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Today:
Curiosity Cracked Open a Rock on Mars And Revealed a Big Surprise
NEWS | 07 December 2025
A rock on Mars spilled a surprising yellow treasure after Curiosity accidentally cracked through its unremarkable exterior. Although sulfates are fairly common on Mars, this represented the first sulfur in its pure elemental form found on the red planet. Sulfates are salts that form when sulfur, usually in compound form, mixes with other minerals in water. Since we've known about sulfates on Mars for some time, the discovery doesn't tell us anything new in that area. Curiosity is still trundling its way along the channel, to see what other surprises might be waiting just around the next rock.

Top Stories:
New Breakthrough to Strengthen Bone Could Reverse Osteoporosis
NEWS | 07 December 2025
Variations in the GPR133 gene had previously been linked to bone density, leading scientists to turn their attention to the protein it encoded. In the absence of the GPR133 gene, the mice grew up with weak bones, resembling the symptoms of osteoporosis. However, when the receptor was present and activated by AP503, bone production and strength improved. Knowing that the GPR133 cell receptor is a crucial link in keeping mice bones strong is an important finding. There are actually numerous factors that have an influence on bone strength, and that gives scientists plenty of scope for finding methods that ward off issues like osteoporosis and promote a healthier old age.

World:
How Long Poop Stays in Your Body Could Impact Your Health, Study Finds
NEWS | 07 December 2025
Since the human gut microbiome is intrinsically linked to health, this could have implications that have gone unnoticed before now. In particular, slow transit times and constipation have been linked with metabolic and inflammatory disorders, as well as neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Figuring out the microbiome profiles associated with these gut transit times could help develop new ways to treat and manage these conditions. Understanding gut transit time isn't as simple as keeping a record of one's poop schedule. People with fast gut transit times had dramatically different microbiomes from people with slower transit times.

Current Events:
A Rare Cancer Is Surging in Young People, And Experts Are Puzzled
NEWS | 07 December 2025
By comparison, there are only about 3,000 cases a year of appendix cancer. Currently, there are no standardized screening guidelines for appendix cancer, and available treatments are limited. "We know that colon cancer has been increasing in incidence in young adults, so it stands to reason that the same factors are operating in patients with appendix cancer." Holowatyj and her colleagues plan to continue studying who is most at risk of appendix cancer, and why. "As a rare cancer, appendix cancer garners limited attention.

News Flash:
Athletes Have a Mysteriously Higher Risk of Irregular Heartbeat
NEWS | 07 December 2025
Yet research shows that endurance athletes have up to a four times higher risk of atrial fibrillation (an irregular or fast heartbeat) than non-athletes. A meta-analysis my colleagues and I conducted showed that in patients with atrial fibrillation, exercise reduced risk of arrhythmia recurrence by 30 percent. Our previous research proposed that there's a J-shaped relationship between exercise levels and atrial fibrillation risk. For instance, one meta-analysis showed that athletes had a nearly four times greater risk of atrial fibrillation compared to non-athletes. Interestingly, younger athletes had a greater risk of atrial fibrillation than older athletes – something that needs further research.

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Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 07 December 2025
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:
Is The Y Chromosome Vanishing? A New Sex Gene May Be The Future of Men
NEWS | 07 December 2025
The human Y chromosome, she wrote two years later in a commentary, "is running out of time." But if Graves' calculation is correct, what does that mean for the Y chromosome – and what does it mean for the future of men? In some rodents, for instance, the Y chromosome has been completely and silently replaced. Spiny rats (Tokudaia osimensis), meanwhile, lost their Y chromosome to a new version, which now acts as a sex-determiner in its stead. The other school positions the Y chromosome as a tenacious survivor, at last safe and stable.

Breaking:
This Week in Science: Vampire Squid, a Galactic Tornado, And Much More!
NEWS | 07 December 2025
This week in science: the genetic secrets of the 'vampire squid from hell'; a dinosaur superhighway; the longest known spinning structure in the Universe; and much more! Study Reveals The Age You Hit The 'Tipping Point' Into FrailtyCanadian scientists have identified a key 'tipping point' at around age 75, when frailty takes over for most people. 'Vampire Squid From Hell' Reveals The Ancient Origins of OctopusesBiologists have sequenced the gigantic genome of the 'vampire squid from hell', finding it sits at the crossroads between squids and octopuses. "The vampire squid retains a genetic heritage that predates both [squid and octopus] lineages," says genomicist Emese Tóth of the University of Vienna. 'Tornado' of Galaxies Could Be The Longest Spinning Structure Ever SeenAstronomers have discovered the longest known rotating structure in the Universe: a 50-million-light-year-long filament of galaxies.

Trending:
Oral Health And Diabetes Have a Crucial Link, Expert Reveals
NEWS | 07 December 2025
The mouth, however, is frequently overlooked, even though oral health both affects and is affected by diabetes in important ways. Related: A Distinct New Form of Diabetes Is Officially RecognizedUnderstanding the two-way connection between diabetes and oral health is therefore essential. Keeping diabetes under control supports good general oral health and in turn helps improve overall wellbeing. High blood sugar, combined with changes in saliva quantity and quality, may contribute to this progression. Staying informed, building healthy daily habits, and attending regular dental check-ups all help manage the oral health complications linked to diabetes.

This Just In:
Supercomputer Creates One of The Most Realistic Virtual Brains Ever Seen
NEWS | 07 December 2025
The simulation models an entire mouse cortex. Related: Boosting One Protein Reawakens Aging Brain Cells in Mice, Study ShowsThe numbers are impressive: the virtual brain contains 9 million neurons, as well as 26 billion synapses (neuron connectors). There are 86 interconnected regions in the brain simulation, and it can process quadrillions of calculations every second. To put that in perspective, the real and full mouse brain contains roughly 70 million neurons in a space about the size of an almond. "Our long-term goal is to build whole-brain models, eventually even human models, using all the biological details our Institute is uncovering," says Arkhipov.

Today:
Complex Life May Be a Billion Years Older Than We Thought
NEWS | 07 December 2025
The origins of complex, nucleated cellular life – everything from amoebas to humans – may date back a lot further in Earth's history than we thought. A new study tracing the earliest steps toward complex life suggests that this transformation from simpler ancestors began almost 3 billion years ago – long before our planet had the oxygen levels needed to support a thriving eukaryotic biosphere. Prokaryotes, a group that includes bacteria and archaea, were the first life to emerge on Earth around 4 billion years ago. The timing of this merger matters – whether the mitochondria came first and triggered the rest of the changes towards complexity, or whether complexity started first and the mitochondria came along later. The mitochondria came relatively late to the party – appearing around 2.2 billion years ago.

Top Stories:
This Prehistoric Bird Choked to Death on 800 Rocks, And No One Knows Why
NEWS | 07 December 2025
A prehistoric bird that lived and died 120 million years ago has presented forensic paleontologists with a baffling medical mystery. These details allowed O'Connor and her colleagues to determine where Chromeornis sat on the prehistoric bird family tree. Examining the bird more closely is when questions about the large agglomeration of tiny stones began to emerge. "I noticed that it had this really weird mass of stones in its esophagus, right up against the neck bones," says O'Connor. "We found over 800 tiny stones in this bird's throat – way more than we would have expected in other birds with gizzards.

World:
Vomiting Syndrome Linked to Cannabis Is on The Rise in The US
NEWS | 07 December 2025
A rare vomiting condition associated with chronic cannabis use is becoming more common at emergency departments in the US. The condition, called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), is marked by severe and cyclical bouts of uncontrollable nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Swartz and Franceschini argue that the COVID-19 pandemic likely catalyzed the recent rise in CHS through stress, isolation, and increased cannabis use. Other researchers, however, point out that the increased percentage of diagnoses may not be due to increased cannabis use. The condition has often been misdiagnosed as cyclical vomiting syndrome, which is treated differently.

Current Events:
Scientists Discover The First Single Gene to Directly Cause Mental Illness
NEWS | 07 December 2025
Changes to just one gene, called GRIN2A, have now been tied to psychiatric symptoms, including early-onset schizophrenia. Recently, strong evidence has found that changes to the GRIN2A gene are associated with early-onset schizophrenia in childhood or early adolescence, sooner than the disorder typically presents. This suggests that the GRIN2A change can drive isolated mental health disorders early in life without other neurodevelopmental issues. Interestingly, all four participants experienced positive improvements to their mental health disorder after treatment. How exactly the GRIN2A gene may drive these disorders is another matter that needs further investigation.

News Flash:
Specific Hand Gestures Can Make You Instantly More Persuasive, Study Says
NEWS | 07 December 2025
When people use hand gestures that visually represent what they're saying, listeners see them as more clear, competent and persuasive. The short answer is yes, but only when the gestures visually represent the idea you're talking about. In the AI-analyzed TED Talk data, illustrative gestures predicted higher audience evaluations, reflected in more than 33 million online "likes" of the videos. And in our experiments, 1,600 participants rated speakers who used illustrative gestures as more clear, competent and persuasive. Think about where your hands naturally illustrate what you're saying – emphasizing size, direction or emotion – and let them move with purpose.