Neuroscie
Quitting Impossible Goals May Actually Boost Wellbeing
Summary: A sweeping analysis of 235 studies shows that holding onto impossible goals harms mental and physical wellbeing, increasing stress and lowering life satisfaction. In contrast, releasing unachievable goals —…
Genetic Roots of Depression Reveal Strong Suicide Risk Signals
Summary: New research shows that depression beginning before age 25 has a much stronger hereditary component than depression that emerges later in life. By analyzing genetic data from over 150,000…
Why Sharing Good Deeds Feels Bad
Summary: New research shows that people often feel worse when telling others about their good deeds than when keeping them private or discussing personal achievements. Across five studies, participants predicted…
No Evidence the Gut Microbiome Causes Autism
Summary: Experts reviewing decades of research conclude there is no scientific evidence that the gut microbiome causes autism. They highlight major flaws in observational studies, mouse experiments, and clinical trials,…
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…
