A new discovery may explain why so many people abandon cholesterol-lowering statins because of muscle pain and weakness. Researchers found that certain statins can latch onto a key muscle protein and trigger a tiny but harmful calcium leak inside muscle cells. That leak may weaken muscles directly or activate processes that slowly break them down, offering a long-sought explanation for statin-related aches.

Scientists have identified a newly recognized threat lurking beneath the ocean’s surface: sudden episodes of underwater darkness that can last days or even months. Caused by storms, sediment runoff, algae blooms, and murky water, these “marine darkwaves” dramatically reduce light reaching the seafloor, putting kelp forests, seagrass, and other light-dependent life at risk.

Scientists are taking a closer look at monk fruit and discovering it’s more than just a sugar substitute. New research shows its peel and pulp contain a rich mix of antioxidants and bioactive compounds that may support health. Different varieties offer different chemical profiles, hinting at unique benefits. The work could shape how monk fruit is used in future foods and supplements.

A massive international brain study has revealed that memory decline with age isn’t driven by a single brain region or gene, but by widespread structural changes across the brain that build up over time. Analyzing thousands of MRI scans and memory tests from healthy adults, researchers found that memory loss accelerates as brain tissue shrinkage increases, especially later in life. While the hippocampus plays a key role, many other brain regions also contribute, forming a broad vulnerability rather than isolated damage.

Earth’s oceans reached their highest heat levels on record in 2025, absorbing vast amounts of excess energy from the atmosphere. This steady buildup has accelerated since the 1990s and is now driving stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and rising sea levels. While surface temperatures fluctuate year to year, the ocean’s long-term warming trend shows no sign of slowing.

A new study reveals that alpha brain waves help the brain decide what belongs to your body. Faster rhythms allow the brain to match sight and touch more precisely, strengthening the feeling that a body part is truly yours. Slower rhythms blur that timing, making it harder to separate self from surroundings. The findings could improve prosthetic design and immersive virtual experiences.

Some people get drunk without drinking because their gut bacteria produce alcohol from food. Researchers have now identified the microbes and biological pathways behind this rare condition, auto-brewery syndrome. Tests showed patients’ gut samples produced far more alcohol than those of healthy people. In one case, a fecal transplant led to long-lasting symptom relief.

Despite longstanding guidelines, many dementia patients are still prescribed brain-altering medications that can raise the risk of falls and confusion. A new study shows that while prescribing has decreased overall, people with cognitive impairment remain more likely to receive these drugs. In many cases, there was no documented medical justification. The results suggest that medication safety remains a serious concern in dementia care.

A damaging cotton virus thought to be a recent invader has actually been hiding in U.S. fields for nearly two decades. New research shows cotton leafroll dwarf virus was present as early as 2006, quietly spreading across major cotton-growing states long before it was officially identified. By reanalyzing old genetic data with modern tools, scientists uncovered a hidden history of the virus’s spread—including its first confirmed appearance in California and even traces in animal feed.

Researchers studying cyanobacteria from hot springs in Thailand have discovered a new natural UV-blocking compound with impressive antioxidant power. Unlike conventional sunscreens, it’s biocompatible and potentially safer for both people and the environment. The molecule is produced only under UV and salt stress and uses a unique biosynthetic pathway never seen before. This could help drive a new generation of eco-friendly sunscreens and skincare products.

Fiat’s urban dwellers, like the 500 and the Panda, are not known for their speed, but they could soon become even slower on purpose. According to Fiat CEO Olivier Francois, limiting top speed could be a way to satisfy EU safety regulations without having to fit their budget models with expensive ADAS.

Francois spoke to Autocar about his intentions: “I would happily limit my city cars, my smaller cars, to what is today the maximum legal speed limit. It’s already a limitation. There is something weird that I need to over-spec my cars to go above the legal speed limit.”

Review: New Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid Makes Budget Look Cool Again

The CEO said that the average legal maximum speed in Europe is 73 mph (118 km/h), adding that most of the safety equipment “has been developed for cars to go way above the speed limit.”

On the contrary, Fiat’s most popular models, including the 500, Panda, and Grande Panda, are mostly used at low speeds within urban environments. Francois doesn’t believe that capping their top speed at 73 mph (118 km/h) would have a serious impact, as none of the aforementioned city cars is particularly fast in the first place.

More specifically, the electric Grande Panda is already restricted to 82 mph (132 km/h) to preserve range, while the ICE and hybrid variants of the subcompact hatchback can go up to 99 mph (160 km/h).

The Fiat 500e has a limiter at 84 mph (135 km/h) or 93 mph (150 km/h), depending on battery size. As for the new 500 Hybrid, it can theoretically reach 93 mph (150 km/h), but judging from the acceleration figures, that would require lots of patience.

Slower Means Safer

Francois thinks that a new speed limiter could serve as a cheaper alternative to more sophisticated ADAS that would inevitably increase the price of the models with little or no benefit to the customer. He also welcomed the proposal for a new small car category in Europe that could be free of the strict safety rules applicable in higher segments.

More: EU Quietly Plans New Car Class That Could See Prices Drop To €15,000

“I have a hard time understanding why we need to install all this super-expensive hardware: sensors, cameras, road sign recognition… All this is a little bit inadequate, a bit crazy, and has contributed to raising the average price of a city car by 60% over the last five or six years. I don’t think that city cars in 2018 or 2019 were extremely dangerous. Our proposal was literally to say ‘let’s go a little bit backward from overloading cars with expensive hardware’.”

“We fundamentally think that with all these rules, the most unsustainable portion lies in the city cars and urban driving, because all these cars are small, democratic and inexpensive, bought by younger people and so on for the daily commute in a city. They are driven at way slower speeds. It’s not the same usage.”

If Fiat imposes new speed restrictions across its lineup, it won’t be the first automaker to do so. Volvo, Renault, and Dacia models already have a limited top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h), designed to reduce the likelihood of serious accidents.

As affordable EVs from China continue to pour into Europe, the question for legacy automakers is no longer if they should respond, but how quickly they can. For Dacia, the solution is straightforward: beat them at their own game by offering budget-friendly electric cars under a European badge.

Also: Dacia Working On New Sub-€18k EV For Europe

The Romanian brand, part of the Renault Group, already sells the Spring across the continent. Built in China, the Spring has carved out a niche as one of the cheapest EVs available in Europe, including Germany, where it can be had for just €11,900 ($13,900) after a massive €5,000 (around $5,900) discount that’s offered for a limited time.

But Dacia isn’t standing still. A second entry-level electric model is set to arrive in the second quarter of next year, priced around €18,000 (about $20,100).

The Twingo Connection

This upcoming model will be based on the new Renault Twingo. Unlike the China-manufactured Spring, the new EV will be assembled in Slovenia, sharing the same Novo Mesto plant as its combustion-powered sibling.

“Our aim is basically to maximize the offer of EV in the [minicar segment],” Dacia sales chief Frank Marotte confirmed to Auto News. “What we see is that the A-segment and probably in the future the B-segment are moving very fast toward BEV models.”

A Different Flavor of Affordable

To avoid cannibalizing sales of the Spring, Dacia says the new model will be “completely different,” not just in exterior styling but in color choices, interior design, and feature mix. The idea is to give each model its own identity, even if they serve similar purposes at the affordable end of the EV spectrum.

Dacia has already dropped a few hints about the design. A teaser sketch revealed a compact hatch with crossover cues and sharp lines, while a more restrained, camouflaged prototype appeared during a quarterly business update. Neither gives the full picture, but both suggest the new EV won’t be a softened copy of the Spring.

Depending on where you live, the newcomer might actually be the cheaper option. In countries like France and the UK, government subsidies currently exclude Chinese-built models, potentially tipping the scales in favor of this Slovenia-produced car. Pricing could fall below that of the Spring once local incentives are applied.

Read: This EV Was Already Cheap, Then Dacia Knocked Off Nearly $6,000

There’s also a regulatory upside. The new EV will help Dacia lower its fleet-wide CO2 emissions average, an important piece of the puzzle as EU targets tighten. The brand missed emissions goals for both 2025 and 2024, but this new model is part of a push to stay within the rules by 2027.

The car will ride on a shortened version of Renault’s AmpR Small platform, the same one underpinning the new Twingo. Power will come from a single electric motor delivering 81 horsepower and 129 lb-ft (175 Nm) of torque, paired with a 27.5 kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack. At this stage, only one variant has been confirmed, and the Dacia-branded model is expected to use the same setup

The EPA won't consider the economic costs of harms to human health, at least for now. Legal and health experts are concerned that the change could make it easier for the agency to roll back rules.

(Image credit: J. David Ake)

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published its first energy-sector forecasts through 2027 in the January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).

(The Center Square) – An Assembly vote is expected to come early this year on a bill to allow online sports wagering in Wisconsin but it’s less certain when the full Senate will take up the bill.

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers wants to rehash his proposal to send $1 billion of state tax money to local entities that agree to freeze property taxes.

(The Center Square) – The latest plan to jumpstart Wisconsin’s economy has nothing to do with taxes or state spending.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to act on a broad array of his priorities in his final year in office, even if it means working for longer than they are scheduled to be in session.

Republicans are unlikely to follow Evers’ call to action on many of the proposals he outlined in a letter, just a year after they rejected the same or similar ideas in his state budget. But Evers expressed optimism that bipartisan agreement is near on several issues, including protecting funding for SNAP, the country’s main food aid program, and combating water pollution caused by PFAS chemicals.

“We have a year left and it’s not all about me,” Evers, who opted against seeking a third term, told reporters on Monday. “All of the things that need to be addressed, many of them can be.”

Evers has served as the swing state’s governor since 2019, helping Democrat Joe Biden narrowly win the state on the way to becoming president in 2020. President Donald Trump carried Wisconsin in 2024 and in 2016, both times by less than 1 percentage point.

Evers’ term ends in a year, but he’s focused on setting up his party to take back the legislative majority for the first time since they lost it in 2010.

In 2024 Evers signed new district maps that helped Democrats chip into Republican majorities in the Assembly and Senate. Democrats are also counting on anger toward Trump helping them in the midterm.

The Legislature is scheduled to be done with its session by mid-March, giving lawmakers more time to campaign for the fall election. The Assembly is planning to quit in mid-February. But Evers said Monday that there’s still time to advance Democratic priorities.

“I think it’s bad politics to say we’re done in February, we’re done in March, and we’ll see you at the polls,” Evers said. “That doesn’t work. I don’t think it’s a good message. We have the opportunity to do some good things.”

Evers called for bipartisanship to tackle issues that have long been Democratic priorities, such as increasing public school funding, lowering health care costs and enacting gun control laws.

While many of his proposals are likely to be summarily rejected, Evers said Democrats and Republicans were close on reaching deals to release $125 million in funding to combat PFAS pollution. He also said both sides were close to an agreement that would put additional safeguards in place to ensure Wisconsin isn’t penalized by the federal government for errors in who gets SNAP food assistance.

Evers called on lawmakers to spend $1.3 billion more on public schools in an effort to reduce property taxes, a month after homeowners across the state received higher tax bills. Republicans blame Evers because of a veto he issued that allows schools to increase spending limits for 400 years. But that is only one part of the complicated school aid formula. Evers and school officials have said funding from the state has not kept pace with expenses, forcing schools to ask voters to approve referendums for an increase in property taxes to make up the difference.

If schools aren’t given more money, Evers said “we’re in a world of hurt” because property taxes will only continue to increase.

Republican legislative leaders, in interviews with The Associated Press last month, did not express support for increasing general school aid funding.

“We have to have a bigger conversation about how we’re going to fund schools long term than just saying we’re gonna put more money to the same formula doing the same thing,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.

Evers also urged the Legislature to make progress on his plan to close a 128-year-old prison in Green Bay as part of a larger overhaul of the correctional system. In October, the state building commission approved $15 million for planning. But once that is spent, absent further action, the work will stall, Evers said.

“We have to get this across the finish line,” he said.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup. This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.

Gov. Tony Evers urges Wisconsin Legislature to act on his key priorities in his final year is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Anticipated spikes in demand for energy to supply Wisconsin’s data center building boom come on the heels of decades of declining power and water use, according to a new report.

A Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis shows there are more than 40 data centers operating in Wisconsin with another four planned. The sprawling facilities host computer servers, which store data and support a global surge in the use of artificial intelligence.

The data center building boom has been met by local opposition groups concerned about the facilities’ resource needs. But the Policy Forum report shows it’s all happening after years of declines in demand for electricity and water.

Using projections submitted to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission by utility companies, the Policy Forum estimates the state’s peak electrical demand is expected to increase to around 17 gigawatts by 2030, driven largely by data centers. In 2024, Wisconsin’s peak demand was rated at 14.6 gigawatts. Over the past 20 years, total electricity sales have fallen by 9% over the past 20 years.

Wisconsin Policy Forum Senior Research Associate Tyler Byrnes told WPR a big part of the decline since 2005 is due to fewer commercial customers paired with more energy efficiency measures. He said during that span, utilities have pulled aging, coal-fired power plants offline and shifted toward more renewable energy. 

“Into that landscape, now we’re seeing these really big data centers come online,” said Byrnes.

Some utilities in Wisconsin are expected to seek state permission to build new power plants or expand existing ones to meet the data center demand. Byrnes said that will bring a need for more transmission lines, though local impacts will vary depending on where the data centers are located.

The Policy Forum’s analysis shows most existing facilities are in south central and southeastern Wisconsin. With other large-scale data centers planned for more rural areas like Beaver Dam and DeForest, he said utility companies may need to build out more infrastructure.

Wisconsin water demand has fallen for decades. Will data centers impact rates? 

Another major concern raised during the data center debate is the facilities’ hefty water demands.

Opponents have complained that developers haven’t been transparent about how much water they’ll need to cool computer servers. In September, environmental advocates sued the city of Racine to force the release of projected water needs of a $3.3 billion data center campus located at the former Foxconn site in Mount Pleasant. The city released figures showing the project will need more than 8 million gallons of water per year. 

To put that into context, the Policy Forum looked at historical water sales reported by the Racine Water Works, which will supply the Mount Pleasant data center project. Between 1997 and 2022, the utility saw water sales decline by 2.1 billion gallons annually. Byrnes said that taken as a whole, the demand for water from data centers is “a drop in the bucket” in a lot of cases.

As with electrical demand, Byrnes said water demand has decreased due to fewer industrial customers and increased efficiency efforts. Because cities like Racine still need to maintain the same level of infrastructure, which is more expensive due to inflation, the revenue from each gallon of water sold has to be spread further. That means potential rate increases.

Byrnes said data centers have been turning to closed-loop cooling systems, which use less water, but cities like Racine would still be selling more water, which would help cover fixed infrastructure costs. 

“Potentially, it could maybe blunt some of the (water rate) increases,” Byrnes said. 

DeForest, other local governments grapple with data center proposals

With the rise in data center developments in Wisconsin, local governments and state lawmakers are working to figure out how to regulate them.

The DeForest Village Board recently took no action on a citizen petition calling for referendum votes before any data center project could be approved.

In Menomonie, the city council voted to restrict where and how data centers can be built months after the mayor halted a $1.6 billion proposal. A similar zoning ordinance is being considered in the city of Jefferson.
 
At the same time, Republican and Democratic state lawmakers have proposed different ways to regulate data centers. One GOP bill is aimed at ensuring data centers and not other customers would pay for any required improvements to the state’s power grid. The Democratic bill is aimed at requiring data centers to get the bulk of their power from renewable sources.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Data center boom follows decades of declining electricity and water use in Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The late outsider artist Mary Nohl of Fox Point turned her home into her canvas. Known as the "Witch's House," her work has been at the center of controversy for decades. Now, her story is taking center stage with the play with music, "Maybe We'll Fly."

The post New play explores controversy, ambition of outsider artist Mary Nohl of Fox Point appeared first on WPR.