Science
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There may be a surprising upside to losing coral reefs as oceans warm
Satellite view of coral reefs in New Caledonia Shutterstock/BEST-BACKGROUNDS There might be an upside to the loss of coral reefs. Their decline would mean oceans can absorb up to 5 per cent more carbon dioxide by 2100, researchers estimate, slowing the build up of this greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere. “It is a beneficial effect if you only care about…
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Cord blood banking is not living up to its promise
Banking a baby’s umbilical cord blood was once seen as a reasonable way to protect their future health, but much of that potential has turned out to be mere hype Source link
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AI doesn’t know ‘no’ – and that’s a huge problem for medical bots
AI models can struggle to understand the captions on some medical images Getty Images Toddlers may swiftly master the meaning of the word “no”, but many artificial intelligence models struggle to do so. They show a high fail rate when it comes to understanding commands that contain negation words such as “no” and “not”. That could mean medical AI models…
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Radical photon idea could rewrite standard model of particle physics
Photons could upend the standard model of particle physics Eduard Muzhevskyi/Alamy If photons possess more quantum states than expected, it would overhaul our understanding of all particle physics – and now physicists have identified a way to test this radical idea in an experiment. Certain elementary particles have a property called spin. For particles of light, or photons, spin can…
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Shingles vaccine linked with lower risk of many common heart problems
A shingles vaccine seems to provide additional benefits Cavan Images / Alamy Vaccination against herpes zoster, better known as shingles, not only helps prevent this painful infection; it also curbs the risk of cardiovascular problems. A new observational study of more than a million people shows that those who received a single injection of the shingles vaccine Zostavax were 26…
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US plans massive health database to study autism – will it work?
US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images When Robert F Kennedy Jr took over as head of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year, it was clear that identifying causes of autism would be one of his top priorities. Before becoming the country’s highest-ranking public…
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Daily pill could replace weight-loss shots like Ozempic and Wegovy
Can weight-loss drugs ditch the needles? Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images A daily pill appears to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes as effectively as injectable drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. The medication, called orforglipron, also led to substantial weight loss in clinical trials, meaning it could become a convenient alternative to popular weight-loss drugs. Drugs mimicking the hormone…
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Antarctic teams drill oldest ice cores yet in search of climate clues
The camp at Dome C on the East Antarctic plateau where the Beyond EPICA team are drilling ice cores Rob Mulvaney More than a century ago, explorers from several countries raced to reach the globe’s southernmost point, driven by fierce international rivalries. Now, a new race is under way in Antarctica, this time motivated by the need to understand one…
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No, the dire wolf has not been brought back from extinction
Romulus and Remus are genetically modified grey wolves Colossal Biosciences A company called Colossal Biosciences says it has revived an extinct species – the dire wolf. “On October 1, 2024, for the first time in human history, Colossal successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction. After a 10,000+ year absence, our team is proud to return the…
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US bridges are at risk of catastrophic ship collisions every few years
In March 2024, a cargo ship smashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland UPI / Alamy One year after a container ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the structure’s collapse, a study has identified other major US bridges that are surprisingly vulnerable to similar catastrophic ship strikes – and their collective…
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