Neuroscie

Why the Dark Web Attracts Young, Impulsive Risk-Takers

Summary: The dark web isn’t just for whistleblowers and privacy advocates; it’s a digital magnet for individuals with specific criminological traits. A new study analyzed a national sample of 1,750…

Link Found Between Antibiotics and Depression in Pregnancy

Summary: While antibiotics are lifesaving tools, their impact may extend beyond fighting infection to affecting maternal mental health. A massive nationwide study has identified a “stepwise” link between antibiotic use…

Direct Link Between Stress and Addiction Found

Summary: Why does a stressful day at work make a drink feel like a necessity rather than a choice? Researchers have mapped a previously unknown “direct line” in the brain…

Irregular Bedtime Doubles Cardiac Risk

Summary: It’s not just how much you sleep, but when you go to bed that matters for your heart. A decadelong study revealed that inconsistent bedtimes in midlife can double…

Life

Nature

Newfound bat skeletons are the oldest on record

Two fossilized bat skeletons unearthed in western Wyoming represent a new species and are the oldest set of bat bones yet discovered, researchers say. The incredibly complete fossils of Icaronycteris…

Astronomy

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was Earth’s first real-life defense test

Artist’s depiction of an asteroid floating in space. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), Martin Kornmesser (ESA), Serge Brunier (ESO), Nick Risinger (Photopic Sky Survey) At this point in…

How do you fire someone into the sun?

Firing our villain straight at the Sun results in a big miss. Credit: Michael Brown, CC BY To point a rocket directly at the sun and hit would require great…

Cosmic ray puzzle resolved as scientists link ‘knee’ formation to black holes

LHAASO experiment. Credit: LHAASO Collaboration Milestone results released by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) on November 16 have solved a decades-old mystery about the cosmic ray energy…

If the supernova standard candle is wrong, it could solve the Hubble tension

An illustration showing how Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) expand with the universe. Credit: Gabriela Secara, Perimeter Institute CC-BY-4.0 Last time I wrote about new data that overturns the standard cosmological…