Science News
Discoveries in space, environment, and biology.
Why evolution rewarded ants that sacrificed protection
Some ants thrive by choosing numbers over strength. Instead of heavily protecting each worker, they invest fewer resources in individual armor and produce far more ants. Larger colonies then compensate with collective behaviors like group defense and coordinated foraging. The strategy has been linked to evolutionary success and greater species diversity.
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Study links full-fat cheese to lower dementia risk
Eating full-fat cheese and cream may be associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to a large study that tracked people for more than 25 years. Those who consumed higher amounts of these foods developed dementia less often than those who ate little or none. Interestingly, low-fat dairy products did not show the same pattern. Researchers caution that the findings show an association, not cause and effect.
How a power outage in Colorado caused U.S. official time be 4.8 microseconds off
Officials said the error is likely be too minute for the general public to clock it, but it could affect applications such as critical infrastructure, telecommunications and GPS signals.
Ancient sewers expose a hidden health crisis in Roman Britain
Sediments from a Roman latrine at Vindolanda show soldiers were infected with multiple intestinal parasites, including roundworm, whipworm, and Giardia — the first time Giardia has been identified in Roman Britain. These parasites spread through contaminated food and water, causing diarrhea, weakness, and long-term illness. Even with sewers and communal toilets, infections passed easily between soldiers. The discovery highlights how harsh and unhealthy life could be on Rome’s northern frontier.
Hidden seismic signals hint at a tsunami threat in Alaska
Researchers studying a massive landslide in Alaska have detected strange seasonal seismic pulses caused by water freezing and thawing in rock cracks. These faint signals could become an important early clue to changes that might someday trigger a dangerous landslide-driven tsunami.
Scientists unlocked a superconductor mystery under crushing pressure
Superconductors promise loss-free electricity, but most only work at extreme cold. Hydrogen-rich materials changed that—yet their inner workings remained hidden because they only exist under enormous pressure. Now, researchers have directly measured the superconducting state of hydrogen sulfide using a novel tunneling method, confirming how its electrons pair so efficiently. The discovery brings room-temperature superconductors a step closer to reality.
This “mushroom” is not a fungus, it’s a bizarre plant that breaks all the rules
Balanophora is a plant that abandoned photosynthesis long ago and now lives entirely as a parasite on tree roots, hidden in dark forest undergrowth. Scientists surveying rare populations across East Asian islands uncovered how its cellular machinery shrank but didn’t disappear, revealing unexpected similarities to parasites like malaria. Some island species even reproduce without sex, cloning themselves to colonize new habitats. This strange survival strategy comes with risks, leaving the plant highly vulnerable to habitat loss.
Deaths of despair were rising long before opioids
Long before opioids flooded communities, something else was quietly changing—and it may have helped set the stage for today’s crisis. A new study finds that as church attendance dropped among middle-aged, less educated white Americans, deaths from overdoses, suicide, and alcohol-related disease began to rise. The trend started years before OxyContin appeared, suggesting the opioid epidemic intensified a problem already underway.
What scientists found inside Titan was not what anyone expected
For years, scientists thought Saturn’s moon Titan hid a global ocean beneath its frozen surface. A new look at Cassini data now suggests something very different: a thick, slushy interior with pockets of liquid water rather than an open sea. A subtle delay in how Titan deforms under Saturn’s gravity revealed this stickier structure. These slushy environments could still be promising places to search for life.
