Earth has a natural thermostat and scientists finally know how it works

Scientists have identified a hidden feedback loop that may explain how Earth has regulated its climate for tens of millions of years. As sea levels rose and fell, they changed how much phosphate reached the open ocean, affecting marine life and the amount of carbon buried beneath the seafloor. That burial removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping cool the planet.

Earth appears to have a natural climate control system that has helped keep the planet habitable for more than 100 million years. Scientists have long known that this system exists, but the mechanisms behind it have remained difficult to explain.

New research points to a previously overlooked connection between sea level and the availability of phosphate in the ocean. Changes in global temperature affected the size of polar ice sheets, which altered sea level. Those shifts then…

Scientists reveal how breathwork unlocks psychedelic bliss in the brain

High ventilation breathwork while listening to music was associated with reports of blissful states and reduced negative emotions, accompanied by increased blood flow to emotion-processing brain regions.

Breathwork while listening to music may induce a blissful state in practitioners, accompanied by changes in blood flow to emotion-processing brain regions, according to a study published August 27, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Amy Amla Kartar from the Colasanti Lab in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, U.K., and colleagues. These changes occur even while the body's stress response may be activated and are associated with reporting reduced negative emotions.

The popularity of breathwork as a therapeutic tool for psychological distress is rapidly expanding. Breathwork practices that increase ventilatory rate or depth, accompanied by music, can lead to altered states of consciousness (ASCs) similar…

An invisible chemical rain is falling across the planet

A new study reveals that chemicals used to replace ozone-damaging CFCs are now driving a surge in a persistent “forever chemical” worldwide. The pollutant, called trifluoroacetic acid, is falling out of the atmosphere into water, land, and ice, including in remote regions like the Arctic. Even as older chemicals are phased out, their long lifetimes mean pollution is still rising.

Chemicals introduced to shield the ozone layer are now tied to an unexpected environmental consequence. A new study shows that these substances have helped spread large amounts of a long-lasting and potentially harmful forever chemical across the planet.

Researchers in atmospheric science, led by a team at Lancaster University, have calculated for the first time how much of this pollution has accumulated worldwide. Their analysis estimates that chemicals used to replace CFCs, along with certain anesthetic gases, led to roughly a…

Why the human body has so many design flaws

Many of the body's biggest flaws are the result of evolution building on old designs instead of starting over. Our spine, eyes, teeth, pelvis, and even certain nerves all reveal compromises that worked well enough for survival but still leave us prone to pain, injury, and disease. Structures like the appendix and ear muscles also remain because they were never harmful enough for evolution to eliminate. Together, these features tell the story of a body shaped by history rather than perfection.

The human body is often described as a marvel of “perfect design”: elegant, efficient and finely tuned for its purpose. Yet, when we look closer, a rather different picture emerges.

Far from being a flawless machine, the body reads more like a patchwork of compromises shaped by millions of years of evolutionary tinkering. Evolution does not design structures from scratch.…

Popular sugar substitutes linked to faster brain aging

Several popular sugar substitutes may not be as harmless as they seem. Adults who consumed the most artificial sweeteners showed substantially faster declines in memory and thinking, especially if they were under 60 or had diabetes. The highest intake was linked to cognitive aging roughly 1.6 years faster than the lowest intake. Researchers stressed that more studies are needed before concluding that sweeteners are the cause.

Several widely used sugar substitutes may be associated with faster declines in memory and thinking skills over time, according to research published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study followed nearly 13,000 adults and examined seven sweeteners that contain little or no calories. People who consumed the largest total amounts showed a more rapid decline in cognitive abilities than those who consumed the smallest amounts. The association was especially strong…

Why grandparents matter more than ever for children's mental health

A child psychologist says grandparents are more important than ever as youth mental health challenges continue to rise. He argues that children need supportive relationships, meaningful conversations, and a sense of purpose—not just pressure to achieve. Grandparents can help by listening, encouraging, and creating positive experiences that strengthen emotional resilience.

With more than 40% of U.S. teenagers reporting ongoing feelings of sadness or hopelessness, one child psychologist believes grandparents may be an important part of the solution.

Kenneth Barish, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine, says the decline of extended family involvement has helped fuel what the U.S. Surgeon General has described as a continuing crisis in child and adolescent mental health.

"We did not evolve to raise children with as little extended family and community support as most American parents have now," says Dr. Barish, a…

Scientists reveal what really happens when water is trapped in tiny spaces

A decades-old puzzle about water has finally been unraveled. Researchers found that water trapped in tiny nanoscale spaces is not inherently more reactive. Instead, the intense pressures created inside these microscopic gaps explain most of the effect, while the surrounding material can further enhance water's chemistry if it interacts with the reaction products.

Water has been studied more than almost any other substance, yet scientists have long debated a surprisingly simple question: What happens to its chemistry when it is squeezed into spaces only a few molecules wide?

Those tiny spaces exist throughout nature and technology, including nanoscale pores, membranes, and biological channels. A new study has now found that the answer is more nuanced than researchers once believed, helping resolve years of conflicting results.

Why Water Splitting Matters

Saturn’s magnetic field is twisted and scientists just figured out why

Saturn’s magnetic field isn’t the smooth, symmetrical shield scientists see around Earth. Instead, it’s noticeably skewed, and researchers now think they understand why. By analyzing years of data from the Cassini spacecraft, scientists found that a key region where solar particles enter Saturn’s atmosphere is consistently shifted to one side. This distortion appears to be driven by the planet’s rapid spin combined with a thick cloud of charged particles coming from its moon Enceladus.

Saturn's magnetic field does not form a balanced, symmetrical bubble like Earth's. Instead, it is noticeably uneven, according to new research involving scientists from University College London (UCL). The study suggests this distortion is caused by the planet's rapid rotation along with the large amount of material it drags through space.

Planetary magnetic fields (magnetospheres) act as protective shields, blocking streams of highly charged particles…

Great ape laughter reveals a hidden origin of human speech

Your laugh may still carry the same ancient rhythm that great apes have shared for 15 million years. The rhythm of human laughter appears to have deep evolutionary roots shared with chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. That ancient pattern may offer one of the clearest clues yet to how the vocal control needed for human speech gradually evolved.

A new study from the University of Warwick suggests that the rhythm of human laughter has remained surprisingly consistent for at least 15 million years. By comparing the laughter of humans and other great apes, researchers uncovered evidence that this ancient vocal pattern may offer valuable clues about how human speech gradually evolved.

Humans are not the only primates that laugh. Chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans all produce laughter, but scientists have long wondered how those vocalizations changed over millions of years…