Daily Science Brief

An announcement explaining why I'm cancelling the podcast. If you want more information about it, I wrote a public blog post over on the Patreon page. Check it out. https://www.patreon.com/c/DailyScienceBrief Please SUBSCRIBE HERE to get the show delivered straight to you. Special thanks to our supporters who help make this show possible. Enjoy the show? You can support us too on Patreon . Help ke...

Penguins with dagger-like beaks, a collapsing Atlantic current, a brain map of 600,000 cells, and a bear skull that proves gladiators fought wild animals. SOURCES Early penguins may have used dagger-like beaks to skewer prey | New Scientist Key Atlantic current could start collapsing as early as 2055, new study finds | Live Science Map of 600,000 brain cells rewrites the textbook on how the brain...

Why scrolling on the toilet could be bad for your health, why we may have way less carbon storage underground than we thought, whether plant-based dog food really works, and how humans and AIs fall for the same persuasion tricks. SOURCES Smartphone scrolling on the toilet could increase risk of haemorrhoids | New Scientist We may have 10 times less carbon storage capacity than we thought | New Sci...

Blobs from failed planets hiding in Mars, a possible anti-aging drug, a surprising benefit of the hepatitis B vaccine, and recycling old cars into new ones. SOURCES Dozens of mysterious blobs discovered inside Mars may be the remnants of 'failed planets' | Live Science Rapamycin may extend lifespans by protecting against DNA damage | New Scientist Hepatitis B vaccine linked with a lower risk of de...

Volcanoes can lead to revolutions, onions powering solar panels, a spacecraft predicting solar storms, and computers you can throw in the wash. SOURCES Volcanic eruptions may have helped spark the French Revolution | New Scientist Scientists turned to a red onion to improve solar cells — and it could make solar power more sustainable | Live Science Spacecraft used to forecast solar storm 15 hours...

Stress in pregnancy may prime babies for eczema. Pee tests could help eliminate cervical cancer. Spiders use fireflies as glowing bait. China builds a macaque-sized brain supercomputer. SOURCES The foundations of eczema may start to be laid down in the womb | New Scientist Stress-Related Maternal Factors During Pregnancy in Relation to Childhood Eczema: Results From the LISA Study | JIACI Urine te...

A brain-inspired AI outsmarts ChatGPT, a new zap for your eyeballs could replace LASIK, middle age isn’t the low point it used to be, and CPR in space gets a boost from machines. SOURCES Scientists just developed a new AI modeled on the human brain — it's outperforming LLMs like ChatGPT at reasoning tasks | Live Science Early test of new laser-free eye treatment shows promise | Live Science We're...

Screwworms have invaded the US, AI is predicting hurricanes, U.S. power is slowly shifting to solar, and scientists crack the mystery of beer foam. SOURCES US reports its first New World parasitic screwworm infection in decades | Live Science Google’s AI model just nailed the forecast for the strongest Atlantic storm this year | Ars Technica US‘s spike in electricity use is slowing down a bit | Ar...

A pig lung transplanted into a human body, why half our farmed calories never reach our plates, microbes that shrug off 100,000 years of ice, and asteroid dust older than the solar system itself. SOURCES First-ever pig-to-human lung transplant attempted in brain-dead person in China | Live Science Fewer than half the calories grown on farms now reach our plates | New Scientist We are unlocking how...

China drops data centers into the ocean, some people feel nothing from music, a Christian cross rewrites Gulf history, and our primate ancestors turn out to be cold-weather champs. SOURCES China Is Putting Data Centers in the Ocean to Keep Them Cool | Scientific American For some people, music doesn’t connect with any of the brain’s reward circuits | Ars Technica 'We never had concrete proof': Arc...

A myth about brain rewiring gets busted, Denisovan DNA helped the first Americans survive, solar cells that get power from your kitchen lights, and why your car’s paint color is roasting the city. SOURCES Our brain doesn't actually reorganise itself after an amputation | New Scientist The first Americans had Denisovan DNA. And it may have helped them survive. | Live Science Your household gadgets...

AI predicts solar flares, Uranus gets a new moon, bees get a superfood boost, and pollen turns into paper. SOURCES NASA and IBM built an AI to predict solar flares before they hit Earth | New Scientist NASA and IBM create 'Surya': Advanced AI for predicting solar storms and strengthening space defence | Times of India Uranus has a new, hidden moon, James Webb Space Telescope reveals | Live Science...

A quantum upgrade for GPS-free navigation, AI bots messing with surveys, a brain implant that brings back joy, and sheep’s wool repairing teeth. SOURCES Quantum alternative to GPS navigation will be tested on US military spaceplane | The Conversation AI-generated responses are undermining crowdsourced research studies | New Scientist AI-generated survey responses could make research less accurate...

Jupiter’s moon Ganymede could help detect dark matter, a new way to break down forever chemicals in water, an Arctic heatwave that melted massive amounts of ice, and why you might not actually be allergic to penicillin. SOURCES Jupiter's moon Ganymede could be a giant dark matter detector | New Scientist Scientists transform 'forever chemicals' in water into fluoride with new process | Live Scien...

Viruses hitching a ride inside bacteria to fight cancer, a world-first video of a human embryo implanting, ancient toolmakers who planned way ahead, and why an FDA panel stirred confusion over antidepressant safety in pregnancy. SOURCES Cancer-killing virus becomes more effective when shielded by bacteria | New Scientist Incredible, first-of-its-kind video shows human embryo implanting in real tim...

Dinosaur tracks emerge after Texas floods, a shocking rise in dangerously hot and humid days, Inca recordkeeping may have been more common than we thought, and AI that can turn imagined speech into spoken words. SOURCES 115-million-year-old dinosaur tracks unearthed in Texas after devastating floods | Live Science 2024 saw a record-breaking number of dangerously hot and humid days | New Scientist...

RFK Jr. takes aim at a massive vaccine safety study — and loses. Plus, fungi lurking in vape mouthpieces, Viking treasure that rewrites history, and levitating discs that could explore the atmosphere. SOURCES Prominent medical journal refuses RFK's call to retract a vaccine study | Live Science Vape mouthpieces could be swarming with fungi that harm airways | New Scientist 1,100-year-old Viking ho...

Toxic social media may be inevitable, ancient England was more diverse than you think, losing your Y chromosome might wreck your heart, and two bee viruses could quietly sabotage hives. SOURCES Social media toxicity can't be fixed by changing the algorithms | New Scientist Can We Fix Social Media? Testing Prosocial Interventions using Generative Social Simulation | arxiv.org 1,300-year-old skeleto...

Jim Lovell, Apollo 13’s commander, passes away at 97; lights that hide secret codes to fight deepfakes; the first artificial tongue that tastes and learns; and why working past retirement might make you happier. SOURCES Jim Lovell, commander of NASA's Apollo 13 moon mission, dies at 97 | Live Science Scientists hid secret codes in light to combat video fakes | Ars Technica World's first artificial...

A new executive order threatens science funding, NASA wants to put a nuclear reactor on the moon, Texas is getting ready for a flesh-eating invasion, and archaeologists uncover evidence of human cannibalism. SOURCES New executive order puts all grants under political control | Ars Technica NASA aiming to build nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030 | Live Science Texas prepares for war as invasion of...

RFK Jr. slashes mRNA vaccine funding, a glue that holds firm underwater for over a year, scientists solve why sea stars keep turning to goo, and SpaceX sends bacteria to the ISS. SOURCES What you need to know about mRNA vaccines in light of RFK's claims | New Scientist HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA | US Dept of HHS Time and cost of administering COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in the...

Back pain relief that lasts for three years with no pills, or surgery. Gold heated 14× past it’s melting point … without melting. Retired coal plants get a clean energy reboot. And the Titan sub’s implosion traced to a toxic workplace. SOURCES Short course of psychotherapy relieves lower back pain for three years | New Scientist Scientists heat gold to 14 times its melting point — without turning...

A tomato and its cousin accidentally invented the potato, eye-inspired cameras might transform astronomy, your brain may enter deep sleep while you’re awake, and a universal deepfake detector just raised the bar for spotting fakes. SOURCES Tomatoes randomly mated with another plant 9 million years ago. The result? Potatoes. | Live Science Cameras that work like our eyes could give boost to astrono...

Smartphones can now detect earthquakes, scientists confirm ancient honey, a universal cancer vaccine heads to human trials, and lightning may actually come from outer space. SOURCES Google has turned 2 billion smartphones into a global earthquake warning system — it's as effective as seismometers, tests show | Live Science Sticky goo in 2,500-year-old bronze jars finally identified, settling 70-ye...

A monster earthquake rattles the Pacific, mitochondria double as immune agents, the EPA backs away from climate science, and animal-filled forests fight carbon better. SOURCES expert reaction to earthquake off Russia and tsunami warnings across the Pacific | Science Media Centre Waves hit US west coast after Russian earthquake as Japan lifts tsunami warnings | BBC Mitochondria aren't only the 'pow...