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Time is the one thing every human being experiences identically, or so we assume.
Physicist Jim Al-Khalili dismantles that assumption, explaining how velocity and gravity don’t just affect clocks but actually alter the rate at which time passes for the person experiencing it.
Preorder Jim Al-Khalili’s forthcoming book, On Time: The Physics That Makes the Universe, here: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Physics-T?tag=lifeboatfound-20…
About Jim Al-Khalili: Jim is a multiple award-winning science communicator renowned for his public engagement around the world through writing and broadcasting and a leading academic making fundamental contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in nuclear reaction theory, quantum effects in biology, open quantum systems and the foundations of quantum mechanics. Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology.
About Jim Al-Khalili:
It thawed out — and then it multiplied.
Scientists successfully revived a “zombie worm” that had been frozen for 24,000 years, revealing new insight into how life survives in the most unforgiving environments over extended periods of time.
According to a study published in the scientific journal Current Biology, researchers found that the microscopic organism — identified as a rotifer — is a small, multicellular animal commonly found in freshwater environments that is known for its unusual durability, FOX News reported.
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Scientists have identified two specific types of brain cells that behave differently in people with depression, offering a clearer picture of what is happening inside the brain. By analyzing donated brain tissue with advanced genetic tools, the researchers found changes in neurons linked to mood and stress, as well as in immune-related microglia cells. These differences point to disruptions in key brain systems and reinforce that depression is rooted in biology, not just emotions.
Proper management of agricultural waste is challenging due to diverse sources, high production volumes, seasonal fluctuations, limited technical knowledge, and insufficient funding. These challenges often lead to soil degradation, environmental pollution, and adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. This study aims to investigate biogas production from poultry droppings using Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) Anaerobic Digestion (AD) technology to promote green energy use and as a sustainable solution for agricultural waste management.
Dried poultry manure samples were collected from two poultry farms in Lafia city and from their manure disposal sources. The samples were thoroughly stirred to ensure homogeneity and digested at a mesophilic temperature of 28.0 °C. With an initial solid concentration of 20.0%, the manure was diluted with water at 1:2 ratio to produce an input slurry containing 12.0% total volatile solids by weight. The experiment was conducted from July 20 to September 10, 2025. Parameters including pH, alkalinity, temperature, and biogas flow rate were monitored daily. Chemical and physical analyses of total solids, total volatile solids, and chemical oxygen demand were conducted during startup using three biological replicates (n = 3), with results expressed using statistical tool of mean ± standard error. Volatile fatty acids and alkalinity were measured using the distillation method.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool, Japan, and Argentina have captured atomic-resolution images of an important copper-containing enzyme using advanced X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) technology at SACLA in Japan. XFEL technology generates ultra-bright, ultra-short X-ray pulses, enabling atomic-scale imaging and real-time observation of chemical, biological, and physical processes.
The international team—led by Dr. Svetlana Antonyuk and Professor Samar Hasnain at the University of Liverpool, Professor Takehiko Tosha at the University of Hyogo, and Dr. Masaki Yamamoto at RIKEN SPring-8—studied a protein that plays a key role in the global nitrogen cycle. This protein converts nitrite, an essential nitrogen intermediate, into nitric oxide gas.
The new details reveal how an enzyme called copper nitrite reductase (CuNiR) from three different organisms converts nitrite to nitric oxide gas, using an electron and a proton—a vital process for both biology and the environment.
Researchers have uncovered a pathway that keeps bone resorption in check by dampening the activation of inflammasomes in osteoclasts—identifying an important restraint and helping to answer a paradox in the field of bone biology.
Learn more in Science Signaling.
The ER protein Tmem178 prevents bone loss by limiting Ca2+-dependent inflammasome activation in osteoclasts.
Circadian rhythms are predictable biological patterns that recur about every 24 h and, in mammals such as humans, are entrained to daylight by the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Although light is a potent zeitgeber for the SCN, cells outside of the SCN can synchronize to daily nutrient and metabolic cues. In these tissues, nutrient metabolic processes are regulated by the molecular clock in anticipation of food availability or scarcity. Furthermore, nutrients and metabolic processes themselves may act upon members of the molecular clock to regulate their expression and activity. These interactions maintain synchrony between the SCN and food-entrainable clocks when activity and nutrient intake align.