ScienceDaily

A surprisingly simple change in how you walk could help relieve knee arthritis pain and even slow joint damage. In a year-long clinical trial, researchers found that adjusting the angle of a person's foot while walking reduced osteoarthritis pain by an amount comparable to medication, without requiring drugs or surgery. Even more promising, MRI scans revealed that participants who adopted the per…

One of the world's most common plastics may pose a hidden threat to liver health. Texas A&M researchers discovered that polyethylene microplastics can contribute to fatty liver disease, with potentially worse effects when combined with an unhealthy diet. Even more surprising, this widely used plastic was previously considered relatively harmless.

Scientists in Vienna have achieved a major breakthrough in timekeeping by creating the world’s first self-stabilizing nuclear clock, a technology that could eventually surpass even the most precise atomic clocks. Instead of relying on electrons in atoms, the clock uses the tiny nuclei of thorium atoms, which are far less sensitive to outside disturbances.

A simple change in the order you eat your food could help prevent blood sugar spikes. Scientists discovered that giving mice olive oil before carbohydrates slowed digestion and activated a surprising combination of hormones and nerve signals that helped regulate blood sugar, even in mice with type 2 diabetes.

Neanderthals may have used a sticky substance made from birch bark to treat wounds thousands of years before antibiotics existed. Researchers recreated ancient birch tar production techniques and discovered that every sample could inhibit the growth of bacteria responsible for dangerous wound infections. Previously known mainly as a prehistoric glue, birch tar may have doubled as a surprisingly e…

Scientists have discovered a hidden cleanup system at the back of the eye that drains fluid and waste through a previously unknown pathway. The surprising finding, demonstrated in mice, could open the door to new treatments for glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other causes of blindness.

Scientists have developed a tiny, injectable device that can control nerve activity without surgery, batteries, or wires, potentially transforming treatment for chronic pain and movement disorders. Powered wirelessly from outside the body, the seed-sized technology has shown promising results in early testing.

Depression may not be one biological condition, but several distinct patterns of brain activity hiding under the same diagnosis. Researchers studying 263 people with depression identified five brain profiles, each showing different patterns of communication between brain regions and associations with symptoms such as anxiety, trauma, and substance abuse.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory may have found a dramatically more efficient route to fusion energy by reversing the traditional approach: heating plasma first, then increasing its density. Their calculations could help future reactors reach self-sustaining fusion with far less energy while avoiding hidden problems that make ignition harder.

Astronomers have discovered a bizarre star system about 300 light-years from Earth where a small star is slowly devouring a nearby brown dwarf, an object too massive to be a planet but too small to be a true star. Unlike stars that rapidly swallow their companions, this one is gradually stealing material in a process that could continue for billions of years.

Scientists have demonstrated a remarkable new antenna that resembles a lightsaber, using a laser to create a tunable beam of plasma capable of transmitting radio waves. The technology could revolutionize wireless communications by allowing antennas to change their size and direction on demand, with promising applications in satellites, radar, and space exploration.

A short course of immunotherapy before surgery may offer remarkably durable protection for some patients with stage two or three bowel cancer. In the NEOPRISM-CRC trial, 32 patients with a specific genetic form of bowel cancer received pembrolizumab for up to nine weeks before surgery instead of the usual post-surgery chemotherapy. After nearly three years of follow-up, none of the patients had e…

A strange chemical signature in old Hubble observations may point to a planet that formed after its star had already died. Astronomers found unusually high levels of niobium around the white dwarf HS 0209+0832, suggesting some of the star’s expelled material may have assembled into a new gas giant. TESS data also hints at a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting just 3.7 million miles from the star.

Chronic diabetic wounds may fail to heal because immune cells remain locked in damaging inflammatory states instead of transitioning toward tissue repair. Researchers are exploring treatments that reprogram these immune responses, raising hopes for more targeted and effective therapies for diabetic ulcers.

Scientists have developed a powerful new way to calculate the Kondo effect, a strange quantum phenomenon that appears when magnetic atoms are embedded in metals. Instead of relying on simplified models, the method uses the real atomic and electronic structures of materials, allowing researchers to predict their behavior with far greater accuracy.