Why You Can't Stop Scrolling: Science Behind TikTok's Grip On Your Brain

SpaceX's Starship Flight 13 Completes Soft Indian Ocean Splashdown After Starlink Launch. VIDEO

Bharathi SP — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 08:53:19 +0530

SpaceX marked another important milestone in the development of its next-generation launch system on Saturday as Starship completed its thirteenth integrated test flight, successfully reaching key mission objectives despite falling short of a flawless booster recovery.

The massive rocket lifted off from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, at 4:21 am IST after an earlier launch attempt earlier in the week was called off moments before liftoff because of an engine-start issue. The latest mission demonstrated several critical capabilities aimed at advancing SpaceX's long-term goal of building a fully reusable rocket capable of supporting missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The test flight also carried 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites, showcasing Starship's ability to deploy payloads while simultaneously validating technologies required for future operational missions.

Mission Achieves Key Objectives Despite Booster Setback

The flight progressed largely as planned through its initial phases. Around two minutes after launch, the Super Heavy booster separated from the Starship upper stage, allowing the spacecraft to continue its ascent while the booster initiated its return sequence.

However, the recovery attempt did not conclude successfully. During the landing burn, several Raptor engines failed to reignite, preventing the booster from generating enough thrust for a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite the unsuccessful landing, the upper stage continued its mission, with SpaceX later releasing footage showing Starship travelling through space, highlighting the overall success of the test beyond the booster recovery issue.

Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on the 13th flight test of Starship! pic.twitter.com/g27YJCQgiN
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 24, 2026

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Significant Improvement Over Previous Test Flight

The latest mission represented a notable improvement compared with Starship Version 3's debut flight in May, which encountered multiple technical challenges, including engine relight failures and an in-flight engine malfunction aboard the spacecraft.

Ahead of Flight 13, engineers also replaced six engines after moisture-related issues were identified during a previous launch attempt that was aborted shortly before liftoff.

Following the successful launch, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot described the mission as "Lucky Number 13", referencing the thirteenth integrated flight of the Starship-Super Heavy launch system.

The smoother overall performance suggests SpaceX has addressed several of the issues encountered during earlier tests while continuing to gather valuable engineering data.

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Heat Shield Remains A Critical Focus

One of the primary objectives of the latest campaign was evaluating Starship's thermal protection system. The spacecraft's ceramic heat shield plays a vital role during atmospheric re-entry, protecting the vehicle from the extreme temperatures generated as it returns to Earth at hypersonic speeds.

To improve observations, SpaceX delayed the launch by a day to secure better viewing conditions during ascent. The company also equipped satellites with cameras dedicated to monitoring the condition of the heat shield throughout the mission.

The data collected will help engineers assess how the thermal protection system performs under real flight conditions and guide future design refinements.

Starship Moves Closer To Operational Missions

Flight 13 expanded the scope of Starship testing beyond simply surviving launch and re-entry. The mission included payload deployment, in-space engine relight demonstrations and further validation of systems needed for routine operations.

The rocket remains central to SpaceX's long-term plans, including launching larger Starlink satellites, supporting NASA's Artemis lunar programme and eventually transporting astronauts and cargo to Mars.

PM Modi's Handwritten Postcard 'Vande Matram' Reaches Space: What Else Did Skyroot's Vikram-1 Carry?

Sneha — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 21:21:16 +0530

India's first private orbital rocket mission achieved more than just a historic satellite launch. The four-stage Vikram-1 rocket lifted off from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 12.05 pm on Saturday, making Skyroot the first private Indian company to place payloads into orbit. The milestone also places India alongside the United States and China as one of the few countries with private orbital launch capability.

What Did Skyroot's Vikram-1 Carry Into Space?

Along with multiple technology-demonstration payloads, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket also carried symbolic items, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handwritten postcard, an 18-carat gold rocket, and a lab-grown diamond shaped like a lotus, all of which were successfully placed into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

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The handwritten postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi carrying the message "Vande Mataram." After the successful deployment, Skyroot CEO and co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana informed the Prime Minister that his postcard had reached orbit.

"Your card has successfully reached orbit. Vande Mataram is in orbit," Chandana told Modi during a phone call.

Responding to the achievement, Modi noted that India is celebrating 150 years of "Vande Mataram", saying the national song had inspired generations of Indians.

Gold Rocket And Lotus-Shaped Diamond Also Sent Into Orbit

The mission also carried two unique symbolic payloads:

Cosmic Bloom – a lab-grown diamond crafted in the shape of a lotus.
An 18-carat gold miniature rocket featuring micro-sculptures of Indian space pioneers Vikram Sarabhai, Sir C.V. Raman and former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

These payloads accompanied the primary technology demonstration satellites deployed into a 450-km Low Earth Orbit.

Multiple Technology Payloads Successfully Deployed

Following launch, Vikram-1 sequentially deployed several technology demonstration payloads, including:

SCOPE – Skyroot Aerospace's in-house experimental satellite.
Solaras by Grahaa Space.
Embrace by Cosmoserve Space, designed to demonstrate robotic arms for future space debris removal.
German technology payloads uD3PP and mD3RN by Dcubed.

Skyroot said data collected during the mission would help validate the rocket's guidance and navigation systems ahead of future commercial launches.

PM Modi Hails Historic Achievement

Congratulating the Skyroot team, Prime Minister Modi described the mission as a defining moment for India's space ambitions.

"Spoke to the team of Skyroot Aerospace and congratulated them on the successful launch of Vikram-1. This is a defining moment in India’s space journey. The growing participation of our private sector is opening new frontiers and accelerating innovation. This achievement will encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly," he posted on X.

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Chandana highlighted that the rocket was completely designed and built in India, calling the mission a landmark for the country's private space sector.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan also praised the achievement, noting that India had just one space startup when the sector was opened to private players in 2020. Today, the country has more than 400 space startups, with Skyroot becoming the first to successfully achieve an orbital launch.

Skyroot's Vikram-1 Launched, Marking A Historic Milestone For India's Private Space Sector

Pinky Rajpurohit — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:07:44 +0530

India's first privately built orbital rocket, Vikram-1, was moments away from making history on Saturday before Skyroot Aerospace announced a planned hold just minutes ahead of launch. The postponement delayed what could have been a landmark moment for India's rapidly growing private space sector.

Mission Aagaman was scheduled to lift off at 11:30 am from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) launch facility in Sriharikota. However, officials paused the countdown around five minutes before launch. The company has not yet announced a revised launch schedule.

The development comes just days after Skyroot Aerospace achieved unicorn status, becoming India's first space-tech startup to cross a valuation of $1.1 billion.

Historic Mission Faces Last-Minute Delay

Mission Aagaman is Skyroot Aerospace's maiden attempt to place a rocket into Low Earth Orbit. The seven-storey Vikram-1 launch vehicle was expected to complete its orbital mission in approximately 16 minutes, carrying six payloads to an altitude of about 450 kilometres above Earth.

A successful launch would make Skyroot the first private Indian company to send a rocket into orbit, placing India among a select group of countries with privately developed orbital launch capabilities.

#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: India's first privately developed orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1, launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota

Built by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, Vikram-1 is powered by three solid-fuel stages and a liquid orbital adjustment… pic.twitter.com/QQC9CPjcxH
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2026

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Vikram-1 Showcases Indigenous Innovation

Vikram-1 has been designed as a dedicated small satellite launch vehicle capable of carrying payloads of up to 350 kilograms into orbit. Named after Indian space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai, the rocket incorporates several technologies developed domestically.

Its structure is built entirely from carbon composite material, making it lighter than conventional steel-based rockets while improving performance. The launch vehicle also features a fully 3D-printed liquid-fuel Orbital Adjustment Module, marking another technological first for an Indian orbital rocket.

In addition, Vikram-1's first stage is the country's longest single-piece carbon composite rocket stage, highlighting advancements in indigenous aerospace manufacturing.

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Mission Carries Six Payloads

Once launched, Mission Aagaman will deploy six payloads into orbit. These include an Earth observation camera, a robotic arm designed to help remove space debris, multiple satellites, including one developed by a German company, and two symbolic payloads.

Among the commemorative items are a lotus crafted from lab-grown diamonds and a miniature gold rocket engraved with micro-sculptures honouring three renowned Indian scientists.

Skyroot has said its long-term vision is to offer flexible launch services that allow customers to choose customised orbital destinations instead of waiting for rideshare opportunities on larger launch vehicles. The model aims to provide dedicated access to space for small satellite operators.

'Historic Frontier': PM Modi Calls Maiden Skyroot Vikram-1 Launch A Milestone In India's Space Journey

Bharathi SP — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 09:01:59 +0530

India marked a significant moment in its space journey on Saturday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, the country's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle. Developed by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace, the mission is being seen as a major step in expanding India's commercial space capabilities and strengthening private participation in the sector.

The launch, named Mission Aagaman, represents the first attempt by an Indian private company to place satellites into orbit using a launch vehicle designed and built independently.

PM Modi Celebrates India's Private Space Milestone

Ahead of the launch, the Prime Minister shared his excitement on X, describing the mission as a defining chapter in India's growing space ambitions.

PM Modi said: "A historic new frontier for India's space journey! At 11:30 AM today, Skyroot Aerospace will undertake the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, India's first privately developed launch vehicle."

A historic new frontier for India’s space journey!

At 11:30 AM today, Skyroot Aerospace will undertake the maiden orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle.

This four-stage rocket is designed to provide rapid and on-demand launch services.… pic.twitter.com/1qFVTwNOuZ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 18, 2026

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Highlighting the significance of the rocket, Modi said it reflects the growing capabilities of India's private space ecosystem and the opportunities created through policy reforms.

"This four-stage rocket is designed to provide rapid and on-demand launch services. This mission highlights the talent, determination and entrepreneurial spirit of our youth. It also shows how our space-sector reforms are unlocking new opportunities for innovation and enterprise," he said.

Mission Aagaman Signals A New Chapter

Vikram-1 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 11:30 AM on July 18 under the banner of Mission Aagaman. Standing 24 metres tall, the rocket is the first privately built orbital-class launch vehicle from India, underscoring the country's push to encourage commercial participation in the space industry.

The vehicle has been built using a lightweight carbon-composite structure. Its propulsion system combines three solid-fuel stages with a liquid-fuelled module responsible for precision orbital insertion. The design is aimed at providing rapid and flexible launch services for satellite customers, reflecting the growing demand for commercial launch solutions.

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PM Urges Youth To Follow The Mission

The Prime Minister also extended his best wishes to the Skyroot Aerospace team, encouraging engineers and innovators working on the project as they prepared for the historic mission. "I urge all Indians, especially my young friends, to follow this historic mission and join in wishing Team Skyroot success using #IndiaWithVikram1."

His message highlighted the broader importance of the mission beyond the launch itself, positioning it as an inspiration for aspiring scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs across the country.

Former ISRO Chairman S. Somnath also congratulated the Skyroot Aerospace team ahead of the launch, describing the mission as an important milestone for India's emerging private space industry.

Scientists Find Sugar In Space - Could It Be A Sign Of Life Beyond Earth?

ABP Live Lifestyle — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:13:18 +0530

Near the center of the Milky Way, a naturally occurring sugar was found floating through a cloud of gas and dust, giving scientists new proof that some of the most crucial chemical components of life can emerge long before planets even exist. Astronomers are excited about the discovery because it raises the possibility that the raw ingredients needed for biology are significantly more common throughout the universe than previously thought.

Erythrulose, a sugar consisting of four carbon atoms, was found in the molecular cloud G+0.693−0.027 near the Galactic Center by astronomers from the Centre for Astrobiology (CAB-CSIC-INTA) in Spain. This is the first confirmed finding of erythrulose in interstellar space, adding to the growing list of complex organic molecules discovered outside of our Solar System, according to the study published in Nature Astronomy.

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A Milestone In Astrochemistry

Sugars are chemically complicated compounds that are vital to biology, in contrast to simple gases like hydrogen or carbon monoxide. Erythrulose is the first ketose sugar to be definitively found in the interstellar medium, according to a study published in Nature Astronomy. This represents a major advancement in the study of prebiotic chemistry beyond Earth.

Molecular clouds like G+0.693−0.027, according to researchers, function as enormous chemical labs where radiation, ice, and dust grains interact over millions of years to spontaneously produce increasingly complex compounds.

Why This Discovery Matters

Scientists feel that the existence of sugar supports one of the most popular theories on the beginnings of life, even though it does not prove that life exists elsewhere. Many organic molecules may have originated in space before being carried to young planets by comets, asteroids and meteorites during the early phases of planetary formation, according to the researchers.

Sugars are essential to all living things. In addition to supplying energy, they aid in the construction of intricate biological structures and in the synthesis of DNA and RNA, the molecules that carry and store genetic information. The discovery of these substances in interstellar clouds, according to the research team, raises the possibility that life's basic components are more widely distributed in the universe than previously believed.

How Scientists Detected Sugar

Observations from the IRAM 30-meter telescope in Granada and the Yebes 40-meter radio telescope in Spain were used to make the finding. Every molecule emits and absorbs radio waves at distinct frequencies, according to the study, which enables astronomers to identify certain molecules by examining their distinct spectral characteristics.

The presence of erythrulose within the molecular cloud, along with many other complex organic molecules already known to exist in the area, was confirmed by the researchers after matching the observations with laboratory data.

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Could It Be A Sign Of Life Beyond Earth?

The discovery, according to scientists, is probably going to spur future space searches for even bigger and more biologically significant compounds. The scientists claim that comprehending the formation of complex molecules in interstellar environments may aid in the explanation of the chemical processes that ultimately gave rise to life on Earth.

The result, according to astrobiologists, also supports the use of next-generation observatories, such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and upcoming space missions intended to investigate the origins of complex organic chemistry, to investigate chemically rich molecular clouds.

The discovery provides another crucial piece of the puzzle, even though it does not address the question of whether life exists beyond Earth. The researchers believe that the chemical underpinnings necessary for life may be significantly more prevalent throughout the universe than previously thought if complex sugars can naturally arise in the depths of space.

Over 100 ISRO Scientists Quit, Centre To Tighten Exit Rules To Protect Missions Like Gaganyaan

Bharathi SP — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:01:37 +0530

The Department of Space (DoS) has introduced a new policy to curb the growing number of resignations from the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), particularly among scientists associated with strategically significant missions such as Gaganyaan. According to an internal memorandum dated July 14, ISRO centres can no longer independently approve resignation or voluntary retirement requests from Group 'A' scientific and technical personnel working on critical national programmes. Instead, every application must now be forwarded to the Department of Space for final approval.

The move marks a significant shift in procedure. Until now, directors of individual ISRO centres had the authority to process such requests. The revised mechanism centralises decision-making at the DoS level, reflecting concerns over retaining highly specialised talent required for India's major space missions.

Reports Suggest Over 100 Scientists Have Left In Recent Months

While the Department of Space has not officially disclosed the number of resignations, reports indicate that the organisation has witnessed a substantial outflow of experienced personnel in recent months.

According to sources cited by The Times of India, between 100 and 120 scientists are believed to have left ISRO. Around 80 departures were reportedly from the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru, while nearly 20 scientists resigned from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. Additional resignation requests are also said to be under consideration.

Several senior scientists are reported to be among those who have moved on. These include LVM3 Project Director Victor Joseph, the SpaDeX Project Director at URSC, and Aditya Rallapalli, who led the Chandrayaan-3 simulation team. His team carried out more than 1,00,000 simulation runs and analysed nearly 25 terabytes of mission data to validate the spacecraft's lunar landing sequence.

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Private Space Industry Emerging As A Major Attraction

Although neither ISRO nor the Department of Space has officially stated the reasons behind the recent exits, the rapid expansion of India's private space ecosystem is widely seen as a key factor.

A report by WION suggested that private aerospace firms and space startups have increasingly recruited experienced ISRO scientists for technical and leadership positions. The trend has gained momentum alongside the government's push to encourage private sector participation in satellite manufacturing and launch vehicle technologies.

The Department of Space has acknowledged that the increasing number of resignation requests is beginning to affect nationally important programmes.

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Talent Retention Becomes Crucial Ahead Of Future Space Missions

ISRO Chairman V Narayanan has recognised the recent departures but expressed confidence that the organisation remains capable of managing the transition.

Employee attrition is not unprecedented at the space agency. Between 2012 and 2024, around 700 employees reportedly resigned from Isro. Earlier, nearly half of the scientists recruited between 2004 and 2007 are also understood to have left the organisation.

However, with ambitious programmes such as Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station and future lunar exploration missions progressing, the government is placing renewed emphasis on preserving institutional expertise alongside technological advancement. The latest directive is expected to play a key role in ensuring continuity across India's long-term space ambitions.

NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Set For 8-Month ISS Mission Aboard Soyuz MS-29 On July 14

PTI — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:44:33 +0530

Washington: Anil Menon, a NASA astronaut of Indian descent, is set to embark on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station on July 14 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Born in Minneapolis to Ukrainian and Indian immigrants, Menon is an emergency medicine physician and a US Space Force colonel.

During his stint with the US Air Force, he served on the frontlines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and also worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association, caring for climbers on Mount Everest.

Menon, 49, has also spent a year in India as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to study and support Polio vaccination initiatives.

He is scheduled to travel to space aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.

Menon began his career at NASA as a flight surgeon in 2014 and worked with astronauts living and working on the International Space Station. Menonn joined SpaceX in 2018, where he started the company’s medical programme, helped prepare for its first human space flights and worked closely on the development of Starship, the super-heavy rocket and spacecraft for undertaking missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Menon was selected as a NASA astronaut in December 2021 and joined the two-year training next month.

Menon’s wife Anna Wilhelm is also an astronaut and travelled to space in September 2024 as part of Polaris Dawn, a private crewed spaceflight operated by SpaceX. The spaceflight lasted for nearly five days.

While on board the ISS, Menon will conduct a series of experiments to study the physiological toll of long-duration spaceflight and examine how microgravity affects blood flow, vein structure, and blood composition in astronauts.

He will also help test technologies for producing intravenous fluids using the station’s potable water system. Such capabilities could become critical during deep-space missions where medical supplies are limited.

Menon will continue research to refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. Menon will also perform ultrasound investigations using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions.

(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

NASA Launches High-Risk Mission To Rescue Swift Space Telescope Before It Falls Back To Earth

Deutsche Welle — Sat, 4 Jul 2026 12:12:26 +0530

Reported by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez with AP, AFP | Edited by: Sean Sinico

A recovery mission to rescue NASA's telescope Swift Observatory launched on Friday, with a three-armed spacecraft successfully rocketing into orbit from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The Swift telescope satellite is 1.6 tons (1.4 metric tons) and circling 224 miles (360 kilometers) above Earth.

US defense contractor Northrop Grumman launched Katalyst Space Technologies' three-armed Link spacecraft to do the job of reaching and capturing Swift in roughly a month.

"This is a high-risk, high-reward mission," Katalyst Space CEO Ghonhee Lee said ahead of liftoff.

"The biggest danger was always we don't launch anything and we let Swift burn up in the atmosphere. So we were always trying to avoid that risk, and our team has done that," Lee added.

Katalyst's Link spacecraft was launched by a small rocket named Pegasus, which was launched from an airplane.

What happened to Swift?

The Swift telescope was launched in 2004 and since then, it has been tracking some of the biggest explosions in the universe, including gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars.

But the aging structure has been affected by recent solar storms and is sinking faster than ever, heading toward Earth.

NASA has paid $30 million (€26 million) to Katalyst in an attempt to capture the telescope and boost its orbit.

If the Link spacecraft is successful, Swift could return to work by September.

To do so, the Link spacecraft must raise the telescope's altitude by 150 miles using its thrusters to boost Swift slowly, without heavy jostling.

A time-sensitive mission

NASA warned that the telescope would sink too low to recover by autumn of this year, and predicted it would plunge to its demise in October if it remained unaided.

Katalyst managed to organize the mission in just nine months, but bad weather and technical issues caused a series of last-minute launch delays.

"This is a lot of firsts stacked on top of each other," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA's astrophysics division, told reporters days before the launch. "I'm just deeply thankful that we're even giving this a go."

(Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.)

Northern Lights Could Be Visible Across The US This Weekend: Here's Where To Look

Annie Sharma — Thu, 2 Jul 2026 10:29:09 +0530

A strong solar flare erupted from a sunspot facing Earth on June 30, causing radio blackouts across parts of North America. The flare, classified as X1.1, came from sunspot region AR4479 and peaked at 4:50 p.m. EDT. The X-rays from the eruption reached Earth in just over eight minutes, triggering R3-level radio blackouts on the daylight side of the planet. High-frequency radio users in North America faced temporary signal issues during the event.

Beyond the flare itself, the eruption also sent a large cloud of solar material into space, and part of it may be heading our way.

Could Geomagnetic Storm Be Coming Later This Week?

The eruption also produced a coronal mass ejection, which is essentially a massive cloud of magnetised solar plasma thrown out into space. Early readings suggested most of the material was moving northward, which would have reduced the risk to Earth.

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However, after further analysis, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Centre issued a Moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm watch for July 3, indicating that at least part of the CME could land on Earth with a significant blow.

A G2-level storm can push the northern lights further south than usual. According to NOAA, auroras could become visible across some northern and upper Midwestern U.S. states, from New York to Idaho, provided skies are dark and clear.

What Are Solar Flares And How Do They Differ From CMEs?

Solar flares are sudden bursts of energy released when magnetic fields around sunspots become twisted and reconnect. They are ranked using five classes: A, B, C, M and X, with X-class flares being the most powerful.

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CMEs behave a little differently. Unlike radiation from a solar flare, which travels at the speed of light, clouds of charged particles from a CME typically take one to three days to reach Earth. If they arrive in the right magnetic orientation, they can disturb Earth's magnetic field and trigger geomagnetic storm conditions.

Why You Can't Stop Scrolling: Science Behind TikTok's Grip On Your Brain

Deutsche Welle — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 22:43:28 +0530

Edited by Ben Knight

For many of us, the day often starts with a swipe. Before getting out of bed, we might scroll through TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. A few clips become a few dozen. Minutes become an hour. Then, later in the day, we return for more.

Researchers at Germany's University of Bayreuth examined the phenomenon, especially in children and adolescents.

The review, published in the journal European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, analyzed 42 studies involving nearly 30,000 participants, most of them adolescents and young adults.

Importantly, the authors examined something often overlooked in public debate: The mechanics of the platforms themselves.

Far from TV on a smaller screen

The researchers identified three features common to short-form video platforms: The personalization of algorithms, the unpredictability of the infinite scroll and the novelty of rapidly switching among videos.

These features create a media environment unlike television, traditional online video or older social networks, they say.

Short-form video platforms work differently. Algorithms continuously select content, users rarely need to make decisions and there is effectively no natural stopping point.

"TikTok is fundamentally different from television," Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, told DW. "On the other side of a TikTok screen is a massive supercomputer pointed directly at your brain. It is trained on the behavior of 3 billion other human primates."

"The attention economy is essentially a race to the bottom of the brainstem," Raskin said. "If TikTok doesn't occupy your time, Facebook, Instagram or another platform will."

"This triggers a ruthless knife fight for human attention," he added.

The hit and miss of dopamine

Scientists have long understood that highly rewarding experiences activate the brain's reward system. Short-form videos (SFVs) are especially effective at exploiting that system.

Anna Lembke, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and author of the book Dopamine Nation, told DW that SFVs combined several features that make them unusually compelling.

"Moving images are themselves like catnip for the mammalian brain," she said. "Short-form videos are a more potent form, and hence more addictive, leading to video chaining, akin to chain-smoking,' wherein once we begin it's hard to stop, even when we want to."

Over-stimulating the brain's reward system with highly rewarding unnatural triggers like gambling and binge-eating causes a flood of dopamine, the brain's reward and pleasure neurotransmitter. To protect itself, the brain "downregulates," with cells decreasing the number of dopamine receptors needed to experience pleasure. Repeated hyperstimulation can, over time, make the brain less sensitive to reward.

"We need more videos over time, not to get high, but just to feel normal," she said. "And we lose our ability to engage in and take joy in other, more modest rewards, like watching a sunset, sharing a meal with friends, or reading a good book."

According to Lembke, the endless nature of modern feeds may gradually change how that reward system responds: "Endless scrolling leads to reward desensitization, that is, less dopamine being released over time in response to similar rewards, such that more videos with more extreme content are needed to get the same effect."

The result can be a paradox familiar to many users: Continuing to search for the next rewarding clip even when the experience itself is no longer particularly enjoyable.

Why personalization may matter most

While infinite scrolling receives much of the public attention, Ben Rein, a neuroscientist, science communicator and author of the book Why Brains Need Friends, believes that the real power lies in appealing to the individual.

"Infinite scroll and novelty matter, but they're delivery mechanisms; personalization is the engine," Rein told DW.

He describes a typical TikTok feed as "a system running thousands of tiny experiments on you, learning faster than you do what keeps you watching."

Rein also argues that personalization becomes especially powerful when combined with the unpredictability Lembke describes: "It's the combination, with personalization as the part that makes it so attractive and scalable across every human that uses social media."

Lembke sees a similar dynamic. "The algorithms evolve the perfect drug of choice for each unique person in real time, through our interactions with the platform, which also makes the exchange feel organic and alive," she said.

"Novelty overcomes the boredom that develops with tolerance: That is, needing more potent versions over time to get the same effect," she added. "Unpredictability engages the treasure-seeking, foraging part of our brain that evolved to keep us persistent and striving in a harsh ecosystem of rare and uncertain rewards, making those rare rewards that much more rewarding when we find them."

What comes next?

Across the 42 studies examined by the University of Bayreuth team, several themes emerged repeatedly.

They include higher attentional difficulties, lower working-memory performance, higher anxiety and depression, weaker self-regulation, and addiction-like patterns. However, the research team emphasized that the evidence remains limited.

"There is still insufficient evidence to conclusively claim that short-form video platforms cause 'brainrot' or extreme dopamine effects," lead author Marlene Ebster told DW.

Rather than recommending blanket bans, the authors suggest helping young people understand how recommendation systems work and how platform designs influence behavior.

For Rein, the next frontier for platform designers is probably deeper personalization.

"As recommendation models improve, and increasingly as AI can generate or tailor content to the individual in real time, the gap between 'what you'd enjoy' and 'what you're shown' will likely keep shrinking."

The growing sophistication of artificial intelligence may also become increasingly important.

"We are nowhere near the peak of attention engineering," said Raskin. "We are now entering the era of AI 2.0, which is generative AI. This technology can actually create entirely new content from scratch."

"The capabilities of generative AI to maximize attention, ranging from synthetic media to highly personalized synthetic relationships, will completely dwarf the power of any psychological engineering we have seen to date," he warned.

Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live. for DW