ScienceDaily: All - May 23, 2025
Today's top research news
Social connection is still underappreciated as a medically relevant health factor
New studies reveal that both the public and healthcare providers often overlook social connection as a key factor in physical health, even though loneliness rivals smoking and obesity in health risks.
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Researchers make breakthrough in semiconductor technology set to supercharge 6G delivery
Self-driving cars which eliminate traffic jams, getting a healthcare diagnosis instantly without leaving your home, or feeling the touch of loved ones based across the continent may sound like the stuff of science fiction. But new research could make all this and more a step closer to reality thanks to a radical breakthrough in semiconductor technology.
New ketamine study promises extended relief for depression
For the nearly 30 percent of major depressive disorder patients who are resistant to treatment, ketamine provides some amount of normalcy, but it requires frequent treatment and can have side effects. Researchers now show in proof-of-concept experiments that it may be possible to extend ketamine's antidepressant effect from about a week to up to two months.
Brain drain? More like brain gain: How high-skilled emigration boosts global prosperity
As the US national debate intensifies around immigration, a new study is challenging conventional wisdom about 'brain drain'--the idea that when skilled workers emigrate from developing countries, their home economies suffer.
Research reveals that for C. elegans worms, the presence of dead members of their species has profound behavioral and physiological effects, leading them to more quickly reproduce and shortening their lifespans.
New study reveals how competition between algae is transforming the Gulf of Maine
New research shows how rapidly proliferating turf algae are waging 'chemical warfare' to inhibit the recovery of kelp forests along Maine's warming coast.
Ancient DNA used to map evolution of fever-causing bacteria
Researchers have analyzed ancient DNA from Borrelia recurrentis, a type of bacteria that causes relapsing fever, pinpointing when it evolved to spread through lice rather than ticks, and how it gained and lost genes in the process.
Scientists have figured out how extinct giant ground sloths got so big and where it all went wrong
Scientists have analyzed ancient DNA and compared more than 400 fossils from 17 natural history museums to figure out how and why extinct sloths got so big.
A new approach could fractionate crude oil using much less energy
Engineers developed a membrane that filters the components of crude oil by their molecular size, an advance that could dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed for crude oil fractionation.
Tapping into the World's largest gold reserves
Earth's largest gold reserves are not kept inside Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository. In fact, they are hidden much deeper in the ground than one would expect. More than 99.999% of Earth's stores of gold and other precious metals lie buried under 3,000 km of solid rock, locked away within the Earth's metallic core and far beyond the reaches of humankind. Now, researchers have found traces of the precious metal Ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rocks on the islands of Hawaii that must ultimately have come from the Earth's core.
'Selfish' genes called introners proven to be a major source of genetic complexity
A new study proves that a type of genetic element called 'introners' are the mechanism by which many introns spread within and between species, also providing evidence of eight instances in which introners have transferred between unrelated species in a process called 'horizontal gene transfer,' the first proven examples of this phenomenon.
Climate change poses severe threat to bowhead whale habitat
New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per cent.
New atom-swapping method applied to complex organic structures
Chemists have developed an efficient skeletal editing method for frequently used heteroaromatic structures. The technique could serve as a means to chemically modify biologically active compounds.
ALMA measures evolution of monster barred spiral galaxy
Astronomers have observed a massive and extremely active barred spiral galaxy in the early Universe and found that it has important similarities and differences with modern galaxies. This improves our understanding of how barred spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way Galaxy, grow and evolve.
Saturn's moon: Mysterious wobbling atmosphere like a gyroscope
The puzzling behavior of Titan's atmosphere has been revealed. The team has shown that the thick, hazy atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon doesn't spin in line with its surface, but instead wobbles like a gyroscope, shifting with the seasons.
A potential 'anti-spice' that could dial down the heat of fiery food
If you've ever regretted ordering a spicy meal, take note: A new study identifying molecules that suppress the heat of chili peppers hints at the possibility of adapting these compounds into an 'anti-spice' condiment for food that's too fiery to eat. The research helps explain differences in chili pepper pungency, or spiciness, by identifying three compounds in a range of pepper samples that chemical analysis predicted, and study participants on a tasting panel confirmed, are linked to lower heat intensity.
Could AI understand emotions better than we do?
Is artificial intelligence (AI) capable of suggesting appropriate behavior in emotionally charged situations? A team put six generative AIs -- including ChatGPT -- to the test using emotional intelligence (EI) assessments typically designed for humans. The outcome: these AIs outperformed average human performance and were even able to generate new tests in record time. These findings open up new possibilities for AI in education, coaching, and conflict management.
Looking to cut calories? Try adding chilies, study suggests
Throwing a little heat on your meal might be an effective strategy for cutting back on calories, according to a new study.
AI is good at weather forecasting. Can it predict freak weather events?
Scientists found that neural networks cannot yet forecast 'gray swan' weather events, which might not appear in existing training data but could still happen -- like 200-year floods or massive hurricanes.
Infrared contact lenses allow people to see in the dark, even with their eyes closed
Neuroscientists and materials scientists have created contact lenses that enable infrared vision in both humans and mice by converting infrared light into visible light. Unlike infrared night vision goggles, the contact lenses do not require a power source -- and they enable the wearer to perceive multiple infrared wavelengths. Because they're transparent, users can see both infrared and visible light simultaneously, though infrared vision was enhanced when participants had their eyes closed.