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Have you ever wondered what keeps you warm in your winter jacket? Most jacket insulation is made from human made synthetic fibres (polyester) or natural down from ducks or geese. Some winter jackets are insulated with something a little more surprising – bulrushes.

Loneliness is the pain we feel when our social connections fall short of fulfilling our needs. At its core, it reflects a fundamental human need: to feel close to and connected with others. But it is also often an invisible experience.

Within the first notes of many classic Christmas songs, we’re transported directly to the festive season. Why is it that it’s these particular pieces of music that get us thinking of the holidays?

Geriatric veterinary care is in great shape, with dogs and cats living on average 11.3 years, according to French data. Our knowledge of how to accompany them in later life is expanding fast. We now know that simple changes can do wonders for an old cat or dog’s comfort and quality…

Being a linguist — and someone who has tried to learn several languages (including English) in addition to my mother tongue (Flemish Dutch) — I have an annoying habit: instead of paying attention to what people are saying, I often get distracted by how they are saying it. The other…

When Santa is done delivering presents on Christmas Eve, he must get back home to the North Pole, even if it’s snowing so hard that the reindeer can’t see the way.

The year 2025 has not been a great one for U.S.-Chinese relations. Tit-for-tat tariffs and the scramble over rare earth elements has dampened economic relations between the world’s two leading economies. Meanwhile, territorial disputes between China and American allies in the Indo-Pacific region have further deepened the intensifying military rivalry.

Two years after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, families of the victims filed suit against Binance, a major cryptocurrency platform that has been plagued by scandals.

Grades are a standard part of the American educational system that most students and teachers take for granted.

Despite the nursery rhyme about three blind mice, mouse eyesight is surprisingly sensitive. Studying how mice see has helped researchers discover unprecedented details about how individual brain cells communicate and work together to create a mental picture of the visual world.

There are about 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth. Most of them, like the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope, reside in low Earth orbit, or LEO, which tops out at about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface.