Drinking a moderate amount of tea or caffeinated coffee each day was linked to a lower risk of dementia in a long-term observational study. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/daily-coffee-tea-lower-dementia-risk

The oldest sewn object consists of two pieces of hide joined at the top with a piece of cord made from twisted fibers. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-clothing-ice-age-era-hide-oregon

Vomiting up a droplet of sugar might not seem like the most romantic gesture from a potential suitor. But for one fly species, males that spill their guts are quite a catch. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/barfing-flies-evolution-protein

A snail may hold the key to restoring vision for people with some eye diseases. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/snail-human-eye-regeneration

Autistic Barbie tells a story of joy. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/autistic-barbie-counter-misinformation

In real life, foragers typically seek resources alongside others. And rather than forging their own path, a risky move in a hostile environment, they may instead choose to follow the crowd, researchers report. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/finland-ice-fishers-foraging-decisions

The era of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has reached its end. The particle collider switched off for good at a ceremony held at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., on February 6. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/particle-collider-shuts-down-brookhaven

Less than 48 hours after birth, brains of sleeping newborns already follow and anticipate rhythmic patterns in music. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/babies-beat-neuroscience-sense-rhythm

During a make-believe tea party, a bonobo named Kanzi kept track of invisible juice and imaginary grapes, researchers report. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bonobos-imaginary-apes-play-pretend

Collaborative approaches that focus on supporting caregivers yield greater benefits at a fraction of the cost of Alzheimer's drugs, according to a new computer modeling study. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/alzheimers-patient-caregiver-drug-cost

A microbe involved in gum disease could fan the flames of breast cancer. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gum-disease-bacteria-breast-cancer

In the face of global warming, some dung beetles may already have a survival strategy.  https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dung-beetles-dig-eggs-cool-climate

For the first time in more than 50 years, humans are on the verge of returning to the moon. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artemis-ii-humans-moon-science-shotgun

Like wily perfumers, a parasitic beetle’s larvae create floral aromas to lure in bees. Plants are known to cosplay as animals, but this rare discovery could be the first known example of an animal chemically mimicking a plant. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/beetle-larvae-lure-bees-mimic-flowers

AI systems are far better than people at spotting deepfake images, but when it comes to deepfake videos, humans may still have the edge. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-models-deepfakes

Procrastination declines with age, alongside neuroticism, a long-term study shows. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/effort-procrastinators-change-adulthood

Norway’s high rate of HPV vaccination may make it possible reduce screenings, a study suggests. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/widespread-hpv-shots-cervical-cancer

Sleep isn’t just rest — it may be a dementia risk factor. Researchers estimate that about 12 percent of U.S. dementia cases could theoretically be prevented if insomnia were treated. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/poor-sleep-large-share-dementia-cases

Tear gas has been used by U.S. law enforcement for over a century, but surprisingly little research has been done to study its long-term health risks. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tear-gas-pepper-spray-health-effects

Here’s how researchers are uncovering a forgotten Greek star catalog from the dawn of astronomy. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/greek-star-catalog-hipparchus-astronomy

A trial using neurofeedback to enable participants to boost activity in their brain’s reward network shows that activity in a specific region is associated with higher antibody levels in response to a vaccine. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/placebo-brain-activity-vaccine-antibody

5,000-year-old harpoons found in Brazil show that humpback whales once ventured farther south than their current habitats. But why take the risk of going out to sea to hunt these large beasts when you have plenty of food on land? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/whaling-brazil-1500-years-earlier

Watch whales team up to land more fish in their mouths. The technique, called bubble net feeding, is helping Canadian humpbacks in their ongoing recovery. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/humpback-whales-learn-bubble-netting

Genes inherited from your forebears may be half the reason you live to a particular age. The findings have implications for how researchers understand the biology of human aging. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/genes-shape-how-long-we-live-longevity

Rising temperatures and rapidly melting sea ice threaten polar bears across the Arctic. But the bears living 800 miles north of the Arctic Circle have stayed surprisingly fat, researchers report. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/polar-bears-fat-barents-sea-ice-loss

A man with the flu and a deadly bacterial infection couldn’t live with diseased lungs. So surgeons replaced his lungs with an artificial lung system. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-lungs-alive-days-transplant

A huge clump of dark matter could be sitting on our galactic doorstep. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dark-matter-clump-milky-way

You need some fat in your diet. We explore how much and what kind with nutrition experts. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nutrition-guidelines-wrong-fat-diet

A new AI model called AlphaGenome can analyze chunks of DNA 1 million bases long for 11 different biological functions simultaneously. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-tool-alphagenome-predicts-genetics

On January 28, 1986, NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger made its final ascent. The spacecraft exploded one minute and 15 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members. Read our coverage from 40 years ago. www.sciencenews.org/archive/last...

Probiotics aren’t universally gut-friendly, a study in mice suggests. At least one type of usually beneficial gut bacteria may invite an unwanted guest. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/probiotics-lactobacillus-infection

A close look at the genetics and development of spinnerets — spiders’ silk-making organs — reveals that an early arachnid doubled all of its DNA hundreds of millions of years ago. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/spider-silk-making-organ-evolve-genetic

After a heart attack, the heart “talks” to the brain. And that conversation may make things worse. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/heart-attack-brain-damage

Greenland sharks live longer than any other vertebrate, up to 400 years old, and scientists are studying their antiaging secrets. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/greenland-sharks-aging-heart-eyes

A digging stick and a tiny tool of unknown purpose are among the oldest handheld wooden tools ever found. The objects, from 430,000 years ago, indicate early human ancestors were using wood for tools, weapons and maybe shelters. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/stick-oldest-handheld-wooden-tool

Infectious diseases can cause devastating outbreaks in wildlife. King penguins, koalas, Asian elephants and northern long-eared bats are just some of the species that researchers hope to protect with vaccines. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vaccines-conservation-wildlife-disease

New dietary guidelines released by the Trump administration on Wednesday put meat and full-fat dairy, olive oil and vegetables at the broad top of an inverted triangle, and pushed grains and fruits to the bottom. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-dietary-guidelines-food-pyramid

New dietary guidelines released by the Trump administration nearly doubled the suggested protein intake for some Americans. But, you may be getting the right amount in your diet today, just not in the right mix, scientists suggest. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/protein-intake-balance-benefits

Lung cancer patients who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within a few months of immunotherapy lived nearly twice as long as unvaccinated patients. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cancer-immunotherapy-mrna-covid-vaccines

About 76 percent of babies lack enough Bifidobacterium to properly train their immune systems. The result: increased risk of allergies, asthma and eczema. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/babies-gut-bacteria-allergies-asthma

Scientists have long asked why humans walk upright. A team of Harvard researchers shows how it happened. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/genetic-shifts-helped-humans-walk-two-legs

It was never just “in their heads.” https://www.sciencenews.org/article/female-gut-pain-estrogen-ibs-bacteria

One of the oldest asteroid impacts on Earth was found this year. It was hiding in plain sight. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-earth-impact-martian-life

With genetic tweaks, E. coli turned 92 percent of broken-down plastic into paracetamol, charting a path to upcycle plastic waste sustainably. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bacteria-plastic-waste-pain-reliever

Would you drink a vaccine in beer? This scientist did. His plan to share the recipe has some experts worried that his approach could damage public confidence in vaccines. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vaccine-beer-polyomavirus-chris-buck

A new immunotherapy approach uses generative AI to design proteins that can lock on to specific cancer targets. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/generative-ai-protein-design-cancer

If asteroid 2024 YR4 hits the moon, the impact could release as much energy as 400 Hiroshima bombs. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/asteroid-moon-impact-2032-2024-yr4

Psychiatrist Robert Custer convinced doctors that compulsive gambling was a medical issue, not a moral failing. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bob-custer-gambling-addiction-impulse

The Hubble Space Telescope spotted evidence of a collision of asteroid-sized bodies. The smashup gives clues to planet formation. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hubble-telescope-exoplanet-mystery

AI generated its first working genome: a tiny bacteria killer https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-genome-bacteria-phage