This week in science: A 'universal' kidney, an exciting new Alzheimer's experiment, a growing anomaly in Earth's magnetic field, and much more!
Breakthrough: Scientists Create 'Universal' Kidney To Match Any Blood Type
Scientists have successfully conducted the first human tests of a 'universal' kidney that could in theory be transplanted into anyone.
"It's like removing the red paint from a car and uncovering the neutral primer," says biochemist Stephen Withers. "Once that's done, the immune system no longer sees the organ as foreign."
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New Alzheimer's Treatment Clears Plaques From Brains of Mice Within Hours
A new Alzheimer's treatment that clears protein clumps from the brain has been tested in mice. The benefits begin within hours and last months.
The mice had previously shown signs of cognitive decline, but after all three doses, the animals performed on par with their healthy peers in spatial learning and memory tasks.
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Award-Winning Images Reveal Our Smallest Realms of Life in Epic Detail
A stunning close-up of a weevil on a single grain of rice has won the 2025 Nikon Small World photomicrography competition.
Now in its 51st year, entries to Nikon's highly specialized photography competition continue to awe us with the intricacies of existence at the microscopic scale.
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Study Reveals The Surprising Age at Which Your Brain Reaches Its Peak
A comforting study has found that in several psychological traits, brain functioning often peaks between the ages of 55 to 60 years old.
"Several of the traits we measured reach their peak much later in life. For example, conscientiousness peaked around age 65. Emotional stability peaked around age 75," the researchers write.
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Vast Anomaly in Earth's Magnetic Field Keeps Growing, Satellites Reveal
A gigantic anomaly in Earth's magnetic field has grown by half the size of continental Europe since 2014, according to new satellite data.
Scientists don't know exactly what's causing the anomaly, but they do know that the magnetic field inside the planet below that region is not behaving as expected.
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Natural Sweetener Boosts a Common Treatment For Hair Loss, Study Reveals
Adding the natural sweetener stevioside to the drug minoxidil and delivering it via microneedle patch boosted hair regrowth in mice.
"There is a significant increase in hair follicle transition to the growth phase, which resulted in 67.5 percent coverage of the treatment area by day 35," write the researchers in their paper.
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