Know What's Happening in Science
Know What's Happening in Science
Spike D614 Reversions Detected in Delta and Omicron BA.2 Variants
Researchers from the University of Tsukuba and the Institute of Science Tokyo identified nonrandom reversions of the SARS‑CoV‑2 spike protein from the dominant G614 back to the ancestral D614. The reversions are concentrated in delta and omicron BA.2 lineages and show distinct temporal spikes and geographic clustering.
A recent study of Rufous‑collared Sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) in central Chile compared individuals from urban and wild habitats. Researchers measured 34 urban and 64 wild birds, documenting morphology and song during the breeding season. Urban birds were significantly smaller, lighter, and exhibited poorer body condition. Their songs showed higher minimum frequencies, a shift linked to elevated city noise levels and altered food availability.
University College London researchers have created a hydrogel‑based axon model that mimics the ~5 kPa softness and three‑dimensional geometry of real brain axons. The tunable micropillar arrays enable human oligodendrocytes to form compact, multilayered myelin, a first for fully hydrogel systems....
NASA has reoriented the 2004‑launched Swift observatory to reduce atmospheric drag by roughly 30%, buying critical weeks before its orbit falls below the 300‑kilometer threshold needed for a planned reboost. Updated decay models now show a 10% chance of reaching...
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign have shown that adding microwave heating to conventional frying can cut oil absorption in French fries by up to 30 % while preserving the crisp texture consumers expect. The hybrid process speeds moisture loss,...
Researchers at the Institute of Translational Medicine have shown that pentacene dimers, created via singlet fission, provide a 30% larger interaction cross‑section than traditional pentacene monomers for detecting small ensembles of nuclear spins. Computational modeling using a Lindblad master equation...
YES Artemis II will fly through the Van Allen Belts and no the crew won’t all grow tails. #author #history #space #science #apollo
Researchers have created FeRBG, a magnetic silicon‑enriched biochar gel that dramatically lowers arsenic and antimony uptake in rice. Greenhouse trials showed a 34% reduction in grain arsenic and a 16% drop in antimony, with soil bioavailable fractions falling over 20%....
Researchers at POSTECH have engineered a bacterial retron system to produce programmable, non‑genetic DNA inside living cells, allowing the DNA to act as a functional field agent rather than a static blueprint. The synthetic DNA fragments bind specific proteins, enabling...
A new retrospective study presented at ECO 2026 examined 20,300 adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) against 97,412 matched controls in North‑West London. Over up to four years of follow‑up, OSA patients experienced a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular events or...
A biotech startup has unveiled a biodegradable insulation material made from spent coffee grounds using a novel domino polymerization technique. The resulting panels deliver thermal performance on par with traditional fiberglass while costing roughly $12 per square meter to produce....
Researchers at the Centre for Quantum Technologies introduced adiabatic Ramsey interferometry for trapped‑ion systems, achieving super‑Heisenberg precision in detecting trap anharmonicities and Coulomb‑induced nonlinearities. The method amplifies spin signals through mean‑phonon excitations and operates without entangled‑state preparation, even when ions...
Researchers at the University of Delaware engineered two E. coli strains to create a self‑contained microbial partnership. One strain synthesizes a non‑standard amino acid, while the other depends on that amino acid for growth and protein production. When co‑cultured, the...
NASA released a draft RFP for CLPS 2.0, outlining a $6 billion budget cap, a ten‑year ordering window, larger landers, and support for lunar‑night power and sample return. The agency aims to begin monthly uncrewed lunar deliveries as early as next year,...
Researchers Attila Takacs, Jerome Dubail and Pasquale Calabrese demonstrated that inserting two weak links into a one‑dimensional hard‑core boson lattice gas produces coherent interference fringes, causing density deviations up to 20 % from standard Euler‑scale hydrodynamic predictions. By mapping the bosons...
Researchers analyzing data from 1.5 million UK adults found that individuals with autoimmune diseases are almost twice as likely to have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder compared with the general population. After adjusting for pain, social isolation and...
Researchers at IIT Bombay introduced the quantum connectivity measure (QCM) to quantify the average quality of entanglement across quantum network nodes. The study also defines quantum‑connected fraction (QCF) and quantum clustering coefficient (QCC) as complementary metrics. Findings show that a...
A daily roundup highlights several space industry updates, from Orion’s crew‑toilet functioning after an early glitch to Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft arriving at Tanegashima for a 2026 Phobos sample‑return mission. It also notes Amazon’s stalled acquisition of Globalstar,...
Researchers at the University of Iowa have demonstrated that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can non‑invasively engage the deep hippocampus by targeting cortical regions identified through each patient’s functional connectivity map. In eight neurosurgical patients with intracranial electrodes, personalized TMS elicited...
Jonathan, the 193‑year‑old Seychelles giant tortoise, is alive despite a viral X post falsely announcing his death, which turned out to be part of a crypto‑scam hoax. The article compares Jonathan’s age to other record‑breaking organisms, noting that Greenland sharks...
Intense Santa Ana winds will sweep Southern California from Friday through Saturday, with sustained speeds of 25‑45 mph and gusts reaching 60 mph in Ventura’s mountainous areas. A high‑wind warning has been issued for the western San Gabriel Mountains and Highway 14 corridor, covering communities...
Researchers at the University of Augsburg and the University of Michigan have demonstrated that swapping a single hydrogen atom in a benzene‑diamines molecule with heavier halogens can dramatically alter its thermal conductance. By replacing hydrogen with fluorine, chlorine, bromine or...
Researchers at the School of Physics and Astronomy have unveiled a new eavesdropping technique called Manipulate-and-Observe that targets the classical reconciliation phase of quantum key distribution (QKD). By intercepting between 0% and 11% of photons and injecting subtle errors, the...
Astronomers have identified TOI-5205 b, a Jupiter‑sized exoplanet located about 282 light‑years from Earth, using NASA’s TESS mission. Spectroscopic transits reveal an atmosphere dominated by methane and hydrogen sulfide but surprisingly deficient in heavy elements, while computer models suggest its interior...
And it was done in 1969 using a Fairchild semiconductor chip. As I have heard the story, NASA had to chose between either manual navigation or automatic navigation, because the chips had to in a sealed system to avoid moisture...
That is NASA’s 10th crewed translunar injection burn since 1968. TLI is the quintessential American maneuver.
Biotech breakthroughs have transformed bleeding disorders from fatal diagnoses into manageable chronic conditions, with extended‑half‑life clotting factors, subcutaneous non‑factor drugs, and emerging gene therapies extending dosing intervals to weeks or months. The National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s Pathway to Cures fund...
Nanosecond pulsed electric field applications rejuvenate aging endothelial cells by rescuing mitochondrial-to-nuclear retrograde communication https://t.co/DT8GXNLlxO
The Artemis II is undeniably badass. But can we take a moment to appreciate the Michoud Assembly Facility? https://t.co/aulWNkbYTR
Yesterday, NASA’s Artemis II mission lifted off with four astronauts, marking the first crewed lunar‑orbit flight since the Apollo era. The launch captured worldwide attention, but media coverage quickly shifted to President Trump’s unrelated television appearance and policy remarks. Despite political...
NASA has posted rocket cam views from the launch of Artemis II. Here's SRB staging and the Moonrise the crew observed at T+5 minutes. https://t.co/paJDONlg0a https://t.co/M9lkXnDjHu
a (presumably primordial) Ig-like domain regulates the disease relevant SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes that's pretty cool https://t.co/Iit0Swrx0I
Researchers from the University of Illinois Mechanical Science & Engineering department and NCSA have unveiled a generative AI workflow that designs multi‑material metamaterials directly from target stress‑strain curves. The system leverages a video diffusion model trained on the DeltaAI supercomputer...
Small robots that mimic the sensor-rich fly motion vision system could optimize flight dynamics without the need for complex computation. Learn more in Science #Robotics: https://t.co/HQUR8LdubY https://t.co/XCaZxNEWRV
When an astronaut is suddenly exposed to the vacuum of space, the body does not explode or freeze instantly, but loses consciousness within roughly 10–15 seconds as oxygen delivery to the brain ceases. Gases in the lungs and body fluids...
Researchers at Tsinghua University and collaborators have demonstrated a new optimal‑control protocol that dramatically enhances spin squeezing in a two‑dimensional system with dipolar (α = 3) interactions. By optimizing a single collective transverse field using rotor‑spin‑wave theory, the approach exceeds the traditional...
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have launched a five‑year, $3.3 M NIH‑funded project to develop the first whole‑brain theory linking neuronal metabolic cost to age‑related cognitive decline. The "Metabolic Cost" theory posits that declining energy efficiency, rather than amyloid plaques,...
Boston University, leading the AI for Alzheimer’s Disease (AI4AD) consortium, is coordinating 11 research institutes to apply machine learning to massive genomic, biomarker and cognitive datasets. The team is building the PreSiBO database, which tags predictor, signature, biomarker and outcome...
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have demonstrated photodetectors built from two‑dimensional semiconductor materials directly on silicon nitride waveguide chips. The work, detailed in a doctoral dissertation, shows that cleanroom nanofabrication can integrate ultrathin 2D absorbers with low‑loss waveguides,...
A new narrative review links omega‑3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to musculoskeletal health by tracing their anti‑inflammatory and tissue‑repair pathways from the cellular level to clinical outcomes. The authors detail how omega‑3s remodel cell membranes, shift lipid mediator profiles, and...
A retrospective cohort of 1,152 ischemic stroke patients in China found the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) to be a strong, independent predictor of all‑cause mortality. Over a median 14.2‑month follow‑up, 96 deaths occurred, and each one‑point rise in PNI lowered...
Researchers applied a brief 30‑minute fumigation of 25 µL L⁻¹ hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) to postharvest navel oranges stored at 20 °C for 18 days. The treatment significantly slowed weight loss, preserved soluble solids and titratable acidity, and curtailed the typical decline in total and...
A prospective cohort of 2,554 Chinese pregnant women found that early menarche (before age 13) nearly doubles the odds of delivering a macrosomic infant (birth weight >4,000 g). The analysis identified three dietary patterns, showing that a diet rich in vegetables...
Aging simultaneously erodes skeletal muscle mass and vascular function, creating a feedback loop that accelerates sarcopenia. L‑citrulline boosts nitric‑oxide production, enhancing endothelial health, while leucine stimulates the mTOR pathway to increase muscle protein synthesis. Recent studies show that combining these...
Recent research highlights omega-3 fatty acids as a modifiable risk factor across a spectrum of mental health conditions, from schizophrenia and depression to ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease. The review links dietary shortfalls and an elevated omega-6/omega-3 ratio to heightened neuroinflammation...
A new study using Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope data shows that tiny dwarf galaxies were the primary source of ionising photons that cleared the primordial hydrogen fog after the Big Bang. Observations of the Abell 2744 cluster reveal these...
Physicists at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have demonstrated that toroidal plasma rotation, measured at 88.4 km/s, explains the long‑standing asymmetry of particle strikes on tokamak divertor plates. The finding, published in Physical Review Letters, aligns simulations with experiments and could accelerate...
Aggressor Adventures announced a week‑long live‑aboard expedition to Tubbataha Reef from June 13‑20, 2026, featuring Dr. Kent Carpenter and Dr. Klaus Stiefel alongside the Director of the Tubbataha Management Office. The trip offers travelers hands‑on access to cutting‑edge reef research,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s oral GLP‑1 obesity medication Foundayo on April 1, 2026. The once‑daily pill can be taken any time of day without food or water restrictions and is priced between $149 and $349 a month,...
.@Amazonleo to @FCC: @SpaceX concerns about safety of our orbit-insertion altitude are disingenuous, but we'll address them anyway. @Arianespace @ulalaunch @blueorigin @NASA @SpaceNav2.https://t.co/thBEYhMtho https://t.co/4TA3hcqlU6
Sirtuins mediate the reduction of age-related oxidative damage in the cochlea under a cocoa-rich diet 📢"These results indicate that cocoa protects against oxidative damage through Sirtuins." 🍫 https://t.co/MLRfhChFYy https://t.co/BPh3sETpFm
