Today's Science Pulse
UK-led study reveals hidden massive star clusters deep within nearby galaxies
Astronomers using the VLA and ALMA uncovered previously unseen giant star clusters embedded deep inside nearby galaxies. The findings show that young stellar activity drives the evolution of these galaxies, reshaping their interstellar environments. Multiple observations confirm the clusters act as hidden “ring factories” of star formation.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Foundation Alloy raises $22M Series A
Urban Temperature Dynamics in Sri Lanka: A Comparative Machine Learning and Time-Series Analysis Across Wet, Intermediate, and Dry Climate Zones
Researchers analyzed 13 years of daily temperature data from three Sri Lankan urban stations representing wet, intermediate and dry climate zones. They compared traditional ARIMA‑Fourier time‑series models with several machine‑learning techniques, including multiple linear regression, polynomial regression, random forest and XGBoost. Support vector regression with an RBF kernel delivered the highest accuracy, achieving R² values above 0.98 and mean absolute errors between 0.11 °C and 0.13 °C. Feature importance highlighted apparent temperature, daily max/min and evapotranspiration as key predictors.
Patchouli Lotion Matches DEET, Blocks Mosquito Bites for 3 Hours
A patchouli oil-infused lotion provided three hours of complete protection against Aedes aegypti mosquito bites, matching the effectiveness of DEET at a lower concentration and offering a promising natural alternative. mosquitocontrol
Brain Stimulation Boosts Willpower to Quit Smoking
A double‑blind, fMRI‑guided trial found that high‑frequency rTMS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) cut smokers’ daily consumption by about 11 cigarettes, outperforming sham and orbitofrontal cortex stimulation. The 15‑session protocol boosted prefrontal activity while suppressing reward‑related regions, correlating...
How to Build a Single-Cell RNA-Seq Analysis Pipeline with Scanpy for PBMC Clustering, Annotation, and Trajectory Discovery
The tutorial walks through a full Scanpy pipeline applied to the PBMC‑3k benchmark, covering quality control, doublet removal, normalization, variable‑gene selection, dimensionality reduction, clustering, and cell‑type annotation. It then extends the analysis with PAGA‑based trajectory inference, diffusion pseudotime, and a...
New Obesity Discovery Rewrites Decades of Fat Science
Scientists have identified hormone‑sensitive lipase (HSL) inside the nucleus of adipocytes, overturning the long‑standing view that the enzyme works only on lipid droplets. The nuclear HSL binds gene‑regulatory proteins, influencing mitochondrial activity and extracellular‑matrix maintenance, and its abundance shifts with...
Development and Validation of a Multimodal Interpretable Machine Learning Model with SHAP for Malignancy Risk Prediction in Bethesda III Thyroid...
Researchers created a multimodal, interpretable machine‑learning model that combines clinical data, ultrasound features, and BRAF V600E mutation status to predict malignancy in Bethesda III thyroid nodules. In a dual‑center study of 490 patients, the fusion model achieved an AUC of 0.959 in...
No One Knows Why Dark Side of Venus Has a Faint Glow
In 1643 Giovanni Battista Riccioli reported a faint glow on Venus’s night side, a phenomenon still unexplained today. Modern astronomers have revisited the observation with advanced telescopes but have not reached consensus on its cause. Proposed explanations range from atmospheric...
Black Holes Slamming Into Scorching Stars May Be Causing Mysterious Blue Flashes in the Cosmos
Researchers propose that luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are produced when a black hole or neutron star collides with a Wolf‑Rayet star. Analysis of host galaxies shows LFBOTs favor low‑mass, star‑forming galaxies and occur away from dense stellar regions,...
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Formed in Ultra‑cold Space, Study Finds
Astronomers using ALMA and ESA’s JUICE spacecraft have measured a deuterium‑to‑hydrogen ratio in comet 3I/ATLAS that is 30‑40 times higher than in Solar System comets. The finding indicates the object formed in an ultra‑cold interstellar environment, offering a rare glimpse...
Strength-First Workouts Cut Body Fat by Nearly Double, Korean Study Shows
A 12‑week experiment with 45 overweight men revealed that strength training before cardio halved body‑fat loss time, delivering roughly 4% total‑body fat reduction versus 2% for the reverse order. The finding could reshape workout sequencing for weight‑loss programs worldwide.
GlycanAge to Launch Inflammaging Conference in Dubrovnik, Targeting Clinical Use
GlycanAge, together with the Mayo Clinic, announced a landmark conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, opening June 19 with a dedicated clinical day on June 20. The event aims to turn 25 years of inflammaging research into actionable diagnostics for doctors and patients.
Amazon Teams with Transaera to Deploy Rooftop Heat‑Pump HVAC, Targeting 40% Energy Savings
Amazon announced a multi‑year commercial agreement with Transaera to roll out rooftop heat‑pump HVAC technology across its logistics hubs after a six‑month trial showed 40% energy savings. The partnership advances Amazon’s Climate Pledge goal of net‑zero emissions by 2040 and...
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo Secure Earlier‑Line Enhertu Approvals in South Korea
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo announced that South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved Enhertu for first‑line metastatic HER2‑positive breast cancer and second‑line HER2‑positive gastric cancer. The decisions, based on DESTINY‑Breast09 and DESTINY‑Gastric04 trials, could broaden the drug’s Asian...
Swift Reboost Mission Completes Environmental Tests
NASA and Katalyst Space announced that the Link spacecraft, built to grapple and re‑boost the aging Swift gamma‑ray observatory, has cleared a full suite of environmental tests at Goddard. The tests included launch‑vibration, thermal‑vacuum cycling, robotic‑arm deployment and electric‑thruster firings....
Why Massive AI Models Actually Generalize Better
Harvard physicists have used a simplified ridge‑regression toy model to mathematically explain why over‑parameterized AI systems often generalize better as they grow. By applying statistical‑physics tools such as renormalization, they show that high‑dimensional data fluctuations act as a stabilizing regularizer,...
A USDA Cow Scientist Won an Award for Helping Dairy Farmers Produce More Milk. He’s Worried About the Future of...
Paul VanRaden, a USDA dairy‑genetics scientist, received the 2026 Service to America medal for developing a genomic prediction system that lets farmers pinpoint high‑milk‑production calves. His methodology helped raise U.S. milk output since the 1980s even as the national herd...
Three in 10 AVRs in Adults Younger Than 65 Are Transcatheter
A registry analysis of 34,504 U.S. patients under 65 undergoing aortic valve replacement shows 28.5% received TAVI, up from 15.7% in 2016 and plateauing around 29% by 2024, while isolated SAVR fell from 43.8% to 27.0%. Growth in TAVI accelerated...
China Accelerates Wind Power Build‑Out with Massive Desert Turbines and Deep‑Water Offshore Project
China has surged ahead in wind energy, installing three times the global increase in capacity last year and completing its deepest offshore wind farm 45 miles off Yantai. The push, driven by strategic security concerns and a robust grid, underscores...
United Airlines Gets FAA Nod for Starlink-Enabled Embraer 175 Jets
United Airlines has secured FAA approval to outfit its Embraer 175 regional jets with SpaceX's Starlink low‑latency satellite broadband. The airline plans to launch passenger flights using the system in May and will install the hardware on dozens of aircraft...
Stanford, KAIST and BASF Forge Uniform Five‑Metal Nanocrystals for Hydrogen Catalysis
Stanford chemists, together with KAIST and BASF, have synthesized a single, uniform nanocrystal that incorporates five distinct metals—ruthenium, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper. Published in Science on May 7, the discovery overturns expectations that added complexity creates disorder and could slash...
QuantWare Secures $178 Million Series B to Build 10,000‑Qubit Processors
Netherlands‑based QuantWare closed a $178 million Series B round, led by Intel Capital with participation from In‑Q‑Tel, to mass‑produce its VIO‑40K 10,000‑qubit processor and construct the KiloFab quantum chip fab. The funding marks the largest private investment in a quantum‑processor company and...
FDA Grants National Priority Voucher to Partner Therapeutics' BIZENGRI for Rare Liver Cancer
Partner Therapeutics announced that the FDA awarded a Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher for its bispecific antibody BIZENGRI, targeting NRG1‑positive cholangiocarcinoma. The voucher could cut review time to as little as two months, accelerating a therapy for an ultra‑rare liver cancer...
Glaucoma, Hypertension May Be Linked to Dementia Risk
Researchers presented data linking glaucoma and hypertension to poorer cognitive performance, as measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The analysis used an AI‑ready electronic health record dataset to compare patients with and without glaucoma. Both conditions were more prevalent among...
Long-Term Crop Research Studying Ways to Lower Input Costs and Improve Soil Health
Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station long‑term agroecosystem research (LTAR) is testing an aspirational cropping system that slashes nitrogen fertilizer use to about one‑third of conventional rates. By pairing cover crops, no‑till practices, and a diversified rotation of corn, soy,...
COVID Response Coordinator Shares Why the Hantavirus Won’t Turn Into Another Pandemic
Former White House COVID‑19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told Good Morning America that the recent hantavirus outbreak on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius is unlikely to become a pandemic. He explained that hantavirus, especially the rare Andes strain,...
Volunteer Helps With Monitoring Sea Otters in Monterey County
Retired Navy commander Ron Eby joined the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve as a volunteer, conducting nocturnal boat patrols that revealed many southern sea otters are permanent residents rather than occasional visitors. Over two years of twice‑monthly monitoring, the...
![[Comment] Offline: Climate and Health—Time to Step up Our Activism](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/f3ce00c1c5aa7a835932084ee24ac680.webp)
[Comment] Offline: Climate and Health—Time to Step up Our Activism
A new study in Geophysical Research Letters finds that global warming has accelerated since 2015 with over 98% confidence, attributing the surge partly to reduced cooling aerosols from air‑pollution cuts. The 2026 Lancet Europe Countdown reports rising heat‑related mortality, longer...
![[Comment] RTS,S/AS01 Implementation Reduces Mortality in African Children](https://hixhlmpcokxhartfkpyi.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/thumbnails/421f4ef62893dab4b11bed93097fa02e.webp)
[Comment] RTS,S/AS01 Implementation Reduces Mortality in African Children
A recent Lancet analysis shows that the RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix) malaria vaccine rollout in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi cut child mortality by roughly 20% after three years of implementation. The program reached over five million children under five, integrating the vaccine...
Effect of Subscapularis Integrity on Functional Recovery After Posterior Latissimus Dorsi Tendon Transfer for Posterior–Superior Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears
Posterior latissimus dorsi (LD) tendon transfer significantly reduces pain and improves function in patients with posterior‑superior irreparable rotator cuff tears (PSIRCTs). In a retrospective series of 53 patients, those with an intact subscapularis tendon achieved higher Constant (70.7 vs 62.3)...
LANL: Scientists Map the Shape of RNA That Can Shut Down Genes
Los Alamos National Laboratory and an international team have mapped the three‑dimensional structure of the SINE B2 ribozyme, a self‑cleaving RNA that acts as a molecular switch in mammalian cells. By integrating X‑ray scattering, biochemical mutagenesis, and biophysical probing with simulations...
Electrospinning of Hydroxypropyl Chitosan Nanofibers for Bone Regeneration Application
Researchers electrospun nanofiber mats using hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCH) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in varying ratios to assess osteoconductive potential in MC3T3 pre‑osteoblast cells. Characterization by SEM, FT‑IR and mechanical testing confirmed uniform fiber formation. Biological assays showed that a 50/50...
Glint of Light in Therapy for Deadly ALS After Decades of Struggle
Researchers reported that tofersen, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting the SOD1 gene, dramatically slowed and even reversed disease progression in a subset of ALS patients with the rare SOD1 mutation. The phase‑III trial, published in JAMA Neurology, showed about a quarter...
Could Viagra and Cialis Help Protect Eye Health? New Study Suggests a Link
A new observational study of more than 47,000 men aged 40 and older found that users of phosphodiesterase‑5 (PDE‑5) inhibitors such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra had a modestly lower incidence of glaucoma signs and open‑angle glaucoma over three years....
Researchers Debunk ‘5-Second Rule’ in Operating Room
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center dropped 213 polyethylene knee and hip liners onto operating‑room floors and found that 34% became contaminated with clinically important pathogens within seconds. Disinfection with 2% chlorhexidine‑alcohol or 10% povidone‑iodine reduced overall contamination to 19%,...
The Groundbreaking Discoveries Historians Are Hiding From You
Michael Button, a fast‑growing YouTube historian, discusses three recent finds that could rewrite human prehistory. A CT‑reconstructed skull from China indicates large‑brained hominins were present a million years ago, far earlier than previously thought. Archaeologists uncovered a wooden structure dated...
Billion-Dollar Ideas Lurk in Free PubMed Data
Martin Shkreli came on MFM a while back and told Shaan and I something interesting: PubMed has 40M+ biomedical papers. It's the government database of every medical innovation ever logged. And it's 100% free. He told us if you sit there and read long...
Longevity Field Shifts From Consensus to Convergence
‘We are not at consensus but we are at convergence’ @LongevityTech @TinkingGumbel with @prof_horvath https://t.co/rGqQhNHYxw https://t.co/tcfNH3S2bH
How to Manage Your Health Anxiety About Hantavirus
An outbreak of hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius has sickened eight passengers, killing three. WHO officials stress it is not COVID, but the news has sparked widespread health anxiety reminiscent of early 2020. Experts explain that post‑COVID...
OutFrontCNN to Cover Latest H
Scheduled for @OutFrontCNN 7 PM Eastern this Friday evening to discuss the latest on Hantavirus
INBX to Release INBRX‑106 Phase 2 Data Monday
$INBX reporting INBRX-106 ph2 data on Monday. This is the ox40 cancer drug that reportedly drew interest from Merck and others?
Some People Can ‘See’ Time, Thanks to This Hidden Superpower—And It’s Quietly Shaping Their Perception
Researchers are shedding new light on time‑space synesthesia, a rare form of synesthesia where days, months, and years are perceived as spatial layouts around the body. Studies estimate that roughly 4% of the global population—over 330 million people—experience some type of...
MRNA Nanoparticles Reprogram T Cells In Vivo, Show Promise
Impressive. In vivo reprogramming of killer T cells with mRNA-nanoparticle packaging in non-human primates. Multiple use cases in the clinic vs pathogens and cancer, no less an alternative version vs autoimmune diseases https://t.co/ddhebnxvkE @SciImmunology
New Electrolyte Stabilizes High‑Voltage Sodium‑Ion Batteries
New electrolyte tech enables stable operation of high-voltage sodium-ion batteries #energysky -- via pv magazine usa: https://t.co/IvQBAb2YER
Scientists Think the Fifth Dimension May Exist—And It’s Hiding Behind the Universe We Know
Popular Mechanics’ "Astounding Pop Mech Show" highlighted a new theoretical proposal that a curled‑up fifth dimension could exist within our universe. Physicists suggest ultra‑light particles might tunnel into this hidden dimension, effectively vanishing from detection while still exerting gravitational pull....
Optimal Exercise‑Fasting Dose Boosts Metabolic Health
Optimal dosage of exercise combined with intermittent fasting for body composition and cardiometabolic health in adults: a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis https://t.co/JFrFVMpGDq
Reality Emerges When the Universe Observes Itself
The universe viewed as a self excited circuit, the origin of 'I am a strange loop'. Universe starting small, grows, emerges into observer-participancy, which in turn imparts tangible reality. Wheeler. https://t.co/qTf56IzE34
Multimodal Remote Digital Phenotyping for Detecting and Tracking Early Parkinsonian Change in LRRK2 Carriers
Researchers introduced a remote, multimodal video platform to phenotype Parkinson’s disease risk in LRRK2 gene carriers. The study analyzed 829 participants, including 158 carriers, and achieved 92.9% accuracy (AUROC 0.92, AUPRC 0.82) in distinguishing non‑manifest carriers from controls. A continuous “PD Weigh‑In” score...
How Farmers Recognise Breeds: Evidence From Nili-Ravi Buffalo Rearers in India
A new study of Punjab’s Nili‑Ravi buffalo shows farmer perception drives breed identification. Using stratified sampling of 240 households and fuzzy‑set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, researchers found pure Nili‑Ravi rearers rely on pink tongue, short forelimbs and walled eyes, while mixed...
Axiom Readies for Yearlong Spacesuit Qualification Testing
NASA’s Artemis program relies on Axiom Space to deliver its next‑generation xEMU lunar suits. Axiom has secured a $228.5 million task order to build four suits for Artemis IV and is beginning a year‑long qualification campaign that includes vibration, thermal‑vacuum and lander‑interface...
CDC Alerts New Jersey of Possible Hantavirus Exposure
JUST IN: The CDC has notified New Jersey health officials about 2 residents who may have been exposed to hantavirus