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
Scientists Reveal Key to Intense Acidity in Fluorinated Aluminas
A research team at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics used ultrafast magic‑angle spinning NMR to pinpoint the exact atomic structure responsible for the strong Brønsted acidity of fluorinated gamma‑alumina. They identified a unique F₁–Al_IV–μ₂–OH bridging hydroxyl site that appears only in fluorinated samples and remains stable after moisture exposure. Catalytic tests on 1‑octadecene demonstrated that these single‑site acids dramatically boost conversion and aromatization rates. The findings provide a structural blueprint for designing more robust, high‑performance fluorinated catalysts.
OP-3136
OP‑3136, a KAT6A‑selective inhibitor, entered Phase 1/2 trials for advanced hormone‑receptor‑positive breast cancer. The drug mimics the pyrophosphate of acetyl‑CoA using an acyl‑sulfonamide scaffold, delivering high specificity for the epigenetic writer KAT6A. Olema Pharmaceuticals is testing OP‑3136 in combination with SERDs...
Cockatoos Mimic Peers to Sharpen Adaptation Skills, Study Finds
A new ethological study reveals that cockatoos actively mimic the vocalizations of their flock mates, using peer imitation to broaden their acoustic repertoire and improve adaptive responses to environmental challenges. Researchers recorded over 2,000 calls across three Australian cockatoo populations,...
China Space Breakthroughs Forecast
China’s aerospace giant CASC announced an aggressive rollout of missions through 2025, including the Chang’e‑7 lunar probe to scout the Moon’s south pole, the Hubble‑class Xuntian space telescope, and a massive Guowang broadband satellite constellation. The Tiangong space station will...
From Resistance Training to Robotic Surgery, New ASBrS Research Points Toward More Personalized Breast Cancer Care
Four studies presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons meeting highlight a shift toward less invasive, patient‑centered breast cancer care. A three‑month supervised resistance‑training program boosted strength and body composition across lumpectomy, mastectomy and axillary‑dissection patients. Data showed that...
What’s Safe to Eat? Birds of a Feather Learn Together
Australian sulfur‑crested cockatoos use social learning to decide if new foods are safe, a behavior documented in a recent PLOS Biology study. Researchers observed the birds watching a peer eat colored almonds before sampling the snack themselves. The findings show...
Methane, Exposed
The UCLA Emmett Institute’s STOP Methane project released two new 2025 reports identifying the world’s top 25 methane emitters in the waste and oil‑and‑gas sectors, based on satellite observations from Planet Labs’ Tanager‑1 and NASA’s EMIT instruments. The waste‑sector list spots...
Sydnexis to Present New Data From Phase 3 STAR Trial of SYD-101 at ARVO 2026 Annual Meeting
Sydnexis announced it will unveil new subgroup analysis data from the Phase 3 STAR trial of its low‑dose atropine eye drop SYD‑101 at the ARVO 2026 meeting in Denver. The analysis focuses on children with fast‑progressing myopia, a cohort that typically...
Pregnant, Postpartum Women Struggle to Overcome Selenium Deficiency: Study
A multicountry analysis of the Women First trial examined whether a lipid‑based supplement containing 130 µg of selenium could improve maternal selenium status in Guatemala, India and Pakistan. The researchers found that supplementation did not raise serum selenium levels, which actually...
Untitled
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day showcased a video that simulates waves on Earth and on Saturn’s moon Titan under identical breezes. Researchers explain that Titan’s low gravity, dense atmosphere and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons produce taller, slower‑moving waves compared...
Labor Stress Triggers Hormone Surge That Prepares Newborns
Birth is a stressful event for your baby. That is not a bad thing. It is by design. When your baby goes through labor, their adrenaline and norepinephrine spike to levels higher than most humans ever experience in normal life....
Non-Tobacco Nicotine Products Tied to Pregnancy, Labor Complications
A multi‑institutional study of 77,549 pregnant patients presented at the ACOG meeting found that non‑tobacco nicotine use—primarily vaping and nicotine pouches—significantly raises the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm labor, cesarean delivery, and maternal death. Relative risks ranged from...
T-Shirts Have Become a Facial Recognition Threat, a New Study Shows How to Stop It
Researchers at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences have demonstrated that T‑shirts printed with human faces can reliably fool popular facial‑recognition systems. Testing three open‑source detectors—RetinaFace, MTCNN and dlib—on the TFPA database of 1,600 images yielded detection rates above 99 percent,...
New Semaglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder Trial Shows Big Drops in Drinking
A Lancet‑published, double‑blind, 26‑week trial found once‑weekly semaglutide markedly reduced alcohol consumption in participants with alcohol use disorder and obesity. Across primary drinking endpoints, the semaglutide arm showed statistically significant declines compared with placebo, despite both groups receiving identical cognitive‑behavioral...
Here’s Why Dreams During Naps Are So Weird
A Paris Brain Institute team recorded 92 habitual nappers as they fell asleep while holding a bottle that would wake them. Participants rated their mental experience, revealing four distinct clusters ranging from fleeting memories to bizarre, uncontrolled imagery. EEG data...
Bill Nye Demonstrates Experiments that Break Down Artemis II Mission
Bill Nye, chief ambassador of The Planetary Society, appeared on CBS Mornings to break down NASA’s Artemis II mission with hands‑on experiments. Using a turntable Earth‑Moon model, he illustrated the launch, trans‑lunar injection, lunar flyby and re‑entry phases. The segment highlighted...
Gut Microbe’s Sulfated Bile Acid Eases Pediatric Sepsis
Researchers identified deoxycholic acid 3‑sulfate (DCA‑3S) as a gut‑derived metabolite that mitigates pediatric sepsis. Metabolomic and metagenomic analyses revealed Enterococcus raffinosus as the primary producer, accounting for over 80 % of DCA‑3S synthesis. In mouse models, DCA‑3S restored intestinal barrier integrity and dampened...
STAT+: Axsome Wins FDA Nod for Alzheimer’s Agitation
Axsome Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted a regulatory nod for its investigational therapy aimed at treating agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. The agency’s decision clears the path for accelerated clinical development, potentially moving the drug...
Air Pollution Crisis Hits 129 Nations, Worst in South Asia
With 129 out of 142 countries having air that exceeds WHO safe limits, there is a systemic global air quality crisis, which is most acute in South Asia and the Middle East.
Novel Pulsed Field Ablation Technology ‘Works’
A first‑in‑human trial of Pulse Biosciences' nanosecond pulsed‑field ablation (CellFX nsPFA 360) treated 177 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The catheter delivered >10,000 V nanosecond pulses, achieving 100% acute lesion success and 91% durability at 2‑3 months. At one year, 89.7% of patients remained free...
Artemis Astronauts Talk "Bird Bath" Showers, Space Exploration Dream and More
Artemis crew members fielded live questions from students, sharing candid details about daily life aboard the lunar gateway. They described the unconventional "bird bath" shower method that uses a no‑gravity rinse, and recounted a recent toilet malfunction that underscored waste‑management...
DESI-HVS1 Is an Old Hypervelocity Star Ejected From the Galactic Center, Observations Suggest
Chinese astronomers using DESI and Gaia have identified DESI‑HVS1, an old, metal‑poor F‑type star traveling at about 523 km s⁻¹. At roughly 12,300 light‑years away, its trajectory points to an ejection from the Galactic Center 12.9 million years ago with an initial speed near...
AI Processing of Earth Images Can Now Run In Space
Planet Labs has demonstrated the first successful run of AI image processing on a satellite, using its Pelican‑4 platform to automatically detect and box more than a dozen aircraft at an Australian airport. The onboard NVIDIA Jetson ORIN GPU analyzes a...
Peptides Are Unproven as Health Aids. FDA May Unleash Them Anyway
The FDA is poised to broaden access to injectable peptides by allowing compounding pharmacies to produce them and by considering their inclusion in oral dietary supplements. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly opposed what he...
The Expert on 'Super Aging' Breaks Down the Science — and Grift — in Anti-Aging
Cardiologist Eric Topol argues that the anti‑aging boom should shift from chasing longevity to extending health span, the years free of major disease. His research on “Super Agers” over 80 showed genetics play a modest role, while exercise, sleep, social...
Programmable RNA Targeting via DNA-Guided CRISPR-Cas12a
A team of molecular biologists has reengineered the CRISPR‑Cas12a nuclease to cleave RNA using a DNA guide, creating a programmable RNA‑targeting platform. The DNA‑guided Cas12a system achieved up to 90% knockdown of endogenous transcripts in human cell lines and functioned...
Cu-Ion Crosslinked Membranes Boost High-Temp Fuel Cells
Researchers have unveiled a copper‑ion crosslinked polymer electrolyte membrane that dramatically improves high‑temperature proton‑exchange fuel cells. The new membrane delivers up to 45% higher proton conductivity at 200 °C and sustains 5,000 hours of thermal‑cycling durability. Bench tests show a 30% boost...
Europe’s Climate Crisis Demands Immediate Solar, Not Net‑Zero Dreams
The WMO just dropped its Europe State of the Climate 2025 report. Here's the reality Big Oil don't want us to look at >CO2 levels are at a 2-million-year high >Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world....
Hunting the Elusive Eta Aquariid Meteors
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the night of May 5‑6, 2026, offering a Zenithal Hourly Rate that can reach 60‑100 meteors per hour. Its radiant sits just south of the celestial equator, giving northern observers only a narrow pre‑dawn...
Under Crushing Hypergravity, Fruit Flies Adapt—And Recover
UC Riverside researchers exposed fruit flies to hypergravity up to 13 G using a custom centrifuge. The insects not only survived but reproduced, showing distinct behavioral shifts: 4 G triggered prolonged hyper‑activity, while 7–13 G suppressed movement. Over weeks, activity levels normalized, accompanied...
The Body Doesn’t Know the Difference Between Thought and Reality
The article explains that the body reacts to thoughts as if they were real events, because the nervous system responds to patterns of activation rather than logical verification. Intense, repeated, or emotionally charged mental imagery can trigger physiological changes such...
Unforced Variations: May 2026
RealClimate’s May 2026 "Unforced Variations" post aggregates four hot‑button climate topics: an upcoming El Niño forecast from Columbia University, a competitive clash of climate‑model predictions, a New York Times exposé on risky geo‑engineering schemes, and a Carbon Brief report showing renewables outpacing fossil‑fuel generation for...
DESI Completes Largest 3D Cosmic Map, Boosting Dark Energy Research
The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) wrapped up its five‑year survey, producing a three‑dimensional map that charts more than 47 million galaxies and quasars—the most detailed cosmic cartography to date. The dataset, collected from the Mayall 4‑meter telescope at Kitt Peak,...
Radiology Study Links Ultra‑Processed Foods to Thigh Muscle Fat, Experts Question Impact on Gains
A recent Radiology study reports higher fat infiltration in the thigh muscles of adults consuming ultra‑processed diets, sparking debate about protein powders and bars. Nutrition scientist Stuart Phillips argues that total protein intake and amino‑acid profile, not processing level, determine...
Duke AI Tool Predicts ADHD Risk in Kids as Young as Five with 0.92 Accuracy
Duke University scientists released an artificial‑intelligence screening tool that can identify children at high risk for attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder as early as age five, achieving a time‑dependent AUC of 0.92. The model, built on electronic health records from more than 140,000...
Study Finds Postpartum Depression Peaks at 8.3% Two Weeks After Birth
University of Queensland researchers have released the largest mental‑health meta‑analysis to date, revealing that major depression reaches a peak of 8.3 % in the first two weeks after childbirth. The finding underscores a narrow window for early detection and intervention in...
AI-Powered Forecasts Sharpen Early Warning for Destructive Crop Pest
Texas A&M AgriLife researchers used machine‑learning models to forecast western flower thrips populations with up to 88% accuracy in open fields and 85% in high‑tunnel environments. The study analyzed data from nearly 1,700 yellow sticky traps and 16 environmental variables,...
Self‑Selected Music Boosts Workout Endurance by 20% Without Extra Effort
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä found that letting exercisers choose their own music lengthens high‑intensity cycling sessions by nearly 20%, adding about six minutes on average, while heart rate and lactate remain unchanged. The low‑cost, zero‑effort hack could help...
Gender Gap Widens, Not Narrows, in Ultra Marathons
There's a popular idea that the gap between men and women shrinks in ultra running. They reason that women are better at utilizing fat so it equalized advantage. It's a good story. But it's wrong. The gap actually expands slightly in ultra running...
NASA‑Engineered Sound Waves Aim to Snuff Wildfires, Protect Homes
Former NASA engineers at Sonic Fire Tech have demonstrated a low‑frequency sound‑wave system that can halt flames by disrupting oxygen molecules. Tested by the San Bernardino County Fire Department, the prototype can reach 30 ft and costs roughly 1‑2% of a home’s...
Why some Cats Love Dogs—Despite the Risk
Researchers documented four instances of interspecies play between a young ring‑tailed lemur and an adult ruffed lemur at a German wildlife park. The study, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, highlights how captivity’s close proximity enables animals to overcome...
High‑dose Semaglutide Cuts Alcohol Use in RCT
Clinicians and patients saw big reductions in alcohol intake when starting GLP-1 medicine. This is the first randomized trial to look at the high dose of semaglutide. There was a study a couple years back looking at a lower dose....
T‑cell Vesicles Deliver DNA, Converting Cold Tumors Hot
In cancer, activated T cells release abundant extracellular vesicles that transfer DNA to the nucleus of tumor and immune (dendritic) cells, turning tumors from cold to hot. An immunotherapy in the works. @Cancer_Cell https://t.co/mHcahijOJC https://t.co/oPT6d7lrFM https://t.co/I0egYxZold
Boeing Secures 20,000 Tonnes of High‑Quality Carbon‑Removal Credits to Tackle Aviation Emissions
Boeing has bought 20,000 tonnes of permanent carbon‑removal credits from six vetted suppliers in Brazil, Bolivia, Namibia and India, using Supercritical’s science‑based procurement platform. The deal, the largest of its kind for the aerospace giant, targets hard‑to‑abate Scope 3 emissions from...
Early Trial RNA‑seq Data: Exciting Yet Requires Caution
🧵 You just got your hands on early clinical trial RNA-seq data. Excited? You should also be cautious. Here's why. 👇 https://t.co/GjA8XIYcVQ
AI Chatbots Capture Poorer Symptom Detail than Doctors
Symptoms reported to an AI chatbot were of lesser quality than reported to a physician, results of a randomized trial of 500 participants across multiple models https://t.co/WXP4R3y9HA https://t.co/l2hLT76AJB
JWST’s ‘Red Monster’ Galaxy Pushes Early-Universe Limits, Highlights Big-Data Crunch
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified a dust‑laden galaxy, EGS‑z11‑R0, that existed just 400 million years after the Big Bang. The discovery, derived from a terabyte‑scale analysis of JWST’s public archive, challenges existing models of early galaxy formation...
The P‑value Obsession Is Undermining Scientific Progress
🧵 Why the obsession with p < 0.05 is hurting science. A meme. A truth. A reality check. https://t.co/E8rP3MT09w
Urban Growth and Climate Extremes Trigger Flood Tipping Points
"Climate extremes and urbanization drive flood tipping points at the city–river interface" | New article in @Nature PJ Natural Hazards by a team I'm part of at @penn, led by Dingyu Xuan, @dougsjunkdrawer, Hugo Ulloa & others: https://t.co/MuhMXUcRor
Empa and HOCH Health Launch Light‑Activated Nanozyme Therapy for Brain Tumors
Empa and the HOCH Health Ostschweiz network have begun a research partnership to create a light‑activated nanozyme therapy for astrocytoma and other aggressive brain tumors. The project, funded by several Swiss foundations, targets the blood‑brain barrier challenge and plans to...