Today's Science Pulse
Twisting 2D hBN layers unlocks unprecedented control of quantum light
Researchers demonstrated that rotating ultra‑thin hexagonal boron nitride sheets can reversibly shift the color and wavelength of embedded quantum emitters far beyond what traditional solid‑state hosts allow. By picking up, stacking, and twisting the layers, they achieved spectral tuning orders of magnitude larger, a breakthrough reported in Science Advances.
UCT Neuroscience Institute Launches Interdisciplinary Mindfulness and Brain Health Program
The University of Cape Town's Neuroscience Institute announced a new interdisciplinary program that will study mindfulness practices and their impact on brain health. The initiative brings together neuroscientists, psychologists, and meditation experts to generate data-driven insights, positioning South Africa at the forefront of meditation research.
Airplane Window Captures Artemis II’s Moon‑bound Rocket Trail
Wild shot from an airplane window during today’s Artemis II launch... that massive white trail climbing high while the plane cruises along. First humans heading around the Moon since the 1970s, and someone caught it mid-flight. Pretty cool reminder of...
Polish QNA Technology Inks US Deal to Authenticate Packaging with Quantum‑dot Ink
QNA Technology, a Wrocław‑based nanotech company, has signed a six‑month exclusive agreement with U.S. firm Reborn Materials to develop a UV ink containing quantum‑dot nanomaterials for authenticating disposable food packaging. The partnership aims to complete testing by 2026 and lay...
Artemis II Highlights NASA Funding Shortfall and Trade‑offs
Today's Artemis II launch is super bittersweet. For NASA to have a super ambitious human space program they need to cut back their other programs or get more funding. NASA is not getting more funding. We discuss the new Artemis plan in...
Excitement for Moon Mission, but Space Weather Threatens
Thrilling to watch our compatriots leave this Earth on the way to the Moon. Beware space weather our spacefaring friends.
The Neuroscience of Hypocrisy Points to a Communication Breakdown in the Brain
A new Cell Reports study reveals that moral hypocrisy stems from reduced activity and connectivity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Researchers used fMRI while participants chose to lie for profit or judged others' honesty, finding inconsistent individuals showed mismatched...
Adenoidectomy, Tonsillectomy in Childhood Tied to Risk for Adult Chronic Rhinosinusitis
A new multicenter retrospective study of over 100 U.S. health‑care organizations links pediatric adenotonsillectomy performed for infectious indications to higher rates of adult chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Children who underwent adenoidectomy alone showed a 55% increased hazard of CRSsNP, while combined...
Molecular Regulatory Mechanisms of Schizophrenia-Associated Functional Non-Coding Variants
The Molecular Psychiatry study leveraged functional genomics to pinpoint 249 non‑coding SNPs that alter transcription‑factor binding across 99 schizophrenia risk loci. By integrating ChIP‑Seq, position‑weight‑matrix data and brain eQTL resources, the authors linked 207 of these variants to gene‑expression changes...
Why some Cancer-Fighting Immune Cells Lose Their Strength Inside Tumours
Scientists discovered that dendritic cells lose their anti‑tumor potency because their mitochondria become damaged inside the tumor microenvironment. In mouse melanoma models, injecting dendritic cells with robust mitochondria dramatically slowed tumor growth. The work, published in Science, highlights mitochondrial health...
Picosecond-Scale Coherent Toggle Switching of Topological Spin Helicity
Researchers have experimentally achieved coherent toggle switching of magnetic vortex helicity in nanoscale disks within a few hundred picoseconds. The transition is triggered by a single femtosecond laser pulse combined with an out‑of‑plane magnetic field, leveraging photothermal demagnetization and subsequent...
Mix-and-Match Synthesis of 3D Small Molecules
A new chemistry reported in Nature enables modular, iterative construction of C_sp³–C_sp³ bonds while precisely controlling the three‑dimensional arrangement of attached atoms. The approach leverages interchangeable building blocks to assemble 3D small‑molecule scaffolds, a bond type that is pervasive in...
New Approach Methodologies for Drug Discovery
Traditional animal‑based drug discovery suffers a 90 % failure rate, prompting regulators and scientists to adopt human‑centric new approach methodologies (NAMs). Recent policy shifts—including the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 that removes mandatory animal testing and the NIH’s 2025 Organoid Development Center—create...
‘Treasure Trove’ of Antiviral Proteins Could Inspire Powerful Molecular Tools
Two independent studies published in Science used deep‑learning models to scan thousands of bacterial genomes, uncovering a massive pool of previously unknown antiviral proteins. The analyses estimate that about 1.5% of bacterial genes encode immunity functions—three times higher than earlier...
Neural Representations of Dynamical State and Trait Impulsivity in Individuals at Risk for Internet Gaming Disorder
Researchers used fMRI and a modified card‑guessing task to examine state and trait impulsivity in 87 college students at risk for internet gaming disorder (IGD). State impulsivity was captured as loss‑chasing behavior, which intensified with consecutive losses, while trait impulsivity...
NASA Launches Four Astronauts on Lunar Return Mission
🚀🌕 🇺🇸 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration has successfully launched a rocket with 4 astronauts back up to the Moon. Archive of the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/Tf_UjBMIzNo?si=7taPgLngqlrhwFBi Godspeed to the humans hurtling into space Bearing “straight into the moonrise” Until they splash...
28‑Million‑Year‑Old French Fossil Conf
An exceptionally well-preserved 28–34 million-year-old butterfly fossil from France provides the earliest definitive evidence for the emperor butterfly lineage, offering a crucial anchor point for understanding butterfly evolution. paleontology
NIST Forensic Genetic Reference Material Helps Crime Lab Analysis
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched forensic DNA reference material RM 8043, featuring degraded DNA and mixtures from up to three individuals across eight vials. The new material mirrors the complex, low‑quantity samples that modern crime labs...
Long COVID Sharply Raises Heart Disease Risk, Even Mild Cases
Individuals with long COVID face a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular conditions, including cardiac arrhythmias and coronary artery disease, even if they were not hospitalized during their initial infection. longcovid
Excelsior Sciences: Automating Small Molecule Chemistry
Excelsior Sciences, backed by Deerfield, unveiled an automated platform for small‑molecule discovery that leverages modular "smart blocs" and generative AI. The system integrates iterative carbon‑carbon bond formation, robotic synthesis, and in‑vitro assays into a continuous make‑test‑learn loop. By translating chemical...
World's Largest Quantum Circuit Simulation for Quantum Chemistry Achieved on 1,024 GPUs
A joint team from the University of Osaka and Fixstars Corporation used 1,024 NVIDIA H100 GPUs to run the chemqulacs‑gpu simulator, breaking the 40‑qubit barrier with a 42‑spin‑orbital water calculation and a 41‑qubit iron‑sulfur benchmark. The effort introduced a new...
Moon Mission and War Collide: History Repeats
NASA sending astronauts back too the moon AND a widely unpopular war at the same time. Time is a flat circle
Artemis II Blasts Off: Humans Are on Their Way Back to the Moon
NASA’s Artemis II launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 1, sending a four‑person crew on a ten‑day lunar flyby—the first human mission beyond low‑Earth orbit in more than five decades. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and...
From Black‑White TV to 4K: Mom Witnesses Artemis
My mom was a little kid when Apollo launched, and she saw it live on a tiny black and white TV in her village. Now she gets to see us return to the Moon with Artemis in glorious 4K. Wish...
Choosing Hard Challenges Drives Our Greatest Achievements
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and...
Pee Changes How some Mushrooms ‘Talk’
Japanese mycologists discovered that the electrical communication of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms changes dramatically when exposed to water or urine. By attaching electrodes to 37 mushrooms in an oak forest, they recorded real‑time signal fluctuations over 3.5 days. Adding water to a...
NASA Countdown Begins: T‑9 to Historic Moon Mission
This is happening T-9 and counting down. It is a gooooooo nasa @youtube @youtubecreators #nasa #goingtothemoom #space #stem #makinghistory
AI-Driven Biology Could Slash Drug Trial Failures Dramatically
AI for biology will have bigger near term wins. The ability for AI to learn from experiments and predict human biology will have very broad impacts in predicting targets, clinical trials, and precision medicine. Tackling the biggest challenge in Pharma (80%...
What Didn’t Exist Three Years Ago
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting highlighted the latest direction of early‑stage drug development. This year’s sessions featured two prostate‑cancer candidates using mechanisms that were not in the clinic just eighteen months ago. The preview spotlights a...
Gravitational Waves Reveal Missing Black Hole Mass Gap
Some stars leave nothing behind. Pair-instability supernovae predict that the most massive stars explode so completely that no black hole remains. For years, we didn’t have evidence. Now, gravitational wave data shows a gap in black hole masses — exactly where those explosions...
Watch NASA’s Live Launch Now via YouTube
If you need it, here's the link to NASA's livestream of the launch. 👇 https://www.youtube.com/live/Tf_UjBMIzNo?si=I5u3hgJLKVNLcv4I
Record Female Life Expectancy Defies Predicted Limits
enjoying this piece on record life expectancy increasing over time - the *insane* linear regression in 1840 - 2010 period just tracking record life expectancy over time (I think trend not consistent since, partic w COVID) - how funny it is that...
NASA Shifts Post-Launch Briefing to 8 Pm ET
They've moved the post-launch briefing up. Now at 8:00 pm ET, in just about 5 minutes. On NASA's YouTube channel: https://t.co/3y6Tm3VF4k
First Wild Photos Capture Newborn California Giant Salamanders
Cool: "In Point Reyes, a National Park Service scientist has made an incredibly rare find." Michael Reichmuth "photographed a group of newly hatched California giant salamanders in the wild for the first time." https://t.co/wV0cKOGs5U via @SFGate
ICPS Completes Perigee Boost; Apogee Burn Imminent
The ICPS has completed a planned perigee raise burn. Another burn in about an hour will raise the apogee.
Apollo 8’s Earthrise Photo Ignites Environmental Awareness
NASA Apollo 8 spacecraft became the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon. The crew captured this iconic “Earthrise” photo that shows Earth rising over the horizon of the Moon, and is thought to have sparked the environmental movement. (12/24/1968) https://t.co/SEhC4SfiRR
NEJM Review Overlooks Inflammation in GLP‑1 Drugs
A new review of the GLP-1 receptor drugs @NEJM https://t.co/PK03jApZWB surprisingly, the word inflammation only appears once, in this diagram https://t.co/1PeBakBAQb
Humans Return to Moon After 54-Year Hiatus
MECO: It's 2026 and four humans are beginning their journey to the Moon for the first time in 54 years. https://t.co/PBzuDhungQ
NASA’s SLS‑Orion Launch Shines Bright in Daylight
Epic launch of SLS and Orion. So much better in the daytime to observe. Congratulations to NASA and everyone involved. Y’all made us proud.
SLS Launches Orion Crew, First Moon‑bound Flight Since 1972
The SLS rocket lifts off with the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four on a mission to the vicinity of the Moon for the first time since the Apollo-17 expedition in 1972: https://t.co/biWISWldtE https://t.co/3pTosP7Qwk
Human Purpose: Learn, Explore—Artemis II Launches Us Forward
I believe in physicist David Deutsch's vision for our purpose (in "The Beginning of Infinity"). We are here to learn and explore. So excited for Artemis II and humans starting the next journey. https://t.co/7iErXCltdt
Artemis II Mirrors Apollo 8: Saturn V Launch History
As we get ready for the Artemis II launch, I can't help thinking back about the Apollo program. Here's a chart showing all the Saturn V launches, including the Apollo 8 launch that most closely resembles this mission. Link below....
Artemis II Crew Cleared for Launch, Fans Go Full Send
From the final countdown poll minutes before NASA's Artemis II crew launches to the moon: "Artemis 2 crew is go for launch. full send."
Quantum Charger Boosts Fast, Efficient Storage—Output Still Limited
This quantum device absorbs energy efficiently, accelerates charging with scale, and stores power temporarily, though it's still limited in practical output. https://t.co/V8MS45eL8p
Artemis II Launch Delayed, No New Countdown Set.
NASA has not set a new T-0 but the Artemis II mission will not launch at 6:24 pm ET today. “A little more work” to do.
Europe/Africa Outpaces US in Artemis II Viewership
More people are watching the live broadcast of the Artemis II launch from Europe/Africa than from the US. https://t.co/ji5YAWcT5Y . . https://t.co/t2oGgtcoaK
Vitamin B3 May Undermine Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy
Title and header via the @cwru press release: New research reveals dangers of ‘anti-aging’ supplements in cancer protection Vitamin B3 could be making chemotherapy less effective in pancreatic cancer patients https://t.co/vIfcvuiS6P Discussion + thoughtful debate welcome👇👨⚕️ https://t.co/aHewoWeIle
NASA Attributes Sensor Reading to Instrumentation, Launch Unaffected
NASA: "Engineers investigated a sensor on the launch abort system’s attitude control motor controller battery that showed a higher temperature than would be expected. It is believed to be an instrumentation issue and will not affect today’s launch."
Genome Editing Shows Promise for Sickle Cell, Β‑Thalassemia
3 new trial results for genome editing of sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia @NEJM https://t.co/qGGdjgKqP5 (with summary Table below) https://t.co/RdiM3urCKJ https://t.co/W15cPAfMoS https://t.co/F3PHKuktPx https://t.co/t6Z35S8L7h
NASA Flags Battery Temperature Issue on Artemis 2 Abort System
NASA reporting an issue with one of the batteries on the Artemis 2 launch abort system; temperature out of range.
New Early-Stage Cancer Drugs Emerge at AACR26
A look at some promising early stage drug developments coming down the pike at #AACR26. A few of these concepts were not on the radar a couple of years ago: https://t.co/w6oD4CEckq https://t.co/kfR1AXG41K