Science Daily

Scientists detect a surprising shift in human blood as CO2 rises

Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be leaving a measurable imprint inside the human body. Researchers analyzing more than two decades of U.S. health data found that blood bicarbonate levels have climbed about 7% since 1999, while calcium and phosphorus have declined—changes that closely track increasing atmospheric CO2.

science  Aug 15, 2026

Science Daily

When gut microbes run low on fiber, they may start eating you

Gut microbes need something to eat, and when fiber is limited, they may begin consuming proteins from the mucus lining that protects the gut. Researchers found that fiber can suppress this process, while indigestible plant proteins help microbes produce more beneficial compounds.

science  Aug 15, 2026

Science Daily

A 30-year-old fossil was hiding bones from a mysterious ancient sea monster

Fossils collected in Osaka more than 30 years ago have revealed a surprise hiding in plain sight: four previously unrecognized bones from a giant Cretaceous mosasaur. Among them is the first confirmed premaxilla—the frontmost bone of the upper jaw—ever identified in a Japanese mosasaur fossil. Even more intriguing, parts of the skull show unusual anatomical features that don’t match known mosasaurs, raising the possibility that the remains belong to an entirely new species.

science  Aug 15, 2026

Science Daily

Common food preservative linked to rising suicide deaths among young people

A widely available food-preservation chemical is emerging as a disturbing factor in rising UK suicide deaths, particularly among younger people and men. Researchers say the scale may be underestimated and are calling for urgent restrictions on access and harmful online information.

science  Aug 15, 2026

Science Daily

A 60-year-old theory about ants, bees and wasps may be wrong

Scientists have long thought an unusual genetic system helped ants, bees, and wasps evolve their extraordinary social colonies. A massive new analysis suggests that genetics alone can’t explain it—and the real secret may lie in other traits unique to these insects.

science  Aug 15, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists solve the mystery of a brain “switch” that can trigger weight loss in opposite ways

Scientists have uncovered why two seemingly opposite ways of targeting the same brain receptor can both promote weight loss. In mice, activating the GIP receptor in the brainstem reduced appetite, while blocking it in the hypothalamus removed a kind of “brake” on fullness signals. The discovery helps explain why very different obesity drugs can achieve similar results and suggests that carefully combining GIP-targeting treatments with GLP-1 drugs like those related to Wegovy and Ozempic could pr

science  Aug 15, 2026

The Guardian Science

The Fauci hearing was painful to watch. But we need answers on Covid-19’s origin| David Relman

Despite the recent hearings in Congress, we seem to be even further from the goal of understanding Covid-19’s origin’s than we have ever beenAs a microbiologist and infectious disease clinician, it has been tough to watch the recent devolution of public discourse on Covid-19 origins. It has been especially difficult for me to read the comments of Anthony Fauci about the origins debate in his now-public diary. And it has been painful to watch the televised spectacle hosted by the US senator Rand

science  Aug 15, 2026

NASA News

Summer Triangle Corner: Deneb

Bird constellations abound in the night sky, including Cygnus, the majestic swan. Easy to find with its dazzling stars, it is one of the few constellations that look like its namesake, and it is full of treasures. Visible in the Northern Hemisphere all summer long, there’s so much to see and even some things that […]

science  Aug 15, 2026

NASA News

APOD: 2026 August 15 – Bright Perseids from Sweden

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 15 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Bright Perseids from […]

science  Aug 15, 2026

NASA News

NASA Competition Invites Students to Help Imagine a Future Enabled by Lunar Technologies 

NASA is asking U.S.-based collegiate teams to submit bold, original concepts to the 2027 edition of a student challenge focused on aerospace innovation that could help the agency envision a future on the Moon shaped by new technology.  The latest NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition invites student teams to explore new operations paradigms and advance the technologies needed to […]

science  Aug 14, 2026

NASA News

NASA Announces MAX POWER: America’s Newest Aerospace Expo, Airshow

In honor of America’s historic 250th anniversary, NASA announced on Friday MAX POWER, a public exposition of American air and space innovation, Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, on and near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The multi-day, family-friendly event will showcase the next-generation aircraft, spacecraft, autonomous vehicles, and technologies that will help define […]

science  Aug 14, 2026

NASA News

Volunteer Develops Machine-Learning Tool to Identify Rare Clouds

Certain kinds of clouds are misbehaving – appearing more often and lower in the sky than they used to. To help identify the factors influencing these changes, scientists have asked people around the world with cameras to submit fresh images of these clouds as a part of the NASA-supported Space Cloud Watch project.

science  Aug 14, 2026

NASA News

NASA’s COFFIES Uses AI to Predict Storm-Causing Active Regions on Sun 

As humanity looks to the Moon and stars for future exploration, predicting space weather — conditions in space primarily driven by the Sun — is more important than ever.  Now, a team of astrophysicists and data scientists with NASA’s COFFIES (Consequence Of Fields and Flows in the Interior and Exterior of the Sun) has developed a […]

science  Aug 14, 2026

NASA News

Total Solar Eclipse in Sunflower Field

This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain on, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. A total solar eclipse swept across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. A partial eclipse was visible in parts of the U.S., […]

science  Aug 14, 2026

Science Daily

Immune cells flood into the aging brain, Stanford scientists discover

Scientists have discovered that the aging human brain may be far less isolated from the rest of the body than once believed. Stanford researchers found that large numbers of immune cells from the blood begin entering the brain as early as middle age, where they can transform into microglia, the brain’s specialized immune cells. The finding overturns a long-standing assumption that these cells remain largely separate from the body’s immune system throughout life.

science  Aug 14, 2026

Science Daily

Scientists detect a nuclear reactor’s ghostly afterglow for the first time

Nuclear reactors may go dark, but their fuel continues producing a faint antineutrino “glow” long after shutdown. Researchers have now detected that residual signal for the first time, finding it closely matched predictions of radioactive decay inside the reactor and nearby spent-fuel pools. The breakthrough suggests antineutrino detectors could eventually monitor reactors even when they are offline.

science  Aug 14, 2026

Science Daily

World’s first superconducting quantum heat engine could help unlock massive quantum computers

A tiny superconducting engine has successfully converted heat near absolute zero into useful work, demonstrating the first cyclic quantum heat engine of its kind. Future versions could operate autonomously inside quantum computers, potentially eliminating huge numbers of costly, noise-producing microwave cables.

science  Aug 14, 2026

Science Daily

Taking the stairs could protect your heart and help you live longer

Simply choosing the stairs could have surprisingly big benefits for your heart and longevity. A large analysis involving more than 480,000 people found that regular stair climbers were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 24% less likely to die from any cause than people who rarely took the stairs. They also had lower risks of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.

science  Aug 14, 2026

The Guardian Science

I’m a neuroscientist. Here’s why our brains need pop concerts | Bala Subramaniam

Attending a Nick Jonas show with my kids was an invitation to ‘collective effervescence’. We need these shared experiences now more than everThree years ago, I agreed to accompany my children to a Nick Jonas concert. The appeal of the Jonas Brothers, and in this case only one of them, was unfamiliar territory.The concert happened to land on a particularly inconvenient day. As I sprinted out of the hospital, my mind was filled with the “what if’s” and “should haves” about our work that day. Conti

science  Aug 14, 2026

Science Daily

A stress hormone may help the brain repair itself

A surprising stress-related signal may help the brain repair itself after injury. Researchers found that myelin-producing precursor cells rapidly release the stress hormone CRH near damaged brain tissue, helping control how those cells mature and rebuild protective nerve insulation. The same system also influences brain development and the thickness of myelin later in life. The findings could offer new clues about how early-life stress contributes to psychiatric disorders.

science  Aug 14, 2026