Epic Search of Millions of Stars Finds No Traces of Intelligent Alien Life

Are there civilizations somewhere else in the Universe? Somewhere else in the Milky Way? That’s one of our overarching questions, and an answer in the affirmative would be profound.   Humanity’s pursued the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) in one form or another since shortly after the advent of radio waves in the early 20th … Read more

Vast Majority of People With Depression Aren’t Getting Treatment, Global Review Finds

Depression has become a leading cause of disability worldwide with no signs of slowing down. By 2030, the World Health Organization predicts the disorder could be the main contributor to the global burden of disease.   Even though we now have some effective treatments for depression, including medications and psychological interventions, medical care remains woeful … Read more

The Iron of Earth’s Inner Core Could Be in a Strange ‘Superionic’ State, Study Finds

Deep below the crust of Earth, past the thick mantle and liquid outer core, lies a 1,220-kilometer (760 mile) ball of solid inner core. But a new study has suggested that the inner core is not solid at all, instead forming a ‘superionic state’ with hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, making it unlike either a liquid … Read more

The Main Reason People Avoid Fast Food May Not Be Unhealthiness, Study Finds

On any given day, about one in three adult Americans eats fast food. There are some problems associated with this. Lots of research suggests fast food isn’t good for you, and it’s been linked to the obesity epidemic affecting millions in the US, among a host of other issues related to health.   But according … Read more

A Love For Nature May Come From an Unexpected Place, Finds Large Twin Study

Do you love spending time in nature? Or are you a city slicker, happier in the concrete jungle than the great outdoors? Back in 1986, the US biologist EO Wilson proposed that humans have an innate connection with the natural world, an idea known as biophilia.   Almost every aspect of our lives depends on … Read more

Life-enabling moons can probably only form around small planets, study finds

Earth’s moon is large for the planet’s size, and many astronomers have long believed that this fact has helped make Earth a habitable world. And a new study has now found that our planet was just the right size to form such a large, life-enabling moon.  The study, by researchers from the University of Rochester … Read more

Being a Super-Friendly Dog Has One Potential Drawback, Study Finds

The friendliness of your dog could have serious implications for its social standing with other canines, new research suggests. In a questionnaire designed to measure the personality traits of companion dogs and compare them against their social ranking with other canines in multi-dog families, researchers found that dogs who scored highly for agreeableness and affection … Read more

Cancer Drug Flushes Out Latent HIV, Exciting New Study Finds

A widely-used cancer drug that works on the immune system could push HIV out of hiding, potentially leaving the virus open to being attacked and eliminated, according to promising results from a small new study.   HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) almost needs no introduction: the virus is notorious for its ability to evade the immune … Read more

Just Two Words on a Cookie Label Can Mess Up How It Tastes, Study Finds

Human taste buds are easily manipulated. With just a few simple words, researchers have found the same chocolate chip cookie can go from tasting scrumptiously sweet and moist to unpleasantly bitter and stale.   It all depends on what the label tells us. When 58 adults from Ohio State University were given three cookies to … Read more

Mars’ suspected underground lake could be just volcanic rock, new study finds

A suspected Martian underground lake is probably volcanic rock masquerading as water, according to a new study. In 2018, researchers found evidence that the Red Planet’s southern pole might have water beneath it. The possible water signature was first interpreted from radar observations made by Mars Express, a European Space Agency spacecraft. But a new … Read more