Neuroscie
Why Your Brain “Dreams” Even When You’re Awake
Summary: We usually think of wakefulness and sleep as two separate worlds, but new research proves the boundary is an illusion. Using an experimental setup inspired by Thomas Edison, researchers…
“Warm” AI Chatbots Are More Likely to Lie
Summary: In the race to make artificial intelligence feel like a friend, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are prioritizing warmth and empathy. However, a major study warns that this “cosmetic”…
43% of Antipsychotics for Seniors Start in Hospitals
Summary: New research identifies acute and post-acute care settings, such as emergency rooms, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities, as the primary locations where risky, cognition-altering medications are first prescribed to…
Research Finally Decodes the Brain’s Smell Map
Summary: For over 30 years, the sense of smell has been the “black box” of neuroscience. While we have long understood the precise maps for vision, hearing, and touch, the…
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…
