to regain some of their lost oral function.

Researchers propose a scheme to identify and weigh the quantum orbits in strong-field tunneling ionization.

Researchers have developed and successfully demonstrated a novel method for studying how cells repair damaged DNA in space.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used in medicine to detect, diagnose and treat diseases such as cancer, while relying on experts' interpretation of images. Quantitative MRI, which obtains numerical measurements during the scans, can now potentially offer greater accuracy, repeatability and speed -- but rigorous quality control is needed for it to reach its full potential, according to a...

A new study shows that a breathing exercise known as Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training can reduce blood pressure in weeks, with benefits on par with daily exercise or medication.

Researchers offers a new understanding of how gene activity directs plant growth, and how quickly plants respond to their environment -- with shifting light conditions triggering molecular changes in as little as five minutes. The findings provide insights into how to increase yield and safeguard world food production as climate change shrinks the planet's arable land.

Cancer cells can put the body's immune cells into sleep mode. Immunotherapy can reverse this, but it doesn't work for all patients and all cancer types. Researchers have now developed machine learning models that can predict if someone is likely to respond positively to immunotherapy. In clinical settings, this could pave the way for personalized immunotherapy approaches for patients, as well as...

New research shows that there may be more antimicrobial-resistant salmonella in our food animals than scientists previously thought.

When it comes to understanding and predicting trends in energy use, the internet is a tough nut to crack. So say energy researchers in two recent articles that discuss the pitfalls that plague estimates of the internet's energy and carbon impacts.

The chance of detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 increases with more frequent testing, no matter the type of test, a new study found. Both polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, paired with rapid results reporting, can achieve 98 percent sensitivity if deployed at least every three days.

Bioplastics -- biodegradable plastics made from biological substances rather than petroleum -- can be created in a more economical and environmentally friendly way from the byproducts of corn stubble, grasses and mesquite agricultural production, according to a new study.

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth more than 65 million years ago, and paleontologists and amateur fossil hunters are still unearthing traces of them today. The minerals in fossilized eggs and shell fragments provide snapshots into these creatures' early lives, as well as their fossilization processes. Now, researchers have analyzed the molecular makeup of fossilized dinosaur eggshells from Mexico,...

Using an experimental model to simulate the blood-brain barrier, scientists reported in unprecedented detail how antioxidants protect the brain from inflammation caused by such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

A new study has shown that the size of the Maya population in the lowland city of Itzan (in present-day Guatemala) varied over time in response to climate change. The findings show that both droughts and very wet periods led to important population declines.

In a 34-year global analysis, researchers found that photosynthesis -- an important process for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in soil -- was controlled by extreme wet events nearly as often as droughts in certain locations.

Researchers can gather highly accurate information about social trends and groups by asking about a person's social circle rather than interrogating their own individual beliefs.

Domestic burning of wood and dung fuels in Neolithic homes would have exceeded modern internationally agreed standards for indoor air quality, exposing inhabitants to unsafe levels of particulates, research has shown.

Predicting the potential effects of coral loss on fish communities globally is a fundamental task, especially considering that reef fishes provide protein to millions of people. A new study predicts how fish diversity will respond to declines in coral diversity and shows that future coral loss might cause a more than 40% reduction in reef fish diversity globally.

Researchers at NIST have upgraded their laser frequency-comb instrument to simultaneously measure three airborne greenhouse gases -- nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and water vapor -- plus the major air pollutants ozone and carbon monoxide.

Researchers found that employed individuals, on average, are 35.3% more likely to be infected with the flu virus.