All News

Phys.org / Female birds have shorter lifespans than male birds across 35 North American species, researchers find

Birds have a lot to do in their short lives: defend territories, build nests, raise chicks and feed themselves. But the toll of these activities may be greater for female birds than for male birds. A new study by UCLA ornithologists ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Scientists solve mystery of how muscle cells grow and stay healthy

In a study published in Nature Communications biophysicists unravel the mystery of how muscles form at the molecular level and maintain their function. The findings may help design treatments for muscle diseases such as dilated ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Learning may rely on stronger neural connections, not expanding networks

How does the brain learn? Does it acquire new knowledge by creating new neural pathways or by strengthening existing connections? A new study from Bar-Ilan University offers evidence in favor of the latter, suggesting that ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Likelihood of wildfires in Southern Europe has doubled since the 80s, study shows

Summer days featuring conditions that promote wildfire ignition, intensity and spread have more than doubled across large parts of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy and Greece since 1981, according to a study in Scientific ...

13 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Brain training app makes adults with ADHD feel sharper but tests show no real change

Once believed to be a condition that children outgrow, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is now recognized as a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that often persists into adulthood. For many adults, it can ...

22 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Sleep replay of learned skills can occur independently of the hippocampus, mouse study finds

Sleep is a crucial physiological process that supports recovery, clears metabolic waste products from the brain, regulates metabolism and supports the functioning of the immune system. Sleep is also known to play a key role ...

21 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Leaky gut might make food allergies worse

A "leaky gut" might increase the severity of food allergies, according to new research conducted in mice and published in The Journal of Immunology. The researchers found that changes to the gut microbiome in mice were linked ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Learning to better understand bone-like minerals

A University of California San Diego research team has found a better way to understand and stabilize hydroxyapatite, the calcium phosphate mineral that makes up much of our teeth and bones. By adding tiny amounts of europium, ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Before North and South America were connected, their mammals found a way to intermingle

Until the Panamanian isthmus formed about 2.8 million years ago, North and South America were isolated continents with unique groups of animals. A riot of marsupials—mammals with brood pouches—and sloths in the south contrasted ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Flash droughts can pull 'alarming' amounts of moisture from the landscape and intensify wildfires

When catastrophic wildfires capture global headlines, such as the unprecedented blazes sweeping through southern Europe this summer or the devastating 2019–20 "Black Summer" in Australia, they are almost always preceded by ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Black hole feeding frenzy ends in lingering cosmic indigestion

Black holes are often portrayed as cosmic gluttons that swallow everything that comes too close. But new observations of a dramatic black hole outburst—led by Warwick Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Noel Castro Segura—suggest the ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Uncovering the structure of the poxvirus 'portal complex'

Poxviruses have a long history in human disease as well as medicine: The first-ever vaccine was developed to protect against smallpox, which has since been eradicated. Despite this, scientists still don't fully understand ...

13 hours ago