News Desk

The random nature of genetic mutation implies evolution is largely unpredictable. But recent research suggests this may not be entirely so, with interactions between genes playing a bigger role than expected in determining how a genome changes.

Monsters lurk in the background of James Webb Space Telescope images. Scientists are scrambling to make sense of them.

Fragments of ancient rock and bone in Eastern Asia are changing our understanding of the history of human migration. They’re artifacts found in the Shiyu site of northeastern China, and new analysis has revealed that they were created by Homo sapiens some 45,000 years ago. See the research here.

The tale of one female woolly mammoth, written in the layers of her tusk, has shown researchers how the extinct megafauna species moved across Alaska with humans right on their heels…Her life and its connection to human activity have been described in a recent paper published in Science Advances. 

In a recent Scientific Reports study, researchers examined the brain’s reaction to Cannabis Sativa, the plant responsible for giving pot smokers the munchies after firing up a joint.

Amid the discovery of a lost city in the Amazon rainforest, scientists are uncovering a different kind of relic underground – one that’s still being used today.

Crocodile-like skin belonging to an early species of reptile is the oldest fossilized skin ever discovered, dating back almost 290 million years — 130 million years older than the previous record holder.

As analytical methods get more sophisticated, existing scientific models are constantly reexamined. The latest to come under scrutiny is the way molecules are organized at the surface of a volume of salt water. See the research here.

Complex, multicellular life emerged on Earth 600-700 million years ago. For the first time, scientists have accurately dated some of the oldest examples of complex life. See the research here.

This research, which closely replicates findings in humans, offers new insights into how psilocybin could be used to treat psychiatric disorders such as alcohol use disorder. The findings have been published in Translational Psychiatry.

A new study suggests the disk was made to accurately represent the brightest stars at least 2,400 years ago, possibly as an aid for planting crops. But other experts are not convinced.

Four research articles published in Nature follow the genetic traces and geographical origins of human diseases far back in time. The analyses provide detailed pictures of prehistoric human diversity and migration while proposing an explanation for a rise in the genetic risk for multiple sclerosis. See the research here: Paper 1 , Paper 2, Paper 3, Paper 4

Scientists have discovered a huge ring-shaped structure in outer space – and it’s so big that it challenges our current understanding of the universe.

A pilot study investigating a group of adults visiting an ayahuasca retreat in Peru found significant reductions in their levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity following their stay. These reductions occurred regardless of the duration of the retreat or the number of ayahuasca ceremonies attended. The paper was published in Drug Science.

In a study published Tuesday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the US, UK and Mexico analyzed the genomes of more than 50 mushrooms from the Psilocybegenus—the group whose members almost all contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin.

The North Arabian Desert oases were inhabited by sedentary populations in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. A fortification enclosing the Khaybar Oasis—one of the longest known going back to this period—has just been revealed by scientists. See the study here.