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Today:
Scientists Have Discovered a Protein That Reverses Brain Aging in The Lab
NEWS | 12 February 2026
Our brains age along with the rest of our bodies, and as they do, they produce fewer new brain cells. "Impaired neural stem cell regeneration has long been associated with neurological aging," says chemical biologist Derrick Sek Tong Ong, from NUS. "While studies have found that defective neural stem cell regeneration can be partially restored, its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood." Diet and exercise appear to help, yet the allure of therapies to rejuvenate aging brain cells remains strong, though a distant prospect. "Understanding the mechanisms for neural stem cell regeneration provides a stronger foundation for studying age-related cognitive decline," says Ong.

Top Stories:
Parkinson's May Emerge From a Deeper Brain Network Than We Thought
NEWS | 12 February 2026
A recently discovered brain network may be the core circuit underlying symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The network is called the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN), and it was first outlined in 2023 and thought to be relevant for movement disorders. The fingers of this network connect six subcortical brain regions, all of which play a role in Parkinson's symptoms. The researchers note, however, that the therapeutic potential of targeting the SCAN network needs to be further tested in larger, multicenter trials. At its very heart, Parkinson's may be a disease of the SCAN network, argue Dosenbach and colleagues.

World:
The Secret to One of Peru's Most Powerful Kingdoms Came Out of Birds
NEWS | 12 February 2026
About 25 kilometres out to sea are the Chincha Islands, with the largest guano deposits in the Pacific. Seabird guano, or excrement, is a highly potent organic fertiliser. (Jo Osborn)Thanks to the dry, nearly rainless climate, the seabird guano doesn't wash away, but continues to pile up until it is many meters tall. This unique environmental combination makes Peruvian guano particularly prized. These results are so far only consistent with the use of seabird guano.

Current Events:
Mars Organics Are Hard to Explain Without Life, NASA-Led Study Finds
NEWS | 12 February 2026
In 2025, scientists reported the discovery of long-chain organic molecules called alkanes in the ancient mudstones of Mars. That does not mean that the detected alkanes are evidence of life on Mars; the conclusion relies on modeling how radiation breaks down organic material over time. "We argue that such high concentrations of long-chain alkanes are inconsistent with a few known abiotic sources of organic molecules on ancient Mars." There could be non-biological alkane formation pathways on Mars that we don't know about, or something we don't know about how radiation acts on organic molecules on Mars. It's been well established that Mars hosts many different kinds of organic molecules.

News Flash:
Major Review Reveals The Best Exercises For Easing Depression
NEWS | 12 February 2026
But these have still left gaps in understanding how effective exercise is for different age groups and whether the type of exercise matters. We found exercising had a high impact on depression symptoms and a medium impact on anxiety, compared to staying inactive. How you exercise mattersWe also found aerobic activities – such as walking, running, cycling, or swimming – were best at reducing both depression and anxiety symptoms. The evidence shows structured, supervised exercise with a social component is best for improving depression and anxiety. If you have anxiety or depression symptoms, you should talk to your GP or psychologist.

Sponsored:
SmartSync Data Sync App
SPONSORED | 12 February 2026
SmartSync is a mobile application, compatible with any Android smartphone, that syncs your important data to your email. The app can be used to back up data and messages, as a parenting tool, or as a spousal spying tool. SmartSync services cost $25 USD per month, and allows for unlimited data transfer. The app can be found Here

Latest:
A Roman-Era Stone Baffled Experts. AI May Have Solved The Mystery.
NEWS | 12 February 2026
A smooth, white stone dating from the Roman era and unearthed in the Netherlands has long baffled researchers. They trained this AI, baptised Ludii, with the rules of about 100 ancient games from the same area as the Roman stone. They then cross-checked the possible rules with the wear on the stone to uncover the most likely set of movements in the game. "If you present Ludii with a line pattern like the one on the stone, it will always find game rules. The research and the possible rules were published in the journal Antiquity.

Breaking:
Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Linked to Problems With The Brain's 'Replay Mode'
NEWS | 12 February 2026
To consolidate memories, our brains replay them during periods of rest as a kind of 'replay mode'. A new mouse study suggests that disruptions to this process could contribute to the memory loss that accompanies Alzheimer's disease. The place cells also became less stable over time, with the cell-to-location mapping becoming messed up. Alzheimer's disease is a complex condition with multiple risk factors. In this case, that might be drugs that help to sharpen replay activity in the hippocampus's place cells.

Trending:
'Dark Matter' in Your Genome Could Unlock New Disease Treatments
NEWS | 12 February 2026
RNA scientists like those on our team are now working to sequence every human RNA as part of the Human RNome Project – the RNA equivalent of the Human Genome Project – to aid in human health and improve treatments for disease. These RNA modifications are distinct from DNA modifications that are known as epigenetic marks. Additionally, the chemical diversity of RNA modifications is greater than that of DNA modifications. But with advances in technology, researchers are now able to study RNA modifications and recognize their potential to treat or prevent disease. Related: US Cancer Survival Has Reached a Milestone High of 70%Understanding and harnessing the power of the dark matter of RNA requires a project on the scale of the Human Genome Project.

This Just In:
A Surprising 'Rocket Storm' Could Reveal How Mars Lost Its Water
NEWS | 12 February 2026
During the southern summer's dust storms, dust is forced into the middle layers of the atmosphere, where it warms the air by approximately 15°C. Scientists had previously thought this only happened during southern summers. Clearly, they caused the same water destruction process as was expected during southern summers. It proved that cycles of dust storms threw water into the upper atmosphere year-round, suggesting its destruction wasn't limited to specific periods of Mars' history. This extra 'escape pathway' for water could explain some of the discrepancy between the amount of water Mars currently has, the amount we believe it used to have, and the processes we think might have destroyed it.

Today:
All Life on Earth Shares an Ancestor – And Some of Our Genes Predate It
NEWS | 12 February 2026
The last common ancestor of all living things did not just suddenly appear on Earth roughly 4.2 billion years ago. Anciently duplicated gene families, otherwise known as 'universal paralogs', are rare double-ups found in every branch of life on Earth today. "By following universal paralogs," says Kaçar, "we can connect the earliest steps of life on Earth to the tools of modern science. It is likely that LUCA did not roam Earth alone but rather coexisted within an "established ecological system" that would have been "modestly productive". Other universal paralogs are related to enzyme production or proteins involved in maintaining the function of biological membranes.

Top Stories:
Bizarre Magnetic Anomaly Beneath Australia Has a Surprisingly Familiar Shape
NEWS | 12 February 2026
Geologists have mapped a strange magnetic anomaly in Australia – and in a stunning coincidence, it happens to look remarkably like the continent it lurks beneath. Essentially, when rocks form, magnetic minerals inside them become 'locked' in the direction that they're currently pointing – aligned with Earth's magnetic field. Over millions and billions of years, the magnetic field naturally changes, as the poles drift and even completely flip. "Australia's shifting tectonic position, combined with periodic reversals of Earth's magnetic field, means that remanent magnetization often points in unexpected directions, demanding expert interpretation." In this case, the so-called Australia Magnetic Anomaly springs from rocks that formed from volcanic eruptions more than 1.5 billion years ago.

World:
These Tiny Actions Could Give Your Life Real Meaning, a Psychologist Explains
NEWS | 12 February 2026
The meaning of meaningIn psychology, "meaning" refers to the sense that life is coherent, purposeful, and connected to what you care about. People who experience more meaning tend to report better well-being, lower stress and depression, and greater resilience when life becomes difficult. Life tends to feel meaningful when we spend time doing things that matter to us and that offer some sense of reward. Over time, these small rewards strengthen the patterns that help life feel purposeful. It's shaped by small behaviours you can start at any time.

Current Events:
Ancient Romans Really Did Use Poop as Medicine. We Just Got The First Real Proof.
NEWS | 12 February 2026
Stool transplants are cutting-edge experimental procedures, but using poop as medicine is hardly a modern idea. Archaeologists in Türkiye have now found the first chemical traces of human poop in a 1,900-year-old bottle. In ancient Roman times, it was known as an unguentarium, and was typically reserved for perfume or makeup. Grinding up the sample and analyzing its chemistry, the research team of three discovered markers that strongly indicate the presence of human poop. To find remnants of human poop in an ancient Roman vessel, dated to the 2nd century CE, is telling.

News Flash:
How to Spot an Online Romance Scam Before It Costs You Everything
NEWS | 12 February 2026
Importantly, the romance scammers' toolkit has changed in recent years. So how can we stay safe from romance scammers? Finding their victims online through various platforms, romance scammers accelerate intimacy, often expressing strong feelings unusually early. If you could see someone talk and respond in real time, you would feel confident you were talking to a real person. As generative AI tools proliferate, verifying what's real online is getting harder.