A sweeping global effort to map the environmental roots of disease could reshape the future of health and medicine.
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Humans Age Faster at 2 Sharp Peaks, Study Finds
Getting older might seem like a slow, gradual process – but research suggests that this is not always the case.
In fact, if you wake up one morning, look in the mirror, and wonder if your aging somehow accelerated, you might not be imagining things.
According to a 2024 study into the molecular changes associated with aging, humans experience two abrupt lurches forward, one at the average age of 44 and the other at around age 60.
Harvard researchers develop novel 3D printing method for soft robotics — rotational multi-material method creates muscle-like structures that can be programmed to twist, lift, or bend
A new spin on robotics, thanks to a novel 3D printing method
Elon Musk reveals his most ambitious (and detailed) plan for Mars: 1,000 spacecraft, 20 years of launches, and a self-sustaining city of one million inhabitants on Mars by 2050
At the entrance to Starbase in south Texas, a glowing sign now welcomes visitors with the words “Gateway to Mars.” The display sits in front of SpaceX facilities where giant Starship rockets are being assembled with one bold purpose in mind: Elon Musk wants to build a self-sustaining city on Mars.
In recent years he has begun to put numbers on that dream. Musk has repeatedly said that building the first sustainable city on Mars would require around 1,000 Starship rockets and roughly 20 years of launch campaigns, moving up to 100,000 people per favorable Earth-Mars alignment and eventually reaching about one million settlers plus millions of tons of cargo.
It sounds like science fiction with a project plan. Yet the language he uses, “sustainable city,” is very familiar to climate and energy experts here on Earth. So what does sustainability really mean on a frozen, air-thin world and how does that huge effort interact with the environmental crisis on our own planet?
Brain inspired machines are better at math than expected
Neuromorphic computers modeled after the human brain can now solve the complex equations behind physics simulations — something once thought possible only with energy-hungry supercomputers. The breakthrough could lead to powerful, low-energy supercomputers while revealing new secrets about how our brains process information.
Processing Speed Impairment in Schizophrenia: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Meta-analysis of 115 studies evaluating cognitive function in people with Schizophrenia confirms that processing speed, especially as measured by symbol coding tasks, remains among the most impaired cognitive domains compared to controls.
This impairment was reliably more severe than that observed in most other tested cognitive domains, suggesting processing speed may be central to broader cognitive deficits in this population and may relate to altered brain connectivity.
This meta-analysis provides an updated review of the evidence for a central processing speed impairment in people with schizophrenia.
Why Mucus and Phlegm Matter in Health and Disease
It’s mucus season—the time of year this sticky goo makes an appearance in the form of runny noses and phlegmy coughs. While most people are only aware of mucus when they are sick, their organs are blanketed with the stuff year-round. And, when it comes to the microbes living in our bodies, mucus is incredibly important. It provides a spatial and nutritional niche for diverse organisms to thrive, while also preventing them from getting too close to host tissues. Mucus also regulates microbial growth, metabolism and virulence, ultimately controlling the composition of microbial communities throughout the body. As such, scientists are looking at how to exploit mucus-microbe interactions to foster human health.
Mucus is found in creatures spanning the tree of life, from corals to people. In humans and other mammals, the slick goop coats epithelial tissues, including those in the mouth, lungs, gut and urogenital tract. In these regions, mucus protects cells from physical and enzymatic stress, heals wounds and selectively filters particles that can pass through to underlying tissues.