Putting mice into hibernation causes a major loss of synapseshttps://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/memories-stick-around-even-after-half-the-synapses-are-gone
Hibernation cuts down on synapses, but mice seem to retain memories anyway.
n/science
Dismantling the Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife and water in UShttps://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/dismantling-the-roadless-rule-threatens-to-disrupt-wildlife-and-water-in-us
Lands free of roads are under threat from the Trump administration’s proposed rollback.
Peppermint oil lowers blood pressure in just 20 dayshttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012238.htm
Peppermint oil may have an unexpected benefit for people with mildly high blood pressure. Adults who took a small dose twice daily for 20 days saw their systolic blood pressure fall by an average of 8.5 mmHg, while a placebo group showed little change. Researchers say the inexpensive oil could eventually provide a simple additional option for managing elevated blood pressure.
Exercise may work better for keeping weight off than losing ithttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012240.htm
Exercise may not be a powerful weight-loss tool on its own, but it appears to play a much bigger role in preventing lost weight from returning. By preserving muscle, supporting metabolism, improving fat burning, and regulating appetite and blood sugar, regular activity can make long-term weight maintenance easier.
Multilingual people may have brains up to 13 years youngerhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012226.htm
People who speak several languages may have brains that age more slowly, with four-language speakers showing brains that appeared about 13 years younger than those of monolinguals. Starting earlier and becoming highly fluent were also linked to a stronger effect.
This frozen fiber makes light and sound interact 1,000x more stronglyhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012228.htm
Freezing the liquid core of an optical fiber produced an extreme environment where light and sound interact more than 1,000 times more strongly than in ordinary fibers. Researchers used the effect to create optoacoustic memory, potentially paving the way for lower-energy photonic computers and advanced quantum technologies.
JWST finds early galaxies may be 4 times more massive than thoughthttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260822015141.htm
Astronomers using JWST have discovered that massive early galaxies contain far more small, faint stars than expected. That hidden population could make some of these galaxies three to four times more massive than previous estimates. The finding makes it even harder to explain how enormous, mature galaxies formed so soon after the Big Bang. It could also suggest that planets around low-mass stars were more common in the early universe than scientists realized.
This yeast supplement may boost cancer-fighting immunityhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012230.htm
A simple yeast-based food supplement may help restore the immune system’s ability to fight cancer, according to new research in mice. Scientists found that yeast beta-glucan reprogrammed early immune cells in the bone marrow, leading to stronger, longer-lasting cancer-fighting responses against colorectal, skin, and breast cancer cells.
Queen bees have a disturbing way to survive pesticideshttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012224.htm
Honeybee queens exposed to pesticides can shift some of the contamination into their eggs, revealing a previously unknown survival strategy. The process may protect the queen while putting developing offspring, and potentially the entire colony, at risk.
Tooth count may predict survival after pancreatic cancer surgeryhttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260821012218.htm
Pancreatic cancer patients with at least 21 natural teeth survived nearly two years longer after surgery than those with fewer teeth in a study of 339 people. Researchers suspect tooth loss may reflect decades of inflammation, frailty, nutrition, and other factors tied to the body’s overall resilience.
Archaeologists discover mysterious 400-year-old Indigenous pot in Floridahttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260820202902.htm
A tiny, fully intact Indigenous pot buried for roughly 400 years has left archaeologists wondering why such a usable object was deliberately abandoned. Found at a historic Potano-Timucua village in Florida, the mysterious vessel is helping reveal a complex world of Native traditions, Spanish influence, trade, and migration.
This gut microbe may help keep you strong as you agehttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260820202904.htm
Scientists have linked a specific gut bacterium, Roseburia inulinivorans, to stronger muscles in both humans and mice. Older adults who carried it had 29% greater handgrip strength, while treated mice gained about 30% more grip strength and developed larger, more fast-twitch muscle fibers. The bacterium was also less common in older people. Researchers say it could eventually become a probiotic candidate for helping combat age-related muscle loss.
Thunder + fiber-optic cabling used for seismic imaginghttps://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/researchers-use-thunderquakes-to-study-structure-of-earths-surface
Thunderstorms make seismic waves that can be used to find sub-surface features.
