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"Human evolution has occurred both due to, and in spite of, the placenta. Every pregnancy, unthinkingly, must navigate a careful path through it. Every menstruation is testament to it. It is partly why menopause exists, to give individuals an escape from the energetic costs associated with its imposition."

Sept. 14, 2024: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.

A new study suggests that mindfulness meditation influences how the brain perceives pain in ways that are distinct from the placebo effect.

Giving children saline nose drops at the start of a cold may shorten its duration and reduce the likelihood that they will pass the illness to others, a study hints. But it has some caveats.

The world's largest hot desert, the Sahara, is being hit with unusually heavy rain. Scientists are unclear why, but it may be linked to a subdued Atlantic hurricane season.

Satellite data suggest a volcano in Tanzania that expels extremely runny lava could be creeping toward an eruption.

The growing "gateway to the underworld," officially known as the Batagay megaslump, is the largest megaslump in the world and exposes permafrost layers that are 650,000 years old.

When exposed to terms common in different racial dialects, large language models make inherently racist assumptions about people from particular racial groups, even without explicitly knowing their race.

Scientists accidentally discover new species of wasp that lays eggs inside living, adult fruit flies, which then burst from the hosts' abdomens while they're still alive.

Archaeologists have unearthed a set of uniquely decorated bracelets on the site of a "large and powerful" Viking Age farm.

Many patients with ALS die within three to five years of their symptoms starting, so early diagnosis of the disease is critical for treatment.