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Today:
A Common Supplement Displays a Concerning Link to Heart Failure
NEWS | 23 October 2026
A 2025 analysis of adults with insomnia has linked being prescribed melatonin for more than a year to a greater risk of heart issues. "Melatonin supplements may not be as harmless as commonly assumed," medical scientist Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Primary Care in New York said. A melatonin supplement replicates a hormone naturally produced by the brain to help keep the body's internal clock ticking. Melatonin supplements are available over the counter in the US. "Melatonin supplements are widely thought of as a safe and 'natural' option to support better sleep," said Nnadi.

Top Stories:
Something Strange Is Living in The Old Fuel Leaking From WWII Shipwrecks
NEWS | 23 October 2026
In particular, petroleum hydrocarbons form what are known as tar balls that can cause significant harm to delicate ecosystems. (Brandi Mueller/Moment Video RF/Getty Images)Both are leaking fuel of slightly different kinds into the lagoon – medium fuel oil from the Shinkoku Maru, and heavier fuel oil from the Kiyosumi Maru. Both fuels contained a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons, including compounds known to be toxic to marine life. The lighter fuel from the Shinkoku Maru contained more volatile aromatic compounds, while the heavier fuel from the Kiyosumi Maru was particularly rich in more persistent hydrocarbons. A diver exploring the coral-encrusted wreck of the Shinkoku Maru.

World:
Mole Rats Get Stressed When Earth's Magnetic Field Vanishes, Study Suggests
NEWS | 23 October 2026
The team's 3D mole rat brain atlas, and the eye-tracing experiment used to check its accuracy. (Zhang et al., bioRxiv, 2026)Experimentally, they subjected mole rats to a changing magnetic field (CMF) and a near-zero hypomagnetic field (HMF), the latter of which was around 2 percent of the intensity of Earth's magnetic field in Germany, where the tests were conducted. (Zhang et al., bioRxiv, 2026)But how mole rats sense magnetic fields is still an open question. "In summary, we present evidence that mole rats perceive the absence of the Earth's magnetic field," the researchers write. "Our findings demonstrate that the Earth's magnetic field constitutes a biologically significant sensory stimulus in mammals," the team concludes.

Current Events:
One Habit May Delay Ovarian Aging – And a Drug Could Mimic Its Effects
NEWS | 23 October 2026
No currently approved therapies can slow ovarian aging. With these injections, the number of total ovarian follicles and the protein levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) were significantly higher. The drug also increased the total number of ovarian follicles, but not the number of growing follicles. This peptide is closely linked to the development of ovarian follicles and ovarian reserve. "The mechanisms that regulate ovarian aging and female infertility are not well understood," says Scherer in a research briefing for Nature Aging.

News Flash:
Scientists Just Cracked a Quantum Mystery That's Puzzled Physicists For Decades
NEWS | 23 October 2026
The Kondo effect is one of the most important in quantum physics, describing the strange interference that magnetic atoms can have in metals. That's the Kondo effect, and we already know a lot about it. Previously, scientists had to use real-world experiments and simplified models to pin down the Kondo effect, without getting predictions as precise as the new method. Scientists have known about the Kondo effect since the 1930s – that magnetic impurities can cause increased electrical resistance at lower temperatures. They borrowed techniques from chemistry to more fully model a single magnetic atom, without simplification, as if it were a larger molecule.

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SPONSORED | 23 October 2026
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Latest:
Mysterious Star Pattern in Famous Van Gogh Painting Helps Solve a Century-Old Debate
NEWS | 23 October 2026
In 1889, Vincent van Gogh watched the sky before sunrise from his room at an asylum in Saint-Rémy, southern France. In The Starry Night, painted that year, blue swirls sweep above a small village. The right-hand panels align the painted star positions (orange) with the celestial positions (blue); red dashed lines mark the differences. For those five selected points, every alternative pairing with the Hyades stars produced a worse fit. Other star groups produced close geometric matches, so shape alone cannot identify the painted stars.

Breaking:
Herpes Virus Appears to Hijack The Brain's Immune Cells, And It Could Have Serious Consequences
NEWS | 23 October 2026
For many, the herpes virus is a pervasive pest that causes painful and unsightly blisters. Research shows the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) can infect the brain and nervous system, where it's been implicated in triggering Alzheimer's disease, possibly even doubling your risk of dementia. For a virus that plagues billions, it's vital we learn more about how HSV-1 infection works, and scientists just figured out a new piece of the puzzle. What's more, activated microglia showed dramatically increased interferon signaling, in which the immune cells release proteins as chemical warning signs to other nearby cells. "It's changing the molecular programs that control how these immune cells function.

Trending:
New Fossil Confirms a Human Ancestor Appeared 200,000 Years Earlier Than Expected
NEWS | 23 October 2026
Besides the single DNH 127 fossil for H. erectus, the team also linked 14 fossils to another hominin, Paranthropus robustus. Ultimately, it would be the H. erectus lineage that survived. "These two human species shared the same landscape and are both preserved in the Drimolen cave," says Martin. Overall, the new P. robustus fossils revealed some characteristics in jaw structure that hadn't been seen before, and several areas of variation. "During this time period it was our [H. erectus] ancestors that looked like the outside long-odds chance to survive," says Martin.

This Just In:
'Low-Oxygen' Drug Combination Reverses Parkinson's Symptoms in Mice
NEWS | 23 October 2026
Mice given an experimental drug combination became quicker at descending a pole and could hold onto a cage lid for longer. Treatment began after their movement problems had already appeared. In a 2025 study, the researchers showed that mice with Parkinson's-like symptoms benefited from continuously breathing air with 11 percent oxygen. Six weeks later, once movement problems had developed, they began giving the drugs orally each day. Mootha explained that in the 2025 experiment, mice already had movement problems when delayed treatment began, but no nerve cell loss had been detected yet.

Today:
One-Quarter of Data Centers Are Located in Water-Stressed Areas, Study Shows
NEWS | 23 October 2026
2,315 of 9,347 data centers are in water-stressed areas. It typically needs to be sourced locally, which means the local conditions at sites chosen for data centers really do matter. "The energy footprint of data centers has been quantified in detail because electricity is metered and reported," says Rosa. What's clear is that changes are needed before the data center water drain gets worse. "Ensuring data center long-term viability will require siting and governance choices that account for local hydrological limits."

Top Stories:
The 'Obesity Paradox' May Be a Measurement Problem, And Brain Scans Suggest Why
NEWS | 23 October 2026
"We found that people who had more exposure to clinical obesity over decades had worse brain health in midlife." – neuroscientist Owen CarmichaelTo classify participants' health and weight, the researchers went beyond BMI measurements, using recent obesity guidelines from a Lancet Commission, which proposes distinguishing between non-obesity, preclinical obesity (metabolically healthy obesity), and clinical obesity (metabolically unhealthy obesity). "By considering the metabolic consequences of excess adiposity over time, researchers can begin to better understand how clinical obesity may contribute to health outcomes later in life, including brain health." White matter hyperintensities are bright areas seen on MRI scans – a marker of damage to blood vessels and other changes in white matter structure, which have been linked to cognitive decline. But it's certainly a possibility that obesity is behind the changes seen in white matter, the researchers suggest.

World:
Scientists Transplanted a Wild Salt Marsh Into The World's Largest Wave Machine And Let an 'Extreme Storm' Rip
NEWS | 23 October 2026
We cannot wait for that to happen in the field, so we had to bring the salt marsh to the storm." a) Obtaining the salt marsh blocks in the field at the Dutch mainland Wadden Sea coast. "The salt marsh in the flume was exposed to increasing wave heights from 0.75 meters up to 2 meters," Willemsen told ScienceAlert. Willemsen expected the salt marsh would help absorb some of the wave power. The salt marsh was most effective in low-energy systems, with waves up to 1 meter, attenuating wave power by up to 50 percent.