Advanced artificial intelligence could pose a catastrophic risk to humanity and wipe out entire civilisations, a new study warns. AI could be the potential “Great Filter” answer to the Fermi paradox, with the potential to wipe out intelligent life in the universe before it can make contact with others, suggested the yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, posted ... Read More »
Simple Inexpensive Tests Found To Predict Dementia Risk Years In Advance
Simple tests assessing grip strength and mobility can predict people’s risk of ageing-related health conditions such as dementia, according to a new study. Previous studies have shown that as people age, they generally tend to lose muscle strength and slow down. The new research, published recently in the Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle, suggests this could also ... Read More »
‘Forbidden’ World Could Change Our Understanding of How Planets Form
Scientists have found a planetary system with a “forbidden” world, which could rewrite the story of how such planets form. The planet has a large, gas giant planet, similar to our Jupiter. But its star is a red dwarf, just four times the size of Jupiter itself. Scientists previously thought that it ... Read More »
Young People Are More Likely To Die Of Heart Attacks Post-COVID, Study Finds
A recent study found that heart attacks in people ages 25 to 44 increased by 30% compared to the expected number over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Demi Washington, a basketball player at Vanderbilt University came down with COVID-19 in late 2020, her symptoms were mild, ... Read More »
The Ozone Layer Is On Track To Recover Within Decades As Harmful Chemicals Are Phased Out, Scientists Report
In rare good news for the planet, Earth’s ozone layer is on track to recover completely within decades, as ozone-depleting chemicals are phased out across the world, according to a new United Nations-backed assessment. The ozone layer protects the planet from harmful ultraviolet rays. But since the late 1980s, scientists have sounded the ... Read More »
Scientists Discover Whole New Layer Of Brain Tissue That May Help Ward Off Infections
Scientists have discovered a while new layer of tissues in the brain that acts as a protective barrier and also as a platform from which immune cells monitor the brain for infection and inflammation. The research, published in the journal Science on Thursday, assessed membranes that encase the brain and keep it bathed in CSF ... Read More »
New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Promise In Slowing Disease But May Include Significant Risks, Study Shows
An experimental Alzheimer’s drug modestly slowed the brain disease’s inevitable worsening, researchers reported — but it remains unclear how much difference that might make in people’s lives. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work, a badly needed bright spot after ... Read More »
New Hope For Kidney Cancer Treatment Using Existing Drugs
Researchers say a new study of kidney cancer offers hope for treating the disease using existing drugs. The study of the cancer at a single-cell level has discovered a potential drug target to treat renal cell carcinoma – a cancer with a high death rate that is hard to detect. According ... Read More »
Blood Test ‘Could Detect Breast Cancer Up To Two Years Before Diagnosis’
A simple blood test that looks for changes in a group of proteins could detect breast cancer up to two years before diagnosis, according to scientists. Experts have identified a type of blood test that focuses on a set of six proteins that may be at higher or lower levels ... Read More »
Scientists Identify Nerve Cells That Help Patients Walk Again After Paralysis
Scientists have identified a group of nerve cells that helps patients with paralysis stand up and walk again. These nerve cells, or neurons, called Vsx2, are present in the brain stem and the spinal cord and have been found to play a key role in the recovery of motor function after ... Read More »