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Today:
NASA Is Tracking a Vast Anomaly Growing in Earth's Magnetic Field
NEWS | 20 November 2025
For years, NASA has monitored a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa. This vast, developing phenomenon, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has intrigued and concerned scientists for decades, and perhaps none more so than NASA researchers. The space agency's satellites and spacecraft are particularly vulnerable to the weakened magnetic field within the anomaly, and the resulting exposure to charged particles from the Sun. "The magnetic field is actually a superposition of fields from many current sources," geophysicist Terry Sabaka from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center explained in 2020. The movement of that mass generates electrical currents that create Earth's magnetic field, but not necessarily uniformly, it seems.

Top Stories:
New Diabetes Pill Works as Well as Ozempic For Weight Loss, Trial Finds
NEWS | 20 November 2025
So far, signs of its efficacy are promising: a previous clinical trial involving 3,127 people with obesity, but without diabetes, showed an average 12.4 percent loss in body weight. The average age of the participants was 57, and the average weight was 101 kilograms (223 pounds). The group on the highest dose, 36 milligrams, lost, on average, 9.6 percent of their body weight, or around 9.6 kilograms. The 12-milligram group lost an average of 7 percent of their body weight, and the 6-milligram group 5.1 percent. An astonishing 26 percent of the group on the highest dose lost more than 15 percent of their body weight.

World:
Astronauts Are Stranded in Space Right Now: Here's What We Know
NEWS | 20 November 2025
Imagine being trapped on a space station orbiting Earth with no available ride home. Since Friday, the trio has been stranded on board the Tiangong space station without a viable return craft. The only craft available to them was hit by space junk in early November, cracking the vehicle's viewing port. The recent mishap marks the second time in the last two years that astronauts have been stranded in orbit. In 2021, debris hit the International Space Station (ISS) and damaged part of its robotic arm.

Current Events:
NASA Reveals Our Closest Look Yet at Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
NEWS | 20 November 2025
After teasing a major announcement, NASA has released a slate of new images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, including the closest observations obtained to date. Across the Solar System, from observatories studying the Sun to spacecraft on the way to the asteroid belt, a slew of NASA-supported missions have managed to capture the visiting object as it moves through the Solar System. The closest observations, however, came from Mars, which was within a cosmic whisker of 3I/ATLAS; specifically, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), currently surveying the red planet from orbit. "But Mars was on the correct side of the Sun, and our Mars assets were able to observe the comet. But this one came from outside the Solar System, which makes it fascinating, exciting, and scientifically very important."

News Flash:
Experts Call For Urgent Action on Ultra-Processed Foods After Landmark Review
NEWS | 20 November 2025
Ultra-processed foods are displacing traditional foods and meals globally, degrading diet quality, and contributing to the rise of diet-related chronic diseases. These are the findings, published today in the journal The Lancet, of our three landmark papers on ultra-processed foods. The share of ultra-processed foods in diets has climbed over decades in countries across the world. Ultra-processed food manufacturers can use profits to spend much more on marketing, build factories and spread ultra-processed foods globally, and to fund lobbyists. Our papers argue that ultra-processed foods are displacing traditional foods and meals globally.

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Remote Monitoring App
SPONSORED | 20 November 2025
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Latest:
This Tiny 'Spark' Could Help Solve The Mystery of Lightning's Origins
NEWS | 20 November 2025
There are several theories, which all try to explain what kicks off the electrical cascade inside clouds that culminates in a lightning bolt. Nearly 9 million lightning bolts illuminate Earth every day, zigzagging through clouds for hundreds of miles in the most extreme cases. The leading theory is that ice crystals inside clouds become charged when they collide with a type of soft hail called graupel; the opposing charges separate, creating an electric field. The electric fields measured inside clouds are relatively weak; nowhere near strong enough to turn air into a conductor through which current can flow. "In one way, it's a limitation of our study because everything is super tiny and super small, and 10 electrons doesn't make lightning," Stöllner says.

Breaking:
Scientists Found a Mysterious Golden Orb at The Bottom of The Ocean
NEWS | 20 November 2025
For the scientists making the discovery, it wasn't entirely clear what the mysterious orb might be. Which is quite marvelous, really: whatever it is, the orb has something new to tell us about the deep ocean, and the diverse life that thrives therein. Earth's surface is mostly deep ocean, but a 2025 analysis of publicly available deep-sea dive data reveals humans have visually explored only about 0.001 percent of the deep seafloor. However, with remotely operated vehicles acting as a proxy, the ocean is gradually revealing its secrets, such as how mysterious deep ocean species procreate. "While we were able to collect the 'golden orb' and bring it onto the ship, we still are not able to identify it beyond the fact that it is biological in origin.

Trending:
Bizarre New Species of Flying Reptile Discovered in Fossilized Dinosaur Vomit
NEWS | 20 November 2025
That's pretty much what just happened, as paleontologists describe a new species of pterosaur from remains found in fossilized dinosaur vomit. On closer inspection, paleontologists from Brazil determined that it was most likely a regurgitalite – in plain terms, fossilized vomit. But the dinosaur didn't keep its food down for long – those comb mouths wouldn't have been easy to digest. The identity of the dinosaur whose eyes were bigger than its belly remains unconfirmed, but the prime suspect is a spinosaurid. But most fascinating is getting a glimpse into interactions between at least three species that once shared an ecosystem.

This Just In:
Breakthrough Diabetes Treatment May Deliver Insulin Through a Skin Cream
NEWS | 20 November 2025
A breakthrough in insulin delivery could one day spell an end to the invasive needles on which many people with diabetes rely. This sounds impenetrable, but the researchers thought another property of skin may help insulin enter: its acidity. On the surface of the skin, OP has a positive charge, which allows it to stick to skin lipids. Binding insulin to the OP polymer as a conjugate called OP-1 allows the all-important hormone treatment to hitchhike through. In human skin models and diabetic mice, OP-I was more effective at carrying insulin past the skin than insulin alone or insulin combined with a different polymer, PEG, as a control.

Today:
Root Canal Treatment Could Improve Your Blood Sugar Control, Study Suggests
NEWS | 20 November 2025
In a new study by researchers at King's College London and the University of Helsinki, 65 patients showed "exceptional improvements" in markers of blood sugar control after undergoing treatment for root canal infections. Blood samples were taken at five points: before root canal treatment, and then 3 months, 6 months, one year, and 2 years after treatment. Following root canal treatment, just over half of the metabolites had changed significantly, particularly amino acids, glucose, and lipids. If root canal treatment really can resolve cases of hyperglycemia, researchers think it could potentially mediate an individual's risk of developing serious cardiovascular consequences down the road. "It is vital that dental professionals recognize the wider impact of these root canal infections and advocate for early diagnosis and treatment," says Niazi.

Top Stories:
Breakthrough Helps Scientists Grow More Realistic Human Brain Models
NEWS | 20 November 2025
Slicing up and analyzing real, living, three-dimensional brain tissue comes with some obvious complications – as in, it tends to be needed by its owner. But scientists are now closer than ever to being able to grow realistic brain tissue models in the lab to experiment on instead. The new scaffolding addresses several problems with existing methods for growing brain tissue in the lab. "That's especially important as mature brain cells are more reflective of real tissue function when investigating relevant diseases or traumas." Being able to test brain tissue in the lab that's very close to the real thing would mean a reduced dependency on animal brain testing.

World:
Scientists Have Discovered a Special Type of Immune Cell That Slows Aging
NEWS | 20 November 2025
The team found that CD4 T immune cells transform into assassins of the damaging tissues when biological aging is detected in the body. However, this latest study highlights for the first time how closely they're linked to senescent cells and aging at the molecular level. Second, when the mice were genetically edited to remove CD4-Eomes specializations, senescent cells became even more abundant. It's direct evidence that CD4-Eomes immune cells are keeping senescent cells in check. There's a lot of scope for future research here, not least confirming that the same immune system processes are happening in humans as well as mice.

Current Events:
This Is What Time You Should Eat Dinner During Winter
NEWS | 20 November 2025
But shifting when we eat during the winter could make these months a little easier on our bodies and minds. Eating with intentIn winter, especially in northern latitudes, shorter days and longer nights can disrupt circadian rhythms. When paired with longer evenings indoors, it's common for people to snack more often or delay eating dinner until later at night. So, should you eat dinner earlier in winter? As winter settles in, paying attention to when you eat may be just as important as what you eat.

News Flash:
A Dangerous, Banned Substance Is Lurking in Trending Weight-Loss Pills
NEWS | 20 November 2025
Young people are turning to a drug called Molecule, with some sharing their experiences in a recent BBC report. Behind the social media hype lies a troubling truth: Molecule contains a compound banned in the UK, EU, and US for its dangerous side effects. However, the drug's use declined as more evidence emerged that it could increase the risk of serious heart problems. This study showed that the drug raised the risk of heart attacks and strokes, particularly in people who already had heart problems. Serotonin syndromeSibutramine can also interact in dangerous ways with other drugs, which many people taking it may not realise.