RESEARCH

May 11 2026POLITICS

Grants frozen again: How federal cuts hit Indigenous research at UC Berkeley

Last month, federal officials hit pause on at least 18 research grants at UC Berkeley, despite a judge just months ago telling them to stop canceling grants. One of those frozen was a $1. 4-million project at the Lawrence Hall of Science that trains Ohlone youth to build mixed-reality exhibits about

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May 11 2026HEALTH

What happens to your ankle as arthritis gets worse?

Ankle osteoarthritis doesn’t just cause pain—it also changes how the joint moves. Over time, the cartilage wears down, and the joint loses stability. Researchers wanted to see how this instability shows up in different stages of the disease. Instead of regular X-rays, they used a special scan called

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May 10 2026ENVIRONMENT

Drone Watchers: Do Flying Cameras Bother Gentle Giants?

Whale sharks drift through tropical seas like underwater buses, carrying a map of bright spots and stripes. Their calm demeanor and striking looks draw crowds to spots like Ningaloo Reef in Australia. Now, a new visitor shares their skies: drones. These buzzing eyes in the sky let researchers peek a

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May 10 2026HEALTH

Small changes today can keep your brain sharp tomorrow

Brain health isn’t about one magic trick—it’s more like keeping a garden alive. Sleeping well, eating real food, staying connected with people, reducing stress, and having goals all matter more than anyone wants to admit. Scientists once called these the “five pillars, ” but really they’re just comm

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May 07 2026POLITICS

Why cutting addiction research could backfire on America

The U. S. spends over $740 billion yearly dealing with alcohol and drug problems. Yet, in early 2025, two major federal programs got hit hard. One lost most of its staff while the other had hundreds of millions in research grants canceled. These programs used to track addiction trends and fund studi

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May 07 2026HEALTH

Blood Tests Show Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Long Before Symptoms Appear

Researchers are studying a rare form of Alzheimer’s that runs in families, where symptoms almost always start at the exact same age. This special case helps scientists spot brain changes years before people feel sick. While doctors can now detect tiny clues in blood tests, experts still don’t fully

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May 06 2026EDUCATION

Smartphones in Class: Do Language Students Really Need Them This Much?

A recent study looked at how often third-year English students in a Chinese university used their phones. They tracked app usage for two weeks and asked students about their habits. The results showed that students spent over 2, 500 hours combined on apps like WeChat and Douyin. Surprisingly, most s

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May 05 2026TECHNOLOGY

Pittsburgh steps up with a new quantum hub

Pittsburgh just opened a nearly $12 million lab packed with gear that could push science in the region forward. Called the Western Pennsylvania Quantum Information Core, or WP-QIC for short, this place sits in Pitt’s old engineering building and gives researchers tools to study quantum materials und

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May 04 2026TECHNOLOGY

How Talking Nicely to Chatbots Can Change Their Replies

A recent study from universities in California, Tennessee and Massachusetts shows that the way people speak to AI chatbots matters. Researchers tested several popular models, such as GPT‑5. 4 and Gemini 3. 1 Pro. They found that polite requests, like “please” or “thank you, ” make the bots giv

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May 04 2026HEALTH

Finding the brain’s hidden link between epilepsy and waste cleanup

New research digs into how long someone has epilepsy and whether it affects their brain’s waste removal system. Using a special brain scan called DTI-ALPS, scientists measured how efficiently fluid moves through the brain’s tiny cleaning tunnels. They found that the longer epilepsy lasts, the more t

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