Other Sciences News

Higher cat oxytocin linked to lower owner cortisol and negative mood. Image credit: Takagi et al., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117934.

Cat Hormones and Owner Moods Appear to Move Together: Study

Oct 19, 2026 by Natali Anderson

The ‘love hormone’ oxytocin may rise and fall in tandem in cats and the people who live with them, according to a new study published in the journal...

Fucoidans are structurally diverse, fucose-rich, sulfated polysaccharides derived mainly from brown seaweeds. Image credit: Ronile.

Seaweed Compounds Show Promise against Cell Damage

Oct 15, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Fucoidans — compounds found in the cell walls of brown seaweed — could one day help treat diseases driven by oxidative stress, though the substances...

Pistachios are particularly rich in vitamin B6, magnesium, fiber, phenolic compounds, and phytomelatonin that could benefit sleep health. Image credit: Mixon et al., doi: 10.1017/S0954422426100511.

Could Handful of Pistachios Help You Sleep? New Review Says It’s Plausible, but Unproven

Oct 14, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A new review paper published in the journal Nutrition Research Reviews points to nutrients in the nut that play roles in sleep biology. Pistachios are...

Vanillin has pronounced antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Image credit: Stoilov et al., doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2026.127263.

Vanillin Shows Promise for Treating Chronic Wounds

Oct 13, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Vanillin, the compound that gives vanilla its familiar taste, may have a future in treating wounds that refuse to heal, according to a review paper published...

Reaching for a snack after dinner or before bed may carry a cost beyond extra calories. Image credit: Jill Wellington.

Late-Night Snacking Linked to Higher Risk of Liver Disease

Oct 12, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University and Massachusetts General Hospital have found that people who reported eating late at night had...

The SWITCH trial assessed the equivalence of NNS beverages -- specifically those containing aspartame, acesulfame potassium (acesulfame‑K), and sucralose -- and water in aiding weight loss and subsequent weight management and evaluated the relative effects of long-term exposure over a 104-week period. Image credit: Harrold et al., doi: 10.1017/S0007114526108150.

Diet Drinks Perform as Well as Water in Two-Year Weight-Loss Trial

Oct 7, 2026 by News Staff

A long-running British trial has found that people who drank diet beverages while trying to lose weight kept the pounds off about as well as those who...

As Canadian provinces consider whether to abandon the twice-yearly clock change, Lam et al. argue that permanent standard time would be better for public health than keeping daylight saving time year-round. Image credit: ChadoNihi.

Permanent Daylight Saving Time Could Harm Sleep and Mental Health, Canadian Analysis Says

Oct 5, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Canadian health researchers are urging the country to choose permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time if it ends the twice-yearly clock...

Establishment of altermagnetic crystal and magnetic structure in Co1/4TaSe2. Image credit: Sprague et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-76784-x.

Physicists Find Evidence for ‘Third’ Type of Magnetism

Oct 5, 2026 by News Staff

In ferromagnets, like a refrigerator magnet, atomic spins line up in the same direction. In antiferromagnets, neighboring spins point in opposite directions...

Spatial multiomics analysis reveals hyperglycosylation in human Alzheimer’s brains. Image credit: Hawkinson et al., doi: 10.1038/s42255-026-01538-4.

Popular Joint Supplement Tied to Faster Decline in Alzheimer’s Patients

Oct 5, 2026 by News Staff

Glucosamine, a widely used over-the-counter supplement for joint pain, may worsen outcomes in people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,...

Lauren Scott & Brittany Florkiewicz show that cat facial signals correspond to different social functions, which have likely been influenced by domestication. Image credit: Sci.News / Makieni777 / Rise-a-mui / Alexas_Fotos / Dorothe / Vaclav Zavada / Artem Makarov / Daga Roszkowska / Birgit / Pasi Mammela.

Countries with More Cats Report Higher Happiness, Scientists Say

Oct 1, 2026 by Natali Anderson

New research led by the University of Chicago found that nations with more domestic cats tended to report higher levels of happiness, while greater exposure...

The study by Martineau et al provides the most robust evidence yet that vitamin D has benefits beyond bone and muscle health, and could have major implications for public health policy.

High-Dose Vitamin D Linked to Better Cognition in Older Adults with Memory Problems and Poor Sleep

Sep 28, 2026 by News Staff

A small new study by Emory University scientists suggests that people with mild cognitive impairment and disturbed sleep — two hallmarks of early...

Social Physiology refers to the extent to which physiological regulation operates more efficiently in a social context compared to being alone. Image credit: Masalha et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aeg4937.

Body Regulates Itself More Efficiently Near Partner, Study Shows

Sep 25, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Sitting next to a loved one doesn’t just feel good, it may make the body work less hard, according to a new study that measured blood sugar, skin temperature...

Facial approximation of the Jebel Irhoud hominin. Image credit: Moraes et al., doi: 10.3390/heritage9090369.

Researchers Reconstruct Face of Oldest Known Homo sapiens

Sep 23, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have created a digital facial approximation of the Jebel Irhoud hominin, whose remains are dated to about 315,000 years ago. Facial approximation...

An anatomical illustration from Johannes Sobotta’s Human Anatomy, 1908.

Human Brain is Two Organs Fused Together, Study Suggests

Sep 21, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have long treated the brain as a single organ that grows from one pool of early cells. Stanford University neuroscientist Kyle Loh and colleagues...

A depiction of an early Homo (right) characterized by relatively greater bone strength of the femur in the thigh compared to the humerus in the arm, and a depiction of an older human ancestor, Australopithecus (left), characterized by more equivalent strength in the bones of the arm and thigh. Image credit: Cullen Townsend.

Fossil Evidence Suggests Early Homo Had Abandoned Tree-Climbing by 1.8 Million Years Ago

Sep 16, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research led by University of the Witwatersrand and University of Southern California paleoanthropologists sheds more light on one of the most debated...

The magnetogram recorded at Greenwich Magnetic Observatory (London) from 11:20 UT on 18 October 1848 to 00:20 UT on 19 October 1848. Powerful geomagnetic disturbances are apparent on the evening of 18 October 1848 from 21:20 UT. Image credit: Wild et al., doi: 10.1029/2026SW005239.

Study: Famous ‘Space Weather’ Train Delay Actually Happened Seven Years Later

Sep 16, 2026 by News Staff

Although the famous Carrington Event of 1859 is often described as the first major space weather event to affect technology, earlier incidents did occur....

An artist’s concept of a Penghu Denisovan walking under the bright Sun during the Pleistocene of Taiwan. Image credit: Cheng-Han Sun.

Denisovans Once Roamed Southwest China, New Fossils Reveal

Sep 10, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleoanthropologists have identified a trove of Denisovan fossils from a cave in China’s Yunnan province, extending the known range of the elusive human...

The wiring diagram of the central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly will help researchers better understand how the brain enables complex action, from sensory perception to behavior. Image credit: FlyEM Project Team, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus / Cambridge Connectomics Group / Google Research / Philip Hubbard, HHMI Janelia Research Campus.

Researchers Unveil Complete Fruit Fly Connectome

Sep 9, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

After nearly two decades of work, scientists have completed a wiring diagram of the central nervous system of an adult male fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The...

SEM images of LCAP films incubated undisturbed for more than a year in pristine forest soil. The arrow in panel (d) points at an object inside of such a cavity that might represent a (damaged) microbial cell; however, these were found very rarely; empty cavities were more representative (a-c). Image credit: Lerner et al., doi: 10.1093/ismejo/wrag203.

Scientists Discover Soil Bacteria Enzyme that Breaks Down Both Plastic and Antibiotics

Sep 7, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Biologists studying how bacteria break down a new generation of plant-based bioplastics — long-chain aliphatic polyesters — have discovered...