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Nature.com






Sciencedaily.com

Scientists say we’ve been treating Alzheimer’s all wrong

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Alzheimer’s isn’t just one problem—it’s a tangled mix of biology, aging, and overall health. That’s why drugs targeting a single factor have fallen short, even as new treatments show modest benefits. Scientists are now pushing toward multi-pronged strategies, from gene editing to brain-cell rejuvenation and gut health interventions. The goal: stop treating Alzheimer’s as one disease and start tackling it as a complex system.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260409101111.htm



Gravitational waves may be hidden in the light atoms emit

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Scientists have proposed a surprising new way to detect gravitational waves—by observing how they change the light emitted by atoms. These waves can subtly shift photon frequencies in different directions, leaving behind a detectable signature. The effect doesn’t change how much light atoms emit, which is why it’s gone unnoticed until now. If confirmed, this approach could lead to ultra-compact detectors using cold-atom systems.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260409101109.htm


This superconductivity dies then comes back to life

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A strange new kind of superconductivity has been uncovered in uranium ditelluride (UTe2), where electricity flows with zero resistance—but only under extremely strong magnetic fields that should normally destroy it. Even more surprising, the superconductivity disappears at first and then dramatically reappears at even higher fields, earning it the nickname the “Lazarus phase.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260409101108.htm


These cheap solar cells work better because they’re flawed

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Perovskite solar cells shouldn’t work as well as they do—but they do. Scientists have now discovered that defects inside the material actually help, creating networks that separate and guide electric charges efficiently. Using a novel imaging method, they revealed hidden structures acting like charge “highways.” This insight could unlock even more powerful, low-cost solar cells.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260409101104.htm


sci.news


Permian Fossil is Earliest Evidence of Rib-Powered Breathing

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Paleontologists have examined 289-million-year-old specimens of the early reptile Captorhinus aguti that preserve a covering of three-dimensional skin, a complete shoulder girdle and ribcage with cartilages, and protein remnants that predate the previous oldest-known example by nearly 100 million years.

The post Permian Fossil is Earliest Evidence of Rib-Powered Breathing appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

https://www.sci.news/paleontology/captorhinus-aguti-rib-powered-breathing-apparatus-14685.html



Webb Captures Striking Edge-On Views of Two Planet Nurseries

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New images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveal two young stars surrounded by planet-forming disks, Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131 (right), offering a rare edge-on glimpse into how worlds like our own may take shape.

The post Webb Captures Striking Edge-On Views of Two Planet Nurseries appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

https://www.sci.news/astronomy/webb-edge-on-views-two-planet-nurseries-14683.html


‘Oldest Fossil Octopus’ Wasn’t One After All

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Pohlsepia mazonensis, a cephalopod species first described in 2000 from a 300-million-year-old specimen and featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest octopus, has been reclassified as a distant relative of nautiluses, reshaping paleontologists’ timeline for when octopuses first evolved.

The post ‘Oldest Fossil Octopus’ Wasn’t One After All appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

https://www.sci.news/paleontology/paleocadmus-pohli-14682.html


Science.org






The Lancet

[Editorial] The future of preconception health

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In 2018, the first Lancet Series on preconception health, led by Judith Stephenson, argued that the health and nutrition of both men and women before conception is important not only for pregnancy outcomes but also for the lifelong health of their children. We called for a campaign built on a three-pronged approach that recognised the biological, individual, and public health dimensions of preconception, taking a life course view. 8 years on, that call has been only partially answered. The Series helped to broaden the concept of preconception health, beyond a narrow focus on women's health before pregnancy, to encompass the health and wellbeing of women, men, and couples before conception.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00707-5/fulltext?rss=yes


[Comment] Liver disease: screening for the elusive adversary

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It is almost 60 years since the original Wilson and Jungner1 criteria for evaluating population screening programmes were published, with the tenets presented having stood the test of time. Liver disease is a curious case in which to apply these principles. Supporting the rationale for screening is the long-asymptomatic phase of disease and the very poor outcomes for late presentations. However, there is no consensus about who has a clinically relevant disease and who gets treatment, and the most accurate non-invasive testing approach undermines these justifications.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00598-2/fulltext?rss=yes


[Comment] Offline: World war—is it too late?

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As you drive out of Geneva towards the airport, along the Rue de Lausanne, you pass a long, flat, ochre-brick building lying between the road and the lake: the World Trade Organization. Fenced off with formidable security, the headquarters of a body charged with administering a rules-based international trade order does not exude welcoming warmth. But it does give a hint of humanity by naming itself on the pillars erected around the building—the Centre William Rappard. Who was William Rappard? He was born in New York in 1883, but moved to Switzerland when he was 17 years old.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00701-4/fulltext?rss=yes




Newscientist.com






Phys.org

Major new telescope on Chilean summit opens window on universe

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Thirty-four years after Cornell University scientists first conceived it, the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) now rises above the Atacama Desert, near the summit of Cerro Chajnantor in Chile. FYST will help answer some of the most important questions in astronomy, including how the universe works, the nature of dark energy and dark matter, how galaxies form and evolve and what happened in those mysterious first moments after the Big Bang.

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-major-telescope-chilean-summit-window.html


Scientists turn 'mess' into breakthrough: Chaotic design unlocks next-generation optical devices

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Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical devices can dramatically increase their power and versatility, without making them bigger or more complex.

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-mess-breakthrough-chaotic-generation.html


AI chips could get faster with 30-nanometer embedded memory that cuts data shuttling

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When we watch videos or ask AI questions, enormous amounts of data are constantly moving inside computers. In particular, data centers that support AI must process and transfer vast amounts of data at very high speeds. However, current computers have a fundamental limitation: the place where calculations are performed and the place where data is stored are physically separated.

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-chips-faster-nanometer-embedded.html


Rare Roman paint 'recipe' uncovered in Cartagena murals makes smart use of costly cinnabar

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Roman painters commissioned at the end of the 1st century to decorate the walls of the Domus of Salvius in present-day Cartagena could hardly have imagined that their technical expertise would still attract attention twenty centuries later. Analysis of wall paintings from one of the house's rooms—among the best preserved in ancient Carthago Nova—shows that these craftsmen possessed a sophisticated understanding of the materials used to produce pigments, as well as the effects achieved through combining them. In particular, researchers identified an advanced "recipe" that enabled them to reduce costs while ensuring the durability of the paint. This method relied on a mixture of pigments, including one of the most valued minerals of the time: costly cinnabar, often referred to as "red gold."

https://phys.org/news/2026-04-rare-roman-recipe-uncovered-cartagena.html



Sciencenews.org