Across the world, humans purchase around 1.3 billion single-use plastic water bottles a day. Because only about 9% of plastic is recycled, the vast majority of those bottles — 22 billion a year by some estimates — wind up in landfills, the ocean, or elsewhere in nature. When beach-loving Madison Checketts began noticing many of those […]
It’s often said that children’s brains are like sponges, due to their ability to rapidly and easily absorb large quantities of information. A new study, led by Takeo Watanabe of Brown University, has now identified how and why children so effortlessly outpace adults when it comes to their capacity for learning a lot in a […]
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, the citizens of Pompeii took the secrets of their lives and what happened that tragic day to their graves. But a team of researchers from Denmark and Italy has been able to find answers in extracted DNA from the bones of a man and a woman who lived […]
On October 19, 3M and Discovery Education crowned the first place winner of the 2022 3M Young Scientist Challenge: an annual competition that’s been awarding middle school science enthusiasts for their creative problem-solving for the past 15 years. This year, Leanne Fan from San Diego, California, took home the grand prize with her innovative approach […]
A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has identified a gene that plays a key role in the growth of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a rare and lethal brain cancer that has no known cure. The new research suggests that focusing on this gene, called P300, could help provide a therapeutic target […]
Billions of years ago, Mars may have been teeming with life. But these days, with its dry, arid landscape, ionizing radiation, and temperatures averaging negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the red planet is no longer habitable. However, a new paper published in Astrobiology suggests a certain type of bacteria might have endured the planet’s harsh environment […]
We know that certain sounds can improve our overall mood when we’re conscious — but what about when we’re asleep? A recent study out of Switzerland suggests that specific frequencies played while sleeping can reduce the chance of nightmares. It isn’t the sound specifically that may prevent unpleasant dreams, but instead a form of emotional […]
November’s night sky brings us a number of aquatic constellations, Uranus at its closest and brightest, meteor showers, and a special moment Smithsonian Magazine listed as one of its top celestial events of 2022: a total lunar eclipse that happens to accompany this month’s full moon! Read on for more details on all that and […]
Self-regulation — the capacity to manage and moderate one’s emotions and actions — can be challenging for plenty of adults. And if you have a young person in your life, you’ll likely agree that of all the gifts that come with youth, impulse control is not necessarily one of the most prominent. But a new […]
Communication is a fundamental building block for living creatures to form connections within their communities, and some of that communication is obvious: dogs bark, birds chirp, lions roar, and humans speak. Some animals, however, including turtles, have long been assumed to be silent — until now. A recent study authored by Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen at the […]
Can a smile a day keep bad feelings at bay? A global collaborative study led by Stanford University research scientist Nicholas Coles has provided more evidence for the “facial feedback hypothesis,” which theorizes that a smile can indeed improve your mood — even when you’re not feeling so cheery. The facial feedback hypothesis has been […]
The human brain is considered by many to be the most complicated thing yet discovered in the universe — so it stands to reason that brain surgery would be one of the most complicated medical procedures. On October 10 in Italy, a patient turned that procedure into an even more impressive showcase of human capability: […]