Scientists discovered that damaged fat cells can become inflamed, lose their ability to store lipids, and eventually vanish, disrupting the body’s metabolism. The findings show that diabetes can result not only from excess fat, but also from losing the healthy fat tissue the body needs.

Scientists used CRISPR to make prostate cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect and destroy. The experimental treatment dramatically improved the effects of immunotherapy in mice and may offer hope for other hard-to-treat tumors.

Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly four times more likely to survive. Researchers estimate the controlled fires prevented about 1,900 deaths and could have saved thousands more if used across every grove.

Popular AI-powered food apps may make calorie counting easier, but they may also leave out a surprisingly large part of the meal. Four apps underestimated calories and fat by about one-third when tested against carefully prepared meals. High-fat ketogenic dishes appeared to cause the most trouble, while carbohydrates were measured more consistently.

Scientists have identified a possible tipping point that helps determine whether Alzheimer’s-related brain changes lead to dementia. The key may lie in how the brain’s immune cells respond to plaques and tau, offering a promising new target for treatments designed to extend cognitive resilience.

The Backrooms began as a single eerie image of empty yellow rooms, but internet users transformed it into a vast fictional world that feels disturbingly real. Through videos, games, maps, survival guides and social media stories, audiences do more than watch the horror unfold. They help build and explore it. Researchers suggest this popularity reflects a new kind of digital tourism, where people emotionally enter imaginary places filled with mystery, nostalgia and unease.

A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers uncovered more than 19,000 large genetic differences in brown tree snakes, many concentrated in genes tied to immunity and smell. This overlooked diversity may have helped a population founded by only a few snakes survive inbreeding, adapt to a new environment, and multiply to extraordinary densities.

Researchers say a tiny one-eyed ancestor that lived nearly 600 million years ago may have shaped the evolution of every vertebrate eye, including our own. They also found that its ancient median eye lives on today as the pineal gland, which helps synchronize our sleep with daylight.

A prebiotic fiber supplement reduced knee osteoarthritis pain while also improving grip strength and pain sensitivity in a six-week trial. The results hint at a fascinating gut-muscle-pain connection and suggest that a simple daily supplement may be easier to maintain than digital physiotherapy.

Cosmic expansion allows distant galaxies to move away faster than light, while still letting us see ancient light they emitted when they were much closer. Eventually, accelerating expansion will push nearly every galaxy beyond our Local Group out of sight, making the Universe appear almost empty.

Newer oral drugs related to semaglutide medications such as Ozempic reduced pleasure-driven eating in mice by quieting a deep brain reward circuit. The finding could open new avenues for understanding food cravings and potentially treating substance use disorder.

Recycling, greener diets, and other personal climate choices do not seem to distract people from supporting major environmental reforms. A four-year study of nearly 2,800 Australians found that these habits neither increased nor reduced later political engagement.

Even mild inflammation during pregnancy led mouse offspring to develop persistent brain overactivity, sensory sensitivity, repetitive behaviors, and increased seizure risk. Remarkably, one dose of rapamycin improved nearly all of these problems within about two hours. The benefits were temporary, but they suggest that adult brain circuits may remain far more adaptable than previously believed.

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that Venus may still be tearing itself apart from within. Advanced 3D simulations indicate that some of the planet's giant rift valleys formed relatively recently and could still be expanding. The results suggest Venus has a far more active interior than researchers once believed, challenging the long-held view of a geologically dormant world.

A new analysis suggests the Sun holds far more silver than earlier estimates indicated. More advanced models of the solar atmosphere raised the calculated amount by 55 percent, bringing it into much closer agreement with ancient meteorites. The technique may also help scientists track the cosmic origins of silver and other heavy elements.

Scientists expected SuperAgers might simply inherit fewer Alzheimer’s-related risks, but their genes looked much like those of typical older adults. Their extraordinary memories may instead come from still-unknown protective forces involving the brain, body, lifestyle, and environment.

A major long-term study linked coffee consumption with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death from liver disease. Coffee drinkers also showed healthier liver scans and blood protein patterns, with less fat, inflammation, and scarring. Benefits appeared even at one or two cups daily and were strongest around three to four cups.

A sulfur-based compound called LASSS appears to protect and supercharge a key protein involved in repairing damaged muscle. The discovery could eventually lead to new ways to slow muscle loss and preserve strength as people age.

An experimental pill prevented a measles-like virus from spreading through the air or through close contact in ferrets. It worked when given shortly before or after exposure and also shortened illness and the period when infected animals remained contagious. Researchers say the drug could one day complement vaccination and make outbreaks easier to contain.

The longevity-linked APOE2 gene appears to protect brain cells by reducing DNA damage and helping neurons recover from stress. The finding could open a new path toward treatments that mimic APOE2’s defenses in people at higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s.

Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs may deliver excellent health value, but covering them for millions of eligible patients could overwhelm insurance budgets. Researchers say better long-term support is needed and warn that low-cost compounded versions may carry serious safety risks.

A newly identified fossil ape from northern Egypt is reshaping ideas about where the ancestors of modern apes first emerged. Analyses place it closer to living apes than any known East African species of the same age, pointing to North Africa and the Middle East as a possible birthplace and crossroads for the ape lineage that eventually produced gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans.

Sweden could become an important source of rare earth elements needed for magnets and green technologies. Instead of extracting one target metal, researchers are cataloging everything contained in Swedish mineral deposits. They will then develop magnets using those naturally available combinations, potentially reducing pollution, waste, and reliance on China.

China’s Tianwen-1 orbiter captured a faint but remarkable view of 3I/ATLAS as the interstellar comet raced past Mars. The images reveal its tail and glowing coma, offering scientists a glimpse of material born beyond our solar system.

A large study suggests that GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic and Mounjaro may slightly increase the risk of hair loss in people with type 2 diabetes. Compared with two other common classes of diabetes medications, GLP-1 users had a significantly higher rate of alopecia, though the absolute risk was still low. The hair loss was mainly non-scarring, which means it may be reversible.

Fossils discovered in Japan more than two decades ago have finally been identified as a new genus and species of giant salamander. Limnospondylus ajimuensis lived around 3.5 million years ago in a warmer, wetter Kyushu and may have reached 1.1 meters in length. Its discovery hints that many more unknown giant salamanders could be hiding among fossils previously given the wrong classification.

Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered a naturally occurring molecule that may suppress appetite and reduce body weight much like Ozempic, but without several of its common side effects. The molecule, called BRP, acts on a more targeted region of the brain involved in hunger and metabolism rather than affecting tissues throughout the body.

Researchers in the Gulf of California have documented a dramatic orca behavior never described before. In two separate encounters, one orca gripped a dead sunfish by the fin while another charged into it at high speed, blasting the carcass into thousands of pieces.

Scientists may be able to reliably forecast Antarctic ice loss through the middle of this century, offering governments a vital head start on sea level rise. After that, unstable ice retreat could accelerate dramatically, making the future much harder to predict.

A 25-year study found that frequent consumption of soda, sports drinks, and fruit juice beginning in childhood was linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure in adulthood. Swapping one daily drink for whole fruit, milk, or water could significantly reduce that risk.