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Scientists just found a sugar switch that protects your brain from Alzheimer's
Scientists have uncovered a surprising sugar-related mechanism inside brain cells that could transform how we fight Alzheimer’s and other dementias. It turns out neurons don’t just store sugar for fuel—they reroute it to power antioxidant defenses, but only if an enzyme called GlyP is active. When this sugar-clearing system is blocked, toxic tau protein builds up and accelerates brain degeneration. 06/30/2025 10:04 AM
This AI tracks lung tumors as you breathe — and it might save lives
An AI system called iSeg is reshaping radiation oncology by automatically outlining lung tumors in 3D as they shift with each breath. Trained on scans from nine hospitals, the tool matched expert clinicians, flagged cancer zones some missed, and could speed up treatment planning while reducing deadly oversights. 06/30/2025 09:05 AM
Ancient DNA reveals leprosy hit the Americas long before colonization
Leprosy’s tale stretches from 5,000-year-old skeletons in Eurasia to a startling 4,000-year-old case in Chile, revealing that the rare strain Mycobacterium lepromatosis haunted the Americas millennia before Europeans arrived. Armed with cutting-edge ancient-DNA sleuthing, scientists have pieced together remarkably well-preserved genomes that challenge the idea of leprosy as purely a colonial import and hint that the disease may have homegrown American roots awaiting confirmation by future finds. 06/30/2025 08:07 AM
Planets may start forming before stars even finish growing
In a stellar nursery 460 light-years away, astronomers sharpened old ALMA data and spotted crisp rings and spirals swirling around 27 infant stars—evidence that planets start taking shape just a few hundred thousand years after their suns ignite, far earlier than anyone expected. 06/30/2025 06:19 AM
Scientists discover ‘off switch’ enzyme that could stop heart disease and diabetes
Researchers at UT Arlington have discovered a key enzyme, IDO1, that when blocked, helps immune cells regain their ability to properly process cholesterol—something that breaks down during inflammation. This breakthrough could offer a powerful new way to fight heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more. By "turning off" this enzyme, the team restored cholesterol absorption in macrophages, potentially stopping disease at the source. Even more promising, they found a second enzyme, NOS, that makes things worse—raising hopes that targeting both could pave the way for transformative treatments for millions suffering from inflammation-driven conditions. 06/30/2025 03:57 AM
Quantum computers just beat classical ones — Exponentially and unconditionally
A research team has achieved the holy grail of quantum computing: an exponential speedup that’s unconditional. By using clever error correction and IBM’s powerful 127-qubit processors, they tackled a variation of Simon’s problem, showing quantum machines are now breaking free from classical limitations, for real. 06/30/2025 02:30 AM
Fire smoke exposure leaves toxic metals and lasting immune changes
Smoke from wildfires and structural fires doesn t just irritate lungs it actually changes your immune system. Harvard scientists found that even healthy people exposed to smoke showed signs of immune system activation, genetic changes tied to allergies, and even toxic metals inside their immune cells. 06/30/2025 12:29 AM
Fighting fire with fire: How prescribed burns reduce wildfire damage and pollution
Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burns—intentionally set, controlled fires—can significantly lessen their impact. By analyzing satellite data and smoke emissions, researchers found that areas treated with prescribed burns saw wildfire severity drop by 16% and smoke pollution fall by 14%. Even more striking, the smoke from prescribed burns was just a fraction of what wildfires would have produced in the same areas. 06/30/2025 12:08 AM
Buried for 23,000 years: These footprints are rewriting American history
Footprints found in the ancient lakebeds of White Sands may prove that humans lived in North America 23,000 years ago — much earlier than previously believed. A new study using radiocarbon-dated mud bolsters earlier findings, making it the third line of evidence pointing to this revised timeline. 06/29/2025 08:43 AM
Scientists just reconstructed half the neanderthal genome—thanks to Indian DNA
India’s complex ancestry—intertwined with Iranian farmers, Steppe herders, and local hunter-gatherers—has now been decoded through genomic data from 2,762 people. The study uncovers surprising levels of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA, and how ancient migrations and community traditions have shaped today’s genetic diversity and disease risks. 06/29/2025 07:43 AM
The gene that hijacks fear: How PTEN rewires the brain’s anxiety circuit
Deleting a gene called PTEN in certain brain cells disrupts the brain’s fear circuitry and triggers anxiety-like behavior in mice — key traits seen in autism. Researchers mapped how this genetic tweak throws off the brain's delicate balance of excitation and inhibition in the amygdala, offering deep insights into how one gene can drive specific ASD symptoms. 06/29/2025 05:06 AM
Brain scan breakthrough reveals why Parkinson’s drugs don’t always work
Researchers are using an advanced brain imaging method called MEG to understand why Parkinson’s drug levodopa doesn’t work equally well for everyone. By mapping patients’ brain signals before and after taking the drug, they discovered that it sometimes activates the wrong brain regions, dampening its helpful effects. This breakthrough could pave the way for personalized treatment strategies, ensuring patients receive medications that target the right areas of their brain more effectively. 06/29/2025 04:35 AM
This brain scan sees Alzheimer’s coming—but only in some brains
USC researchers have found a promising new brain scan marker that could better detect Alzheimer’s risk — but only for some. The tau-based benchmark works in Hispanic and White populations when paired with another Alzheimer’s protein, amyloid, but falls short for Black participants, revealing critical gaps in current diagnostics. 06/29/2025 04:13 AM
JWST unlocks 10-billion-year mystery of how galaxies shape themselves
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists spotted thin and thick disks in galaxies as far back as 10 billion years ago—something never seen before. These observations reveal that galaxies first formed thick, chaotic disks, and only later developed the calm, thin disks seen in modern spirals like the Milky Way. 06/30/2025 06:43 AM
Record-breaking 10-billion-year radio halo just rewrote the universe’s origin story
A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy. 06/28/2025 01:06 PM
Candy colors, THC inside: How cannabis edibles are tricking teen brains
Teens are being misled by cannabis edibles dressed up like health foods. Bright colors, fruit imagery, and words like vegan make these products look fun, natural, and safe even when they re not. A WSU study warns that this could increase the risk of underage use and urges new packaging rules based on what actually appeals to teens. 06/28/2025 02:38 AM
New Orleans is sinking—and so are its $15 billion flood defenses
Parts of New Orleans are sinking at alarming rates — including some of the very floodwalls built to protect it. A new satellite-based study finds that some areas are losing nearly two inches of elevation per year, threatening the effectiveness of the city's storm defenses. 06/28/2025 11:52 PM
Scientists reveal a spontaneous reaction that could have started life
Scientists have uncovered a surprising new way that urea—an essential building block for life—could have formed on the early Earth. Instead of requiring high temperatures or complex catalysts, this process occurs naturally on the surface of tiny water droplets like those in sea spray or fog. At this boundary between air and water, a unique chemical environment allows carbon dioxide and ammonia to combine and spontaneously produce urea, without any added energy. The finding offers a compelling clue in the mystery of life’s origins and hints that nature may have used simple, everyday phenomena to spark complex biological chemistry. 06/29/2025 12:56 AM
A tiny implant just helped paralyzed rats walk again—is human recovery next?
A groundbreaking study from the University of Auckland and Chalmers University of Technology is offering new hope for spinal cord injury patients. Researchers have developed an ultra-thin implant that delivers gentle electric currents directly to the injured spinal cord. This device mimics natural developmental signals to stimulate nerve healing, and in animal trials, it restored movement and touch sensation in rats—without causing inflammation or damage. 06/28/2025 10:33 AM
Scientists turn beer yeast into mini factories for smart drugs
A team of researchers has turned ordinary yeast into tiny, glowing drug factories, creating and testing billions of peptide-based compounds in record time. This green-tech breakthrough could fast-track safer, more precise medicines and reshape the future of pharma. 06/28/2025 10:06 AM
from ScienceDaily
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