Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Humans began sleeping as a way to partly help reduce DNA damage in nerve cells, scientists at Bar-Ilan University in Israel discovered while studying jellyfish and sea anemones.Researchers reached this conclusion by observing restful behaviors in the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda and the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. The animals are known to have sleep patterns similar to humans, according to a study published in Nature Communications on Jan. 6.”These results demonstrate that DNA damage accumulates during wakefulness and decreases during sleep,” the researchers added. “Furthermore, these findings suggest that decreasing DNA damage during sleep is an evolutionarily conserved cellular…
The number of reported measles cases in South Carolina is skyrocketing — and spilling into other states.On Friday, the South Carolina Department of Public Health said it’s confirmed 99 new cases of the disease since Tuesday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 310.Another 200 people who’ve been exposed to the virus — the most contagious known on the planet — are in quarantine. The outbreak is centered in the northwest part of the state, Spartanburg County.“Some cases are travel-related exposures or close contacts of known cases,” the department said in a news release. “Other cases have no identified…
The flu is hitting children especially hard this season.“This is really one of the worst flu seasons we’ve been seeing,” said Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious diseases physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that the rate of kids and teenagers hospitalized with flu nationwide is the second highest in 15 years for this point in the season.Rao said her hospital has seen “record-breaking numbers of children with influenza.”Last year, her team logged about 800 flu-related hospitalizations over the entire 2024-2025 season. In just the past three months, “we’ve already seen close…
The race to dominate the robotaxi space may not be as close as some companies suggest.Lloyd Lee, Business Insider’s reporter covering robotaxis and emerging mobility tech, went to CES for the first time to check out the autonomous service from Zoox, Vay, and other providers. Lee, who has taken a few rides with robotaxis recently entering the market, said the experience sharpened his view that one company appears to be significantly ahead — and that the industry still faces major hurdles before the vehicles can truly go mainstream.In the Q&A below with BI News Chief Steve Russolillo, Lee breaks down…
Ozlo, the maker of comfortable, easy-to-use “sleepbuds” that drown out outside noise so you can get better rest, is turning its product into a platform. The company’s plan began to take shape last month with the announcement of a partnership between Ozlo and meditation app Calm. But it kicked into high gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week as the company met with prospective partners to expand its reach. Those new partners could help Ozlo tap into new audiences and build a revenue model beyond consumer-focused hardware and into the profit-margin-rich world of software subscriptions and…
When Kassidy Hooter learned in December how much her health insurance costs were going to rise this year, she went into panic mode.The Shreveport, Louisiana, resident and mother of three knew she urgently needed care — Hooter is in the final trimester of a high-risk pregnancy. But the family could no longer afford their Affordable Care Act plan coverage now that a federal tax subsidy was lapsing on Dec. 31, 2025, meaning they would face thousands of dollars in additional out-of-pocket costs.”We heavily considered that it might just be cheaper to give birth at home,” Hooter, 24, told CBS News.…
After years of chatbots and image generators, AI is finally leaving the screen. At CES 2026, that shift became impossible to ignore. The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas was dominated by “physical AI” and robotics, from Boston Dynamic’s newly redesigned Atlas humanoid robot to AI-powered ice makers (yes, really). The companies in attendance clearly want consumers to know: AI isn’t just capable of answering questions anymore. It’s ready to move car parts in factories, catch drones with net guns, and dance in automaker booths. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane break down everything we saw at CES 2026 and more deals from the week that caught our…
An internal Nvidia email chain revealed how senior executives at the chip giant — including founder and CEO Jensen Huang — mobilized in response to customer criticism of a key product launch late last year.The thread offers a glimpse into how the company responds to public backlash as it expands products designed for individual developers and researchers.The thread, which Business Insider has seen, centered on the launch of DGX Spark, a desktop AI system designed for developers and researchers to build AI products and work on apps for data science, medicine, and other fields.While much of Nvidia’s business targets data…
Nestlé has issued a global recall in nearly 50 countries after SMA, BEBA, and NAN infant formulas were possibly contaminated with a toxin that can cause severe nausea and vomiting.The recall began in December, according to Reuters. The baby formula, which was sold across Europe, Turkey, and Argentina, may have been contaminated with cereulide, a toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus.”Food safety and the well-being of all infants remain our top priority,” Nestlé said in a statement. “We understand that this news may cause concern, and we are committed to providing clear, transparent information and support for parents and…
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have had a meteoric rise in recent years, with benefits like weight loss and help with other health issues. But according to a recent study, those benefits fade within two years of patients stopping their treatment.According to a study published in the BMJ, data from 9,341 obese or overweight patients treated in 37 studies with any of 18 different weight-loss drugs showed that they regained about one pound on average after stopping the drugs.The same study said they were projected to return to their pre-treatment weight in about two years.GLP-1 medication and weight loss1 of…