Astrophysicist explains if the meteorite that landed in Georgia could be connected to the current meteor shower
"The thing is that time ranges when those meteors could occur," Moffett said. "It could be associated with that meteor shower, or it could just be a completely random instance."
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Jurors reportedly 'laughed' during Diddy defense arguments, true crime host says
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This Vitamin May Lower Your Stroke Risk by 17%, New Study Says
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RDVitamin D may help prevent heart disease or related events. Heart disease continues to rank as the top most lethal disease. Speak with a healthcare provider before starting a vitamin may already know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.—back in 2022, around one in five deaths in the U.S. was due to heart disease. Unfortunately, experts are projecting that by 2035, 45% of American adults will be living with heart disease. The good news is that dying from heart disease is highly preventable, and scientists are continually looking for ways to prevent it. Besides lifestyle habits, like a heart-healthy diet, regular physical activity, managing stressors and getting plenty of quality sleep, there are specific nutrients that may be particularly helpful. Vitamin D is one of them, as evidence suggests that low blood levels of vitamin D may increase the risk of heart disease. Vitamin D is a tricky nutrient because very few foods contain it. Our bodies manufacture vitamin D when we're exposed to sunlight. But enough of the body needs to be exposed—arms, legs and face—for long enough, which poses some potential problems for people trying to prevent skin cancer or who easily burn. It's also difficult for those who live in colder winter climates to get enough skin exposure year-round. For this reason, vitamin D is one of the vitamins that may need to be supplemented. Researchers did a narrative review of studies on vitamin D and heart disease. They reported their findings in Nutrients. Let's break down what they found. Researchers searched databases for studies on vitamin D and cardiovascular disease and reported the studies' findings. As they narrowed down the field of studies, the researchers considered studies that used vitamin D supplementation or assessed participants' level of vitamin D with bloodwork. Since this was a narrative review, they didn't analyze the data; they simply reported the findings. Researchers found that while the mechanisms by which vitamin D reduces heart disease risk are well understood, clinical evidence of these benefits remains scant, due to a lack of well-designed studies. With that said, here are some of the major findings researchers picked up in their review. In pregnant women, vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of preeclampsia by 60%, gestational diabetes by 50% and preterm delivery by 40%. People with prediabetes may be able to significantly reduce their risk of heart disease by supplementing with vitamin D. In people taking statins (to help lower cholesterol) or cardiovascular medications, supplementing with vitamin D may lower the risk of major cardiovascular events by 13% to 17%. Limitations of any narrative review include difficulty finding high-quality studies and bias in interpreting the results. We know that vitamin D is essential for many bodily processes, including healthy bones and immune and nerve function. There is also evidence that vitamin D may play a role in preventing depression. Regarding heart disease, more and more evidence is stacking up in vitamin D's favor. For example, we recently reported on a study that suggests that vitamin D deficiency may increase your risk of heart disease by 10%. Vitamin D is a vitamin that people are commonly deficient in. And researchers do not always agree on who and how much people should supplement. The only way to know if you're deficient in vitamin D is to be tested, but some professional organizations, like the Endocrine Society, state that routine screening for vitamin D deficiency is unnecessary, and that most people do not need to supplement. So, how do you know? Some things to consider include where you live, how often you get outside with skin exposed and how many foods rich in vitamin D you eat. Foods that contain vitamin D include egg yolks, mushrooms, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, herring, swordfish, sardines), beef liver, cod liver oil and fortified foods, like milk, orange juice and cereal. Generally, adults over 70, children and teens require more vitamin D. And if you're pregnant or have osteoporosis, you'll need to increase your intake, too. Regardless of where you're at in the life cycle, if you know you're not regularly eating vitamin D foods or getting outside often and long enough with enough skin exposure, it's probably feasible to request a blood test from a medical professional. If the test suggests you're deficient, talk to them or seek the advice of a registered dietitian regarding supplementation. Seeking professional advice is important because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. If you take too much over time, it can build up in your body and ultimately can even become lethal. So, having a health professional work with you find the dose that's right for you can be helpful. This narrative review adds to the mounting evidence that vitamin D plays an essential role in preventing heart disease and heart-disease-related events. Get outside when you can (there are many other benefits of being outside, too), and include foods rich in vitamin D. We've got lots of healthy egg recipes for you. And if you want to start adding more fish to your meal line-up, we've got 20 tasty fish recipes to get you started. Read the original article on EATINGWELL
Yahoo
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A new AI breakthrough helped one couple get pregnant after 19 years
For nearly 19 years, Rosie and her husband tried to grow their family. Their journey spanned 15 IVF cycles, countless doctor visits, and emotional highs and lows that left them exhausted but still hopeful. Each attempt came with the quiet ache of disappointment. Still, they held onto their dream. In March 2025, something changed. Doctors at Columbia University Fertility Center helped the couple achieve what had always felt just out of reach—a successful pregnancy. What made the difference wasn't a new medication or procedure, but a breakthrough in reproductive science: artificial intelligence. An AI-powered tool, developed by a team led by Dr. Zev Williams, found what doctors had never been able to detect in her husband's semen sample—viable sperm. That discovery led to the first pregnancy in the world using this new technology. Fertility care has long focused on women, despite male factors contributing to nearly 40% of infertility cases. Azoospermia—a condition where no sperm are found in the ejaculate—is among the most challenging to treat. Even with advanced microscopes, sperm can be nearly impossible to detect, and options are often limited to surgery or donor sperm. For many couples, especially those with religious or cultural reasons to avoid donor conception, that leaves few alternatives. This gap in care points to a longstanding imbalance in how reproductive health is evaluated. The system, called STAR (Sperm Track and Recovery), is designed specifically to help address cases of azoospermia in a noninvasive and sperm-preserving way—offering a long-overdue shift in how male infertility is approached. Related: The Truth about Men's Infertility To tackle azoospermia, researchers at Columbia University developed STAR, which uses artificial intelligence and a microfluidic chip to scan millions of microscopic images, identifying and isolating rare sperm that would otherwise go unnoticed. If sperm are detected, the system isolates and collects them—gently enough for use in IVF. In tests, STAR found dozens of sperm in samples that human embryologists had spent days analyzing without success. The inspiration came from astronomy, where AI helps identify stars in a sky full of noise. Here, that same approach is applied to a biological universe—scanning, detecting, and isolating microscopic sperm. When STAR detects sperm, it diverts that tiny portion for collection, preserving viable cells for fertilization. In one early test, embryologists spent two days combing through a sample without success. STAR found 44 sperm in under an hour. It's offering new hope for couples who were once told they had no options. This marks the first reported case where AI has been used not only to detect sperm in complex samples, but also to physically recover them for use in fertility treatment—offering new hope to families who previously had few or no options. Related: It's time to stop calling infertility a women's health issue For nearly two decades, Rosie and her husband dreamed of starting a family. After 15 unsuccessful IVF cycles and years of searching for answers, they were told that her husband's azoospermia left them with few options beyond using donor sperm—something they weren't ready to accept. Then they heard about STAR. Through a community group, Rosie connected with Dr. Zev Williams' team and learned about the new AI technology. For the first time, there was a tool that could potentially find viable sperm in a noninvasive, chemical-free way. That was enough to give them the courage to try one more cycle. This time, STAR found sperm—enough to fertilize Rosie's eggs. Just days later, she got the call she never thought she'd receive: she was pregnant. Now four months along, she says she still wakes up in disbelief. But the scans are real—and so is her baby. Related: The powerful documentary 'One More Shot' captures infertility on film like never before The success of STAR marks a technological milestone and signals a new frontier in understanding and treating infertility. Traditionally, couples facing azoospermia had few options beyond donor sperm. Now, STAR offers a potential path forward by making it possible to locate and retrieve even extremely rare sperm without damaging them. Here's what STAR could mean for the future of fertility care: Faster, more precise sperm selection: STAR scans millions of frames per hour, identifying and isolating viable sperm in real time. Expanded options for couples facing male-factor infertility: The technology may help those who were previously told they had no viable options. Less reliance on invasive or costly procedures: By improving sperm detection, STAR could reduce the need for more aggressive interventions. A shift in how infertility is approached clinically: STAR's success could signal a broader rethinking of diagnostic and treatment pathways. Potential to democratize access to advanced fertility care: As the technology becomes more scalable, it may increase availability and affordability. As Dr. Zev Williams explains, this AI doesn't replace the human touch; it extends it. With STAR, the goal is to give couples facing daunting odds a better chance—something that's long felt out of reach. AI is reshaping how fertility challenges are diagnosed and treated, and families are already seeing the impact. Tools like STAR are helping doctors detect what once seemed impossible, offering new paths forward after years of heartbreak. As research continues, innovations like this could give more families a clearer path to parenthood—with less uncertainty and more hope.
