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Dear olivier hartmanshenn,

Starting this week, our weekly newsletter will arrive on Sundays instead of Mondays—everything else stays the same!

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 49: Cats adjust their communication strategy by meowing more when greeting men Domestic cats meow more frequently when greeting male caregivers than female caregivers, regardless of the cat's age, breed, or household size. This behavior may be an adaptive response to less verbal engagement from men. Cats also display a range of social and stress-related behaviors during greetings, indicating complex communication and emotional regulation.   Chronic cannabis use, vomiting and compulsive bathing—symptoms of a hidden syndrome Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), characterized by recurrent vomiting and compulsive hot bathing in chronic cannabis users, has increased sharply in US emergency departments from 2016 to 2022, especially among adults aged 18–35. CHS is often underrecognized or misdiagnosed, but awareness is improving. A new ICD-10 code may enhance surveillance, though accurate diagnosis remains essential.   For those living with dementia, new study suggests shingles vaccine could slow the disease Analysis of Welsh health records indicates that older adults who received the shingles vaccine were about 20% less likely to develop dementia over seven years compared to unvaccinated peers. The vaccine also appeared to slow disease progression and reduce dementia-related deaths, with stronger effects observed in women. These findings suggest both preventive and therapeutic potential for the shingles vaccine against dementia.   Human hair grows through 'pulling' not pushing, study shows Human hair growth is driven by an upward pulling force generated by coordinated cell movement in the follicle's outer root sheath, rather than by pushing from cell division at the root. Blocking cell division did not halt growth, but disrupting actin-dependent cell movement reduced growth by over 80%. These findings revise the understanding of hair growth mechanisms and may inform new approaches to hair loss treatment.   How Ramanujan's formulae for pi connect to modern high energy physics Ramanujan's century-old formulas for calculating π, originally developed for mathematical efficiency, naturally arise in modern high-energy physics within logarithmic conformal field theories. These theories describe scale-invariant phenomena such as percolation, turbulence, and aspects of black holes, enabling more efficient calculations of key physical quantities.   24,000 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂: Measurements reveal SF₆ gas emissions in Germany Atmospheric measurements in Germany indicate that SF6 emissions, a greenhouse gas 24,000 times more potent than CO2, are significantly higher than previously estimated, particularly in the Heilbronn region. This area, home to the only known SF6 production and recycling facility in Europe, accounts for about one-third of Germany's total SF6 emissions.   Unbee-lievable: Botswana elephants not easily fooled as scientists seek solution to human-elephant conflict Playback of bee sounds in Botswana elicited mixed responses from elephants, with only about half showing avoidance behavior, likely due to limited prior exposure to bees in the region. The effectiveness of bee-based deterrents appears context-dependent, influenced by local bee populations and environmental factors, highlighting the need for site-specific solutions to human-elephant conflict.   CERN's ATLAS detects evidence for decay of Higgs boson into muon–antimuon pair ATLAS data from the LHC shows evidence for the Higgs boson decaying into a muon–antimuon pair, with a significance of 3.4σ. This rare decay supports the Higgs mechanism's role in giving mass to second-generation fermions, consistent with Standard Model predictions, and extends previous observations limited to heavier third-generation particles.   Natural language found more complex than it strictly needs to be—and for good reason Natural language exhibits greater structural complexity than binary encoding, but this complexity reduces cognitive effort by aligning with familiar patterns and real-world experiences. The brain processes language efficiently by leveraging ingrained probabilistic cues, enabling rapid comprehension. This structure aids understanding and has implications for improving artificial intelligence language models.   Chimpanzee calls trigger unique brain activity in humans, revealing shared vocal processing skills Specific regions of the human auditory cortex, particularly the superior temporal gyrus, respond distinctly to chimpanzee vocalizations, reflecting both evolutionary and acoustic proximity. This suggests that humans retain neural sensitivity to certain primate calls, indicating shared vocal processing abilities that likely predate the emergence of language.   Geodesic approach links quantum physics and gravitation A novel quantization of the spacetime metric yields a "q-desic" equation, predicting that particle trajectories in a quantum gravitational field can deviate from classical geodesics. While differences are negligible at small scales (∼10-35 m), significant deviations arise at cosmological distances (∼1021 m), offering a potential observable to test quantum gravity theories.   Physicists create 'quantum wire' where mass and energy flow without friction or loss An ultracold quantum gas of rubidium atoms confined to one dimension exhibits frictionless, undiminished flow of mass and energy, even after numerous collisions. This system suppresses diffusion, enabling perfect ballistic transport analogous to a Newton’s cradle, where momentum and energy are exchanged but not lost, defying typical thermodynamic behavior.   Single-photon teleportation achieved between distant quantum dots for the first time The polarization state of a single photon from one quantum dot was teleported to another distant quantum dot using a 270 m free-space optical link, achieving a teleportation fidelity of up to 82 ± 1%, well above the classical threshold. This advance demonstrates the feasibility of quantum relays with independent emitters, a key step toward scalable quantum communication networks.   Alaknanda: JWST discovers massive grand-design spiral galaxy from the universe's infancy A massive, well-formed grand-design spiral galaxy, Alaknanda, has been identified just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, challenging current models that predict such structures require much longer to develop. Its mature spiral arms, rapid star formation, and significant stellar mass suggest galaxy assembly and disk organization occurred far earlier and more efficiently than previously thought.   Archaeological study challenges paleo diet, revealing humans have long eaten 'processed plant foods' Archaeological evidence indicates that early humans regularly consumed a diverse array of both plant and animal foods, including processed plant items such as ground seeds and cooked tubers, long before the advent of agriculture. This dietary flexibility and use of food processing techniques were crucial for human adaptation and global dispersal.   City raccoons showing signs of domestication Urban raccoons exhibit shorter snouts compared to rural populations, a trait associated with early domestication syndrome. This morphological change is likely driven by the advantages of tameness and reduced aggression in accessing human food waste. The findings suggest that proximity to humans can induce domestication-related traits in wild species.   Over 16,000 dinosaur footprints identified along a Bolivian shoreline Over 16,000 dinosaur footprints, primarily from three-toed theropods, have been documented at the Carreras Pampas site in Bolivia, dating to the end of the Cretaceous Period. The tracks display a range of sizes and behaviors, including running, swimming, and tail dragging, and their abundance and orientation suggest frequent group movement along an ancient shoreline.   10-thousand-year-old genomes from southern Africa change picture of human evolution Genomic analysis of 28 ancient individuals from southern Africa indicates long-term genetic isolation of local Homo sapiens populations for at least 200,000 years, with significant gene flow from other African regions only occurring about 1,400 years ago. Unique genetic adaptations, especially in kidney function and brain development, were identified, and most genetic material persists in modern San populations.   Humans first entered Australia 60,000 years ago via two routes, DNA analysis suggests Genetic and archaeological evidence indicates that humans first entered Sahul, the ancient landmass comprising Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania, around 60,000 years ago. Analyses of mitochondrial genomes support two distinct migration routes from Southeast Asia: a northern route into New Guinea and a southern route into Australia, suggesting early seafaring and separate settlement events.   Close-up images show how stars explode in real time High-resolution interferometric imaging of two recent novae reveals that these stellar explosions involve multiple, complex outflows and, in some cases, significant delays in material ejection. The observations directly link shock-powered gamma-ray emission to colliding ejecta, challenging the view of novae as simple, single-phase events and providing new insights into shock formation and particle acceleration.