Some people may be predisposed to having children of just one sex. That’s the conclusion of new findings published July 18 in Science Advances. While the chances of having a male or female child across whole populations may resemble a coin flip, for many individuals — especially those who have their first child later in…
There are many ways to test the intelligence of an artificial intelligence—conversational fluidity, reading comprehension or mind-bendingly difficult physics. But some of the tests that are most likely to stump AIs are ones that humans find relatively easy, even entertaining. Though AIs increasingly excel at tasks that require high levels of human expertise, this does…
We may be starting to understand why some weight-loss strategies, like exercising, don’t work for everyone with obesity Science Photo Library/Alamy It turns out that obesity may be much more complicated than we thought, with the condition potentially existing in up to 11 forms, each caused by distinct biological pathways. “It’s not just about the…
In Rehab, journalist Shoshana Walter investigates the systemic pitfalls of drug treatment programs, which prevent people’s recovery from addiction.
The Babylonians used separate combinations of two symbols to represent every single number from 1 to 59. That sounds pretty confusing, doesn’t it? Our decimal system seems simple by comparison, with just 10 digits from 0 to 9 to express every number imaginable. Computers need only two digits: 0 and 1. But that binary system…
J1025+1402, one of the three little red dot galaxies seen up to 2.5 billion light years away DESI Legacy Survey/D. Lang (Permieter Institute) A weird type of galaxy seen in the early universe has now been spotted in a more recent part of the cosmos, raising questions about their true nature. Over the past few…
You and a friend have arranged to meet at a popular downtown mall between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. one afternoon. However, you neglected to specify a time within that one-hour window. Therefore, each of you will be arriving at randomly selected times between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Once each of you arrives at…
Brain Science Reveals Why Waking Up Can Be Such a Struggle Neuroscientists have found that the brain can wake up in different ways, explaining why some mornings feel like a dream and some feel like a disaster By Katie Kavanagh & Nature magazine How does your brain wake up from sleep? A study of more…
The human gut microbiome has a big influence on health Science Photo Library/Alamy Genetically engineered gut bacteria can break down the compounds that contribute to kidney stones. Tailoring bacteria to tweak the gut microbiome in this way could go beyond treating kidney stones and lead to new treatments for a range of conditions, including inflammatory…
Eight Healthy Children Born Using Three-Person IVF Technique Long-awaited results of a three-person IVF technique suggest that mitochondrial donation can prevent babies from inheriting diseases caused by mutant mitochondria By Ewen Callaway & Nature magazine Maurizio De Angelis/Science Source Eight children in the United Kingdom are living healthy lives — potentially due to a ground-breaking…
