COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses hiding in the body, including Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, and several herpes viruses. One poorly understood viral family was strongly associated with long COVID and lasting disability, offering a potentially important clue to why some patients struggle to recover.

Astronomers have witnessed a black hole violently shredding a massive star, creating one of the most energetic stellar explosions ever observed. The event, nicknamed “the Whippet,” briefly released about 400 billion times the Sun’s energy and sent a shock wave racing outward at one-fifth the speed of light. Months later, scientists spotted unexpectedly fast-moving helium,

Scientists have discovered a new extinct amphibian species hiding in the fossil collections of Los Angeles’ La Brea Tar Pits. Named Spea labreae, the Ice Age spadefoot toad is an exceptionally rare find—only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian has ever been identified in North America. Its bones had been sitting in collections since the 1950s

As we age, the body appears to sacrifice walking efficiency in exchange for stability. Older adults stiffen the ankle more with each step, which may help prevent falls but also forces the muscles to work harder while producing less forward motion. This leads to shorter strides, slower walking, and faster fatigue. Exercises targeting balance, coordination,

Physicists may have uncovered a hidden feature inside protons that helps preserve one of matter’s most fundamental properties. RHIC collision data suggest baryon number is carried not simply by three quarks, but by a Y-shaped junction of the gluons connecting them. The finding challenges a decades-old textbook picture and could deepen our understanding of why

Exercise and healthy blood sugar levels in midlife may help slow cognitive decline decades later. Physical activity appeared especially beneficial for Mexican American adults, suggesting that some brain-protective factors may differ across populations.

Some film-makers say the technology could enable them to bypass the studio giants and take more creative risks Near the collonaded entrance to Sony Pictures’ historic Culver City film studio, a tech-powered rival has sprung up this summer. The artists at Promise, a new studio feeding off the controversial potential of AI, can glimpse the

In 1965, a presidential advisory panel issued a report warning that pervasive chemical and carbon pollution was harming environmental health and changing the climate. Five years later, President Richard Nixon signed the Clean Air Act. Since that 1970 law and its amendments were passed, combined emissions of a half-dozen harmful air pollutants from vehicles and

Local journalism in the US has spent the better part of two decades on life support. First came widespread digitization, which guttered subscriptions and left newspapers and magazines in shambles. Then private equity swooped in, snapping up publications like candy and turning them into digital ad farms run by skeleton crews. Add to this a

Using AI to crank out everything imaginable, from your homework to emails to code, is great and all — until you have to own up to it. Fearless embracers of AI are suddenly clutching at their pearls, after Anthropic announced that its Claude chatbot will watermark the text it generates, potentially exposing anyone who wants