Sleep isn’t just a luxury, it’s a vital process that helps our bodies repair and rejuvenate. Researchers have started to uncover how the quality and timing of sleep can affect more than just how rested we feel—it might also affect the very blueprint of our cells: our DNA.

A new study from Canada found that melatonin, a hormone known for its role in regulating sleep, might help reverse some of the DNA damage caused by years of poor sleep.

Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in our brains when darkness falls. It signals to our bodies that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Beyond its sleep-inducing properties, melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant.

Antioxidants help protect our cells from oxidative stress—a condition in which an imbalance between free radi...

Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars? A new interpretation of Martian seismic data by scientists Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics suggests the presence of water below the surface of Mars. “If liquid water exists on Mars,” Katayama says, “the presence of microbial activity” is possible.

This analysis is based on seismic data from SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure), deployed from NASA’s InSight lander that landed on Mars in 2018...

A small international team of nanotechnologists, engineers and physicists has developed a way to force laser light into becoming a supersolid. Their paper is published in the journal Nature. The editors at Nature have published a Research Briefing in the same issue summarizing the work.

Supersolids are entities that exist only in the quantum world, and, up until now, they have all been made using atoms. Prior research has shown that they have zero viscosity and are formed in crystal-like structures similar to the way atoms are arranged in salt crystals.

Because of their nature, supersolids have been created in extremely cold environments where the quantum effects can be seen...

New method to detect life makes Mars sample return protocols rock solid

Within the next decade, space agencies plan to bring samples of rock from Mars to Earth for study. Of concern is the possibility these samples contain life, which could have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, researchers in this field strive to create methods to detect life...