Haptic holography promises to bring virtual reality to life, but a new study reveals a surprising physical obstacle that will need to be overcome.

Astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star's 'year' lasts just 17 hours.

High blood pressure disorders during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of thinking problems later in life, according to a study. Researchers found that those with these disorders had a higher risk of cognitive problems in later life than those who did not have high blood pressure during pregnancy. They also found that those with preeclampsia, which is high blood pressure that...

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in...

In a study of U.S. military veterans, researchers noted that participating in home-based cardiac rehabilitation was associated with a 36% lower risk of death compared to veterans who chose not to participate in cardiac rehabilitation.

Ice-cold electron beams could pave the way to reducing X-ray free-electron lasers (X-FELs) to a fraction of their current size.

In 2022 NASA embarked on a bold experiment to see if they could change an asteroid's velocity by smacking it with a ballistic probe -- kind of like hitting it with a hammer. This experiment was to test a potential technique to someday deflect an asteroid on a collision course to Earth. Perhaps, for the first time in the history of the universe, an intelligent planetary species sought ways to avoid...

Seizures can be predicted more than 30 minutes before onset in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, opening the door to a therapy using electrodes that could be activated to prevent seizures from happening, according to new research.

Midwestern agriculture contributes the vast majority of nitrogen in the Gulf of Mexico, causing an oxygen-starved hypoxic zone and challenging coastal economies. State and federal policies have tried for decades to provide solutions and incentives, but the hypoxic zone keeps coming back. A recent study offers a new way to understand Midwestern nitrogen dynamics and forecasts future nitrogen loads...

A world-first model of paleoclimate and hydrology in Iran has highlighted favourable routes for Neanderthals and modern human expansions eastwards into Asia. The findings reveal that multiple humid periods in ancient Iran led to the expansions of human populations, opening dispersal route across the region, and the possible interactions of species such as Neanderthals and our own Homo sapiens.

Scientists recently developed an efficient way to transplant pancreatic islets and demonstrated that the method can effectively reverse type 1 diabetes in nonhuman primates.

Researchers have discovered a strong immunological effect of the molecule LecB -- and a way to prevent it.

Researchers have examined how mulching at different times affects insect flower-visitors and larvae.

Astronomers offer new insight into how deflection missions can protect the planet from future Earth-bound asteroids and comets.

Iodized salt helps prevent iodine-deficiency disorders, including goiters and certain birth defects. Yet it's unclear how this seasoning interacts with chloramine-treated drinking water if some of the disinfectant is left behind. Now, researchers have demonstrated that cooking pasta in such water with iodized table salt could produce potentially harmful byproducts. But they also report four simple...

Researchers have developed a prototype for coral-reef-friendly sunscreens by using polymerization to create large molecules that still block UV radiation but are too big to penetrate our skin, coral, and algae. The polymeric UV filter was more effective at preventing sunburn in mice than existing sunscreens.

As the planet warms, animals that breed in the Arctic are at particular risk. But a new study offers some encouraging news: in an apparent reaction to pressures along their former migratory route, a population of Arctic geese has rapidly adjusted, forming a new migration route and breeding location almost 1,000 kilometers from their original stomping grounds.

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years -- they took shelter in Western Europe but died out on the Italian peninsula.

Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.

Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.

Helium -- essential for many medical and industrial processes -- is in critically short supply worldwide. Production is also associated with significant carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. This study provides a new concept in gas field formation to explain why, in rare places, helium accumulates naturally in high concentrations just beneath the Earth's surface. The findings could...

New research in mice shows bacteria hijack communication between nerve and immune cells in the meninges -- the protective layers that shield the brain from infection. The experiments detail step by step how bacteria activate pain receptors and initiate a signaling cascade that disables immune cells and culminates in bacterial invasion of the brain. The findings provide much-needed understanding...

A new study reports on genomic data from a 23,000-year-old individual who lived in what was probably the warmest place of Europe at the peak of the last Ice Age. The oldest human genome recovered from the southern tip of Spain adds an important piece of the puzzle to the genetic history of Europe.

A major new study reveals a 'traffic light' mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells -- a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how 'epigenetic' changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read. Unlike our genetic make-up, which is well understood, the world of...