NewsHealth & MedicineA new kind of non-opioid painkiller gets FDA approvalThe oral drug, called Journavx, is meant to treat short-term pain A new oral drug called Journavx is intended for the treatment of short-term pain, such as following surgery or another tissue injury.Vertex PharmaceuticalsBy Aimee Cunningham28 seconds agoPatients seeking an opioid-free way to handle pain experienced in the short-term will soon have a new option.On January 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved suzetrigine for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in adults. The oral drug, called Journavx, is meant to ease short-term pain, the type that follows tissue injury, such as after surgery. The first of a new class of pain therapies to be approved in decades, the drug doesnt pose a risk of addiction as opioid medications do, evidence suggests.

NewsAnimalsHotter cities? Here come the ratsCities with higher temperatures and dwindling green space also have more rats Rats love warmer weather. As temperatures in cities increase, people make more rat complaints, a new study shows.Jamie BettsBy Bethany Brookshire1 hour agoIf your city is getting rattier, climate change may be partially to blame.In an analysis of 16 cities around the world, those that saw the biggest temperature rises over the years also had more rat complaints over time, researchers report January 31 in Science Advances. Increased urbanization was also connected with more rat reports. The results suggest that higher temperatures may make rats and the diseases they can spread even harder to keep at bay.

Science & SocietyDo science dioramas still have a place in todays museums?Many exhibit experts believe they still have value but need reimagining The bison diorama at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles may look placid, but a closer look rewards viewers with a complex ecological tale.Insa Hagemann/laif/ReduxBy Amber Dance8 seconds agoAt first glance, its a simple scene. Six adult bison and a calf mill around a stream. But Matt Davis invites me to look closer. We are at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, where Davis is an exhibition developer. As he shows me, theres more to the dioramas tale than a handful of once-living, now-taxidermied bison skins.A well-worn path leads to the stream, and a bison skull sits to the side; this herd has been dropping by for some time. And theyre contributing to the ecosystem. Perched atop that skull and scattered around the scene are birds that feast on bugs kicked up by the bison.

NewsEarthAncient rocks reveal when rivers began pouring nutrients into the seaThe discovery sheds light on the origins of continents and life on our planet This open pit mine in Anshan, China, contains rocks from the Archean Eon, 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago, that help pinpoint when rivers began operating on a global scale. Second Geological Brigade/Hebei Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Luanxian Sijiaying Iron Mine Co., Ltd./Hebei Iron and Steel GroupBy Lucas Van Wyk Joel9 seconds agoRivers may have operated on a global scale around 3.5 billion years ago.The new find comes courtesy of ancient rocks in China and South Africa. A change in rock chemistry around that time provides the earliest known chemical evidence for the weathering of Earths continents and the subsequent delivery of nutrients from land to ocean, geobiologist Kurt Konhauser and colleagues report December 12 in Geology.Water chips away at rocks on land, removing minerals and washing them away. As soon as you get weathering, youve got a nutrient influx to the oceans, which can lead to life thriving in coastal waters, says Konhauser, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

Skip to contentNewsAnimalsWild baboons dont recognize themselves in a mirrorWhile staring at their own reflections, the monkeys didnt react to a laser dot on their face Wild baboons will look at themselves in a large mirror, but they do not respond to the reflection of a laser dot that they can see on their face. That lack of response suggests they do not have self-awareness.E. Ahmad et al/Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2025By Bethany Brookshire17 seconds agoSelf-awareness may be beyond primates in the wild.Chimps, organutans and other species faced with a mirror react to a dot on their face in the lab, a widely used measure of self-awareness. But while baboons in Namibia exposed to mirrors find the reflective glass fascinating, they dont respond to dots placed on their faces, researchers report in the January Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The result could indicate that lab responses to mirrors are a result of training and that self-awareness might exist on a spectrum.

NewsNeuroscienceScratching an itch is so good, and so badThe motion kicks off inflammation but may also combat harmful bacteria Scratching an itch feels so good, but it may make inflammation worse, a study of mice suggests.FotoDuets/GettyBy Laura Sanders1 hour agoScratching an itch can bring a contradictory wave of pleasure and misery. A mouse study on scratching, reported in the Jan. 31 Science, fleshes out this head-scratching paradox and could point out ways to better curb pernicious itch in people.First, the bad news: Scratching itchy ears led to a round of inflammation. Itch-provoking substances, such as the oil in poison ivy, activate mast cells, immune sentries that release itch signals and kick off inflammation. But so does scratching, the new study suggests. The act of scratching is actually triggering the inflammation by synergizing with mast cells to make them more effective, says study coauthor Daniel Kaplan, a dermatologist and immunologist at the University of Pittsburgh.

NewsParticle PhysicsA tiny neutrino detector scored big at a nuclear reactorA compact method of detecting the subatomic particles provides new tests of physics theories Scientists detected antineutrinos with a 3-kilogram detector in an experiment at the Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant in Switzerland (shown).FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty ImagesBy Emily Conover1 hour agoA tiny neutrino detector has found its footing in a fresh setting at a nuclear reactor.Conventional detectors of the subatomic particles require metric tons of material. But the new detector has a mass of less than 3 kilograms. Think chihuahua. Andit successfully detected antineutrinos, the antimatter counterparts of neutrinos, streaming from a nuclear power plant in Leibstadt, Switzerland, researchers report in a paper submitted January 9 to arXiv.org.This is actually huge, says neutrino physicist Kate Scholberg of Duke University, who was not involved with the research. People have been trying to do this for many decades and now have finally succeeded.

NewsAnimalsFeeding sharks junk food takes a toll on their healthA diet of poor-quality scraps is changing the behavior and physiology of blacktip reef sharks Blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) on the island of Mo'orea receive food scraps from tourists, but it may not be great for their long-term health.Johann MourierBy Jake Buehler11 seconds agoIn general, sharks have a reputation as swimming garbage cans that unflinchingly dine on whatever they can fit in their jaws. But in French Polynesia, blacktip reef sharks that frequent places where tourists toss them low-quality scraps are taking a hit to their metabolic and reproductive health, researchers report December 24 in Animal Conservation.Around the world, snorkeling or diving tourists who want to see sharks in their natural habitat may lure them with food. A particularly popular location for shark feeding is Moorea, a small island near Tahiti.On the sand bank shallows, tourists in boats and kayaks congregate to see the sharks and stingrays, tossing them everything from frozen squid to human food scraps.

Health & MedicineBetter male birth control is on the horizonMen could have more options within five to 10 years if regulatory hurdles are cleared Scientists are cautiously optimistic that men will soon have new forms of birth control.Arik RoperBy Fred Schwaller36 seconds agoIn 1960, a new drug revolutionized society from the bedroom to the streets. The introduction of a hormonal contraceptive, the birth control pill, gave women reproductive autonomy and a more effective way to plan a family. Since then, many more options have arrived: different pill formulations; hormonal implants, patches and vaginal rings; IUDs and barrier methods.But over the last 60 years, exactly zero new options have been developed for men. They are stuck with only two choices, condoms or vasectomies. Both have their issues: Condoms, their relatively high failure rate (as high as 12 percent); vasectomies, their permanency. Neither offer men the same level of fertility control as options for women, says Alexandra Joice Berger, a urologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston.

NewsScience & SocietyTrump orders sow chaos in global public healthIt's basically a declaration of war on public health, says one expert A U.S.-funded public health program called PEPFAR supplies medications to people living with HIV, including this sixteen-year-old girl in Kenya.Brian Inganga/AP PhotoBy Meghan Rosen5 minutes agoU.S. global health programs are in crisis.A recent flurry of executive orders and surprise actions by the Trump administration have roiled the international public health community, leaving healthcare workers scrambling and aid programs in peril.On January 20, President Donald Trump issued anexecutive order pausing U.S. foreign development assistancefor 90 days to assess programmatic efficiencies and consistency. The ripple effects spread immediately. On January 24, the State Department put out astop-work order halting foreign aid work. And on January 27, the Trump administrationplaced dozens of officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave.

Skip to contentNewsSpaceLifes ingredients have been found in samples from asteroid BennuWarm salty ponds, but no living creatures, also dotted the space rocks precursor body Analyses of dark rocks and dust collected from the asteroid Bennu show the sample has the biochemical building blocks of life, though the environment they formed in probably never proceeded to the life-creation stage. NASA Johnson Space Center / Erika Blumenfeld and Joseph AebersoldBy Adam Mann29 seconds agoUnderground pools of liquid brine probably formed 4.6 billion years ago on the parent body of the asteroid Bennu and contained the building blocks of life but not living creatures.Thats the takeaway from new chemical analyses of samples that NASAs OSIRIS-RExmission snagged from the roughly 500-meter-long space rock in 2020 and returned to Earth three years later. The findings suggest that not all potentially habitable environments go on to develop life, researchers report in two papers published January 29 in Nature and Nature Astronomy.

Water engineers in ancient South America turned seasonally flooded Amazonian savannas into hotbeds of year-round maize farming.Casarabe people built an innovative, previously unrecognized network of drainage canals and water-storing ponds that enabled two maize harvests annually, say geoarchaeologist Umberto Lombardo of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and colleagues. Large-scale maize cultivation during rainy and dry parts of the year fed the rise of Casarabe urban sprawl across Amazonian forests and savannas in whats now northern Bolivia, the scientists report January 29 in Nature.Previous excavations dated Casarabe society, which covered an area of 4,500 square kilometers, to between the years 500 and 1400. Casarabe people had access to a variety of foods and crops, including maize, starchy tubers, squash, peanuts and yams. But investigators have found no evidence of Casarabe agricultural fields, raising questions about how farmers grew enough food to sustain a substantial population.Maize planted around a pond and along the edge of a canal, as in this illustration, may have helped Casarabe people grow the crop all year long.U. Lombardo et al/Nature 2025Rather than exploiting a range of available crops, Casarabe people transformed savannas into maize-production centers, the researchers say. As the population grew and environmental pressures increased, perhaps they looked for more reliable and stable sources of proteins, Lombardo suggests. Maize could have offered that to some extent.Using satellite images and ground surveys of Casarabe territory, Lombardos team identified clusters of human-made ponds in two savanna regions. Canals dug into the ground, mapped using a drone-mounted remote sensing technique called light detection and ranging, or lidar, connected to many ponds. Leading away from pond clusters, canals formed drainage networks consisting of increasingly deep channels.Soil samples from the edges of drainage canals and ponds contained microscopic mineral formations, called phytoliths, characteristic of maize. Cultivation probably occurred along canal borders and around the margins of ponds, the scientists suspect.Radiocarbon dates for seeds and leaves indicate that farmers used one pond from around 1250 to 1550. But the age of the drainage system and other ponds remains unknown.

Death by heartbreak doesn't just happen in stories. In real life, severe stress can cause the sometimes-fatal takotsubo syndrome.

NewsAnimalsChatty bats are more likely to take risksBroadcasting vocalizations may affect group dynamics Bats may broadcast their individual personalities through their calls, a study finds, with chattier bats behaving more boldly.Luis Vargas/iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)By Richard Kemeny41 seconds agoAll bats are vocal, but some are more vocal than others.This chattiness reveals their individuality, with more talkative bats acting more boldly, researchers report January 29 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Bats might broadcast their personalities to others from a distance, which could play into social dynamics within a colony, the finding suggests.This study is a major step forward in our understanding of behavioral types in bats and how those relate to patterns of social vocalization, says

NewsLifeThis drawing is the oldest known sketch of an insect brainFound in a 17th century manuscript, the illustration shows the brain of a honeybee drone This drawing by Johannes Swammerdam shows the brain of a honeybee drone. It's the oldest known image of an insect brain.A. Strazzoni/Royal Society Notes and Records 2025By Tina Hesman Saey39 seconds agoAfter nearly 350 years, a depiction of a bees brain is getting some buzz.A manuscript created in the mid-1670s contains the oldest known depiction of an insects brain, historian of science Andrea Strazzoni of the University of Turin in Italy reports January 29 in Royal Society Notes and Records. Handwritten by Dutch biologist and microscopist Johannes Swammerdam, the manuscript contains a detailed description and drawing of a honeybee drones brain.The illustration, based on his own dissections, was just one of Swammerdams firsts. In 1658, he was also the first to see and describe red blood cells.

Skip to contentExtreme Climate UpdateClimateYes, you can blame climate change for the LA wildfiresLos Angeles wildfire season now lasts roughly 23 days longer than in preindustrial times As the Santa Ana winds raced through the Los Angeles area in January, they fanned the flames of ongoing blazes. In this photo of the Hughes Fire taken on January 22, winds can be seen breathing life into flames on a hillside near Castaic Lake. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty ImagesBy Nikk Ogasa10 seconds agoA wicked convergence of blustery wind and prolonged drought has prompted devastation in Southern California, as wildfires in Los Angeles have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. According to a new World Weather Attribution analysis, this grave toll was caused partly by humankinds burning of fossil fuels.The hot, dry, windy weather driving the fires was made 1.35 times more likely by human-caused climate change, while the lack of rainfall in preceding months may have been made 2.4 times more likely, the analysis released January 28 shows.

Skip to contentSoapboxEcosystemsLike flyways for birds, we need to map swimways for fishKnowing the largely unseen migration routes of freshwater fish is key to protecting species Fishers and officials carefully tag a Mekong giant catfish before it is released back into Cambodia's Mekong River in December 2024. The critically endangered species is among many fishes that migrate through one of the world's most threatened river systems.Zeb Hogan/USAID Wonders of the MekongBy Stefan Lovgren30 seconds agoFor almost a century, migratory flyways have been a cornerstone of bird conservation. Knowing where these aerial highways are helps protect habitats and monitor species through carefully mapped routes that connect breeding, feeding and resting grounds.But birds arent the only kinds of animals taking vast treks. Freshwater fish do, too.Unlike birds, whose flight paths are visible to the naked eye, these fish migrations remain hidden beneath the surfaces of rivers. This invisibility has left them largely overlooked, even as migratory freshwater fish populations worldwide have plummeted by more than 80 percent since 1970. Habitat fragmentation, overfishing and pollution have taken a devastating toll on species essential to aquatic ecosystems and human livelihoods.

NewsAnimalsCricket frogs belly flop their way across waterTheir movement is a form of "porpoising," leaping in and out of the water to travel Cricket frogs (shown) leap in and out of the water to travel across it rather than hopping on its surface, according to a new study.Jake SochaBy McKenzie Prillaman6 seconds agoCricket frogs cant walk (or hop) on water like once thought.Their bodies sink below the surface between successive jumps, researchers report in the November Journal of Experimental Biology. This mode of locomotion is a form of porpoising, when an animal leaps in and out of the water as it travels.Eleven species of frogs have been noted to hop atop the waters surface. But the movement hadnt been studied in detail.So biomechanist Talia Weiss and colleagues collected cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) from a swamp in North Carolina. Native to the eastern half of the United States and northeastern Mexico, these critters are so tiny that one can fit on a penny, says Weiss, formerly of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

NewsEarthGhostly white northern lights present new auroral mysteryThe whitish-gray glows might be cousins of the mauve light streak called STEVE Scientists are struggling to explain grayish-white glows sometimes woven through the Earths northern lights (seen in these all-sky images). University of CalgaryBy Maria Temming16 seconds agoMysterious ribbons of grayish white have been spotted woven through the northern lights.New images reveal that these ghostly glows can appear tucked within or curled up beside red and green auroras. But the pale lights are not auroras themselves, researchers reported December 30 in Nature Communications. Instead, they may arise through a similar process to the one underlying the mauve light streak known as STEVE.These observations remind us just how much we still have to learn about the fundamental processes that shape the aurora, says Claire Gasque, a space physicist at the University of California, Berkeley not involved in the work.

NewsAstronomyA cosmic Platypus might link two astronomical mysteriesThe flash of light might also offer insight into the origins of supermassive black holes Astronomers dont know what causes bright cosmic explosions called luminous fast-blue optical transients, or LFBOTs (one illustrated). A new cosmic burst suggests at least some might be from a mid-sized black hole ripping up a star.NASA, ESA, NSF's NOIRLab, Mark Garlick , Mahdi ZamaniBy Lisa Grossman36 seconds agoNATIONAL HARBOR, MD. A bright blip in a distant galaxy may link two mysterious categories of cosmic flares. The event, which astronomers playfully call the Platypus, could also offer a new way to understand the origins of supermassive black holes that reside at the centers of most galaxies.The brilliant burst, spotted in a dwarf galaxy about 6.5 billion light-years from Earth, has many of the hallmarks of a tidal disruption event, the final flash of a star being ripped apart by a black hole. But it also resembles another type of flash, dubbed an LFBOT, which astronomers think might be a class of exploding star.

NewsAnimalsFevers link with specialized immunity is surprisingly ancientFevers boost survival and killing ability of T cells in fish Nile tilapia (one shown) seek warmer waters when sick, a behavior that kicks off their specialized adaptive immune system, a new study suggests.Luying WangBy McKenzie Prillaman13 seconds agoThe immune-boosting power of a fever is surprisingly ancient.Cold-blooded creatures like fish typically move to warmer environments to help fight infections. In one fish species, Nile tilapia, that behavioral or sought-out fever triggers the adaptive immune system, known for its acquired memory of specific bodily invaders, researchers report in the Dec. 24 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding hints that the link between fever and adaptive immunity arose long ago in animals evolutionary history, with a truly archaic common ancestor.

NewsEarthAnother danger looms after the LA fires: Devastating debris flowsCharred soil and roots prime the region for these torrents of mud and rock Soils burned by the Los Angeles wildfires have become more prone to landslides, such as the minor slide that split this house in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, as well as fast-moving torrents of rock, mud and water called debris flows.FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty ImagesBy Nikk Ogasa20 seconds agoThe Los Angeles wildfires were still burning when scientists started scouting the freshly charred burn scars to search for signs of another danger thats yet to come roaring torrents of rock and mud and water that can sweep downhill with deadly momentum.Triggered by intense bouts of rainfall, these debris flows as well as flash floods become more likely to occur after an intense wildfire has scorched an areas slopes and vegetation. While flash floods can be devastating, debris flows surge with even greater ferocity. At least half of their volume is sediment, and its mixed with burned trees, cars and boulders.

NewsAnimalsMole or marsupial? This subterranean critter with a backward pouch is bothGenetics finally reveal where this enigmatic animal belongs on the family tree This Australian mole, shown eating a centipede, may look like South Africas golden mole but it is more closely related to kangaroos than to the other moles of the world.Mike Gillam/Auscape/Minden PicturesBy Susan Milius33 seconds agoEvolving a dig-in-the-dark mole lifestyle comes with radical anatomical changes, making it hard even to guess the animals closest relatives. Thats why the true identity of Australias most enigmatic and cryptic mammal, the marsupial mole, has been called into question for decades.The two fit-in-your-hand Notoryctes species are elusive. Ive never handled, or even seen, a marsupial mole in my life, and I almost certainly never will, says Stephen Frankenberg, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Sightings are rare. Even in Australia, he says, plenty of people have probably never even heard of them.

NewsHealth & MedicineTrump is withdrawing the U.S. from WHO. Heres what that meansGutted funding and lack of participation could limit U.S. access to crucial disease data In 2023, WHO staff worked with Kenyas ministry of health and other partners to vaccinate some 2 million people against cholera. The organization works with countries around the world to prevent infectious disease.Billy Miaron/WHOBy Meghan Rosen1 hour agoFor the second time, President Donald Trump has announced plans to pull the plug on U.S. support for the World Health Organization. The global health and humanitarian organization works to eradicate disease and track outbreaks, which often ignore international borders.On January 20,Trump signed an executive order stating the United States intent to withdrawfrom the Switzerland-based organization, a process that takes 12 months. His first attempt to exit the WHO in July 2020 was thwarted by President Joe Biden, who took office in 2021 and reversed the decision.

NewsAstronomyGalactic chaos at cosmic noon may have stunted Milky Way planet formationThat may be why the galaxys oldest stars have fewer planets than ones in our neighborhood Stars in the Milky Ways central thin disk (brightest region in this image from the Gaia spacecraft) have more planets than stars above and below that plane.DPAC/GAIA/ESABy Lisa Grossman1 hour agoThe Milky Way keeps its planets close to its chest. Stars in a thin, flat disk bisecting the galaxy have more planets on average than stars in a thicker, enveloping disk and astronomers now think they know why.Stars that currently live in the galaxys thick disk were born during a time of galactic chaos, says MIT astrophysicist Tim Hallatt. The stars violent upbringing hindered their ability to grow and retain planets, he and astrophysicist Eve Lee, formerly of McGill University in Montreal, report January 22 in the Astrophysical Journal.

NewsPaleontologyA mysteriously large pterosaur finally has an identityA strange Rhamphorhynchus fossil is actually a supersized adult of a known species As Rhamphorhynchus muensteri (shown in the reconstruction) got older and larger, its needle-like teeth became broader and more bladelike, potentially hinting at a differing diet late in the pterosaurs life.Mark Turner/AlamyBy Jake Buehler12 seconds agoOne pterosaur species gave itself quite the makeover as it grew older and larger.Scientists have spent more than a century wondering if a large and anatomically quirky flying reptile fossil represented a distinct species from its much smaller peers. Not so, researchers report January 2 in PeerJ. The Jurassic giant, they argue, is a superlative for this species. The findings help reveal how the extinct fliers may have warped physically and ecologically over their lives.

NewsClimateUnearthed ice may be the Arctics oldest buried glacier remnantA landslide in thawing permafrost has revealed 770,000-year-old buried ice In the headwall scarp of a landslide on Bylot Island in northeastern Canada, researchers uncovered the remnant ice of an ancient glacier that could be over a million years old.Stphanie CoulombeBy Nikk Ogasa1 minute agoOn a remote island in the Canadian Arctic, researchers have discovered the remains of an ancient glacier that could be over a million years old. The discovery represents what may be the oldest glacier ice ever found buried in permafrost ground that has been frozen for at least 2 years straight in the Arctic, researchers report in the January 1 Geology. For researchers keen on studying the glacier, the clock is ticking, as human-caused climate change has exposed the long-preserved ice to melting.Like notes in the pages of a logbook, the gas bubbles, compounds and particulates trapped in a glaciers icy layers can yield information about the atmospheres and climates of bygone millennia. But there are precious few reports of such ice older than the last great expansion of the ice sheets, 26,000 to 20,000 years ago. The newfound ice could thus provide researchers with a rare chance to study the climate of the early Pleistocene epoch, during which the Earth underwent episodic ice ages separated by warm periods known as interglacial periods. These [Pleistocene climate shifts] are analogs for what we can see in the future, says geomorphologist Daniel Fortier of the University of Montreal.In 2009, Fortier and colleagues were studying a buried fossilized forest on Bylot Island, in Canadas Nunavut Territory, when they stumbled across the sites of some recent landslides that had been triggered by the thawing of permafrost. The slides had exposed translucent, layered bodies of ice that had been buried a few meters underground, just above the fossil forest. Much to Fortiers surprise, radiocarbon dating of organic matter in the ice revealed it was over 60,000 years old. I was not expecting that at all, he says.Researchers are shown digging into the remnant glacier ice, which became exposed by the thawing and slumping of previously frozen ground.Stphanie CoulombeWhats more, in the sediment layers overlying the ice, the researchers discovered a flip in the alignment of magnetic minerals that corresponded with a reversal of Earths magnetic field roughly 770,000 years old, indicating the ice was at least that old. And previous research had dated the fossil forest upon which the glacier rested to around 2.8 to 2.4 million years ago, providing a maximum possible age for the ice.The discovery is a testament to the resilience of permafrost, Fortier says. While climate projections suggest permafrost will completely thaw in many regions by the end of the century, this preserved glacier has persisted through interglacial periods that were warmer than today, he notes. I dont think permafrost will disappear so fast. The system is more resilient than we think.

NewsAnimalsIn chimpanzees, peeing is contagiousThis is the first study of copycat urination in an animal These chimps at a sanctuary in Japan display surprisingly contagious bathroom behavior.Kumamoto SanctuaryBy Gennaro Tomma6 seconds agoHate waiting in line for the bathroom? Chimpanzees have a social solution: Go all at once.A new study shows that peeing is contagious in chimpanzees, making it the first study to investigate contagious urination in animals, including humans, says Shinya Yamamoto, an animal behavior scientist at Kyoto University in Japan.While observing a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), something caught the attention of Ena Onishi, who also studies animal behavior at Kyoto University. I noticed a tendency for individuals to urinate at the same time, she says. This resemblance to certain human behaviors piqued my curiosity. In Japan, my home country, there is a specific term called Tsureshon, which refers to the act of urinating in the company of others.

NewsPsychologySurvivors of the LA fires will face a complex blend of mental health challengesHeres what experts recommend to help people through the emotional recovery A trio of catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles, including the Eaton Fire shown here, have killed dozens and leveled entire neighborhoods. Survivors need psychological and logistic support to mitigate long-term psychological distress, experts say.Ethan Swope/AP PhotoBy Sujata Gupta3 hours agoEven as firefighters are starting to gain ground on the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, residents there are just beginning to grapple with the emotional trauma of the disaster.The fires have, so far, left more than two dozen people dead and destroyed over 10,000 structures and homes, with those numbers expected to rise. People returning to their charred homes or awaiting permission to reenter their neighborhoods to see the extent of the damage face tremendous uncertainty around what the future holds. Helping survivors address their short- and long-term mental health needs following a disaster of this magnitude presents a formidable challenge, experts say.

NewsHealth & MedicineCigarettes with less nicotine may help some smokers quitA new proposal seeks to limit the amount of nicotine in certain combusted tobacco products The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule in January to drastically reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products in order to help people stop smoking.SimpleImages/Moment/Getty ImagesBy Aimee Cunningham9 minutes agoIf cigarettes contained very little of the chemical that keeps people smoking, it could help smokers move away from these deadly products.Thats the rationale behind a new rule proposed on January 15 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which seeks to limit the amount of the addictive chemical nicotine in cigarettes. The reduced-nicotine cigarettes would have less than 5 percent of the amount of nicotine thats generally found in regular cigarettes. The rule would also cap the nicotine in certain other products in which the tobacco leaves are burned.