A ghostly quasiparticle rooted in a century-old Italian mystery could unlock quantum computing’s potential—if only it could be pinned down
Preference for cash and privacy fears deterred bitcoin adoption in El Salvador.
Encapsulated aerogel fibers offer thermal insulation, breathability, and strength
Blockbuster weight loss drugs show promise for a wider range of health benefits
Obesity plays out as a private struggle and a public health crisis. In the United States, about 70% of adults are affected by excess weight, and in Europe that number is more than half. The stigma against fat can be crushing; its risks, life-threatening. Defined as a body mass index of at least 30, obesity is thought to power type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, fatty liver disease, and certain cancers.
Medicine has had little to offer the tens of millions of people worldwide with Alzheimer’s disease, and the few approved treatments have only targeted symptoms. But in January, U.S. regulators greenlit the first drug that clearly, if modestly, slows cognitive decline by tackling the disease’s underlying biology; a second, related treatment is close behind. Neither comes close to a cure, and both have serious risks, but they offer new hope to patients and families.
New research is revealing surprising complexity in the minds of goats, pigs, and other livestock
Biomedical microrobots could overcome current challenges in targeted therapies
Sustainable management approaches are needed to protect coastal environments
8000 years ago—long before farming arrived—people in Siberia built defensive structures
AI-powered discovery could lead to revolutions in electronics, batteries, and solar cells
Chinstrap penguins fall asleep thousands of times per day in the wild
The appearance of a “tropical” mosquito-borne illness in southeastern Australia has unsettled researchers
In mice, pregnancy results in new neurons that support recognition of pups
Cheap and fast algorithms are matching—and surpassing—the world’s top models
NuScale Power’s small modular reactors promised cheaper nuclear power, but costs soared and utilities balked
Verve Therapeutics says its base-editing approach may help prevent heart disease in many people
In thinking about the challenge of getting artificial intelligence (AI) to understand our complex world, I recalled a Twitter post from a user of Tesla’s self-driving system. The user tweeted that his car kept stopping abruptly at a particular location for no apparent reason. Then he noticed a billboard advertisement on the side of the road, featuring a sheriff holding up a stop sign. The car’s vision system had interpreted this as an actual stop sign, and slammed on the brakes.
After 2000 years of isolation, a few decades of interbreeding have rendered the animal “genomically extinct”
BY DAVID GRIMM
Though it lies in ruins on the northeast coast of England, Kilton Castle was once an imposing stone fortress, home to several noble families, and—it appears—at least eight cats. Archaeological excavations in the 1960s uncovered a well, at the bottom of which lay the bones of several felines dating back to the 14th century. The animals were an odd mix: Some were domestic cats, but other, larger specimens appeared to be European wildcats, a fierce, burly species that has inhabited the continent for hundreds of thousands of years.
“Hubble tension” could be a signal of new physics. But deciphering it may not be simple
Cleft in fossil skull suggests solution to a long-standing mystery: shoulder tissue evolved from gill arches
Emotional memories are consolidated during REM sleep
If you pause for a second and think about the activities that occupy most of your day, presumably sleeping, eating, and engaging in social interactions are among the first that come to your mind. Perhaps surprisingly, a small area buried deep inside the brain, called the hypothalamus, is responsible for coordinating neuronal signals related to these activities. By controlling the homeostasis of the neuroendocrine, limbic, and autonomic nervous systems, the hypothalamus is a key brain region for many physiological and pathological processes. Despite its small size, the hypothalamus has a complex cellular organization and circuitry that determine its structural and functional organization. It is composed of 11 nuclei grouped by their location and has vast, mostly bidirectional connections with many neuronal and endocrine systems.
Plants bred or engineered to be short can stand up better to windstorms. They could also boost yields and benefit the environment
To an interstate traveler—or anyone lost in a corn maze—the most impressive feature of corn is its stature. Modern corn can grow twice as tall as a person, but height has drawbacks, making the plants vulnerable to wind and more difficult for farmers to tend. Plant scientists think corn can be improved by making it shorter, and leading seed companies are doing that through both conventional breeding and genetic engineering. Bayer has launched a short variety in Mexico, another company is selling its versions in the United States, and more are getting involved.
Past the halfway point, Extremely Large Telescope prepares to receive first mirrors
A web of steel girders is rising from the flattened summit of Cerro Armazones, 3000 meters above sea level in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The dome it will support will be vast—with a footprint as big as a soccer field and almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty— and unexpectedly nimble: It will smoothly rotate on rails as a giant telescope inside tracks stars through the night.
Co-developer of biotech’s drug couldn’t supply original data
Gas could replace fossil fuels and fight climate change—if it is made cleanly
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