Frailty in ageing populations worsened by air pollution, global review finds

Coauthor of research says condition linked to heightened vulnerability and loss of independence – but is reversible.

== yjc, lengthy
The dawn of the post-literate society

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one.

Five herbs and spices that could help improve your digestion

For centuries, herbs and spices have been used in traditional medicine for their digestive benefits, and modern science is beginning to back up some of these age-old remedies.

Anglers delight in salmon returns, but study warns of coho population collapse

Alarm bells should be ringing. Our findings support what First Nations have been saying for years—coho salmon populations are under serious threat.

== have seen something on this before, but…
Rising wildfires spur comeback for Canadian water bomber

The Canadair water bomber revolutionized the fight against wildfires after it debuted in the skies decades ago.

Ancient viral DNA is essential for human embryo development, study shows

Our ancient past isn’t always buried history. When it comes to our DNA, nearly 9% of the human genome is made up of leftover genetic material from ancient viruses (called endogenous retroviruses or ERVs) that infected our ancestors millions of years ago and became permanently integrated into our genetic code.

Bearded Vulture nests found to have hoards of cultural artifacts

Many people have probably seen birds picking up small pieces of man-made materials, like strips of a plastic bag or paper litter, and taking them into their nest. This behavior appears to be fairly widespread among birds.

Early humans dined on giant sloths and other Ice Age giants

For years, the prevailing theory about the extinction of the last great Ice Age megafauna in South America was that it was primarily due to climate change. Humans were previously believed to have played a minor role in their demise.

Concrete ‘battery’ now packs 10 times the power

Concrete already builds our world, and now it’s one step closer to powering it, too.

Microsoft says AI can create “zero day” threats in biology

Artificial intelligence can design toxins that evade security controls.

Rogue planet found growing at record rate

Astronomers have identified an enormous “growth spurt” in a so-called rogue planet. Unlike the planets in our solar system, these objects do not orbit stars, free-floating on their own instead.

== yjc, incredible photo
Vancouver wildlife photographer eclipses global competition with dramatic shot during solar event

“I had these two passions: bird photography and the night sky — celestial events. I decided I wanted to combine these into one dramatic photo.”

Organic semiconductor molecule set to transform solar energy harvesting

Scientists have observed a phenomenon, once thought to be the domain of inorganic metal oxides, thriving within a glowing organic semiconductor molecule.

Four central climate components are losing stability, says study

Four of the most important interconnected parts of the Earth’s climate system are losing stability, according to a review article based on observational data.

== I have been coding in Python pretty much 5 days a week for the last few years
Python-based framework makes climate dynamics more approachable for students and researchers

Written entirely in Python, a high-level, general-purpose programming language, and designed to run on an interactive Jupyter Notebook, the new tool removes longstanding technical barriers, allowing anyone with a standard laptop to explore cutting-edge climate experiments.

Sunlight worsens wildfire smoke pollution, study finds

Wildfire smoke causes more air pollution than current atmospheric models can predict.

Earth’s crust is tearing apart off the Pacific Northwest—and that’s not necessarily bad news

With unprecedented clarity, scientists have directly observed a subduction zone—the collision point where one tectonic plate dives beneath another—actively breaking apart. The discovery sheds new light on how Earth’s surface evolves and raises fresh questions about future earthquake risks in the Pacific Northwest.

Pathogenic yeast strains found in urban air but not along the coast

As city dwellers may know, escaping to the beach can provide a much-needed change of scenery or a mental reset. Historically, some doctors even prescribed trips to the sea to treat diseases.

Parkinson’s ’trigger’ directly observed in human brain tissue for the first time

These tiny clusters, called alpha-synuclein oligomers, have long been considered the likely culprits for Parkinson’s disease to start developing in the brain, but until now, they have evaded direct detection in human brain tissue.

Jurassic reptile fossil discovery blurs the line between snake and lizard

New research has uncovered a species of hook-toothed lizard that lived about 167 million years ago and has a confusing set of features seen in snakes and geckos—two very distant relatives.

Microplastics reduce soil fertility and boost production of a potent greenhouse gas, study shows

More than 90% of plastic waste ends up in the soil, where it breaks down into microplastics that are invisible to the naked eye.

Fungi may have set the stage for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

Complex multicellular life—organisms made of many cooperating cells with specialized jobs—evolved independently in five major groups: animals, land plants, fungi, red algae, and brown algae.

Potential smoking gun signature of supermassive dark stars found in JWST data

Supermassive dark stars are extremely bright, giant, yet puffy clouds made primarily out of hydrogen and helium, which are supported against gravitational collapse by the minute amounts of self-annihilating dark matter inside them.

Key steps towards the realization of a high-precision optical clock based on Ni¹²?

Optical clocks are highly precise timekeeping devices that measure time by tracking the oscillations of light, as opposed to microwaves, like conventional atomic clocks.

== a sort of followup on a previous article
A ‘Godfather of AI’ Remains Concerned as Ever About Human Extinction

A little over two years ago, AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio was among the loudest voices calling for a moratorium on AI model development to focus on safety standards.

Discovery on Saturn’s moon Enceladus boosts possibility it could support life

Being habitable and being inhabited are two very different things. We believe that Enceladus is habitable, but we do not know if life is indeed present.

What researchers suspect may be fueling cancer among millennials

Researchers say the surge in cancer cases among young adults reflects a deeper trend in human health: A number of major diseases, from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease, aren’t just being detected earlier — they’re actually starting earlier in life.

Gaia telescope discovers our galaxy’s great wave

Our Milky Way galaxy never sits still: it rotates and wobbles.

As Amazon’s ‘flying rivers’ weaken with tree loss, scientists warn of worsening droughts

Droughts have withered crops in Peru, fires have scorched the Amazon and hydroelectric dams in Ecuador have struggled to keep the lights on as rivers dry up. Scientists say the cause may lie high above the rainforest, where invisible “flying rivers” carry rain from the Atlantic Ocean across South America.

Far side of the moon may be colder than the near side, lunar rocks suggest

The near side and far side of the moon are very different at the surface and potentially in the interior. It is one of the great mysteries of the moon.

Microlightning might provide long-sought explanation for will-o’-the-wisps

For centuries, people have described strange blue balls of light floating around in marshes, wetlands, and even cemeteries. It’s no surprise that these mysterious flames, termed “will-o’-the-wisps”, have spurred countless ghostly explanations.

A better metric for estimating an exoplanet’s habitability

With the discovery of ever more exoplanets—over 6,000 now—scientists, of course, want to know if they are habitable for life. (At least, life as we know it.)

Scientists read mice’s ’thoughts’ from their faces

It’s easy to read emotions on people’s faces—each one has its clear, unmistakable signature. But what about thoughts?

Why aren’t companies speeding up investment? A new theory offers an answer to an economic paradox

For years, I’ve puzzled over a question that seems to defy common sense: If stock markets are hitting records and tech innovation seems endless, why aren’t companies pouring money back into new projects?

Why mamba snake bites worsen after antivenom

Mamba (Dendroaspis species) snake bites are a significant threat in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 30,000 deaths annually.

The ancestors of ostriches and emus were long-distance fliers

Many flightless birds belong to Palaeognathae, a taxonomic group containing ostriches, rheas, emus, cassowaries and kiwi, as well as the tinamous of Central and South America.

How to identify animal tracks, burrows and other signs of wildlife in your neighborhood

Your neighborhood is home to all sorts of amazing animals, from raccoons, squirrels and skunks to birds, bugs and snails. Even if you don’t see them, most of these creatures are leaving evidence of their activities all around you.

Friendly soil fungus could replace chemical sprays in battle against crop diseases

A common soil fungus could help farmers reduce their reliance on synthetic fungicides, new research suggests, by producing natural airborne chemicals that suppress devastating plant diseases.

The first animals on Earth may have been sea sponges, chemical fossils suggest

The newly identified chemical fossils are special types of steranes, which are the geologically stable form of sterols, such as cholesterol, that are found in the cell membranes of complex organisms.

Primate study explores who eats what, and when

Mushrooms may not be the first food that comes to mind when we imagine the diets of wild primates—or our early human ancestors. We tend to think of fruits and green leaves as the preferred foods for monkeys and apes.

Cancer cells’ stress shield cracked by compound that binds in one place, inhibits in another

Cancer cells are pretty bold and clever—they hijack cellular survival and healing processes in order to fuel their growth, spread throughout the body, and ensure their own survival. The unfolded protein response, which protects cells against stress, is such a pro-survival mechanism.

You’re likely not as immune to scams as you think—here’s why

What do Tiger Woods, Ben Stiller, Australian pensioners and dating app users have in common?

AI systems can easily lie and deceive us—a fact researchers are painfully aware of

The fictional dilemma in “2001: A Space Odyssey” captures a real concern in artificial intelligence (AI) safety research: how should we ensure AI behavior stays consistent with human values?

The asteroid belt’s slow disappearing act

The asteroid belt is found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter and is a vast collection of rocks that is thought to be a planet that never formed. When our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, the material in this region should have coalesced into a planet; however, Jupiter’s gravitational influence prevented this from happening, stirring up the region so that collisions became destructive rather than constructive.

Uranian moon Ariel’s surface features point to a past ocean over 100 miles deep

Ariel is Uranus’ brightest and second-closest moon, and at just 720 miles (1,159 km) across, it is the fourth-largest in the Uranian system.

World’s most sensitive detector tightens the net on elusive dark matter

Determining the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics.

Study of extreme Indian rainfall upends conventional wisdom

The findings show that while El Niño often brings drought conditions to India overall, it also increases the likelihood of devastating downpours in some of the country’s most heavily populated regions.

Bacterial endotoxins are high-potency, low-mass drivers of PM2.5 toxicity, sampling study reveals

Air pollution is now the world’s leading environmental health threat, linked to more than three million premature deaths every year. One of the key culprits is PM2.5, which refers to airborne particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers, small enough to slip deep into the lungs and even seep into the bloodstream.

Clues from the deep sea that an exploding star sent debris to the Earth 10 million years ago

Earlier this year researchers were looking for concentrations of the isotope in deep-ocean crusts to help date these layers of rock. They found a concentration that was much higher than they expected about 10 million years ago.

Scientists achieve electrically driven perovskite laser using dual-cavity design

Even though perovskite semiconductors demonstrated impressive lasing performance under optical pumping (where an external laser excites the perovskite), electrically driven lasing stayed elusive.

3,300 year-old Egyptian bone whistle discovered at 18th Dynasty city of Akhenaten

The city of Akhenaten (modern-day Amarna) was established around 1347 BC by Pharaoh Akhenaten and flourished for a single generation before being abandoned after the pharaoh’s death in around 1332 BC.

SWIFT and top global banks working on blockchain-based overhaul

The timeline is yet to be defined, but it will initially focus on enabling real-time 24/7 cross-border payments, which should also make the process cheaper given it can currently take days.

Microplastics Could Be Weakening Your Bones, Research Suggests

The review of more than 60 scientific articles showed that microplastics, among other effects, can stimulate the formation of osteoclasts, cells specialized in degrading bone tissue.

China Opens World’s Highest Bridge, Breaking Its Own Record

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge soars about 2,050 feet above a river in Guizhou province, more than twice as high as its highest counterpart in the U.S.

Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call: ‘AI Is Going to Change Literally Every Job’

Walmart executives aren’t sugarcoating the message: Artificial intelligence will wipe out jobs and reshape its workforce.

Information could be a fundamental part of the universe, and may explain dark energy and dark matter

For more than a century, physics has been built on two great theories: relativity and quantum mechanics. Both work brilliantly in their own domains. But put them together and contradictions appear.

Older adults can bounce back to thriving health, study finds

A new Canadian study is offering a powerful message to older adults and those who care for them: it’s never too late to bounce back.

Key driver of pancreatic cancer spread identified

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is among the most lethal cancers, with fewer than 10% of patients surviving five years after diagnosis.

World’s first mushroom-powered waterless toilet appears in botanical garden

UBC researchers have launched the world’s first mushroom-powered waterless toilet, the MycoToilet, at the UBC Botanical Garden. The prototype turns human waste into nutrient-rich compost using mycelia.

A 3000-year-old copper smelting site could be key to understanding the origins of iron

The work reanalyzed metallurgical remains from a site in southern Georgia: a 3000-year-old smelting workshop called Kvemo Bolnisi.

Termite observations reveal their technique to prevent contamination in fungal crop

Some species of termites are known to cultivate their own crops of fungus within their nests, similar to the way humans maintain farms to feed people.

Mediterranean diet leads to 75% symptom reduction in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis

Over 60 million people worldwide are affected by psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that causes red, scaly patches and persistent itching.

Intense groundwater flow destabilizes ice in North America’s Great Lakes, simulations show

Powerful pulses of groundwater flow up from beneath Lakes Michigan and Huron, which together form one of the largest freshwater systems in the world.