A balance of testosterone and oestrogen therapies can help with menopause symptoms Alamy Stock Photo Mood swings, brain fog, plummeting libido – menopausal symptoms can be debilitating. Many women turn to hormone replacement therapy for relief. These treatments almost exclusively focus on restoring the plummeting oestrogen and progesterone levels women experience in mid-life. Yet studies…
Subterranean mosquitoes specialized for life in subways and sewers first evolved to pester humans millennia ago in Mediterranean civilizations. A widely accepted story about the mosquitoes’ evolution put their origins in the London Underground train system in the last century or two. But the mosquitoes have actually been adapting to humanity’s cities for potentially thousands…
During the past few months, President Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., have made sweeping, thinly evidenced claims that Tylenol (acetaminophen) in pregnancy is linked to autism and that SSRIs (antidepressants) might be linked to fetal damage. In the case of Tylenol, the few research studies that claim to find a link…
An Asian palm civet Kurit afshen/Shutterstock Coffee beans collected from the faeces of civets have a unique chemistry that may explain why such beans are prized for their flavour. Asian palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) are mongoose-like animals native to South and South-East Asia. Civet coffee, also known as kopi luwak, is one of the world’s…
Some vipers are the sprinters of snakes. Vipers wielded the fastest attacks in a comparison of 36 venomous snakes from three families, researchers report October 23 in Journal of Experimental Biology. And the quickest vipers tend to be ambush predators and feed on mammals. The terciopelo (Bothrops asper) — a viper found from eastern Mexico…
A variety of bacteria, fungi and viruses live in the clouds above Earth’s surface George Pachantouris/Getty Images The colours of microbes that live in clouds high in the sky have been measured for the first time, giving scientists clues that could help us find life on other planets. A diverse range of microorganisms have been…
October 23, 2025 3 min read Watch These Parasitic Worms Use Static Electricity as a Tractor Beam For microscopic worms, physical laws we seldom notice take on life-or-death importance By Cody Cottier edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Flows of tracer particles show the attractive force of a positively-charged fruit fly. Parasitic nematodes use this static…
Nail penetration tests on a commercial battery (top) and on one with a modified electrolyte (below) Prof. Yi-Chun Lu, Chinese University of Hong Kong Changing just one of the materials used in lithium-ion batteries could prevent the uncontrollable fires that erupt if they are pierced or bent, and mass production of these safer batteries could…
Google’s quantum computing Willow chip Google Quantum AI Researchers at Google Quantum AI have used their Willow quantum computer to help interpret data from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, a mainstay of chemistry and biology research. The work puts quantum computers on the precipice of being able to usefully augment commonplace molecular technologies. The most…
Evidence is mounting that GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy do far more than treat obesity and type 2 diabetes Shelby Knowles/Bloomberg via Getty Images The weight-loss drug Wegovy curbs the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems, even among people who don’t lose much weight on the drug or don’t have severe obesity to start…
