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Sound cues during lucid dreams helped sleepers solve puzzles the next In a study of lucid dreamers, researchers replayed soundtracks linked to brain-teasing puzzles participants couldn’t solve, nudging sleepers to dream about them and boosting the odds of solving the puzzles the next day. When solving a puzzle, the answer could lie in your dreams. In a study of lucid dreamers, playing soundtracks linked with unsolved puzzles helped the sleepers solve the problems the next day, researchers report February 5 in Neuroscience of Consciousness. Stories of brilliant insights after a nap or daydream abound, but scientists have struggled to successfully influence people’s dreams and rigorously test the idea. “This study provides one of the first experimentally grounded demonstrations of such a link,” says Giulio Bernardi, a cognitive neuroscientist at IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, in Italy, who was not involved with the work. Whether we remember our dreams or not, we have countless dreams in our sleep, according to Karen Konkoly, a
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Even in the world’s driest desert, tiny worms are proving that life finds remarkable ways to endure. Even in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert, tiny soil-dwelling nematodes are thriving in surprising diversity. Credit: Shutterstock New research reveals that life beneath the surface of one of the driest places on Earth is far more resilient and diverse than many scientists expected. An international team led by the University of Cologne studied tiny soil worms known as nematodes in Chile's Atacama Desert. Often compared to polar deserts, the Atacama is considered one of the most arid regions in the world. With almost no rainfall, high salt levels in the soil, and dramatic temperature swings, it ranks among the planet's most extreme environments. Despite these punishing conditions, researchers found thriving communities of nematodes. Specialists in zoology, ecology, and botany worked together to uncover how different species manage to survive there. Their findings, published in Nature Communications under the title "Geographic distribution of nematodes in the Atacama i
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Putting silicate rocks from mine waste on fields could improve crops and limit global warming, but some researchers question where all that rock is going to come from Spreading crushed silicate rocks like basalt on fields could remove up to 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually while increasing crop yields, according to an analysis of the method’s global potential. But some researchers question whether that figure is really achievable. Known as enhanced rock weathering, this technique accelerates the breakdown of rocks by rainwater, a natural process that, over millions of years, has transferred CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean and helped cool the planet in hothouse-Earth periods. Farmers have been spreading ground limestone on fields for centuries to improve nutrient uptake in crops. “The main benefit is through sort of solving a
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Tests of “digital gut” simulations hint at personalized probiotics but not a cure‑all yet What counts as “good” bacteria depends on the individual and the environment. Figuring out which bacteria or other nutrients your gut needs may one day be as simple as running detailed computer simulations. From pills to yogurts to sodas, probiotics are being repackaged and marketed to us more and more, with the promise of boosting our “gut health.” But while commercially available probiotics work for some people, this one-size-fits-all approach hasn’t reliably benefited consumers. Instead, new simulations can predict whether a specific bacterial strain will successfully take up residence in a person’s gut, researchers report February 19 in PLOS Biology. The simulations, called microbial community–scale metabolic models, are built on what scientists already know about how gut bacteria eat and use food. They allow researchers to simulate what would happen if a strain of bacteria were inserted into an individual’s gut, “and see whether or not it can g
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Поскольку изменение климата меняет горы, борьба за спасение мага ада становится борьбой за дом. Джейсон Ондрейка/Getty Images Кэти Майерс Региональный репортер, Аппалачи Опубликовано 02 марта 2026 г. Тема Климат + Культура Поделиться/опубликовать повторно Копировать ссылку Переиздать Копировать ссылку электронная почта СМС Х
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A molecule tied to longevity may have a hidden double life—boosting healthy cells on one hand and turbocharging cancer on the other. The same molecules celebrated for supporting healthy aging may also help cancers thrive. Researchers have now uncovered how polyamines flip from activating protective pathways in normal cells to triggering a tumor-driving protein that fuels rapid growth. Credit: Shutterstock Polyamines are naturally produced molecules present in all living cells. They play a vital role in basic biological functions, including cell growth and specialization. In recent years, scientists have focused on these compounds, especially spermidine, for their potential to support healthy aging. Often described as 'geroprotectors,' they have been shown to stimulate autophagy, a cellular recycling process that clears out damaged components. This benefit largely depends on a protein called eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A1). At the same time, researchers have repeatedly observed high levels of polyamines in many types of cancer, where they are l
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Such pollutants could degrade the ozone layer as space debris accumulates and falls to Earth A Falcon 9 upper stage rocket disintegrates into fragments in this image taken from Collm, Germany on February 25, 2025. A study of the sky at the time found the deteriorating rocket was releasing metal pollutants. Listen to this article This is a human-written story voiced by AI. Got feedback? Take our survey . (See our AI policy here .) For the first time, scientists have directly observed metal pollutants leaching from a piece of orbital junk: a SpaceX rocket as it burned in the atmosphere. Such pollutants can damage the ozone layer, meaning the findings will help monitor potential harms from space debris, researchers report February 19 in Communications Earth and Environment. While humans have been launching metal things to orbit for nearly 70 years, the pace has skyrocketed in the past decade.
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