Science

US surgeons who transplanted a genetically-modified pig kidney into a brain dead patient said Wednesday it was still working well after a record 32 days -- a significant step in the quest to close the organ donation gap.

The latest experimental procedure is part of a growing field of research aimed at advancing cross-species transplants, using bodies that have been donated for science.

Oetzi, the "iceman" mummy of the Alps, had darker skin than previously thought and was likely bald or almost bald when he died, the study by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology said.

He also likely stemmed from a relatively isolated group with little contact with other Europeans, and had ancestors who arrived directly from Anatolia.

The space industry has changed dramatically since the Apollo program put men on the moon in the late 1960s.

Today, over 50 years later, private companies are sending tourists to the edge of space and building lunar landers. NASA is bringing together 27 countries to peacefully explore the Moon and beyond, and it is using the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time. Private companies are playing a much larger role in space than they ever have before, though NASA and other government interests continue to drive scientific advances.

Many people love the refreshing effervescence of a soda, champagne, beer or sparkling water. When you take a sip, the gas bubbles in the beverage burst, and the released gas tickles your nose. But have you ever wondered how carbonation actually works?

I’m a professor who teaches classes in chemistry and fermentation and a carbonated beverage enthusiast and home brewer myself. While the basic process of carbonation is relatively simple, a variety of factors – from temperature to surface tension – can affect the taste and quality of beverages.

Pedro de la Cruz stands beside his stranded boat and supplicates his God, lifting his arms and praying anxiously for rain to replenish Lake Titicaca, the massive body of water at a breath-sapping altitude in the Andes on the border between Bolivia and Peru.

"Dear God, make more rain come," the 74-year-old says, invoking Pachamama, Mother Earth for Indigenous people of the region. "Help us, please, we are parched here.... Make the rain showers come... Father in heaven, have pity."

Scientists and health officials in Maui County, Hawaii on Monday urged residents to stay away from the island's western coast if possible to avoid exposure to potential toxins that may have been released following the wildfire that killed at least 96 people and destroyed the historic town of Lahaina.

Officials have not determined exactly what toxins were released as last Tuesday's fire tore through the island and exposed an estimated 86% of Maui's 2,719 structures to the flames, but officials have taken note that a wide array of buildings and objects were burned by the fast-moving wildfire.

There is a nearly 50 percent probability that 2023 will be the warmest year ever recorded and next year could be even hotter, US government climate experts said Monday.

"2023 to date has been the third warmest on record," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chief scientist Sarah Kapnick told reporters.

The age-old adage “you are what you eat” holds profound truth. Nearly every molecule in your body is absorbed from what you eat and drink. Your food choices are directly linked to your physical, emotional and social health. And scientists are learning that your gut health and the microbial communities within you have a significant role to play in orchestrating these processes.

The gut microbiome takes the components of food that you cannot digest, like fiber and phytonutrients, and transforms them into signals that regulate how hungry you are, how strong your immune system is, and even how you’re thinking and feeling. It’s as though the communities in your gut microbiome are an orchestra for your health, and you conduct their symphony through food.

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.