Current theories cannot fully explain this accelerating growth. Within this framework, scientists usually assume the presence of a mysterious force known as "dark energy" to account for the speeding expansion of space. Despite its widespread use in cosmology, the true nature and origin of dark energy are still unknown. Why Dark Energy Was Added in the First Place However, when these equations are applied to real astronomical observations, they fall short. This addition is not derived naturally from the theory itself, which has long made it an unsatisfying solution. Because of this limitation, the team at ZARM and their Romanian collaborators explored an alternative idea. Their results, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, rely on an extension of general relativity (GR) known as Finsler gravity. This approach has been developeded over recent years and uses a broader description of spacetime geometry. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Common Food Preservatives Linked to Increased Risk of Cancer Statins May Help More People With Type 2 Diabetes Than Doctors Once Thought $1 Million Bet on a Cure: Reprogramming the Immune System To Stop Type 1 Diabetes Stay informed with ScienceDaily's free email newsletter, updated daily and weekly. Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments.

Three newly identified compounds were found to strongly inhibit α-glucosidase, an enzyme that plays a central role in breaking down carbohydrates during digestion. Many contain naturally occurring molecules that may support health, including compounds with antioxidant, neuroprotective, or glucose-lowering effects. Finding these helpful substances is difficult because foods are chemically complex. These techniques are especially valuable for studying roasted coffee, which contains a wide range of overlapping chemical components. Their work highlights previously unknown anti-diabetic activity in coffee and adds new insight into its role as a functional food. The team designed a three-step, activity-focused process to uncover bioactive diterpene esters in roasted Coffea arabica beans. First, the crude diterpene extract was separated into 19 fractions using silica gel chromatography. Each fraction was then analyzed with ^1H NMR and tested for α-glucosidase inhibition. After purification with semi-preparative HPLC, the scientists isolated three previously unknown diterpene esters, named caffaldehydes A, B, and C. Their chemical structures were verified through 1D and 2D NMR along with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS). Although the three caffaldehydes differed in their fatty acid components (palmitic, stearic, and arachidic acids), all showed notable α-glucosidase inhibition. Their IC₅₀ values were 45.07, 24.40, and 17.50 μM respectively, indicating stronger activity than the comparison drug acarbose. This analysis revealed three more previously unknown diterpene esters (compounds 4-6) that were closely related to caffaldehydes A-C. Searches of existing compound databases confirmed that these substances had not been reported before. Together, the results show that this integrated dereplication strategy is highly effective for identifying structurally diverse and biologically meaningful compounds in complex foods such as roasted coffee. The findings suggest new opportunities to develop coffee-based functional foods or nutraceuticals that support glucose control and may help manage diabetes. Statins May Help More People With Type 2 Diabetes Than Doctors Once Thought $1 Million Bet on a Cure: Reprogramming the Immune System To Stop Type 1 Diabetes Stay informed with ScienceDaily's free email newsletter, updated daily and weekly. Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments.

Scientists studying the Great Salt Lake have identified at least one species of nematode that is completely new to science, with evidence suggesting there may be a second. That makes it endemic to the lake and potentially an important, though still poorly understood, part of its ecosystem. Tribal elders suggested Wo'aabi, an Indigenous word meaning "worm." Nematodes are among the most widespread animals on Earth. They are found in nearly every environment imaginable, including polar ice, deep-sea hydrothermal vents and ordinary backyard soil. Most are smaller than a millimeter, which is why they often go unnoticed. Scientists have identified more than 250,000 species so far, making them the most numerous animal phylum in both land and water ecosystems. Until recently, no nematodes had been definitively documented in the Great Salt Lake. These are hardened, mound-like structures formed by microbial communities on the lakebed. Jung, who was a postdoctoral researcher in Werner's lab at the time, collected samples while traveling across the lake by kayak and bicycle. The team reported that initial discovery in a scientific paper published last year. "We thought that this was probably a new species of nematode from the beginning, but it took three years of additional work to taxonomically confirm that suspicion," said Jung, now an assistant professor at Weber State University. The other two are brine shrimp and brine flies, which are crucial food sources for millions of migratory birds that stop at the lake each year. Further research suggests the story may not be finished. Genetic evidence indicates there could be a second, previously unknown nematode species among the samples collected. Thomas Murray, an undergraduate researcher and second author on the paper, has been helping sample different regions of the lake to investigate this possibility. First, how did these worms arrive in the Great Salt Lake? Second, what role do they play in the lake's ecosystem? This is an ancient group of nematodes known for surviving in extreme conditions, including very salty environments. Genetic and physical analyses confirmed that the species belongs to the genus Diplolaimelloides, a group typically found in coastal marine and brackish waters. That makes the Great Salt Lake discovery especially puzzling. "That begs some more interesting, intriguing questions that you wouldn't have even known to think of until we figured out the alpha taxonomy," Werner said. One explanation comes from coauthor Byron Adams, a nematologist and biology professor at Brigham Young University. During the Cretaceous Period, much of what is now Utah was located along the shoreline of a vast inland sea that split North America in two. "With the Colorado Plateau lifting up, you formed a great basin, and these animals were trapped here. "If the nematode has been endemic since 100 million years ago, it has survived through these dramatic shifts in salinity at least once, probably a few times," he said. In this scenario, nematodes could have clung to feathers after birds visited saline lakes in South America and were then carried thousands of miles north. Maybe the birds are transporting small invertebrates, including nematodes, across huge distances," Werner said. Back in the lab, researchers noticed another unexpected pattern. Female nematodes were far more common than males in samples collected directly from the lake. "That's another confusing part of the story for us. "We're super happy to be able to culture them in the lab, but there's something about it that's clearly different than the lake environment." Researchers found that the nematodes are concentrated in just the top few centimeters of these mats and are absent below that layer. While scientists are still determining their exact position in the food web, nematodes are known to be ecologically important in many environments. Their presence in the Great Salt Lake suggests they likely play a meaningful role there as well. With the Great Salt Lake under increasing pressure from human activity, this newly identified species could become a valuable tool for monitoring environmental change. "When you only have a handful of species that can persist in environments like that, and they're really sensitive to change, those serve as really good sentinel taxa," Adams said. Because Diplolaimelloides woaabi appears to live exclusively on microbialites, it may have unique relationships with microbes or unusual survival strategies that scientists have yet to uncover. Since microbialites play a central role in producing energy and supporting life in the lake, any interactions involving these nematodes could have effects that spread throughout the ecosystem. n. (Nematoda: Monhysteridae): A Novel Species of Free-Living Nematode from the Great Salt Lake, Utah." Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Common Food Preservatives Linked to Increased Risk of Cancer Statins May Help More People With Type 2 Diabetes Than Doctors Once Thought $1 Million Bet on a Cure: Reprogramming the Immune System To Stop Type 1 Diabetes Stay informed with ScienceDaily's free email newsletter, updated daily and weekly. Or view our many newsfeeds in your RSS reader: Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments.