Welcome to Science News Daily. I'm your host, bringing you the latest discoveries from the frontiers of science. Today, we're exploring everything from ancient parasites to intelligent orcas, groundbreaking cancer therapies, and mysteries lurking in the cosmos.

Let's start with a discovery that reaches back nearly half a billion years. Scientists have solved an ancient question mark mystery hidden in 480-million-year-old fossils. Published in iScience, this research reveals something remarkable: a parasite that attacks modern oysters has been infecting shellfish for hundreds of millions of years, long before dinosaurs even existed. These resilient worms survived multiple mass extinction events, showing us that some survival strategies are truly timeless.

From ancient seas to modern oceans, we turn to apex predators with extraordinary intelligence. In Mexico's Gulf of California, researchers captured rare footage of orcas hunting great white sharks with a stunning strategy. The pod, known as Moctezuma's pod, flips young sharks upside down to paralyze them, then surgically extracts their nutrient-rich livers. This cooperative hunting behavior reveals not just remarkable intelligence, but also suggests that warming ocean temperatures may be driving these encounters. It's a fascinating glimpse into how marine ecosystems are adapting.

Now, let's discuss a discovery with profound implications for human health. Scientists have uncovered a biological link between alcohol addiction and liver damage that involves sugar metabolism. When you consume alcohol, your body produces internal fructose that reinforces both addiction and liver damage. This hijacking of the body's sugar pathways points to potential new treatments for alcohol use disorder and liver disease by blocking this specific process. It's a perfect example of how understanding molecular mechanisms can lead to therapeutic breakthroughs.

Speaking of breakthroughs, leucine, a common amino acid found in protein-rich foods, has been discovered to supercharge cellular energy production. Scientists found that leucine protects key mitochondrial proteins from breaking down, allowing these cellular power generators to function more efficiently. This discovery could have wide-ranging implications for understanding metabolism, aging, and energy-related disorders.

In space physics, observations from the XRISM telescope have rewritten our understanding of neutron stars. Scientists studying the system GX13+1 expected to see a high-speed blast of radiation-driven wind. Instead, they found something completely unexpected: a slow, fog-like wind. This challenges existing models and suggests that temperature differences in accretion disks may fundamentally shape how energy moves through the cosmos.

For those wondering about reality itself, physicists from UBC Okanagan have mathematically demonstrated that the universe cannot be a simulation. Using Gödel's incompleteness theorem, they showed that reality requires what they call non-algorithmic understanding—something no computation can replicate. This discovery challenges the popular simulation hypothesis and reveals that the universe's foundations exist beyond any algorithmic system.

Turning to our neighboring worlds, supercomputer simulations are exposing secrets of Enceladus, Saturn's icy moon. New models show that the moon's spectacular geysers lose less mass than previously thought, refining our understanding of its mysterious subsurface ocean. These findings could shape future missions that might one day detect life beneath the ice.

In the realm of medical innovation, researchers have developed AUN, a groundbreaking bacterial cancer therapy that works without the immune system. This Japanese-led breakthrough uses two harmonized bacteria, Proteus mirabilis and Rhodopseudomonas palustris, to selectively destroy tumors even in patients with weakened immune systems. The bacteria reshape themselves within tumors and avoid harmful side effects like cytokine release syndrome.

Artificial intelligence is also revolutionizing health science. Scientists are using a Bayesian neural network called VBayesMM to decode the intricate communication of gut microbes. This AI can identify genuine biological links rather than random correlations, already outperforming traditional models in studies of obesity, sleep disorders, and cancer. Meanwhile, researchers in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany are developing a genetic test using polygenic risk scores to predict which antidepressants will work for individual patients, potentially ending the long trial-and-error process many face.

Some popular health trends are being challenged by new research. A study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition found that intermittent fasting may not boost metabolism without actually cutting calories. Time-restricted eating produced no measurable improvements when total calorie intake remained constant. Similarly, a landmark review has shattered myths about gluten sensitivity, revealing that most people who report symptoms are actually reacting to fermentable carbohydrates or psychological factors rather than gluten itself.

Turning to global health concerns, chronic kidney disease has become a silent epidemic and is now the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. A sweeping study shows nearly 800 million people are affected, up from 378 million in 1990.

In paleontology, discoveries continue to reshape our understanding of prehistoric life. Researchers in Egypt identified Wadisuchus kassabi, a 13-foot-long crocodile relative from 80 million years ago that extends the evolutionary history of marine crocodiles. And the world's strangest dinosaur just got weirder: new research published in Nature reveals that Spicomellus afer possessed a tail weapon more than 30 million years earlier than any other known ankylosaur.

Finally, in chemistry and materials science, researchers have shattered an impassable barrier in camera technology by combining AI and nanotechnology in a metalens that rivals traditional optics, promising smaller, smarter imaging systems. And a new manganese complex has set a record for the longest excited-state lifetime, opening doors for large-scale applications in photochemistry.

From 480-million-year-old parasites to AI-decoded gut microbes, from neutron star winds to bacteria that fight cancer, today's science news reminds us that discovery never stops. Each finding opens new questions and possibilities.

That's all for today's Science News Daily. Keep looking up, keep asking questions, and join us tomorrow for more stories from the cutting edge of science.