Today's Science Pulse
UK-led study reveals hidden massive star clusters deep inside nearby galaxies
Astronomers using the VLA and ALMA uncovered previously unseen giant star clusters, described as "ring factories," embedded within nearby galaxies. A complementary analysis of roughly 18,000 star‑forming regions showed that the energetic activity of young stars plays a decisive role in shaping galaxy evolution.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Foundation Alloy raises $22M Series A
Continuous-Variable Quantum Compiler for Optical Phase Learning
Researchers have built a continuous‑variable quantum compiler that learns optical phase operations using two‑mode squeezed light. By digitizing the analog process into a sequence of native gates, the system creates a quantum digital twin that delivers a 5.4‑fold boost in phase‑estimation precision and a 3.6‑fold reduction in time‑to‑solution. The speedup stems from tunable control of the squeezing parameter, which reshapes the cost landscape during learning. The experiment demonstrates scalability toward higher‑dimensional quantum compilation.
Room‑Temp Ethanol Sensors Using Belt‑Shaped VO₂(B) Crystals
Belt-shaped VO₂(B) single crystals synthesized from V₂O₅ nanofibers demonstrate high sensitivity and selectivity for ethanol detection at room temperature, offering a promising platform for low-power, next-generation gas sensors. materialsinnovation
‘How Metrology Is Used in Climate Control’
Metrology Parts of Baxter, Minnesota, launched a new guide titled “How Metrology Is Used in Climate Control.” The resource outlines how precise measurement standards support climate data infrastructure, from satellite altimetry and ocean level monitoring to gravimetric glacier studies and...
UF Engineers Launch Interdisciplinary Center to Transform Human Performance
University of Florida engineers have inaugurated an interdisciplinary Human Performance Center, expanding a 2024 investment with the UF Sports Collaborative. The hub will fuse wearable sensors, AI and robotics to advance training, injury prevention and mobility for athletes, patients and...
NASA Redirects $20 B to Lunar Surface Base, Cancels Gateway Station
NASA announced the cancellation of the Lunar Gateway orbital station and a $20 billion reallocation to construct a permanent base on the Moon’s surface. The shift also includes a plan to launch a nuclear‑powered spacecraft to Mars by 2028, marking a...
NASA's Artemis II Returns to Launch Pad After Repairs, Targeting April Launch
NASA has moved the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby mission back onto the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center after completing extensive repairs in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The four‑astronaut flight, slated for early April, will resume the agency’s push to...
Ether Phospholipids Fine‑tune Touch and Temperature Sensing
Specialized ether phospholipids in nerve cell membranes fine-tune sensory receptors, enabling precise detection of touch and temperature by altering membrane tension and fluidity. These findings may inform future approaches to sensory disorders. neuroscience
Particle Accelerators Map Ant Anatomy in New 3D Atlas
Entomologists and particle accelerator physicists have collaborated to produce a new 3D atlas of what makes up an ant, including muscles, nerves, digestive tracts, and exoskeletons. The images are free to access. https://spectrum.ieee.org/3d-scanning-particle-accelerator-antscan
Geoscience Australia Launches 10-Year Strategy
Geoscience Australia unveiled a 10‑year strategy, “Shaping Our Future 2026‑2036,” targeting net‑zero transition, economic security and climate resilience. The plan leverages scientific capability, national datasets and advanced technology to guide government, industry and communities. Applied geoscience supports roughly 124 billion Australian...
Google Announces Dual Quantum Computing Platforms
Big news of the day, at Google we are building both superconducting and neutral atom quantum computers. https://t.co/Q8fbzebAyu #quantum #atom #google
NASA Space Reactor 1 Freedom for Nuclear Powered Interplanetary to Mars in 2028
NASA plans to launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom by late 2028, marking the first nuclear‑electric propulsion spacecraft bound for Mars. The mission will demonstrate high‑power, efficient thrust for deep‑space travel where solar power is insufficient. Upon arrival, SR‑1 Freedom will...
Endangered Butterfly Count Key to Peat Bog Health
Conservationist Georgina Paul is leading a two‑year study to determine whether the endangered large heath butterfly can serve as an indicator of peatland health across Wales. The project, funded with £249,000 (about $316,000) from the Welsh government and lottery sources,...
Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (KPTI) Discusses Top Line Results From Phase III SENTRY Trial in Myelofibrosis Transcript
Karyopharm Therapeutics announced top‑line data from its Phase III SENTRY trial, which evaluated selinexor combined with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis. The company reported that the regimen met its primary efficacy endpoints and demonstrated a manageable safety profile. Alongside the clinical...
New Off-the-Shelf Conduit for CABG Shows Promise in First-in-Human Study
Vascudyne’s acellular tissue‑engineered vessel with external support (ATEV‑ESS) demonstrated early promise as an off‑the‑shelf conduit in a first‑in‑human study. Three patients with multivessel coronary disease received the device; two implants remained patent at 12 months with no thrombus or major...
Google Quantum AI Launches Colorado Neutral-Atom Team
If anyone is left on quantum twitter, this is a BIG announcement from the @GoogleQuantumAI group on expanding their footprint in Colorado with a dedicated neutral atom quantum computing team. More details here: https://t.co/5NQduB6Fhm https://t.co/WU0ubqcGS5
Klein Bottle Experiment Reveals Unexpected Particle Chirality Dynamics
Originally, we wanted to shoot left-handed particles into a Klein bottle and watch them return right-handed. Like a topological ray-gun. What we found was rather more subtle and interesting.
Boron Arsenide Semiconductor Sets Record in Quantum Vibrations
Researchers at Rice University and collaborators have demonstrated unprecedented optical phonon coherence in cubic boron arsenide semiconductor. Using isotopically enriched B-11 crystals, they observed phonon vibrations persisting for nearly a thousand cycles at low temperatures, far exceeding typical materials. The...
Rising Teen Social Media Use Harms Cognitive Performance
Powerful new longitudinal study finds that adolescents who increase their social media over a 2 year period show lower cognitive performance, compared to those who did not increase. Fom @jasonmnagata's team, using ABCD data, and controlling for all the right stuff.
Earth May Have Formed From Two Separate Rings Around the Sun
New computer simulations suggest Earth and its neighboring rocky planets formed from two separate rings of material around the young Sun, rather than a single disc. The dual‑ring model better reproduces Earth’s mixed rock composition, corrects size discrepancies for Mercury...
Cystitis or Tooth Decay Could Trigger Dementia Just a Few Years Later
Researchers in Finland analyzed health records of over 375,000 older adults and found that severe infections such as cystitis, pneumonia, and tooth decay significantly raise the risk of developing dementia within six years. The study identified 29 conditions linked to...
Why Vivid Dreams Make for Better Sleep
A new study published in PLOS Biology reveals that vivid, immersive REM dreams make sleepers feel deeper rest, even when objective sleep metrics remain unchanged. Researchers at Italy’s IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca monitored 44 adults with high‑density EEG,...
Ministers Confirm Heat Pump Targets as Climate Plan Unveiled
Scotland’s new 15‑year climate change plan sets a 10‑year horizon before a major heat‑pump rollout, aiming to replace gas and oil boilers by 2045. The plan projects roughly $54 billion in financial benefits and cost savings through 2040, but campaigners argue...
Concussions Predict Depression, Anxiety in Athletes
A Neurology study of 3,910 former college athletes found that those with three or more lifetime concussions exhibited significantly higher anxiety, depression, and related symptom scores five years after graduation. About 36% of participants reported at least one concussion, and...
CSA Announces $3.6M Opportunity for Life Sciences Research on the ISS
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has launched a $3.6 million CAD (≈ $2.6 million USD) Announcement of Opportunity to fund health and life‑sciences research on the International Space Station. Up to $900,000 CAD (≈ $660,000 USD) per project will be awarded to Canadian teams...
MIT Finds Space Beats Time in Computing Power
The MIT paper that showed space can be more powerful than time in computers. Full video: https://t.co/I9Qly22GGe https://t.co/9FP23XXkpp
England's Drought Risk Drops After Months of Rain
England sees drought risk dwindle after months of heavy rain https://t.co/KjFZB8L3gf via @joewertz @OliviaRudgard https://t.co/9KiYOslG6x
Safety Similar Across Advanced Crohn’s Disease Therapies
Researchers analyzed real‑world claims data from 12,245 Crohn’s disease patients treated between 2016 and 2022 to compare safety outcomes across five advanced therapies, including TNF antagonists, vedolizumab, ustekinumab, risankizumab, and upadacitinib. Incidence rates for serious infections, major adverse cardiovascular events,...
Quantum Networks Demonstrate Losses Exceeding 100 Percent Through Spatial-Mode Mixing
Researchers at the University of Hamburg have identified a new phenomenon called hyperloss, where coherent spatial‑mode mixing in quantum‑correlated networks can produce apparent losses exceeding 100 % of the original squeezing. An 8 % mode mismatch was enough to turn a 5.8 dB...
Pinot Noir’s Popularity Has Medieval Roots
Scientists analyzing DNA from nearly 50 ancient grape seeds across France have uncovered evidence that winemakers began cloning vines as early as 500 BCE, shifting from wild domestication to deliberate propagation. A medieval seed, dated to the 15th century, was genetically identical...
The Shocking Fossils that Show T. Rex Wasn't the King of the Dinosaurs
Recent analysis of newly discovered tyrannosaur fossils shows that T. rex shared its habitat with at least two other large tyrannosaurids, overturning its long‑standing status as the sole apex predator of the Late Cretaceous. The study, led by a team of...
Antibiotics Selectively Supercharged Against MRSA
Yale and Cornell chemists have devised a metal‑free aminoxyl catalyst that oxidizes a single secondary alcohol in the macrolide antibiotic erythromycin A. The catalyst, paired with mCPBA, proved highly selective, but analogous macrolides clarithromycin and azithromycin required different reagents to achieve...
Russia Launches the First 16 Satellites in Its Own Internet Satellite Constellation
Russia quietly placed the first 16 satellites of its Rassvet broadband constellation into a polar orbit using a Soyuz‑2 launch from the Plesetsk spaceport. The satellites, built by the state‑linked Bureau‑1440, are the initial step toward a planned 700‑plus satellite...
Ocugen Heads to Phase 3 with Gene Therapy for Geographic Atrophy
Ocugen announced that its investigational gene therapy for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of vision loss in age‑related macular degeneration, will move into a Phase 3 clinical trial. The company reported mixed Phase 2 results, showing a favorable safety profile but inconsistent...
Fusion Enzyme Boosts Polyester Textile Recycling – Study
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth and the University of Manchester have engineered a “plastic‑eating” enzyme that dramatically speeds the depolymerisation of PET, the polymer used in polyester clothing. The enzyme remains highly active even at the high substrate concentrations...
Melatonin Controls Glutathione, Master Antioxidant, and Cell Recycling
Glutathione is often called the master antioxidant, but it’s actually regulated by melatonin (PMID: 20868358) Besides sleep, melatonin also regulates inflammation, immunity, antioxidant activity, and autophagy the process of cell recycling https://t.co/auPkyCsXLp https://t.co/JagmihM101
What's that Critter? New Tech Guidelines Can Help Ensure We Get the Right Answer
Biologist Julie Allen, fresh from winning the 2024 XPRIZE Rainforest for surveying 100 hectares in 24 hours, helped draft nine guidelines to standardize biodiversity monitoring. The recommendations, published in PNAS, aim to harmonize data collection across AI‑driven image and sound...
Radiologists and AI Struggle to Spot Deepfake Scans
The majority of radiologists and 4 LLMs were unable to differentiate synthetic, deepfake scans from real ones https://t.co/aAJhP0cpfG @RSNA https://t.co/q0wdIKicK6
New Research Shows Cannabis Compounds May Boost Liver and Heart Health
Researchers at HU School of Pharmacy found that the non‑psychoactive cannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) can remodel liver metabolism, enhancing energy storage and lysosomal function. In mouse models of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), both compounds lowered...
NASA’s Juno Delivers New Science While Its Future Remains Uncertain
NASA’s Juno spacecraft, originally slated for a five‑year Jupiter science campaign, received a two‑year extension that allowed it to record unprecedented lightning data in 2021‑2022. Researchers analyzing the data found Jovian storms produce lightning flashes at least 100 times more...
Astrocytes in Mouse Amygdala Encode Emotional State
A new Neuron study shows that astrocytes in the mouse basolateral amygdala, not neurons, encode anxiety‑like states. Calcium imaging revealed astrocytic activity spikes during exposure to open, threatening environments and closely mirrors freezing and hesitancy. A machine‑learning model using astrocyte...
Data Duplications Flagged in Highly Cited Gut-Brain Studies
Two high‑profile gut‑microbiome studies—one on Parkinson’s disease published in Cell in 2016 and another on anxiety published in Nature in 2022—have been flagged for duplicated mouse‑behavior data. The duplications were uncovered by a software engineer using a repository‑scanning tool and...
A Much More Sensitive Fentanyl Detection Strip, Thanks to Physics
University of California, San Diego researchers introduced a physics‑based model that quantifies the sensitivity limits of competitive lateral flow assays (cLFAs). By applying the model, they engineered fentanyl test strips that are roughly 100 times more sensitive than existing commercial...
These Insects Fly with Their Legs. Physics Explains How
Researchers at UC Berkeley demonstrated that the Eastern phantom crane fly can remain airborne by splaying its six legs into a drag‑producing cone, effectively “flying” without wing motion in an updraft. High‑speed camera and wind‑tunnel tests showed the leg cone...
What Are Transparency and Seeing?
Transparency and seeing are the two primary atmospheric metrics that dictate the quality of astronomical imaging. Transparency describes how clear the sky is, influencing how faint an object can be seen, while seeing measures atmospheric steadiness, affecting image sharpness. Amateur...
Turbulence and Bioluminescence
Researchers modeled dinoflagellates as elastic dumbbells that emit light when deformed, linking their bioluminescence to fluid stresses. The study examined how different turbulent flow regimes influence the intensity and frequency of light flashes. Results show that both the fluctuations and...
3D Nanoscale Imaging Maps Lipid Organization in Cellular Membranes
An international team has unveiled Lipid‑CLEM, a correlative light‑electron microscopy workflow that visualizes individual lipid molecules in three dimensions at nanometer resolution. By using bifunctional lipid probes, photo‑crosslinking, and click chemistry, the method maps lipid distribution within cellular membranes without...
Quantum-Resistant Cryptography Breakthrough: The Race to Secure Our Digital Future
Researchers at the Global Quantum Security Institute unveiled ShieldQ, a new lattice‑based cryptographic algorithm designed to resist attacks from both classical and quantum computers. The open‑source solution promises only a 15% performance overhead, making it viable for existing financial, cloud...
The Truth About Those Stealable Little Hotel Toiletries and Why They Were Replaced with Refillable Dispensers
U.S. states including California, New York and Illinois have banned single‑use hotel toiletries, prompting chains like Marriott and InterContinental to roll out refillable dispensers. Hotels tout the switch as a waste‑reduction win, claiming hundreds of millions of mini bottles are kept...