Collagen pills sound like a shortcut to younger skin, but solid evidence doesn’t back them up. Higher-quality studies show little benefit, and your body doesn’t absorb collagen in the way ads suggest. Some supplements may even pose safety concerns and lack proper testing. Experts recommend focusing on proven habits like sunscreen, retinoids, and a nutrient-rich diet instead.

An experimental drug once known for helping control type 2 diabetes may also fight heart disease. Researchers found IC7Fc lowered cholesterol, blood fats, and artery-clogging plaques while calming inflammation linked to heart attacks and strokes. Notably, these benefits appeared even without weight loss, suggesting the drug could help lean people at risk of heart disease.

Scientists in Sweden and Norway have uncovered a promising way to spot Parkinson’s disease years—possibly decades—before its most damaging symptoms appear. By detecting subtle biological signals in the blood tied to how cells handle stress and repair DNA, the team identified a brief early window when Parkinson’s quietly leaves a measurable fingerprint.

Scientists studying ancient ocean fossils found that the Arabian Sea was better oxygenated 16 million years ago, even though the planet was warmer than today. Oxygen levels only plunged millions of years later, after the climate cooled, defying expectations. Powerful monsoons and ocean circulation appear to have delayed oxygen loss in this region compared to the Pacific. The discovery suggests future ocean oxygen levels may not follow a simple warming-equals-deoxygenation rule.

Quantum computers need extreme cold to work, but the very systems that keep them cold also create noise that can destroy fragile quantum information. Scientists in Sweden have now flipped that problem on its head by building a tiny quantum refrigerator that actually uses noise to drive cooling instead of fighting it. By carefully steering heat at unimaginably small scales, the device can act as a refrigerator, heat engine, or energy amplifier inside quantum circuits.

Scientists in South Korea have discovered that one of the most common malignant brain tumors in young adults may begin years before a tumor can be seen. IDH-mutant glioma, long treated by removing visible tumor tissue, actually starts when normal-looking brain cells quietly acquire a cancer-linked mutation and spread through the brain’s cortex. Using advanced genetic mapping and animal models, researchers traced the cancer’s true origin to glial progenitor cells that appear healthy at first.

Two decades after a breast cancer vaccine trial, every participant is still alive—an astonishing result for metastatic disease. Scientists found their immune systems retained long-lasting memory cells primed to recognize cancer. By enhancing a key immune signal called CD27, researchers dramatically improved tumor elimination in lab studies. The findings suggest cancer vaccines may have been missing a crucial ingredient all along.

Order doesn’t always form perfectly—and those imperfections can be surprisingly powerful. In materials like liquid crystals, tiny “defects” emerge when symmetry breaks, shaping everything from cosmic structures to everyday technologies. Now, researchers have developed an AI-powered method that can predict how these defects will form and evolve in milliseconds instead of hours. By learning directly from data, the system accurately maps molecular alignments and complex defect behavior, even in situations where defects merge or split.

Scientists at Mount Sinai have unveiled a bold new way to fight metastatic cancer by turning the tumor’s own defenses against it. Instead of attacking cancer cells head-on, the experimental immunotherapy targets macrophages—immune cells that tumors hijack to shield themselves from attack. By eliminating or reprogramming these “bodyguards,” the treatment cracks open the tumor’s protective barrier and allows the immune system to flood in and destroy the cancer.

Helping care for grandchildren may offer an unexpected boost to brain health later in life. Researchers found that grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on memory and verbal skills than those who did not. The effect did not depend on how often they helped or the type of care they provided. Being involved as a caregiver itself appeared to matter most.

Drinking heavily over many years is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer, especially rectal cancer, according to new research tracking U.S. adults for two decades. People who drank heavily throughout adulthood faced sharply higher risks than light drinkers. Former drinkers did not show increased cancer risk and had fewer precancerous tumors. The results suggest that quitting alcohol may help lower long-term cancer risk.

Scientists have created a device that captures carbon dioxide and transforms it into a useful chemical in a single step. The new electrode works with realistic exhaust gases rather than requiring purified CO2. It converts the captured gas into formic acid, which is used in energy and manufacturing. The system even functions at CO2 levels found in normal air.

Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Zepbound can drive impressive weight loss, but stopping them is often followed by rapid weight regain. Researchers found that people regain weight faster after quitting these drugs than after diet and exercise alone. Improvements in heart health and diabetes risk also tend to reverse within a few years. The results suggest long-term success may require more than medication alone.

JWST has revealed a strange early universe filled with ultra-bright “blue monster” galaxies, mysterious “little red dots,” and black holes that seem far too massive for their age. A new study proposes that dark stars—hypothetical stars powered by dark matter—could tie all these surprises together. These exotic objects may have grown huge very quickly, lighting up the early cosmos and planting the seeds of supermassive black holes.

Low-Earth orbit is more crowded—and fragile—than it looks. Satellites constantly weave past each other, burning fuel and making dozens of evasive maneuvers every year just to stay safe. A major solar storm could disable navigation and communications, turning that careful dance into chaos. According to new calculations, it may take just days—not decades—for a catastrophic chain reaction to begin, potentially choking off humanity’s access to space for generations.

Small mammals are early warning systems for environmental damage, but many species look almost identical, making them hard to track. Scientists have developed a new footprint-based method that can tell apart nearly indistinguishable species with remarkable accuracy. Tested on two types of sengi, the system correctly identified them up to 96% of the time. It offers a simple, ethical way to monitor ecosystems before they quietly unravel.

Cancer immunotherapy has been a game-changer, but many tumors still find ways to slip past the immune system. New research reveals a hidden trick: cancer cells can package the immune-blocking protein PD-L1 into tiny particles that circulate through the body and weaken immunotherapy’s impact. Scientists in Japan discovered that a little-known protein, UBL3, controls this process—and surprisingly, common cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins can shut it down.

A massive international study of more than 3,100 long COVID patients uncovered a striking divide in how brain-related symptoms are reported around the world. In the U.S., the vast majority of non-hospitalized patients described brain fog, depression, and anxiety, while far fewer patients in countries like India and Nigeria reported the same issues. The difference doesn’t appear to be about the virus itself, but about culture, stigma, and access to mental health care.

Scientists at KAIST have found a way to turn a tumor’s own immune cells into powerful cancer fighters—right inside the body. Tumors are packed with macrophages, immune cells that should attack cancer but are usually silenced by the tumor environment. By injecting a specially designed drug directly into tumors, researchers were able to “reprogram” these dormant cells to recognize and destroy cancer.

Researchers have developed smart nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy disease-causing proteins the body can’t normally eliminate. Unlike traditional drugs, these particles can reach hard-to-access tissues, including the brain, and precisely target problem proteins without widespread side effects. Early results show promise against major cancer drivers, and the platform is designed to be easily adapted to many diseases. The work could reshape the future of precision medicine.