In a new study, researchers tracked over 1.2 million peptide trajectories to map out this preservation pathway. The results revealed that low-oxygen environments combined with specific protein structures turned destructive decay into a mechanism for long-term molecular stability.
The paradox of brain preservation
Brain tissue naturally breaks down very quickly once the body dies. Even so, thousands of ancient brains have miraculously survived for millennia, creating an unusual contradiction for tissue preservation researchers.
As long as we don’t have too much of it, vitamin D is an essential part of a healthy body. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about just how far its goodness extends.
An international research team led by The University of Manchester analyzed magma from the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma, Spain. The scientists found that “superheating,” which occurs when magma becomes hotter than the temperature at which crystals remain stable, can postpone crystal formation as the magma moves toward the surface.
Superheating Removes Crystal Seeds
The study, published in Nature Communications, found that intense heat can dissolve tiny existing crystals that normally act as “seeds” for the growth of new crystals.
Surgery that aims to enhance the clearance of Alzheimer’s-associated proteins from the brain has been banned in China, but only after thousands of people had the procedure
Scientists used a unique vacuum chamber that mimics moon conditions to design an approach for ice prospecting with seismic waves. The work could help future Artemis missions find water.
For several decades now, one medication has been the primary drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, but research shows there’s still a lot we can learn about how it works inside the body.
During that time, metformin has been well known for its strong glucose-lowering effects. But a study published in 2025 in Science Advances revealed the drug also affects a part of the body we had never realized – the brain.
Protein-fortified foods are popping up everywhere, from cereal and coffee to even protein water. But a new review covering over 350 papers on protein restriction and aging-publishing July 31 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue-suggests that consuming less protein could have greater health benefits and could, in some cases, extend lifespan. The authors describe how protein restriction slows aging by improving metabolism, changing how cells respond to nutrients, reducing cellular damage, and preserving healthy cell function.
“It’s absolutely crystal clear that there are benefits of protein to muscle growth and exercise response of active individuals,” says Dudley Lamming, the paper’s corresponding author, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But because most people are relatively sedentary, many people are likely consuming more protein than they actually need, which probably has negative health consequences.”
For decades, scientists have known that eating less calories can extend lifespan in many organisms and reduce the risk of age-related diseases like cancer. But maintaining a calorie-restricted diet is difficult for most people.
Every time a cell divides, it must accurately copy and distribute its DNA between two new cells. However, in some cases, chromosomes do not fully separate, leaving behind thin strands of DNA known as DNA bridges that connect the two newly formed cells.
These fragile structures can be vulnerable to damage and, if not properly managed, can have severe consequences for genome stability. Researchers from King’s, in collaboration with research teams at the University of Utah and biotechnology company Altos Labs, have now revealed how cells protect themselves from this threat.
Published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the study shows that ESCRT-III proteins, previously known for helping cells reshape and repair membranes, have an unexpected role in protecting DNA bridges during cell division.
Futurist and author Calum Chace returns to examine how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape employment, investment, infrastructure and the commercial economy. Calum is the author of The Economic Singularity and Surviving AI, a co-founder of the AI company Conscium, and co-host of the London Futurists podcast.
In this interview, we separate three very different stories that are often grouped together as “AI layoffs”: workers directly displaced by automation; employees cut or reallocated when companies restructure or abandon AI projects; and conventional layoffs that may be “AI-washed” to make ordinary cost reductions sound like technological transformation.
We also explore the growing AI backlash. Is today’s anxiety simply part of the normal adoption cycle surrounding a disruptive technology, similar to earlier resistance to the internet, e-commerce and electric vehicles? Or is AI fundamentally different because it can compete directly with human cognitive labor, creativity and professional expertise?
Calum shares his predictions for AI agents, artificial general intelligence and artificial superintelligence, along with the commercial AI applications most likely to generate real value. We examine whether the enormous investment in AI infrastructure represents a speculative bubble, a necessary technological overbuild, or some combination of the two.
