science

Reduced glucose metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction correlate with increased neuronal death and brain damage during cerebral ischemia and neurodegeneration. Ketone bodies (KBs), such as acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate, serve as crucial alternative energy sources during glucose deficiency. Both KBs and the ketogenic diet (KD) demonstrate neuroprotective effects by orchestrating various cellular processes through metabolic and signaling functions.

The study suggests the Zanclean Megaflood ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis, which lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago.

Intermittent calorie restriction improved executive function and memory measures in cognitively intact older adults, an exploratory pilot study suggested.

A new study looking at the evolutionary history of the human oral microbiome shows that Neanderthals and ancient humans adapted to eating starch-rich foods as far back as 100,000 years ago, which is much earlier than previously thought.

Diet has long been hypothesized as a driver of change among hominins, especially with regard to the increase in brain size. Dietary niches reconstructed based on these fossils showed that the Australopithecus individuals had diets very similar to both contemporaneous and modern herbivores but different from carnivores.

Human ancestors like Australopithecus – which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa – ate very little to no meat, according to new research published in the scientific journal Science. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.

Chimpanzees tend to pee when others in their group do, in a phenomenon scientists have dubbed "contagious urination."

A new study published in *Nature Climate Change* reveals that over 30% of the Arctic's land ecosystems, including permafrost, wetlands, and boreal forests, now emit more CO2 than they absorb due to rising temperatures.

Ancient genomes reveal the integration of genetically distinct groups within the early medieval Avar society in the Vienna Basin, Austria.

Postdoctoral training is a career stage often described as a demanding and anxiety-laden time when many promising PhDs see their academic dreams slip away due to circumstances beyond their control. We use a unique dataset of academic publishing and careers to chart the more or less successful postdoctoral paths. We build a measure of academic success on the citation patterns two to five years into a faculty career. Then, we monitor how students’ postdoc positions—in terms of relocation, change of topic, and early well-cited papers—relate to their early-career success.

MIT researchers have pushed the boundaries of quantum computing by developing fluxonium qubits that demonstrate world-record gate fidelities.

MIT physicists have discovered a new magnetic state in an antiferromagnetic material using terahertz light, opening doors to revolutionary memory technologies resistant to magnetic interference.

Nano-sized, tumor-targeting particles induced self-destruction of cancer cells in preclinical studies.

The remote waters of Palau have always carried a sense of intrigue for explorers. Last year, scientists encountered a marine creature that turned heads and sparked excitement on a vessel known for investigating the mysteries of the ocean.

Abstract Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists. We interrogated these concerns with a preregistered 68-country survey of 71,922 respondents and found that in most countries, most people trust scientists and agree that scientists should engage more in society and policymaking. We found variations between and within countries, which we explain with individual- and country-level variables, including political orientation. While there is no widespread lack of trust in scientists, we cannot discount the concern that lack of trust in scientists by even a small minority may affect considerations of scientific evidence in policymaking. These findings have implications for scientists and policymakers seeking to maintain and increase trust in scientists

Physicists have long grouped the most basic building blocks of our universe into two categories. One group consists of fermions, which include matter particles like electrons, protons, and neutrons. 

In a recent study published in Science Advances, a team of researchers led by Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice, describe how one such type of quasiparticle—polarons—behaves in tellurene, a nanomaterial first synthesized in 2017 that is made up of tiny chains of tellurium atoms and has properties useful in sensing, electronic, optical and energy devices.

Researchers have discovered how a cell surface protein called Aplp1 can play a role in spreading material responsible for Parkinson's disease from cell-to-cell in the brain.

A groundbreaking study has unveiled how Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium often found in humans, evolves and survives, offering promising leads for better infection management.

Lake Mendota in Wisconsin is transformed by the changing seasons – covered by ice in winter, and by algae in summer – and a new study shows how these cyclical shifts are putting the lake's bacteria into evolutionary loops.

Artificial intelligence predicts the outcomes of cancer treatments.

Photonics: A Potential Game-Changer

From the article:

Scientists with disabilities are addressing barriers in labs and fieldwork by promoting accessibility through advocacy and creative solutions.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a lavish private bathhouse within a wealthy residence, likely owned by politician Aulus Rustius Verus.

Northern pike are moving through salt water to invade freshwater habitats in Southcentral Alaska, according to a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Headline is a bit misleading because the link to the volcanic eruption is not definitive and it may have been a celebration of the return of the sun rather than a sacrifice, but the article itself is interesting. A major change in the climate would certainly explain such a dramatic shift in their culture.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, together with an international team, carried out an archaeogenetic study of human remains from more than 700 individuals from the Early Middle Ages. Two large burial sites, Mödling and Leobersdorf, have been genetically analyzed in their entirety. The surprising result was that the individuals from Leobersdorf were mostly of East Asian origin, while those buried in Mödling mostly had European ancestry. Both communities lived next to each other for at least six generations.

Our analysis found more frequent detections of unregulated industrial contaminants in public water systems serving higher proportions of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black residents. These associations persisted even after taking other factors into account (e.g., SES, proximity to pollution sources). Although some of the associations between race, ethnicity, and unregulated contaminants can be explained by disproportionate siting of industrial facilities, our analysis suggests that other factors contribute to disparities in exposures to unregulated drinking water contaminants. Our analysis indicates that drinking water disparities can be overlooked and underestimated when research narrowly focuses on regulated chemicals in drinking water. Elucidating other vulnerability factors and mechanisms by which demographics influence drinking water can promote actions to implement the SDWA more effectively and equitably.

Importance  A high infection burden in early childhood is common and a risk factor for later disease development. However, longitudinal birth cohort studies investigating early-life infection burden and later risk of infection and antibiotic episodes are lacking.

Comet ATLAS Before Sunrise Comet ATLAS is really bright now, but also really close to the Sun. Outside the glow of the Sun, Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) would be one of the more remarkable comet sights of recent years, reflecting about as much sunlight to Earth as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS did in October, and now rivaling even planet Venus. But the giant snowball is now so close to the Sun that it can only be seen through the light of the early morning dawn or the early evening dusk. Today, Comet ATLAS is at perihelion -- its closest ever to the Sun. @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy #physics

Other countries have confirmedApollo moon landings.Here's a photo of the Apollo 11landing site, including Eagle descent,stage and its shadow, from India'sChandrayaan spacecraft orbiting themoon @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] #space #science #nasa #astronomy

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the world’s biggest health problems. Yet, despite the fact millions of people globally are diagnosed with the disease each year, it remains a challenge to treat. This is largely because the underlying causes are still not fully understood.

In August 1991, former World Boxing Champion John Famechon sustained severe incapacitating brain injuries. In December of 1993, he began a new and novel complex multi-movement therapy and rehabilitation program, which eventually helped him regain a condition close to his pre-accident state. “The New and Novel Complex Brain Therapy?”

A new study published in Nature Human Behaviour unveils the intricate biological links between social isolation, loneliness, and a plethora of health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mortality. By leveraging data from 42,062 participants in the UK Biobank, the researchers have deciphered plasma proteomic signatures that provide a molecular-level understanding of how social relationships, or the lack thereof, influence human health.

An international team successfully drilled a 1.2-million-year-old ice core from Antarctica, reaching bedrock nearly 2 miles deep at Little Dome C.

Abstract

Polar vortex disruptions, bringing Arctic air deep into the U.S., are happening more frequently due to climate change.

Earth’s temperature has surged in the past two years, and climate scientists will soon announce that it hit a milestone in 2024: rising to more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. But is this sudden spike just a blip in the climate data, or an early indicator that the planet is heating up at a faster pace than researchers thought?

Article is a response to the paper:

The study, conducted by Dr Demid Getik, explores how mental health is related to income make-up within couples by examining the link between annual income rises for women and the number of clinical mental health diagnoses over a set period of time.

His answer is the octopus. What say you?

Solving Problems in your sleep Based on an article from theconversation.com https://theconversation.com/can-you-sleep-your-way-to-better-decision-making-heres-what-the-science-says-242714 Comparison of Objects After a sleep session, participants were more likely to obtain information about items in a certain order, before sleep they mostly only compared the first in row https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxge0001638 Unconsciousness solving If a task was connected to a sound and the sound got played while the participants sleeped, they solved it way faster then others after waking up https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797619873344 Discovery of hidden connections After a nights sleep, people in the study were able to find indirect links between objects more likely then those who didnt sleeped https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2314423121 Recognition of underlying structures Given a math problem, people who had a short episode of light sleep before, were able to find the hidden rule more likely https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abj5866

Abstract

The UK’s largest dinosaur footprint site, featuring about 200 tracks, has been unearthed in an Oxfordshire quarry.

New research reveals that Florida’s manatees are not native to the state, arriving only after the Little Ice Age ended in the late 1700s, when warmer waters became available.

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS, initiative aims to deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon using commercial landers. CLPS is what brought Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander to the Moon in February 2024, marking the first U.S. Moon landing since Apollo.

Retraction to: Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17687-3, published online 25 August 2020

Preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.10234

In the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, researchers found that small leaks collectively account for 72% of methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas fields, challenging the focus on “super emitters.”

Sometimes people perplex me in that some of the most fundamental things aren't known to the newer generations (albeit, some of the older ones too, but not nearly as many). Nonetheless, I bet there are people that will TIL this! And you know what, have at it, obtain that knowledge 👍

Scientists conducting a biodiversity survey in Peru's Alto Mayo region discovered 27 new species, including a blob-headed fish, amphibious mouse, and arboreal salamander. The 38-day expedition recorded over 2,000 species.