The misfolded proteins responsible for a fatal neurological disease in deer have a twist. The first detailed structure of an infectious prion that causes chronic wasting disease, or CWD, reveals features that could help guide vaccine development or explain why the disease has not yet made the leap to humans, researchers report Oct. 24 in…
DENVER — A drug found in nearly every medicine cabinet could be a treatment for a rare genetic disease. Ibuprofen can help children with mutations in a gene called MAN1B1suggests a study on fruit flies. Geneticists Clement Chow of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City reported the results Nov. 6 at the annual…
A massive Mayan landscape is hidden beneath a forested area of southern Mexico. The newly discovered city, called Valeriana, spans an area roughly the size of Beijing and has “all the hallmarks of a classic Mayan political capital,” researchers reported in October. Antiquity. Its plazas connected by a grand causeway, temple pyramids, and water reservoir…
Naloxone has saved thousands of lives by reversing opioid overdoses. But its success depends on someone nearby who can administer the medicine quickly (SN: 5/3/24). Many people are alone when they overdose. A new implant may one day solve this problem. Inserted under the skin and powered by a battery, the device can detect the…
Male mosquitoes can be almost as bloodthirsty as females under certain conditions, a new study suggests. This overturns the notion that only female mosquitoes bite, drink blood and spread disease while males drink nectar. The finding hints that men are not completely harmless and may play a small role in the spread of the disease….
Smallest number of American teens and tweens in 25 years are currently using tobacco products. According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 8 percent of middle and high school students — or 2.25 million — reported using tobacco products in the past 30 days. By 2019, 23 percent, or just over 6 million,…
The occasional sweet treat probably won’t ruin your health. But too much added sugar at a young age can increase the risk of health complications later in life. Limiting added sugars during the first 1,000 days after conception — that is, during pregnancy and a baby’s first two years — reduces a child’s risk of…
If you want to have a dream where you know you’re dreaming, you might be in luck. A phone app appears to increase users’ chances of lucid dreaming. Before bed, the app has users listen to a specific sound, such as a series of beeps, and practice associating that signal with a sharp awareness of…
The notion of a midlife crisis is dead. Or maybe it was always the bunk bed. Now some scientists want a postmortem on the theory. The idea that happiness in the Western world declines rapidly around middle age before rebounding has been around since the mid-1960s. In the late 1980s, after compiling data from well-being…
