🎙️ Science News Daily

Welcome to Science News Daily, your source for the latest breakthroughs and discoveries from around the world. I'm your host, and today we're diving into some fascinating developments that could reshape medicine, our understanding of evolution, and even how we tackle environmental challenges.

Let's start with a breakthrough that offers hope for millions suffering from PTSD. Researchers have identified an experimental drug that completely reversed PTSD symptoms in mice, and here's the exciting part – it's already in human trials. The key discovery? Scientists found that excessive levels of a brain chemical called GABA, released by cells called astrocytes, actually impairs the brain's ability to let go of fear responses. This new drug target could finally help people whose brains seem unable to move past traumatic memories, offering a path forward for those trapped in cycles of reliving painful experiences.

Staying with medical breakthroughs, here's something that might make you want to hit the gym today. New research from Edith Cowan University has found that just one workout session – whether resistance training or high-intensity interval training – can cut cancer cell growth by 30 percent in breast cancer survivors. Yes, you heard that right – a single exercise session triggered anti-cancer effects. This discovery adds another powerful reason to the growing list of why exercise is truly medicine for our bodies.

Now, let's turn to a discovery that's literally rewriting textbooks. A 400-million-year-old fish called the coelacanth, often dubbed a living fossil, has just exposed a major mistake in how we understood evolution. Scientists conducting a detailed dissection discovered that key muscles they thought were part of early vertebrate evolution were actually misidentified ligaments. This means foundational assumptions about how vertebrates – including humans – evolved to eat and breathe may need to be completely rewritten. It's a humbling reminder that even our most established scientific understanding can be overturned by careful investigation.

On the space front, astronomers are scratching their heads over a black hole that seems to defy the old saying that lightning never strikes twice. Researchers from Tel Aviv University observed a powerful flare from the same black hole repeating two years later – something that challenges our current understanding of how stars interact with these cosmic giants. Meanwhile, the Hubble telescope captured a stunning image of a star that exploded and came back brighter than before, located in the spiral galaxy NGC 1309, about 100 million light-years away.

For our environmental news, scientists at USC have developed a novel plastic substitute that could help fight ocean pollution. With plastic accounting for 80 percent of all ocean pollution and 8 to 10 million metric tons ending up in our oceans each year, this biocompatible material eliminates the risk of microplastic pollution entirely. It's exactly the kind of innovation we need as we grapple with one of our planet's most pressing environmental challenges.

In chemistry news, Chinese scientists have developed a breakthrough catalyst that can convert propane at near-room temperature using just water and light. Traditional methods require temperatures above 600 degrees Celsius, so this sustainable, low-energy approach could revolutionize industrial processes.

And here's a discovery that takes us back to life's very origins. Scientists at Scripps Research have found new clues about where RNA came from, showing that ribose may have been nature's preferred sugar for building RNA billions of years ago, before life and enzymes even existed. This research offers fresh insights into how life's molecular foundations formed in the primordial world.

Finally, some intriguing medical updates: researchers have identified cancer drugs that show surprising power to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms in mice, while another study warns that popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic, despite their effectiveness for weight loss, may fall short in improving heart and lung fitness – suggesting that protecting muscle mass might be key to unlocking their full health potential.

That's all for today's Science News Daily. From PTSD treatments to evolutionary surprises, from black hole mysteries to plastic alternatives, science continues to amaze us with discoveries that could transform our world. Keep exploring, keep questioning, and we'll see you tomorrow for more fascinating science news.