President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 11, 2025, that aims to supersede state-level artificial intelligence laws^[1] that the administration views as a hindrance to innovation in AI.

State laws regulating AI are increasing in number,

When NASA scientists opened the sample return canister from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample mission in late 2023, they found something astonishing.

Dust and rock collected from the asteroid Bennu contained many of life’s building blocks^[1], including all five

After a yearslong series of setbacks, NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE, mission has finally begun its roundabout journey to Mars.

Launched on Nov. 13, 2025, aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, ESCAPADE’s twin

Air Force members must be ready to heed new federal grooming guidance in the weeks ahead.

That is according to updated medical guidance for shaving profiles announced Monday by the Department of the Air Force (DAF), telling members that new grooming standards will go into effect Jan. 31, 2026, as part of the standards set in motion^[1] in September by the Department of Defense and Secretary Pete Hegseth.

All shaving profiles issued before March 1, 2025, are invalid and any airmen and guardians who have medical shaving profiles issued prior to that date are being instructed to schedule an appointment with a military health care provider for further evaluation before the January deadline.

Instructions have simultaneously been given to equip primary care providers, medical profile officers and unit commanders with guidance in order to approve or deny a medical shaving profile.

“With the recent release of updated guidance on medical shaving profiles, the Department of the Air Force is coordinating additional implementation guidance to meet the intent of the Secretary of War’s grooming standards for facial hair policy,” a DAF spokesperson told Military.com^[2].

“To ensure consistency and fairness, the department will provide detailed instructions as soon as they are finalized and will address updated standards, non-compliance procedures, religious accommodations and readiness considerations,” they added.

'No More Beardos'

The new profile comes on the heels of Hegseth in September ordering the Pentagon “to revert to pre-2020 standards” and do away with permanent shaving profiles for medical conditions, such as razor bumps. He used the phrase “no more beardos” when discussing appearance and U.S. military standards to generals and admirals at Marine Corps Base Quantico^[3] in Virginia.

“The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done,” Hegseth said during his September speech. “Simply put, if you do not meet the male-level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a (physical training) test or don’t want to shave and look professional, it’s time for a new position or a new profession.”

It has led to not just DAF but other branches issuing updated guidelines. The U.S. Army, for example, announced changes that include precise definitions for hairstyles such as authorized lengths, styles and accessories for both male and female soldiers. Standards for cosmetics, fingernails and jewelry have also been clarified.

Violation Process

DAF said that no single shaving profile may exceed a six-month period. Starting on Feb. 1, 2026, any airmen and guardians who accumulate more than 12 months of shaving profile within a 24-month period will be referred to their commander.

The memorandum does not apply to shaving waivers granted for religious accommodations.

The chain-of-command for assessing, potentially reporting violations is as follows:

• Primary care managers will evaluate members for medical conditions, recommend profiles, and submit profile recommendations to a medical profile officer.

• Medical profile officers will review the primary care provider’s recommendations for profiles of 30 days or less. For those greater than 30 days, senior profile officers will review recommendations. DAF said that profile recommendations that meet all review criteria earn a “concur” and are submitted to the unit commander for consideration.

• Commanders have final approval authority for medical shaving profiles, recording electronic approval or denial via the Aeromedical Services Information Management Systems (ASIMS) within seven days. They may also request service members to be evaluated due to operational concerns stemming from a medical condition.

Sensitive Skin

The new guidance provided in the Dec. 15 memo is also intended to assist health care providers in evaluating airmen and guardians for a Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB) diagnosis.

PFB is described by the National Institutes of Health as a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by papules, pustules, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. The condition, which occurs more frequently in men of African and Asian descent, could also lead to itching and the development of keloids and potential scars.

The DAF memo differentiates between shaving irritation and PFB, and provides criteria to distinguish between mild, moderate and severe cases of PFB.

“We recognize the complexities involved, as updated medical shaving profile guidance may raise questions beyond shaving and profiles alone,” DAF told Military.com^[4]. “The department remains focused on providing clear, timely guidance to help airmen and guardians understand and comply with the grooming standards.”

In a study that followed more than 30,000 adults in the U.S. for two decades, people who consistently helped others outside the home showed a slower rate of age-related cognitive decline. The researchers found the decline was reduced by about 15%-20% among those who either volunteered formally or helped in informal ways, such as supporting neighbors, family, or friends. The strongest and most consistent benefit appeared when people spent about two to four hours per week helping others.

The findings were published recently in Social Science & Medicine. The work was supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

"Everyday acts of support -- whether organized or personal -- can have lasting cognitive impact," said Sae Hwang Han, an assistant professor of human development and family sciences at UT who led the study. "What stood out to me was that the cognitive benefits of helping others weren't just short-term boosts but cumulative over time with sustained engagement, and these benefits were evident for both formal volunteering and informal helping. And in addition to that, moderate engagement of just two to four hours was consistently linked to robust benefits."

Formal volunteering and informal helping both mattered

The study is among the first to examine formal volunteering and informal helping side by side. Informal helping can include giving someone a ride to a health appointment, watching children, doing lawn work, or helping prepare taxes for a neighbor, relative, or friend.

Previous reports suggest about 1 in 3 older Americans take part in scheduled or formal volunteering. In contrast, more than half regularly help people they know in these less formal ways.

"Informal helping is sometimes assumed to offer fewer health benefits due to its lack of social recognition," Han said. But in fact, "It was a pleasant surprise to find that it provides cognitive benefits comparable to formal volunteering."

Long-term national data strengthens the findings

To study these patterns over time, the researchers analyzed longitudinal data from the national Health and Retirement Study. The dataset includes a representative sample of U.S. residents over age 51, with information dating back to 1998.

The researchers accounted for other factors that can shape both helping behavior and cognitive health, including wealth, physical and mental health, and education. Even after considering those influences, cognitive decline tended to slow when people started helping others and continued to do so. The results also suggest that the benefits may grow when helping becomes a steady routine year after year.

"Conversely, our data show that completely withdrawing from helping is associated with worse cognitive function," Han said. "This suggests the importance of keeping older adults engaged in some form of helping for as long as possible, with appropriate supports and accommodations in place."

Why this may matter for public health and aging

The researchers argue these results strengthen the case for thinking about volunteering, helping, and neighborhood connection as public health issues. This may be especially important later in life, when conditions tied to cognitive decline and impairment, including Alzheimer's, are more likely to develop.

The paper also points to related work by the same lead researcher. Another recent study led by Han found that volunteering helped counter the harmful effects of chronic stress on systemic inflammation -- a known biological pathway linked to cognitive decline and dementia. The benefit was strongest among people with higher levels of inflammation.

Taken together, these findings suggest helping others may support brain health in more than one way. It may reduce the physical strain linked to stress, and it may strengthen social bonds that provide psychological, emotional, and cognitive support. As societies age and concerns about loneliness and isolation grow, the results also support continued efforts to keep people involved in ways that let them contribute, even after cognitive decline has begun.

"Many older adults in suboptimal health often continue to make valuable contributions to those around them," Han said, "and they also may be the ones to especially benefit from being provided with opportunities to help."

Other authors on the study were former UT postdoctoral researcher Shiyang Zhang and Jeffrey Burr of the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Rats and other rodents and pests can make great archivists.

That’s because they forage food and build dens, storing fabric, paper, animal bones, plant remains and other materials under floorboards, behind walls and in attics, crawl spaces and wells. There, these materials might dry out and remain undisturbed for hundreds of years.

By...

Imagine a healthy forest, home to a variety of species: Birds are flitting between tree branches, salamanders are sliding through leaf litter, and wolves are tracking the scent of deer through the understory. Each of these animals has a role in the forest^[1], and most ecologists would argue that losing any one of these species would be bad...

People and institutions are grappling with the consequences of AI-written text^[1]. Teachers want to know whether students’ work reflects their own understanding; consumers want to know whether an advertisement was written by a human or a machine.

Writing rules to govern the use of AI-generated content^[2] is relatively easy. Enforcing them...