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Phys.org / One overlooked mineral may have quietly powered a crucial step toward life on early Earth

Manganese dioxide can convert amino acids into hydrogen cyanide (HCN) without requiring methane, a finding that solves a long-standing puzzle about the origin of this key prebiotic molecule on early Earth. Although HCN is ...

Apr 30, 2026
Science X / Personalized brain-training approach goes after one of depression's hardest-to-break loops

Depression is a debilitating mental health disorder characterized by persistent low mood, a loss of interest in everyday activities, repetitive negative thinking and possible changes in appetite and/or sleeping patterns. ...

Apr 29, 2026
Phys.org / Feeding shift may have steered 55 pilot whales toward Scotland mass stranding

New research, focused on the feeding behavior of long-finned pilot whales, has shed light on one of Scotland's largest mass stranding events. The study, led by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) based at ...

Apr 30, 2026
Phys.org / Massive reef expansion 20 million years ago may explain modern coral life's origins

New research published in Science Advances reveals that the largest expansion of coral reefs in the past 100 million years happened about 20 to 10 million years ago, between Australia and Southeast Asia.

Apr 30, 2026
Medical Xpress / Communication from the CDC fuels skepticism about vaccines and science, research suggests

The scientific consensus is that vaccinations are neither causally nor statistically linked to autism. The US health authority CDC changed its official communication on this matter and instead emphasized a connection could ...

Apr 30, 2026
Medical Xpress / One of the world's most common knee surgeries does not help and may even be harmful

Partial meniscectomy does not improve patient symptoms or function, reveals a 10-year follow-up of the FIDELITY, a placebo-surgery controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Apr 29, 2026
Science X / The keyboard trap: Why your best arguments are failing online

While 84% of people prefer to type out a disagreement, new research involving 1,842 conversations reveals that the "safer" choice is actually fueling social friction. In an era of digital flame wars and rising political partisanship, ...

Apr 29, 2026
Phys.org / An anomaly in global sea level rise is explained by deep ocean heating

Climate scientists like to keep their accounting books neat and balanced. As climate change alters energy flows all across the planet, which in turn causes effects like sea level rise, ice melt and more, keeping close track ...

Apr 28, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden 3D atomic structure of relaxor ferroelectrics revealed for first time

Materials called relaxor ferroelectrics have been used for decades in technologies like ultrasounds, microphones, and sonar systems. Their unique properties come from their atomic structure, but that structure has stubbornly ...

Apr 30, 2026
Medical Xpress / For 30 years, doctors chased the wrong immune culprit behind this rare inflammatory disease

Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered a critical mechanism driving inflammation in mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD), a rare but devastating autoinflammatory disorder. The study, published ...

Apr 30, 2026
Phys.org / Captured mid-reaction, RNA polymerase reveals universal blueprint for gene transcription

The enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out transcription, copying DNA into RNA. It's the first step in gene expression, and a process fundamental to all life. But the inner workings of this essential enzyme have long baffled ...

Apr 30, 2026
Phys.org / Hemp-based thermoplastic offers a greener alternative to plastic packaging

As the global pollution crisis caused by manufacturing and disposing of single-use plastics continues to grow, researchers have developed a non-toxic plastic alternative derived from the hemp plant—a non-psychoactive type ...

Apr 30, 2026