Today's Science Pulse
Hidden Star Clusters Discovered Deep Inside Nearby Galaxies
A UK‑led study using VLA and ALMA data uncovered previously hidden giant star clusters deep within nearby galaxies, describing them as “ring factories.” The findings highlight how young stellar activity shapes galactic evolution across the universe.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Foundation Alloy raises $22M Series A
Visual Experience Physically Shapes the Brain’s Feedback Loops
Researchers at the Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme fitted juvenile mice with custom steel goggles that limited vision to a single orientation (45° or 135°) for over a month. Two‑photon imaging revealed that primary visual‑cortex neurons re‑tuned their orientation preferences to match the imposed angle, and the descending feedback pathways reshaped their receptive fields accordingly. Computational modeling linked the upward changes to Hebbian plasticity and the downward adjustments to anti‑Hebbian mechanisms. The study provides direct evidence that visual experience actively sculpts top‑down feedback circuits, not merely triggers a generic developmental program.
In to the Multiverse (of Opinions): Do Physicists Actually Agree About the Universe?
The Big Mysteries Survey queried 1,675 physics‑interested respondents about foundational topics, revealing a nuanced landscape of belief rather than uniform consensus. Most physicists (68%) view the Big Bang as a hot, dense state without insisting on an absolute beginning, while...
In Animal Study, Nanobots Repair Spinal Cords
Researchers have combined induced pluripotent stem cells with magnetic nanobots (NPC‑bots) to target spinal‑cord injuries in zebrafish and mice. The nanobots are steered by external magnetic fields, delivering electrical stimulation that drives stem‑cell migration, differentiation, and integration. In zebrafish, the...
A Sloth Can Take up to 30 Days to Digest a Single Leaf, the Slowest Recorded Digestion of Any Mammal...
Sloths, especially the three‑toed species, take between 11 and 30 days—averaging 16 days—to fully digest a single leaf, the slowest transit time recorded for any mammal. Their multi‑chambered stomach can contain up to 37% of their body mass, effectively keeping...
Munich Researchers Pinpoint Thalamic Rhythm That Marks Wakefulness and REM Sleep
Researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich recorded a previously unknown thalamic oscillation that appears exclusively during wakefulness and REM sleep, disappearing in non‑REM sleep. The rhythm, peaking around 28 Hz, was detected in 14 of 17 epilepsy patients, suggesting a...
Chinese Team Transplants Pig Liver and Kidneys Into Brain‑Dead Patient, Organs Function 36 Hours
Researchers at Guangxi Medical University in Nanning transplanted a genetically edited pig liver and two kidneys into a 53‑year‑old brain‑dead donor, achieving normal organ function for 36 hours before early immune rejection appeared. The breakthrough demonstrates that multi‑organ xenotransplantation is...
Beans Use an Immune Receptor to Call in Airstrikes on Caterpillars
Scientists identified a single immune receptor, the inceptin receptor, that lets common bean plants detect a caterpillar‑derived peptide (In11) and trigger anti‑herbivore defenses. By breeding bean lines that differ only in this receptor, researchers showed that plants lacking it support...
Social Interaction Boosts Brain Growth in Young Fish
Researchers at Stockholm University found that juvenile guppies raised with live, reciprocal social interaction develop brains about six percent larger than those exposed only to video recordings or minimal contact. The growth was especially pronounced in the olfactory bulbs, a...
Sinclair and Johnson Unveil First Comprehensive Evidence Map of Human Epigenetic Aging Interventions
Harvard geneticist David Sinclair and Tally Health’s chief scientific officer Adiv Johnson released the first evidence map of human epigenetic aging interventions, analyzing 41 studies. The review pinpoints lifestyle and drug candidates that shift next‑generation epigenetic clocks, offering a roadmap...
Esterified IPA with Curcumin Shields Neurons From Glucose Damage
Researchers reported that an esterified indole‑3‑propionic acid (IPA)‑curcumin compound protects neurons from high‑glucose‑induced damage. The molecule restores Akt/mTOR signaling, up‑regulates BDNF/TrkB activity, and markedly lowers oxidative stress in cell cultures. In hyperglycemic rodents, the treatment improves memory performance and preserves...
Why Tumors Resist Immunotherapy: How Removing Their Armor Can Turn Cold Cancers Hot
Researchers at UC San Diego identified microRNA‑25 (miR‑25) as a key driver of resistance to immune checkpoint therapy. Deleting miR‑25 in mouse melanoma, colon and breast cancer models did not affect tumor growth alone but markedly improved response to checkpoint...
Blue Origin Seeks to Resume New Glenn Launches by Year’s End
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp says damage to Launch Complex 36 after the May 28 New Glenn explosion is less severe than feared, and the company expects to resume flights by year‑end. Key infrastructure such as liquid‑oxygen, hydrogen and methane tanks remain intact,...
Electronic Modulation and Surface Reconstruction of NiS2 for Enhanced Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Durability
Researchers have engineered an iron‑doped nickel disulfide (Ni1‑xFexS2) that, after a simple alkaline pretreatment, forms a core‑shell anode with a NiFe (oxy)hydroxide‑rich outer layer. Density‑functional theory shows Fe substitution narrows the NiS2 band gap by ~0.44 eV and lowers the free‑energy...
Efficient and Stable Wide‐Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells Fabricated via Vacuum Flash
Researchers have demonstrated the first use of vacuum flash to fabricate wide‑bandgap perovskite solar cells (WBG‑PSCs) with bandgaps above 1.7 eV. The technique produces uniform, dense, defect‑free films under ambient air at 40 °C, bypassing the need for antisolvent baths or gas...
Eu2+‐Activated KGa5S8: A New Super‐Sensitive Green Emitting Phosphor for Pressure Sensing
Researchers have synthesized a Eu2+-activated KGa5S8 phosphor that emits green light at ambient pressure and shifts to red under pressures from 0.1 to 10.44 GPa. The material exhibits a linear wavelength shift of 14.49 nm per gigapascal, the highest reported for visible‑range...
Structural Engineering of Biomass‐Derived Hard Carbon With Architectured Closed Pores for Fast Sodium Storage
Researchers engineered a spherical hard carbon anode from biomass sphagnum moss, creating interconnected closed pores and expanding the interlayer distance to 0.43 nm. This microstructure reduces ion diffusion resistance, enabling ultrafast sodium transport and delivering 108 mAh g⁻¹ at a high current of...
Germ Cells Influence the Pace of Aging Differently by Sex
Researchers using the short‑lived fish Nothobranchius furzeri found that germ cells influence somatic aging in a sex‑dependent manner. Removing germ cells in males extended healthspan and lifespan, linked to heightened vitamin D signaling, while the same intervention in females reduced...
Revolution Medicines' Daraxonrasib Doubles Pancreatic Cancer Survival in Phase 3 Trial
Revolution Medicines presented Phase 3 data showing its KRAS‑targeted pill daraxonrasib doubled median overall survival for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients to 13.2 months, versus 6.7 months on chemotherapy. The results earned a standing ovation at the ASCO 2026 meeting and...
Biomimetic Ion Channel Design for Simultaneous Lithium‐Ion Flux Regulation and Interfacial Stabilization in Lithium Metal Batteries
Researchers have integrated benzo-12-crown-4-ether-encapsulated metal-organic frameworks into commercial lithium battery separators, creating biomimetic ion channels that guide lithium-ion transport. The channels homogenize Li+ flux and reshape the solvation sheath, prompting the formation of an inorganic-rich solid-electrolyte interphase composed mainly of...
NewLimit Secures $435 Million Series C to Fast‑Track Cell‑Rejuvenation Therapy
Anti‑aging biotech NewLimit closed a $435 million Series C round, led by Founders Fund and joined by Kleiner Perkins, Eli Lilly Ventures and others. The capital will fund a Phase 1 trial of its liver‑rejuvenation candidate and broaden its pipeline into kidney...
Adelaide Researchers' Nanoparticles Boost Lung Cancer Drug Delivery 30‑Fold
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have created hybrid nanoparticles that raise lung‑cancer drug bioavailability by more than 30 times, addressing a long‑standing delivery challenge. Pre‑clinical tests show stronger tumor‑killing effects while reducing exposure to healthy organs, a development that...
Narrow‐Bandgap Donor‐Acceptor Polymers for Efficient Solar Water Evaporation and Thermoelectric Power Generation
Researchers designed two donor‑acceptor alternating copolymers, TTQT and TTQP, with narrow bandgaps and strong infrared absorption. TTQT achieved a solar‑thermal conversion efficiency of 28.4% under one‑sun illumination, while TTQP reached 21.3%. An interfacial evaporator using TTQT delivered 86.5% energy conversion,...
Microsoft Unveils Majorana 2 Chip, Claims 1,000‑Fold Qubit Reliability Amid Skepticism
Microsoft introduced the Majorana 2 topological quantum processor, saying its qubits are 1,000 times more reliable and can live up to 20 seconds, positioning a scalable quantum computer by 2029. Physicists and former critics, however, warn that the claims lack peer‑reviewed...
Highly Programmable Liquid Crystalline Polyurethane/MXene Hybrids for Large‐Strain, High‐Work‐Capacity Artificial Muscles
Researchers have created a liquid‑crystalline polyurethane/MXene hybrid that simultaneously delivers large reversible strain and high actuation stress. The material integrates flexible PDMS segments, dynamic hydrogen bonds, and covalently bonded MXene nanosheets, enabling thermal‑driven stress of 0.91 MPa at 88 % strain and...
Elephant‑Sized Meteor Rocks New England, NASA Confirms Natural Space Object
NASA confirmed that a natural meteor, roughly three feet wide and as heavy as an elephant, detonated 40 miles above New England on May 30, releasing energy equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT. The event produced a sonic boom...
Antihydrogen Measurement Sharpens Antimatter Symmetry Test
Scientists with CERN’s ALPHA collaboration have measured the ground‑state hyperfine splitting of antihydrogen with a precision 100 times better than previous attempts, reporting a frequency of 1 420 404.8 kHz ±6 kHz (4 ppm). The value agrees with the hydrogen benchmark, providing a stringent test of...
This Star System Creates a Rare Triple Eclipse. Here's What that Would Look Like
Astronomers using NASA’s TESS have characterized TIC 295741342, a triple‑star system 3,080 light‑years away where all three suns eclipse each other from Earth’s viewpoint. The inner pair consists of two Sun‑like stars, while a larger 1.7‑solar‑mass star orbits them, producing a...
Why Nanoscale Droplets Don’t Coalesce
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong, led by Feipeng Chen, have built a predictive model that explains why nanoscale polymer condensates resist coalescence. Light‑scattering experiments revealed that droplets below a critical size acquire a net surface charge due to...
FeMn‐MOF@Bamboo Carbon Synergy: Lightweight Composites for Versatile and High‐Efficiency Electromagnetic Protection
Researchers have created an ultrathin FeMn@C/BC composite by growing iron‑manganese Prussian‑blue analogue on bamboo‑derived carbon and carbonizing it. The resulting material delivers 46.3 dB electromagnetic interference shielding across the X‑band with a mere 0.18 mm thickness, yielding a normalized specific shielding effectiveness...
Can Deforestation Predict Ebola Outbreaks? Q&A with CDC’s Carson Telford
CDC researchers used machine‑learning on 24 Ebola outbreaks (2001‑2022) and identified forest loss, fragmentation, and low population density as key predictors of spillover. The model accurately flagged a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a top‑0.1% risk area...
University of Texas at Dallas and Attolight Launch New Demo Lab for Wide-Bandgap R&D
The University of Texas at Dallas and Swiss firm Attolight have opened a demonstration laboratory on campus equipped with Attolight’s Allalin CL‑SEM platform. The lab focuses on wide‑bandgap semiconductor materials such as GaN and SiC, offering nondestructive nanoscale defect detection...
Climate Change May Shift Hailstorms Towards Earth’s Poles – New Study
Two new peer‑reviewed studies published in Nature Climate Change and Nature reveal that a warming climate will push hail‑prone conditions toward higher latitudes and shift peak activity from summer to winter. The research projects more frequent hail events in northern...
Spatial Single‑Cell Platform Reveals Barriers to Antibody Delivery in Solid Tumors
Researchers at Vanderbilt and Stanford unveiled a single‑cell spatial pharmacology (SSP) platform that maps therapeutic antibody delivery inside human solid tumors. Published in Nature Biotechnology, the system visualizes drug distribution, target engagement, and the physical barriers that impede efficacy. Applying...
Engineered Hookworm Delivers Anti‑Tetrodotoxin Antibody In Vivo
A genetically modified human hookworm produced an antibody against tetrodotoxin inside an animal host and secreted it into the bloodstream. The neutralization was partial, but the delivery route worked end to end. biotech
Dense Tumor Stroma Causes Highly Uneven Antibody Delivery
A single-cell platform tracked an antibody drug through pancreatic and head and neck tumors and showed sharply uneven delivery from one region to another. Dense surrounding tissue appeared to block access in parts of the tumor. cancerbiology
Apoha Emerges From Stealth with $36M to Teach Machines How Matter Behaves
Apoha, a London‑based spin‑out from 15 years of interfacial physics research, announced its emergence from stealth with a $36 million Series A led by Singular and backed by Draper Associates and Innovate UK. The startup introduced a new data category called Liquid State...
Genetically Modified Hookworms Produce and Deliver Therapeutics
Washington University researchers have genetically engineered the human hookworm to produce a therapeutic antibody that neutralizes tetrodotoxin. In animal studies, the modified worms colonized the gut, secreted the anti‑toxin protein into the bloodstream, and partially inactivated the toxin. The proof‑of‑concept...
Scientists Achieve 27% Efficiency in a Co-Deposited Inverted Perovskite
A Chinese research team introduced an asymmetric self‑assembled molecule, PhBr‑4PACz, together with an in‑situ grain‑boundary crosslinker, AVIMCl, to overcome aggregation in co‑deposited inverted perovskite solar cells. The dual strategy yielded a certified power‑conversion efficiency of 27.03% (quasi‑steady‑state 26.50%), the highest...
Differential Effects of PD-1 and PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibition on Cognition and Anxiety-Like Behavior Through ΓδT Cells and Tumor–Dependent Neuroinflammation
A new preprint examines how anti‑PD‑1 and anti‑PD‑L1 checkpoint inhibitors affect cognition and anxiety in mice bearing different tumor immune phenotypes. Immuno‑excluded and immuno‑inflamed cancers impair short‑term memory and provoke anxiety‑like behavior, with the latter showing heightened IL‑6/IL‑17 inflammation and...
Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Adrenal Gland, Kidney Function, Indicators Related to Cardiovascular Function in Hypertensive Patients
A study of 250 hospitalized hypertensive patients found that 66% were vitamin D deficient (serum 25‑OH‑D < 50 nmol/L). Deficient individuals exhibited higher serum sodium, aldosterone levels and aldosterone‑to‑renin ratios, while also showing lower hematocrit, calcium and urinary markers. Logistic regression linked primary...
Nutritional Supplementation with Panax Ginseng Extract and Bone Health in Osteoporotic Animal Models: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review and meta‑analysis of 28 randomized animal studies found that Panax ginseng extract markedly improves bone health. The supplement raised bone mineral density (SMD 2.21), enhanced trabecular microarchitecture, and strengthened biomechanical properties. Biochemical markers showed increased PINP, estradiol, osteocalcin...
Folate Deficiency Correlates with Severity of Primary Biliary Cholangitis via Modulating Key Regulatory Genes
A new study of 90 primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) patients found serum folate levels significantly lower than in healthy controls and progressively reduced in late‑stage disease. Folate concentrations correlated inversely with liver enzymes, immunoglobulin G and liver stiffness measurements, and...
Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds as Modifiers of Neurodegenerative Trajectories: Molecular Mechanisms, Translational Barriers, and Precision Nutrition
A new Frontiers in Nutrition review argues that neurodegenerative diseases are driven by nutrient‑sensitive system failures, not just protein aggregates. It details how vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids and phytochemicals influence oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial health, autophagy and synaptic plasticity....
Macroscopic Porosity Optimization Using Thermodynamic Topology Optimization
The authors present a macroscopic, single‑scale method that jointly optimizes topology and local porosity using thermodynamic principles. By treating topology and porosity as independent variables, the approach translates theoretically optimal “gray” material concepts into designs that additive manufacturing can actually...
SMuRF‑less ACS Patients Face Higher Mortality, Receive Fewer Therapies
Higher mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients without standard modifiable risk factors: Results from a global meta-analysis of 1,285,722 patients "Despite lower body mass index and fewer comorbidities, SMuRF-less patients had increased in-hospital mortality and cardiogenic shock. However, despite worse outcomes,...
Cognitive Resilience Lets some Avoid Dementia Despite Alzheimer’s
Not all Alzheimer’s leads to dementia "Why do some people experience memory loss and cognitive decline as Alzheimer’s builds up in their brain, while others stay mentally sharp? This question lies at the heart of new research into “cognitive resilience”, a...
Polyphosphate Synthesis Is Essential for Phosphate and ATP Homeostasis During Nutrient Upshift
Researchers used a genome‑wide transposon sequencing screen in the model bacterium Caulobacter crescentus to pinpoint genes required for adaptation to fluctuating nutrients. They discovered that the polyphosphate kinase gene ppk1, which drives inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) synthesis, is indispensable for recovery...
Immobilization Studies Isolate Calorie Restriction’s Impact on Muscle
Figuring out whether caloric restriction reduces muscle mass is difficult when physical activity levels are normal because the reduction in bodyweight changes the number of activated fibers in activities of daily life. Immobilization studies provide an answer. https://t.co/F2N3IuCkiY
Rewriting the Rules of Antibody Drug Design
In this episode, Metaphor CEO Angela Huang explains how the company’s Function‑First platform uses live‑cell experiments combined with machine‑learning to design antibodies that can agonize, bias, or multi‑target receptors—capabilities that 95% of current antibodies lack. By focusing on functional activity...
New Study Links Primary Infertility to Accelerated Reproductive Aging
A new study published in *Menopause* finds that women with primary infertility experience natural menopause about one year earlier than those without infertility, with the strongest effect seen in cases of unexplained infertility and endometriosis. The research, which followed nearly...