scientificinquirer-blog

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Music may reduce distress for dementia patients

A new treatment that uses music therapy on dementia wards could improve care and support for some of the NHS’s most vulnerable patients. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust have piloted a music therapy approach called MELODIC, across two NHS dementia wards. More alternatives to psychotropic medication are needed to support…

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Do dogs judge you?

Many people tend to trust dogs’ instincts regarding humans. If dogs gravitate towards you, dog lovers will likely see you as safe and trustworthy, but if dogs are apprehensive around you, some may begin to question your character. Yet how and even if dogs socially evaluate people remains a mystery. Studies have demonstrated that cognitively complex and social animal species — such as chimpanzees…

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Clear-cutting linked to 18-fold rise in extreme floods, UBC study finds

Clear-cutting can make catastrophic floods 18 times more frequent with effects lasting more than 40 years, according to a new UBC study. In one watershed, these extreme floods also became more than twice as large, turning a once-in-70-years event into something that now happens every nine. “This research challenges conventional thinking about forest management’s impact on flooding,” said senior…

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Cheesecake, Glorious Cheesecake: Mark Kurlansky’s Confectionary Cosmopolis

In Cheesecake: A Global History, Mark Kurlansky—gastronomic chronicler, raconteur, and sly anthropologist—offers a slim but sinuous volume that reads like a pastry fork sliding through a dense New York slice. Don’t be fooled by the dainty title. What he’s baked here is no lightweight recipe book with stock-photo glazes. This is cheesecake as palimpsest, as parable, as civilizational through-line:…

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Eight babies born after Mitochondrial Donation treatment to reduce transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease

The UK’s pioneering licensed IVF technique to reduce the risk of mitochondrial diseases carried out in Newcastle has seen eight babies born, published research shows. All eight babies show no signs of having mitochondrial DNA disease. The babies, four girls and four boys, including one set of identical twins, were born to seven women at high risk of transmitting serious disease caused by…

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‘Ultimate dinner party guests’: Dispersed communities attending feast in ancient Iran gifted boars sourced from distant lands

Magnets and shot glasses serve as fun holiday souvenirs, but certain foods synonymous with a country’s identity can make for extra meaningful gifts for friends and loved ones; think French cheese, Dutch Stroopwafels and Canadian maple syrup.   According to new research, communities that lived in western Iran about 11,000 years ago during the Early Neolithic period took a similar approach when it…

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DAILY DOSE: Vaccine Hesitancy Persists Among Pregnant Women and Parents of Young Children; Health Insurers Are Quietly Rejecting More Drug Claims Than Ever.

Vaccine Hesitancy Persists Among Pregnant Women and Parents of Young Children A new survey shows that most U.S. pregnant women and parents of young children do not plan to accept all recommended childhood vaccines. Only 38% of pregnant women and 34% of parents of children under two intend to follow the full vaccination schedule. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely worsened vaccine hesitancy, with…

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DAILY DOSE: IBM & Moderna Team Up on Quantum Study to Revolutionize Medicine; Harvard’s Breakthrough Battery Tech Could Obliterate Range Anxiety.

IBM & Moderna Team Up on Quantum Study to Revolutionize Medicine IBM and Moderna have collaborated on a landmark quantum computing case study focused on mRNA-based drug development. Using IBM’s Heron r2 quantum processor and variational quantum algorithms (VQAs), enhanced with finance-derived Conditional Value at Risk methods, they tackled the largest mRNA structural problems ever addressed by…

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Man’s best friend could be the spotted lanternfly’s worst enemy

Imagine if your dog’s favorite game — sniffing out treats or toys — could help protect America’s vineyards, orchards, and forests from a devastating invader.  It turns out, it just might. A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams — made up of everyday people and their pets — can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect…

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Human eggs power down to protect themselves

Human eggs are some of the most patient cells in the body, lying dormant for decades until needed. A study published today in The EMBO Journal shows that the cells deliberately slow the activity of their internal waste disposal systems as they mature, most likely an evolutionary design which keeps metabolism low and damage at bay. “By looking at more than a hundred freshly donated eggs, the…

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In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry

Doctors, hospitals, and health insurers for weeks issued dire warnings to Republican lawmakers that millions of people would lose health coverage and hospitals would close if they cut Medicaid funding to help pay for President Donald Trump’s big tax and spending bill. But Republicans ignored those pleas, made even deeper cuts, and sent the legislation on July 3 to the White House, where Trump…

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DAILY DOSE: Life Expectancy Still Lags Behind Pre-COVID Levels in United States; NASA warns building‑sized asteroid 2022 YS5 set for close Earth flyby on July 17

Life Expectancy Still Lags Behind Pre-COVID Levels in United States New data shows that U.S. life expectancy remains significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, despite a partial rebound. Life expectancy dropped sharply from 78.8 years in 2019 to 76.4 in 2021, primarily due to COVID-19. While it rose to 77.5 years in 2022, it still trails behind the 2019 figure. The disparities were especially…

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Regrowing hearing cells: New gene functions discovered in zebrafish offer clues for future hearing loss treatments

While humans can regularly replace certain cells, like those in our blood and gut, we cannot naturally regrow most other parts of the body. For example, when the tiny sensory hair cells in our inner ears are damaged, the result is often permanent hearing loss, deafness, or balance problems. In contrast, animals like fish, frogs, and chicks regenerate sensory hair cells effortlessly. Now,…

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Age at woman’s first period can offer clues about long-term health risks

The age at which a woman has her first period can offer valuable clues about her long-term risk for conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and reproductive health issues, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.The Brazilian study found that both early and late menarche—the age when women first get their…

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Astronomers find a giant hiding in the ‘fog’ around a young star

Astronomers have detected a giant exoplanet – between three and ten times the size of Jupiter – hiding in the swirling disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star. Earlier observations of this star, called MP Mus, suggested that it was all alone without any planets in orbit around it, surrounded by a featureless cloud of gas and dust. However, a second look at MP Mus, using a combination of…

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DAILY DOSE: No Link Between Aluminum in Childhood Vaccines and Chronic Illnesses; Cancer Breakthrough Supports Theory of Natural HIV Cure.

No Link Between Aluminum in Childhood Vaccines and Chronic Illnesses A new review of over 100 studies finds no credible evidence that aluminum-containing adjuvants in childhood vaccines cause chronic illnesses such as asthma, autoimmune diseases, or diabetes. Researchers evaluated both animal and human data and found that aluminum exposure from vaccines is much lower than from food and…

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DAILY DOSE: NIH halts dozens of pathogen experiments over gain-of-function risks;

NIH halts dozens of pathogen experiments over gain-of-function risks The NIH has suspended funding for 28 virus studies over concerns they may involve gain-of-function research, which could increase pandemic risk. This follows new policy guidelines requiring reviews of experiments that might enhance pathogens’ ability to infect humans. Most affected projects involve animal studies or viral…