Is Nus Braka’s weapon in the latest “Starfleet Academy” a “Galaxy Quest” in-joke?

“‘Galaxy Quest’ is, without a doubt, the best ‘Star Trek’ movie.” So said Wil Wheaton in the 2019 “Galaxy Quest” documentary “Never Surrender”, and he should know a thing or…

Teen Aggression Speeds Up Aging

Summary: Adolescence is often a time of social friction, but a new longitudinal study reveals that these early behavioral patterns have deep physical consequences. Following 121 individuals from age 13…

A koala population’s rapid rebound may let it escape inbreeding’s perils

A rapid koala rebound in southeastern Australia is also boosting their genetic variation, showing one way out of an extinction death spiral. After nearly disappearing from the region over a…

Chickpeas can grow in moon dirt and make seeds

Homegrown chickpeas could be on the menu for future astronauts. With help from compost and symbiotic fungi, chickpea plants grow and produce seeds in simulated lunar dirt, researchers report March…

Billions of dollars, decades of progress spent eliminating devastating diseases may be lost with undoing of USAID

In Greek mythology, King Sisyphus was condemned by the god Zeus to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down, having to start…

Nearly a third of Pennsylvania gamblers are at risk of problem gambling − but few seek treatment

Nearly three times as many Pennsylvania adults gamble online today than just a few years ago. And as online platforms make gambling easier and more convenient, some Pennsylvanians are gambling…

GLP-1 drugs may fight addiction across every major substance, according to a study of 600,000 people

A patient of mine, a veteran who had tried to quit smoking for over a decade, told me that after he started a GLP-1 drug for his diabetes, he lost…

60 years of ‘Star Trek’: The colorful origins of the rainbow warp effect

You’ve all seen it dozens of times, in banners, posters, trailers, and intro title sequences, that vivid rainbow-like warp field spectrum used in some capacity in nearly every “Star Trek”…

Cocaine Addiction is a Biological Rewiring, Not a Choice

Summary: Relapse isn’t a failure of willpower—it’s a biological “rewiring” of the brain. A new study reveals how chronic cocaine use hijacks the connection between the brain’s reward center and…

Pollen analysis indicates 9,000-year-old Shaman had a floral burial

New scientific research has shed fresh light on one of Central Europe’s most remarkable archaeological discoveries — the 9,000-year-old grave of the so-called “Shaman of Bad Dürrenberg” in Germany. Recent…