Science Daily

1. Superheated magma may power towering lava fountains

   Scientists studying magma from the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma have discovered that extreme heat can dramatically change how an eruption unfolds. When magma becomes superheated, it can dissolve the tiny crystal seeds that normally trigger crystallization, allowing the molten rock to remain fluid far longer as it rises.

2. Eating one avocado a day may lower heart disease risk

   A daily avocado may help lower heart disease risk in adults with obesity by reducing the number of LDL particles circulating in the blood. After six months, participants who ate an avocado each day experienced a decline associated with an estimated 4% reduction in cardiovascular risk.

3. Scientists may have found a way to prevent statin muscle pain

   Scientists have identified an immune response that may explain why statins cause muscle pain, weakness, and exercise intolerance in some people. The finding could eventually lead to treatments that protect muscles while preserving the drugs’ lifesaving cardiovascular benefits.

4. NASA’s Curiosity rover finds a mysterious honeycomb landscape on Mars

   NASA’s Curiosity rover has entered a Martian valley covered by an astonishing “sea” of tiny polygon-shaped fractures. The honeycomb patterns, each only a few inches wide, stretch across the landscape and even wrap around a nearby 20-foot-tall butte.

5. Scientists found two mysterious ‘ghost’ ancestors hiding in our DNA

   Modern humans carry DNA from two mysterious extinct lineages in addition to Neanderthals and Denisovans. Their hidden genetic legacy shows that our evolutionary past was shaped by repeated mixing among many different human groups.