The prevalence of diagnosed disorders from recurrent use of sedative, hypnotic and anti-anxiety medications in adolescents and young adults has increased sharply since 2001, according to researchers. Their study examined diagnoses of these disorders in adolescents and young adults between 2001 to 2019.

Researchers have derived a formula for viral behavior in the Wild Cards, a science fiction series written by a collection of authors about an alien virus called the Wild Card that mutates human DNA. The formula he derived is a Lagrangian formulation, which considers the different ways a system can evolve. It’s also a fundamental physics principle, which also makes the fictional example a powerful teaching tool.

The remains of the earliest dinosaurs may lie undiscovered in the Amazon and other equatorial regions of South America and Africa, suggests a new study.

Pathogen-fighting immune cells called tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells (TRM cells) go through a surprising transformation — and relocation — as they fight infections in the small intestine.

Maternal stress hormone levels during early pregnancy can have a lasting effect on the stress system of the offspring. The results of a long-term study on wild Assamese macaques in Thailand indicate that maternal stress in the first half of pregnancy is particularly relevant. Elevated stress hormones later during pregnancy or after birth did not have the same effects. The long-term study provides important insights into the influence of early life stages on the development of the stress system under natural environmental conditions.

Around 45 million years ago, a 4.6 feet-tall (1.40 meters) flightless bird called Diatryma roamed the Geiseltal region in southern Saxony-Anhalt. An international team of researchers report on the bird’s fully preserved skull. The fossil was unearthed in the 1950s in a former lignite mining area in the Geiseltal in Germany. It was initially misclassified and thus led a shadowy existence until its rediscovery. The only other place that a similar skull fossil has been found is the USA.

Like humans, mice will compete over territory and mates, and show increased confidence in their fighting skills the more they win. At first, a brain chemical called dopamine is essential for young males to master this behavior. But as they gain experience, the chemical grows less important in promoting aggression, a new study shows.

DNA-nanoparticle motors are exactly as they sound: tiny artificial motors that use the structures of DNA and RNA to propel motion by enzymatic RNA degradation. Essentially, chemical energy is converted into mechanical motion by biasing the Brownian motion. The DNA-nanoparticle motor uses the ‘burnt-bridge’ Brownian ratchet mechanism. In this type of movement, the motor is being propelled by the degradation (or ‘burning’) of the bonds (or ‘bridges’) it crosses along the substrate, essentially biasing its motion forward.

Juvenile dolphins were found to have specialized receptors for fatty acids on their tongues, offering new insights into their growth and feeding habits.

Scientists are unlocking the secrets of halide perovskites — a material that’s poised to reshape our future by bringing us closer to a new age of energy-efficient optoelectronics. Two physics professors are studying the material at the nanoscale: a place where objects are invisible to the naked eye. At this level, the extraordinary properties of halide perovskites come to life, thanks to the material’s unique structure of ultra-thin crystals — making it astonishingly efficient at converting sunlight into energy. Think solar panels that are not only more affordable but also far more effective at powering homes. Or LED lights that burn brighter and last longer while consuming less energy.