Georgina RannardClimate and science reporter, Belém, Brazil EPA Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the opening of the COP30 conferences in Belem, Brazil. The world must “defeat” climate denialism and fight fake news, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has told the opening meeting of the UN climate talks. In a…
New research suggests that drinking coffee may actually help protect against atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart rhythm disorder that causes the heart to beat too quickly and irregularly, sometimes leading to stroke or heart failure. For years, doctors have advised people with AFib and other heart issues to stay away from caffeine, fearing it…
Cuteness, it would seem, is one of life’s most endearing evolutionary strategies – and one that felines have hijacked to remarkable levels. For cat lovers, our furry feline friends are akin to our closest companions, and this is reflected in our neurobiology: being close to them triggers activity in the same emotion-processing region of the…
The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) has identified a surprising contrast between the winds blasting away from a disk around a neutron star and those seen near supermassive black holes. The neutron star system produces an unusually dense outflow that challenges current ideas about how these winds form and how they reshape their surroundings….
Gut bacteria play a major role in human health, influencing everything from digestion to immunity and mood. Yet, the microbiome’s complexity is staggering. The sheer number of bacterial species and their interactions with human chemistry have made it difficult for scientists to fully understand their effects. In a groundbreaking step, researchers at the University of…
In the 17th century, Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini focused their telescopes on Saturn and realized its bright bands were not solid features. Instead, they identified immense, separate rings formed from innumerable nested arcs. Centuries later, NASA’s Cassini-Huygens (Cassini) mission pushed that exploration forward. Starting in 2005, it returned striking images that reshaped scientists’ understanding…
The idea that our universe might be nothing more than an elaborate computer simulation has been a favorite theme in science fiction for decades. Yet new research from UBC Okanagan suggests that not only is this concept implausible — it is mathematically impossible. Dr. Mir Faizal, an Adjunct Professor at UBC Okanagan’s Irving K. Barber…
A research team led by Professor Eijiro Miyako at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. and the University of Tsukuba, has created an innovative cancer treatment that works without relying on the immune system. The new approach uses a unique microbial partnership known as AUN,…
Justin RowlattClimate Editor BBC There is a photograph, taken ten years ago in Paris, that today seems like something of a relic. In it, dozens of men and women line up in dark suits, in front of an enormous sign that reads COP21 Paris. Right in the middle the UK’s then-Prime Minister, David Cameron, grins…
An international research team led by microbiologists Marc Mussmann and Alexander Loy at the University of Vienna has uncovered a completely new type of microbial metabolism. The newly identified microorganisms, known as MISO bacteria, are able to “breathe” iron minerals by oxidizing toxic sulfide. The scientists discovered that the reaction between hydrogen sulfide — a…
