Astronomers have discovered that super-Earth exoplanets are more common across the universe than previously thought. While it can be relatively easy to locate worlds that orbit close to their star, planets with wider paths can be difficult to detect. Still, researchers estimated that for every three stars, there should be at least one super-Earth present with a Jupiter-like orbital period, suggesting these massive worlds are extremely prevalent across the universe.
It's no secret that our waistlines often expand in middle-age, but the problem isn't strictly cosmetic. Belly fat accelerates aging and slows down metabolism, increasing our risk for developing diabetes, heart problems and other chronic diseases. Exactly how age transforms a six pack into a softer stomach, however, is murky. New research shows how aging shifts stem cells into overdrive to create more belly fat.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a graph worth? For doctors trying to determine whether a patient's blood pressure is within normal range, the answer may depend on the type of graph they're looking at.
'Cold' tumors are resistant to common immunotherapies. Researchers have uncovered a master regulator that can be manipulated to prevent tumor growth in mice.
A simple consultation during unrelated visits to the emergency room can help patients with high blood pressure -- 'the silent killer' -- manage the condition, even before they experience symptoms, according to new research.
Once thought resistant to invasion, California's deserts are losing native plants to aggressive weedy species like Saharan mustard. New research shows its spread is disrupting biodiversity and reducing the desert's ability to recover from extreme climate swings.
A team was able to edit the DNA of Lactobacillus strains directly without a template from other organisms. This technique is indistinguishable from natural variation and enabled the researchers to create a strain that doesn't produce diabetes-aggravating chemicals.
High-starch algae are important in biofuel production, as a feed supplement in agriculture and as an efficient way to bind carbon dioxide. Researchers have now found a new method to control starch storage in algae -- a finding with potential applications in areas such reducing greenhouse gases.
Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe impacts than those without carbon because the evidence was blasted into space by gases produced during the impact. The discovery not only solves a 30-year-old mystery, but also provides guidelines for a future sampling mission to Ceres.
When bottom trawls are dragged across the seafloor, they stir up sediments. This not only releases previously stored organic carbon, but also intensifies the oxidation of pyrite, a mineral present in marine sediments, leading to additional emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
An international team of malacologists discovered a new snail species, Anauchen picasso, in Southeast Asia that exhibits a highly complex and rectangularly angled shell shape, resembling a cubist-style painting. A. picasso is among 46 new species of microsnails discovered in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
A new strategy for tuberculosis (TB) screening provides a solution to problems with current TB screening, which does not always accurately detect disease. Simultaneously screening for both active and dormant TB infection could save lives, curtail infection rates, and rewrite the story of the continued spread of this disease. Researchers hope that this new approach will inform guidance from global health organizations and key decision-makers on the most effective way to screen for TB.
Researchers in the field of exposomics explain how cutting-edge technologies are unlocking this biological archive, ushering in a new era of disease prevention and personalized medicine.
Researchers have long recognized that quantum communication systems would transmit quantum information more faithfully and be impervious to certain forms of error if nonlinear optical processes were used. However, past efforts at incorporating such processes could not operate with the extremely low light levels required for quantum communication.
Researchers have developed a novel high-energy particle detection instrumentation approach that leverages the power of quantum sensors -- devices capable of precisely detecting single particles.
Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most commonly used spices in the world, but a new study indicates a compound in it could interfere with some prescription medications.