Fresh Science Trends

Creating Human Eggs from Adult Cells: A New Frontier in Reproductive Science Researchers fused human skin cells with donor eggs and triggered meiosis. The process halved the chromosome count, allowing the cells to act like functional eggs and form early embryos. Tim Vernon/Science Source The possibility of creating human eggs from ordinary body cells has moved one step closer to reality. Scientists have successfully guided human skin cells into producing egg-like cells that were able to form very early embryos. Reported on September 30 in  Nature Communications , this advance combines cloning techniques, fertilization, and chemical coaxing, and may one day revolutionize fertility medicine. What Exactly Did Scientists Achieve? Researchers started with  human skin cells (fibroblasts) . Using  somatic cell nuclear transfer  (the method that created Dolly the Sheep ), they removed the nucleus from a donated egg cell and replaced it with the nucleus of a skin cell. The ai...

The Rise of Early-Onset Cancer: What Gen Z and Millennials Need to Know Now Cancer cells Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash Cancer is no longer just an "old person's disease." Since the 1990s, the incidence of early-onset cancer (diagnosed before age 50) has been rising at an alarming rate globally, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z . While scientists haven't found a single cause, the evidence points toward a troubling interaction between modern lifestyle, environment, and early-life exposures. This is a critical public health issue that requires immediate awareness and proactive steps. What’s Driving the Alarming Rise? Researchers believe the increase is a " birth cohort effect ," meaning each successive generation born after the 1980s is facing a higher lifetime risk. It's not one "smoking gun," but a combination of factors. The Leading Suspects (The "Exposome" Hypothesis) 1. The Western Diet : A high intake...

Why do some memories fade while others linger for years? Neuroscience now shows that striking, emotionally intense moments don’t just etch themselves into our minds — they can also strengthen the weaker, everyday memories around them. Powerful moments don’t just stick—they pull ordinary memories along with them. Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash This phenomenon helps explain why you may vividly recall not just a special event, but also the ordinary details that happened right before or after it. 1. The Core Idea Ordinary experiences leave weak memory traces in the brain. A powerful, emotional, or surprising event triggers a flood of proteins and activity in memory circuits (like the hippocampus). Weakly tagged memories can “capture” those signals, becoming more durable. This is known as the tag-and-capture hypothesis . In short: a big moment acts like glue, anchoring smaller memories nearby. 2. A Real Example: Chickens and Squirrels Chenyang (Leo) Lin, a brain an...

Think “diet” soft drinks are a safer choice for your liver? Think again. A major UK study tracking over 120,000 people just found that even one daily can of sweetened or artificially sweetened soft drinks can sharply boost your risk of fatty liver disease—and, in some cases, even death from liver problems. Tempting but risky: Just one daily soft drink—regular or ‘diet’—can quietly harm your liver health. Choose water for a safer you. Photo by David Foodphototasty on Unsplash Both sugar-laden regular sodas and their “diet” counterparts were linked to metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the world’s leading chronic liver condition. Drinking over 250 grams (about a single can) of either type raised the risk dramatically: by 50% for sugary drinks, and by a whopping 60% for diet sodas. Even more surprising, “diet” beverages had a  greater  connection to liver-related death. Why? Experts say sugar in regular sodas triggers blood sugar spikes and encourages fat buil...

Addictive Screen Use Trajectories and Youth Mental Health High or increasing trajectories of addictive screen use (social media, mobile phones, or video games) are associated with elevated risks of suicidal behaviors, suicidal ideation, and worse mental health outcomes in US youth. Photo by Inspa Makers on Unsplash Yes,  addictive screen use trajectories  are strongly associated with increased risks of  suicidal behaviors ,  suicidal ideation , and  worse mental health outcomes  in US youth, according to a cohort study of 4,285 adolescents. The study emphasized that the  pattern  of  addictive use  (characterized by difficulty stopping, withdrawal, tolerance, and conflict), rather than just the total hours of screen time, is the critical factor linking screen engagement to poor mental health. Key Findings from the Study High Prevalence of Increasing Addictive Use Nearly  one-third (31.3%)  of adolescents showed an  increa...