News Staff 
Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs come with dangers: the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose. In a study appearing in ACS Central Science, researchers have identified a strategy to design safer opioids. They showed that an experimental opioid, which binds to an unconventional … Read more
Where did life first form on Earth? Some scientists think it could have been around hydrothermal vents that may have existed at the bottom of the ocean 4.5 billion years ago. In a new paper in the journal Astrobiology, scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory describe how they mimicked possible ancient undersea environments with a … Read more
A recent study led by USC Stem Cell scientist Janos Peti-Peterdi reveals that a loss of salt and body fluid can stimulate kidney regeneration and repair in mice. This groundbreaking research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, uncovers an innate regenerative response driven by a small population of kidney cells known as the macula … Read more
A groundbreaking study published by an international team, including faculty from Binghamton University, State University of New York, has documented the first known case of Down syndrome in Neanderthals. This discovery sheds new light on the social behaviors of our ancient relatives, revealing their capacity for altruistic care and support for vulnerable members within their … Read more
Whether it’s a first-time visit to a zoo or learning to ride a bicycle, childhood memories often stay with us well into adulthood. But what explains the persistence of these memories over a lifetime? A study published in Science Advances by an international team of researchers sheds light on this question, uncovering a biological mechanism … Read more
Researchers at ETH Zurich have achieved a significant breakthrough in quantum physics by demonstrating that quantum states of single electron spins can be controlled using spin-polarized electron currents. This pioneering method holds potential for future applications in electronic circuit elements, potentially revolutionizing data storage and processing. The Spin of Electrons Electrons possess an intrinsic angular … Read more
Scientists in the quest for compact and robust sources of multicolored laser light have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by generating the first topological frequency comb. This innovative result, reliant on a small silicon nitride chip patterned with hundreds of microscopic rings, has been detailed in the journal Science. Traditionally, light from an ordinary laser emits … Read more
Using the advanced capabilities of the Magellan Telescopes in Chile, astronomers have conducted detailed photometric observations of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4696. These observations have uncovered a complex globular cluster system within the galaxy, as detailed in a paper published on June 12 on the pre-print server arXiv. NGC 4696, positioned approximately 145 million … Read more
The dream of a quantum internet, one capable of unprecedented levels of security and computational power, is tantalizingly close. Making this dream a reality would be significantly more feasible if we could harness existing telecommunications technologies and infrastructure. Recently, researchers have made significant strides in this direction by exploring defects in silicon—a ubiquitous semiconductor material—as … Read more
Four and a half billion years ago, the nascent solar system was a chaotic cloud of gas and dust. This primordial mix, swirling around the newly formed sun, began to condense and coalesce into solid bodies, giving rise to asteroids and planets. This initial stage of planetary formation occurred within a structure known as a … Read more
Our brains seamlessly process streams of visual information from the world around us while simultaneously understanding the causal structure of events. These essential cognitive functions, known as external sensory processing and internal world modeling, are critical for navigating complex environments. The brain achieves this through large-scale functional systems responsible for these processes. Recently, an international … Read more
Within each of our cells, long strands of DNA are folded into chromosomes and capped with protective structures called telomeres. Telomeres shorten as we age, eventually becoming so diminished that our chromosomes are exposed, leading to cell death. The specifics of this shortening process, and whether certain chromosomes are more affected than others, have remained … Read more
A joint study by researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Zaragoza, and the University of Strasbourg has provided groundbreaking insights into early Neolithic dietary practices in the Pyrenees. This research, conducted on archaeological materials from the Chaves and Puyascada caves in Huesca, Spain, has revealed the earliest direct evidence of dairy … Read more
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists at Case Western Reserve University have uncovered new evidence that could fundamentally reshape our understanding of the universe. Tobias Mistele, a post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Astronomy at Case Western Reserve’s College of Arts and Sciences, has utilized a novel approach involving “gravitational lensing” to explore the elusive realm … Read more
The sweet smell of strawberries and other fruits is thanks to a chemical compound called ester, which is also found in many fats and polyesters. The ubiquitous compound can be broken down to produce desirable alcohols and other chemicals for use across industries, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but the process can be costly, both financially … Read more
A structured light refers to a light field which is “customized” in both space and time, characterized by its unique distribution of amplitude, phase, and polarization state in both space and time. Polarization plays a crucial role in structured light beams. Besides polarization manipulation on a single transverse plane, controlling polarization along the propagation direction … Read more
A team of researchers led by Philip Walther at the University of Vienna carried out a pioneering experiment where they measured the effect of the rotation of Earth on quantum entangled photons. The work, published in Science Advances, represents a significant achievement that pushes the boundaries of rotation sensitivity in entanglement-based sensors, potentially setting the … Read more
A team of physicists led by University of Rochester professor Regina Demina has made a groundbreaking discovery in the realm of quantum entanglement, an enigmatic phenomenon famously referred to by Albert Einstein as “spooky action at a distance.” Quantum entanglement involves the interlinked behavior of tiny particles that, once having interacted, can influence each other … Read more
Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced the discovery of a novel immune-based biomarker that could pave the way for potential lifesaving early detection of high-grade ovarian cancer (HGOC). The findings were published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. High-grade ovarian cancer (HGOC) is the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related death among women. More than 90% of … Read more
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new nanomedicine therapy that delivers anticancer drugs to lung cancer cells and enhances the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. The team showed promising results for the new therapy in cancer cells in the lab and in mouse lung tumor models, with potential applications for improving … Read more