ScienceDaily: All - May 06, 2025
Today's top research news
Black tea and berries could contribute to healthier aging
Higher intakes of black tea, berries, citrus fruits and apples could help to promote healthy aging, new research has found.
A long and ongoing look at the secrets of human longevity and healthy aging
Researchers participating in the Cilento Initiative on Aging Outcomes or CIAO study will gather in Acciaroli (Pollica-Cilento) Salerno, Italy to review a decade of work and plan their next steps. Launched in 2016, the CIAO study seeks to identify key factors (biological, psychological and social) that promote healthy aging and extreme longevity.
Gorilla study reveals complex pros and cons of friendship
Friendship comes with complex pros and cons -- possibly explaining why some individuals are less sociable, according to a new study of gorillas.
Ancient Andes society used hallucinogens to strengthen social order
Snuff tubes uncovered at Chavin de Huantar in Peru reveal how leaders used mystical experiences to cement their power.
New molecular label could lead to simpler, faster tuberculosis tests
Chemists found a way to identify a complex sugar molecule in the cell walls of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the world's deadliest pathogen. This labeling could lead to simpler, faster TB tests.
How are they biting? High speed video reveals unexpected jaw movements in reef fish
Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists have discovered. This ability -- which is rare among vertebrate animals -- allows these fish to feed rapidly and efficiently on algae growing on rocks.
Children as young as five can navigate a 'tiny town'
Neuroscientists are developing methods to map the brain systems that allow us to recognize and get around our world.
PTSD patients show long-term benefits with vagus nerve stimulation
In a recent clinical study, patients with treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder were symptom-free up to six months after completing traditional therapy paired with vagus nerve stimulation.
A fully automated tool for species tree inference
Engineers are making it easier for researchers from a broad range of backgrounds to understand how different species are evolutionarily related, and support the transformative biological and medical applications that rely on these species trees. The researchers developed a scalable, automated and user-friendly tool called ROADIES that allows scientists to infer species trees directly from raw genome data, with less reliance on the domain expertise and computational resources currently required.
Text-to-video AI blossoms with new metamorphic video capabilities
Computer scientists have developed a new AI text-to-video model that learns real-world physics knowledge from time-lapse videos.
Making virtual reality more accessible
Researchers have created a method that makes virtual reality (VR) more accessible to people with mobility limitations.
Liver cancer survival rates reflect income disparities
The risk of dying from the most common form of primary liver cancer is about 30 percent higher for patients with low household income compared to those with middle or high household income, according to a new study.
Shorter and warmer winters may expand the hibernation area of bats in Europe
The ambient temperature has a profound impact on the physiology and behaviour of most species. In regions where individuals rely on low temperatures to hibernate effectively, global warming is likely to significantly affect their survival. A team of scientists studied how ambient temperatures shape the energy expenditure of common noctule bats and built a model to predict at which latitudes they could survive hibernation. This model also predicts how the hibernation areas of these bats could change over time. It accurately tracks the northward range shift of this species over the past 50 years and shows a further northeast expansion of up to 14 percent of its current range by 2100 -- driven by shorter and warmer winters in Europe.
Biological particles may be crucial for inducing heavy rain
Atmospheric and climate scientists show that biological particles may induce rain events that could contribute to flooding and snowstorms, owing to their ability to precipitate ice formation in clouds. They call for an update of meteorological and climate models.
New theory of gravity brings long-sought Theory of Everything a crucial step closer
Researchers have developed a new quantum theory of gravity which describes gravity in a way that's compatible with the Standard Model of particle physics, opening the door to an improved understanding of how the universe began.
How Is handedness linked to neurological disorders?
The fact that left-handedness resp. mixed-handedness are strikingly common in patients with certain neurological disorders such as autism spectrum disorders is a frequently reported observation in medical practice. The reason why handedness is associated with these disorders is probably because both are affected by processes in early brain development. Various studies have explored this link for individual disorders and have sometimes been able to show it, and sometimes not. A meta-analysis carried out by an international research team shows that left and mixed-handedness is particularly common in people who suffer from a disorder that manifests itself early in life and is associated with linguistic symptoms. These include dyslexia, schizophrenia and autism.
Physically punishing children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has exclusively negative outcomes -- including poor health, lower academic performance, and impaired social-emotional development -- yielding similar results to studies in wealthier nations, finds a new analysis.
Are agricultural pesticides an environmental threat?
A study has demonstrated that pesticides can negatively affect non-target species living in agricultural environment. However, the effects varied greatly depending on the substance tested.
A snapshot of relativistic motion: Special relativity made visible
In 1959, physicists James Terrell and Roger Penrose (Nobel laureate in 2020) independently concluded that fast-moving objects should appear rotated. However, this effect has never been demonstrated. Now, scientists have succeeded for the first time in reproducing the effect using laser pulses and precision cameras -- at an effective speed of light of 2 meters per second.
Privacy-aware building automation
Researchers developed a framework to enable decentralized artificial intelligence-based building automation with a focus on privacy. The system enables AI-powered devices like cameras and interfaces to cooperate directly, using a new form of device-to-device communication. In doing so, it eliminates the need for central servers and thus the need for centralized data retention, often seen as a potential security weak point and risk to private data.
BESSY II: Insight into ultrafast spin processes with femtoslicing
An international team has succeeded at BESSY II to elucidate how ultrafast spin-polarized current pulses can be characterized by measuring the ultrafast demagnetization in a magnetic layer system within the first hundreds of femtoseconds. The findings are useful for the development of spintronic devices that enable faster and more energy-efficient information processing and storage.
Artificial oxygen supply in coastal waters: A hope with risks
Could the artificial introduction of oxygen revitalise dying coastal waters? While oxygenation approaches have already been proven successful in lakes, their potential side effects must be carefully analysed before they can be used in the sea. This is the conclusion of researchers from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Radboud University in the Netherlands. In an article in the scientific journal EOS, they warn: Technical measures can mitigate damage temporarily and locally, but they are associated with considerable uncertainties and risks. Above all, they do not offer a permanent solution because the oxygen content will return to its previous level once the measures end, unless the underlying causes of the problem, nutrient inputs and global warming, are not tackled.
Urban rats spread deadly bacteria as they migrate, study finds
Urban rats spread a deadly bacteria as they migrate within cities that can be the source of a potentially life-threatening disease in humans, according to a six-year study that also discovered a novel technique for testing rat kidneys.
Harnessing generative AI to expand the mitochondrial targeting toolkit
The mitochondrion, often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell, plays critical roles in cellular function, making it a prime organelle to target for fundamental studies, metabolic engineering, and disease therapies. With only a limited number of existing mitochondrial targeting sequences, a new study demonstrates the utility of generative artificial intelligence for designing new ones.
Genomic survey uncovers evolutionary origins of secretoglobins
At a conference in Washington D.C. in 2000, the secretoglobin super family of proteins was named to classify proteins with structural similarities to its founding member uteroglobin. Now, 25 years later, there is still little known about the basic functions of these proteins, prompting a group of researchers to dive into their evolutionary origins. This bioinformatic survey reported that secretoglobins, or SCGBs -- originally thought to be exclusive to mammals -- are also found in turtles, crocodilians, lizards, and birds. These new findings suggest that these proteins evolved earlier than dinosaurs and share a basic function that is not yet discovered.
Saving the Asian 'unicorn' -- if it still exists
The saola, an antelope-like bovine, is one of the world's rarest and most endangered mammals. In fact, it hasn't been observed in over 10 years. Researchers have now mapped the saola's complete genome, and they have used that knowledge to estimate the chances of saving it -- if it still exists.
Blue tips are red algae's red flags
Some red algae exhibit structural color that gives their growth tips a blue hue and the rest of their bodies including their fruiting structures a white hue. Moreover, since the color-producing structures are located together with anti-herbivory chemicals, the discovery further suggests that red algae use colors for inter-species communication.
Are at-home water tests worth it? New study shows quality can vary widely
For the cautious -- or simply curious -- homeowner, an at-home water testing kit may seem reassuring. But there are high levels of variability between test kits' abilities to detect potential contaminants in water, a new study has found.
Targeting gluten: researchers delete proteins in wheat harmful to people with celiac disease
Deleting a cluster of genes in wheat may reduce wheat allergies without harming breadmaking, finds anew study.
AI could help improve early detection of interval breast cancers
A new study suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect interval breast cancers before they become more advanced and harder to treat.
Ancient poems tell the story of charismatic river porpoise's decline over the past 1,400 years
Endemic to China's Yangtze River, the Yangtze finless porpoise is known for its intelligence and charismatic appearance; it looks like it has a perpetual smile on its face. To track how this critically endangered porpoise's habitat range has changed over time, a team of biodiversity and conservation experts compiled 724 ancient Chinese poems referencing the porpoise from historic collections across China. Their results show that the porpoise's range has decreased by at least 65% over the past 1,400 years, with the majority of this decline occurring in the past century.
Teens with mental health conditions use social media differently than their peers, study suggests
One of the first studies in this area to use clinical-level diagnoses reveals a range of differences between young people with and without mental health conditions when it comes to social media -- from changes in mood to time spent on sites.