Study of Antarctic ice’s deep past shows it could be more vulnerable to warming
Insights into how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet responded to a warmer climate millions of years ago could improve predictions of its future. The new study, led by Imperial College London scientists, examined the status of Antarctic ice sheets during the Early Miocene, around 18-16 million years ago, which experienced both warm and cold periods. […]
Trends in binge drinking among older men and women in the United States
Binge drinking has increased in recent years among older U.S. men but not among older women, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study included 18,794 adults aged 65 years and older who participated in the 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Binge drinking was defined […]
Research in mice shows how diet alters immune system function through a gut microbe
The cliché “you are what you eat” has been used for hundreds of years to illustrate the link between diet and health. Now, an international team of researchers has found the molecular proof of this concept, demonstrating how diet ultimately affects immunity through the gut microbiome. The work, conducted in mice, reveals that what animals […]
New health benefits of red seaweeds unveiled
Red seaweeds have been prevalent in the diets of Asian communities for thousands of years. In a new study, published in Marine Drugs, researchers have shown how these algae confer health benefits. “In the past, people have wondered why the number of colon cancer patients in Japan is the lowest in the world,” said Yong-Su […]
‘Mirror nuclei’ to probe fundamental physics of atoms and neutron stars
About 20 years ago, Michigan State University’s B. Alex Brown had an idea to reveal insights about a fundamental but enigmatic force at work in some of the most extreme environments in the universe. These environments include an atom’s nucleus and celestial bodies known as neutron stars, both of which are among the densest objects […]
New study proposes expansion of the universe directly impacts black hole growth
Over the past 6 years, gravitational wave observatories have been detecting black hole mergers, verifying a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity. But there is a problem — many of these black holes are unexpectedly large. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Hawai?i at M?noa, the University of Chicago, and […]
Vast patches of glassy rock in Chilean desert likely created by ancient exploding comet
Around 12,000 years ago, something scorched a vast swath of the Atacama Desert in Chile with heat so intense that it turned the sandy soil into widespread slabs of silicate glass. Now, a research team studying the distribution and composition of those glasses has come to a conclusion about what caused the inferno. In a […]
Air Ambulance Costs Are Soaring
Air ambulance transport costs have skyrocketed in recent years, according to a new report from FAIR Health. Notably, the average estimated in-network allowed amount for air ambulance transport increased 76.4%, from $8,855 in 2017 to $15,624 in 2020. The jump was part of a general rise in costs for both airplane and helicopter air ambulance […]
Astronomers may have discovered first planet to orbit 3 stars: Potential discovery of a circumtriple planet has implications for bolstering our understanding of planet formation
In a distant star system — a mere 1,300 light years away from Earth — UNLV researchers and colleagues may have identified the first known planet to orbit three stars. Unlike our solar system, which consists of a solitary star, it is believed that half of all star systems, like GW Ori where astronomers observed […]
Marine heatwaves could wipe out an extra six per cent of a country’s fish catches, costing millions their jobs
Extremely hot years will wipe out hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish available for catch in a country’s waters in this century, on top of projected decreases to fish stocks from long-term climate change, a new UBC study projects. Researchers from the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) used a complex model […]