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2025-12-15T18:28:24.161Z
Large genetic research group on mental disorders
Live Science contributor Clarissa Brincat covers the largest genetic analysis of mental illness ever. The study included data from more than 1 million people and found a common genetic profile linking various mental illnesses. Analysis across 14 diseases, including anorexia, OCD, schizophrenia and ADHD, revealed five distinct groups that share similar genetics.
Some of these common genetics point to common biological mechanisms that may underlie the disease. For example, depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders fall into one group that includes genes related to glia, the brain’s non-neural support cells. This may suggest that glia play an important role in the development of each of these diseases.
But one expert told Live Science it’s important to remember that correlation doesn’t equal causation. Just because a gene mutation is associated with a particular disease does not mean it is the cause of that disease. The genetics of mental illness is extremely complex because it interacts with a person’s environment and experiences. Additionally, genes associated with disorders may also be associated with traits such as creativity and intelligence. There is no “depression gene” or “PTSD gene” that only does one thing.
Read the full text here.
Nicoletta Lanese
health channel editor
2025-12-15T17:20:05.586Z
jump off
2025-12-15T17:17:14.082Z
The new pumpkin cypress is very small!
A new species of pumpkin toad caught our eye. The researchers published this discovery in the journal PLOS One mid-last week, but we think it’s worth giving a shout out to today.
This frog lives in the mountains of southern Brazil and belongs to a group of small diurnal (waking during the day) frogs called Brachycephalus, some of which are pumpkin-colored, hence the nickname “pumpkin toad.”
Brachycephalus is the world’s smallest known vertebrate. In the species known as B. pulex, females average only 8.15 millimeters in length, and males are even shorter at 0.28 inches (7.1 mm), smaller than a human claw.
This newest addition to the pumpkin frog family is a little larger, measuring up to 0.53 inches (13.4 mm) in length. As you might expect, this frog is bright orange, but it is distinguished from other pumpkin frogs by small amounts of green and brown in irregular areas of its body.
The researchers who made the discovery hope to protect the frog’s territory in Brazil’s Serra do Kiriri region to protect its future and the other unique species that live there.
You have to imagine that the researchers wanted to conduct this pumpkin toad study closer to Halloween. Ah, a winter snack.
2025-12-15T16:35:39.845Z
Do you like crosswords?
2025-12-15T16:06:28.540Z
3I/ATLAS Hulk Out
Speaking of 3I/ATLAS, Brandon reported on Friday (while the blog was down) that an interstellar comet is changing color as it approaches Earth.
The Gemini North telescope atop Hawaii’s dormant volcano Mauna Kea has confirmed that comet 3I/ATLAS has grown greener and brighter since it passed the sun in late October.
Our home star heated up the interstellar object, thereby making it more active.
Read the full story here to find out what causes the comet’s greenish hue.
2025-12-15T15:33:41.896Z
Focus on 3I/ATLAS
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth this week, coming within about 167 million miles (270 million kilometers) of Earth on Friday (December 19).
Astronomers around the world are studying this comet. This comet is only the third interstellar object ever recorded in our solar system, and may be the oldest comet ever observed.
But space agencies aren’t the only ones participating in this effort. The United Nations’ International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) is about halfway through its 3I/ATLAS observation campaign, Live Science contributor Elizabeth Howell reports.
This is the first time that the IAWN network’s observation efforts have tracked an interstellar object.
Read the full story here to find out why.
2025-12-15T15:05:06.178Z
Geminid Meteor Shower Gallery
The Geminid meteor shower over California’s Yosemite National Park.
A meteor streaks across the night sky over Ulanchab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
Return to Yosemite National Park to capture another impressive meteor.
Geminid meteor shower over Lake Yamdrok in Tibet, China.
Here, the meteor appears as a horizontal dash across the night sky. This is the third photo taken by Tayfun Coskun in Yosemite National Park.
2025-12-15T14:00:19.562Z
Peak of the Geminid meteor shower
Did you spot any meteors this weekend? The Geminid meteor shower peaked Saturday night and Sunday morning in a nearly moonless sky, creating perfect conditions to capture the spectacle on camera.
The Geminid meteor shower represents the most prolific meteor shower of the year. The showers have been going on since Dec. 4, but the best time to see the meteors was supposed to be Saturday through Sunday night.
I didn’t see anything because I was busy and didn’t feel like enduring the cold. Some of you may have missed them like I did, but there are still a few days left to brave the bad weather. The Geminid meteor shower will remain active until December 20th. Also, to commemorate the event, we’ve put together a small gallery of some of the best images from the peak of the Geminid meteor shower.
To learn more about the Geminid meteor shower, check out skywatching expert Jamie Carter’s guide to the 2025 Geminid meteor shower.
2025-12-15T12:55:50.754Z
Live Science’s Weekend News Roundup
2025-12-15T09:31:24.720Z
Littlefoot is a nearly complete australopithecine skeleton discovered in South Africa, the most complete one ever discovered. Researchers first unveiled this tiny ancient hominid to the public in 2017, but exactly where it fits into our family tree is the subject of scientific debate.
Some have suggested that Littlefoot is a previously unknown species and should be given the name Australopithecus prometheus. However, the name A. prometheus is a recycled name, originally intended to refer to another South African fossil discovered in 1948, but dropped after researchers determined that the fossil was likely to belong to a known species, Australopithecus africanus. Another possibility is that Littlefoot was also A. africanus.
The new claim is based on a study published last month in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. Here, the researchers argue that neither A. prometheus nor A. africanus are appropriate classifications of Littlefoot.
Since the classification of hominid fossils is often controversial, I am interested in how other anthropologists respond to this new research, and will follow up further as new research comes to light.
patrick pester
Popular news writer
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