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
Stacked Quantum Materials Enable Precise Spin Control without External Magnetic Fields
Researchers at Chalmers University have demonstrated precise control of electron spin by stacking a perpendicular magnetic layer with a topological van der Waals material. The heterostructure switches magnetization using very small electrical currents and operates at room temperature without external magnetic fields. This field‑free spin‑orbit torque mechanism could enable faster, low‑power memory and data‑processing chips. The breakthrough hinges on an atomically smooth interface that preserves spin signals.
Science Spotlight: New Ways to Attack Β-Amyloid Plaques in Alzheimer’s
Two pre‑clinical studies propose active clearance of β‑amyloid as a new Alzheimer’s strategy. Researchers at Washington University engineered astrocytes with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that engulf plaques, while another team designed bispecific peptides that ferry amyloid into cells for lysosomal...
Diamonds' Hidden Chemistry Revealed on National Proposal Day
It's NationalProposalDay 💍 There's more to diamonds than meets the eye; this graphic highlights the hidden chemistry: https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/12/15/diamonds/
Artificial Kinetochores Take the Pressure Off Aging Chromosomes During Meiosis
Researchers at RIKEN have engineered protein‑based artificial kinetochores that compete with natural chromosome kinetochores for microtubule attachment during meiosis. By lowering the overall pulling force, these constructs keep weakened chromosome pairs together in aged mouse oocytes, restoring accurate DNA segregation....
New Study Says There's a Way to Make Dyson Bubbles and Stellar Engines Stable
Physicist Colin R. McInnes has shown that Dyson Bubbles and flat‑disk Stellar Engines can be engineered for passive stability, countering long‑standing claims of inherent gravitational instability. By concentrating mass at the rim of a reflective disc, radiation pressure and gravity can...
Met Office ‘Supercomputing as a Service’ One Year Old
The Met Office marked one year of its Microsoft‑powered "supercomputing as a service" platform, delivering roughly 1.8 million cores and 60 petaflops of compute in Azure. The cloud‑based system achieved 100 % uptime for critical workloads and 99.77 % availability for the supercomputing tier....
Galaxy-Group Motion Suggests Slower Expansion in Our Cosmic Neighborhood
Two independent studies examined the motions of the nearby Centaurus A/M83 and M81/M82 galaxy groups to infer the local expansion rate. By balancing gravitational attraction against cosmic expansion, the researchers derived a Hubble constant of roughly 64 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, slower than the 73 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹...
Astronomers Collect Rare Evidence of Two Planets Colliding
Astronomers analyzing archival data identified a dramatic, multi‑year flickering of the Sun‑like star Gaia20ehk, 11,000 light‑years away, and linked it to a catastrophic collision between two planets. The event produced a dense cloud of hot dust that dimmed visible light...
Atomic Force Microscopy Captures Thermal Fluctuations in Polymer Segments
Researchers at Kyushu University used atomic force microscopy to directly visualize the motion of individual polymer chain segments on solid surfaces. They identified three distinct dynamic states—thermally activated, thermally suppressed, and a switching state that alternates between the two—revealing non‑equilibrium...
Why Falling Cats Always Seem to Land on Their Feet
A new study published in *The Anatomical Record* reveals that cats’ upper thoracic spines can rotate up to 360 degrees, enabling rapid mid‑air reorientation. Researchers examined cadaver spines and performed controlled drop tests on live cats, finding the upper spine...
What Happened When ESA Simulated a Mission to Mars on Earth
The European Space Agency partnered with Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems to run MARS500, a ground‑based simulation of a 520‑day crewed Mars mission from 2010‑2011. Six international participants lived in sealed modules, experienced realistic communication delays, and followed a scripted...
The Climate Scientist Who Refuses to Stay Objective
Earth scientist Kate Marvel’s new book, *Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel about Our Changing Planet*, blends climate science with personal emotion, arguing that scientists need not hide their feelings. Each chapter explores a different emotion—wonder, anger, hope, fear—to make...
A New Model Defines an Upper Limit to Planetary Radiation Belt Intensity
Researchers at the University of Helsinki have unveiled a new theoretical model that sets a universal upper limit on the intensity of planetary radiation belts. The framework combines magnetic field strength, plasma density, and wave‑particle interaction physics to calculate a...
Strange Cosmic Burst From Colliding Galaxies Shines Light on Heavy Elements
Astronomers observed an unprecedented burst of high‑energy radiation emanating from two colliding galaxies, offering direct evidence of rapid heavy‑element synthesis during galactic mergers. The event, captured by space‑based X‑ray and gamma‑ray observatories, displayed spectral signatures of r‑process nucleosynthesis, traditionally associated...
Trailblazing the Search for Pulsar-Bound Exotrojans
Researchers at West Virginia University have unveiled a novel technique to search for exotrojans—co‑orbital bodies—bound to pulsars. Applying the method to decades‑long pulsar timing data, they report the first plausible exotrojan candidate orbiting the millisecond pulsar PSR B1257+12. The approach isolates...
Astronomers Capture Birth of a Magnetar, Confirming Link to Some of Universe’s Brightest Exploding Stars
Astronomers using NASA's NICER and Swift observed the birth of a magnetar in real time as a massive star collapsed, producing a brief, ultra‑bright X‑ray flash. The event released roughly 10^46 ergs in less than a second, matching predictions for...
New Research Bridges the Worlds of General Relativity and Supernova Astrophysics
UCSB researchers have introduced a fully relativistic framework that integrates Einstein’s general relativity into core‑collapse supernova models. By coupling the field equations with advanced neutrino transport, their high‑resolution simulations reveal that relativistic gravity steepens the gravitational potential, boosting shock strength...
New Method Reveals Slower Expansion in Our Cosmic Neighborhood
A novel observational technique has produced a more precise measurement of the expansion rate in the nearby universe, indicating it is slower than previously estimated. The study, leveraging gravitational‑wave standard sirens and refined Cepheid calibrations, finds a local Hubble constant...
NASA Discovers Crash of Extreme Stars in Unexpected Site
NASA's Chandra X‑ray Observatory has identified a rare collision of two neutron stars in a region of space previously thought too sparse for such events. The merger, detected through a burst of high‑energy X‑rays and a subsequent kilonova, occurred far...
New Chromatography Resin Developed for Secretory Antibodies
Researchers at BOKU University in Vienna have engineered a novel chromatography resin designed to capture secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA) at titers suitable for commercial manufacturing. The resin employs a reengineered bacterial surface ligand, analogous to Protein A, within a macropore...
COVID-19 Vaccine Injury: 3 Underlying Mechanisms Mainstream Medicine Still Misses
A new peer‑reviewed chapter in the IntechOpen volume *Vaccine Development – Lessons Learned and Future Trends* proposes a three‑pronged biological model for post‑acute COVID‑19 vaccination syndrome (PACVS). The authors identify metabolic dysfunction, autoimmunity, and vascular damage as distinct mechanisms driving...
Giovanni Traverso
Giovanni Traverso, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician‑scientist who bridges gastroenterology and engineering as an associate member of the Broad Institute, director of the Laboratory for Translational Engineering, MIT associate professor, and Harvard gastroenterologist. His lab creates ingestible electronics, robotic capsules,...
A Better View of How Cells Take Up Mitochondria to Restore Function
Researchers have demonstrated that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can actively internalize isolated, functional mitochondria through endocytic pathways. The study shows that the internalized organelles retain structural integrity and boost cellular proliferation, stress tolerance, and oxygen consumption. Chemical inhibition of endocytosis...
Trouble Swallowing? A Nanogel Tweak May Keep Therapeutic Stem Cells Alive Longer
Researchers at Kyoto University and McGill University created hybrid stem‑cell spheroids incorporating biodegradable nanogel microfibers. The nanogel‑enhanced spheroids improved oxygen diffusion, increasing cell viability more than fivefold and boosting secretion of regenerative factors. In a rat model of swallowing‑muscle injury,...
Safer Large DNA Insertion Moves Genetic Medicine Toward Scalability
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, in partnership with Full Circles Therapeutics, have introduced a circular single‑stranded DNA donor platform called INSTALL that enables kilobase‑scale gene insertion without triggering the cGAS immune sensor. The method combines a short double‑stranded DNA segment...
Simple 'Cocktail' Of Amino Acids Dramatically Boosts Power of mRNA Therapies and CRISPR Gene Editing
Researchers at Biohub identified a three‑amino‑acid cocktail—methionine, arginine and serine—that dramatically improves lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery of therapeutic mRNA and CRISPR components. Co‑administering the supplement boosted protein expression up to 20‑fold and raised gene‑editing rates from roughly 25% to nearly...
3D-Printed Rattlesnake Reveals How the Rattle Is a Warning Signal
University of Texas at El Paso researchers built a lifelike 3D‑printed robotic rattlesnake to test how zoo animals react to rattling. In controlled trials, 38 species showed heightened avoidance when the rattle sounded, especially those that naturally share the snake’s range....
Biodegradable Nanoparticles Can Seek and Destroy Diseased Immune Cells
Johns Hopkins researchers have engineered a streamlined biodegradable polymeric nanoparticle that delivers mRNA to T cells, prompting them to generate CD19‑CAR receptors that target disease‑causing B cells. In mice, a single intravenous dose eliminated 95% of circulating B cells within...
A New AI Model Could Help Scientists Design New Forms of Life
Researchers at the Arc Institute unveiled Evo2, an AI model trained on trillions of DNA bases from diverse organisms. By treating DNA as language, Evo2 can generate genome‑scale sequences millions of letters long, demonstrated with Mycoplasma genitalium‑inspired designs. The model...
VIDO – Six Years Later: How VIDO Helped Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
VIDO swiftly responded to COVID‑19 by designing a subunit vaccine candidate within days of the SARS‑CoV‑2 genome release, isolating the virus, and establishing animal models that enabled a Phase 1 human trial by early 2021, making it the first Canadian university...
Anthony J. Leggett Dies at 87; Won Nobel for Theories on Superfluids
Anthony J. Leggett, the 2003 Nobel laureate who explained the superfluid transition of helium‑3, died at age 87 in Urbana, Illinois. His theoretical work clarified why helium‑3 could become a frictionless quantum fluid, a phenomenon long thought impossible. Leggett’s insights...
The Gut Microbiome May Influence Brain Aging, Mouse Study Suggests
A University of Pennsylvania study published in Nature shows that gut bacteria from aged mice can impair memory in young mice, effectively accelerating brain aging. The researchers identified the bacterium *Parabacteroides goldsteinii* as the key agent, linking it to inflammation...
Why Are Interstellar Comets So Weird? Part 2: Why Comets Are Like Cats
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS surprised astronomers with a nickel‑rich gas plume, unusually low water content, and a light curve that brightened far faster than typical comets. The object delayed forming a coma and tail, then exhibited a mysterious outward acceleration as...
Proton Beam Hope for Asbestos Cancer Patients
UK researchers have launched a proton‑beam trial to treat mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos‑related cancer with no cure. The therapy delivers high‑dose radiation precisely, aiming to lift two‑year survival from roughly 30% to 50%. About 50 patients have been enrolled so...
When Blood Pressure Talks to the Brain: How Hypertension Shapes Pain Perception
Recent studies reveal that baroreceptor signals linking blood pressure to the brain also modulate pain perception. Higher arterial pressure activates baroreflex pathways that dampen acute pain, while chronic pain conditions appear to exhaust this protective mechanism. Experiments using artificial baroreflex...
350 Feet Underground US Lab Helps Turn Qubits Into Sensors for Dark Matter Research
A multi‑institution team used the Northwestern Experimental Underground Site (NEXUS) at Fermilab, 350 feet below ground, to record charge noise across a four‑qubit superconducting chip, marking the first multi‑qubit measurement of this kind. By alternating a lead shield around the dilution...
New Evidence Suggests Newborn Gut May Not Be Sterile
Anyone who's had a baby knows what meconium is. Hard to forget. It's this thick, black, tar-like substance your baby poops out for the first 1-2 days. Really hard to wash off too because it sticks to their skin. Meconium is...
Engineering Meat: Science Drives Next Agricultural Revolution
For 12,000 years, humanity has produced meat the same way: grow crops, feed animals, convert plants into protein. From a biomanufacturing perspective, it is one of the most complex and least optimized production systems on the planet. What happens when we start...
Phase 3 Trial Tests
.@SWOG S2213 Ph3 RCT Dara-VC Induction Followed by ASCT or Dara-VCD Consolidation & Daratumumab Maintenance in Pts w/ Newly Diagnosed AL Amyloidosis [Activated: 12/1/23] https://t.co/OizUfJCc2c #mmsm #bmtsm https://t.co/FoT3i0xGcL
Chromosomal Abnormalities Impact Multiple Myeloma Survival Differently by Population
Population differences in the associations between chromosomal abnormalities and overall survival of multiple myeloma [Jan 31, 2025] Bei Wang et al. @Bloodneoplasia https://t.co/IFPgCwpGo6 #mmsm #PrecisionMedicine #cancerdisparities https://t.co/1eBp98ZNOg
Mapping Genomic Alterations in Multiple Myeloma Precursors
Genomic landscape of multiple myeloma and its precursor conditions [May 21, 2025] Jean-Baptiste Alberge et al. @IrenemGhobrial @NatureGenet https://t.co/DDWGRrpI4Y #mmsm #PrecisionMedicine #cagenome https://t.co/LY1MzFXSBN
Multiple Myeloma Evades GPRC5D T‑Cell Engagers via Multim
Multimodal antigenic escape to GPRC5D-targeted T cell engagers in multiple myeloma [Jan 15, 2026] @hollyleeYJ et al. @NBahlis @NatureMedicine https://t.co/mz393mPMAq #mmsm #PrecisionMedicine #tcellrx THREAD: https://t.co/lNX9b7LsnR HT @AuclairDan https://t.co/2qih7LwP1c
Sequencing Hematologic Cancers Reveals Germline Variant Candidates
Identifying potential germline variants from sequencing hematopoietic malignancies [Dec 4, 2020] Ira L. Kraft, Lucy A. Godley @ASH_hematology Education Book https://t.co/L09eJ55sNW #geneticcounselors #PrecisionMedicine #hemeonc https://t.co/Ggq8IEzQEa
CO2’s Logarithmic Forcing Known Since 1896, Skeptics Finally Notice
This is apparently the week that climate skeptics in X discovered that CO2 has a logarithmic relationship with radiative forcing. We've actually known this since Arrhenius' work in 1896, and its embedded in all our models. But congratulations on getting caught...
Impossible Becomes Inevitable: Longevity Follows Past Breakthroughs
The Wright brothers were told flight was impossible. We went to the MOON when computers had less power than your phone. Every single time, the "impossible" became inevitable. Longevity is no different.
Speaking at ClimateReality 20th Anniversary Training, Nashville May 1‑2
Looking forward to speaking at the the @ClimateReality 20th Anniversary Training conference, May 1-2 in Nashville: https://t.co/gzCwlg5exC https://t.co/dt1EcClzDs
Day 3 Tackles Extending Healthspan and Achieving Longevity Escape Velocity
The @abundance360 Day 3 is at full force, covering one of the most important topics for humanity: how do we extend human healthspan & achieve LEV. We have a powerful lineup of speakers, including my friend @davidasinclair ! https://t.co/SLfeDlbo5f
Herbal Terpenoids Boost Autophagy, Guard Against Aging
Herbal terpenoids activate autophagy and mitophagy through modulation of bioenergetics and protect from metabolic stress, sarcopenia and epigenetic aging https://t.co/gtpKOmoxDS
NASA's AXIS X-Ray Mission Canceled After 2025 Cuts
NASA’s next X-ray mission, AXIS, has been killed Did you think that the cuts to NASA made in 2025 had all been reversed, and everything is now fine? Think again. NASA's AXIS mission, on account of that 2025 bloodbath, is now dead. https://t.co/gdFHBnGzRJ
Heat Erodes California Snowpack, Threatening Drought Return
The high temperatures will cut into California’s snowpack, raising the risk that drought will return. https://t.co/LrGHsOjx8l